First Look At ‘Justified’ Season 2

In less than a week, fans of the hit FX series Justified will be returning to Harlan county to witness Raylan Givens deliver his own brand of justice.

When we last left the gun-toting U.S. Marshall, Givens, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Ava (Joelle Carter) were pinned down by gunfire from a couple of unknown assailants. Picking up right where the finale left off, fans of the series will be surprised to see what transpires in the conclusion of the stand-off and how Boyd’s life completely changes because of it.

Jumping ahead some time after that, viewers might be more surprised to learn that Boyd and Ava are now living together. While nothing is romantic at the moment, there are signs that things may become escalate at some point. Although, until that happens, Ava has Boyd under a strict set of rules and will waste no time throwing him out of her house. Fortunately for Boyd, he has no problem staying out of trouble – although certain problems do arise.

Fans of the wonderfully dimwitted Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman) will be happy to know that Harlan’s most helpless white supremacist returns and sets out to frame Raylan Givens for a crime Crowe intends to commit. Considering Crowe’s inability to mentally process the severity of his actions, things don’t exactly go as planned, but hilarity ensues nonetheless.

With Boyd on a proverbial leash – at least for the moment – and Dewey Crowe being, well, Dewey Crow, the role of this season’s main antagonist goes to Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale) – a seemingly harmless matriarch figure that has deep ties to everything criminal in Harlan. Heading up the violent arm of the Bennett clan is Dickie Bennett (Jeremy Davies), Raylan’s high school rival. While Dickie may appear to be as intelligent as Dewey Crowe, viewers will quickly realize just how ingenious and extremely violent he is – something that makes for a suspenseful standoff between Raylan and Dickie.

For fans of the series that enjoyed the first season but disliked certain episodic storyline elements and the bad guy of the week premise that ran for the first 4 episodes, you’ll be happy to know that most – if not all – of season two’s storylines and story-arcs are continuous and will last for most of the season. Even when the second season does venture into specific episodic plots, it often involves familiar series characters, so everything feels very fluid.

Plus, there’s the return of the always wonderful Stephen Root as the spandex wearing Judge Mike Reardon to look forward to. Although, don’t expect to see him within the first month of Justified’s return.

Even though Justified is beginning its second season, there’s still enough time for new viewers to catch up on the adventures of Raylan Givens with the Justified season one DVD set. Fortunately if that’s not an option, newcomers will have no problem jumping in to the action.

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Justified season 2 premieres February 9 @10pm, on FX.

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‘Lie To Me’ Season 3 Ends On A High Note

Last night, FOX’s cult series Lie To Me completed is third season with “Killer App”  an episode involving a Facebook-esque plot that brought a darker tone (and murder) to some of Aaron Sorkin’s story elements from The Social Network.

While much of Lie To Me can be considered a proverbial stage for Tim Roth to show off his talents as one of television’s most skilled thespians, the season 3 finale took a step back from Roth’s scene-stealing portrayal of Dr. Cal Lightman and allowed co-star Kelli Williams to shine as Dr. Gillian Foster.

Despite Williams continuously adding rich depth to her character – and to an extent Roth’s character – she’s rarely had the opportunity to take the lead, both in character performance and storyline focus. Highlighting elements from Foster’s past, while providing wonderful backstory to her character, allowed Lie to Me to expand the potential fanbase of the series and, on some level, provided viewers with another character to identify with besides Lightman.

Whether or not this decision will work for the struggling drama still remains to be seen. While FOX has yet to hint at whether or not Lie To Me will return for a fourth season, the most recent ratings – including the finale – may be a sign that the lights may stay on at the Lightman Institute.

Two weeks ago, the ratings for Lie To Me jumped up 1.7 million viewers from the seasonal average. Even though the season 3 finale ended with 7.05 million viewers, that’s still well over 1 million viewers more than normal. Not since the beginning of season 2 has Lie To Me seen ratings reach the 7 million mark.

Of course, just because the final two episode of season 3 received a ratings bump, that doesn’t mean that FOX will be renewing the series – although, I’m sure they now regret cutting down Lie To Me’s episode order to 13. With a surprising jump in the ratings, there’s no doubt that everyone at the network is wondering what would have happened if the series ran for a full 22 episodes.

As much as I’d like to sit here and say that Lie To Me will return next fall, I simply do not know. Besides the fact that any speculation will most certainly be based on presumed knowledge of inner-workings of Twentieth Century Fox Television (and FOX is in a bit of disarray over the feud with NBC regarding House season 8), I have a bit of a soft spot for Lie to Me.

To me, Lie To Me may not be one of best shows on television, but it’s damn near close. Plus, I’m of the mind that if you have Tim Roth acting on your television network, you should continuously renew the show, no matter what – he’s that good.

We most likely won’t hear about Lie To Me’s fate until this spring, when the networks put together their fall line-ups and confirm their programming decisions. Until then, fans of the series will just have to run around pretending to read people’s micro-expressions and hope that Dr. Cal Lightman receives one last chance at redemption.

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Source: TVbytheNumbers

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‘House’ Season 8 Held Up By NBC & FOX Dispute

[Update: NBC responded to our initial request, but declined to comment on this matter.]

With FOX’s hit series House crossing the halfway mark of its seventh season, fans of the long-running medical drama are beginning to look ahead and wonder what wonderful mischief Princeton Plainsboro’s diagnostician will create in House season 8.

Unfortunately, it looks like all of the fanatical conjecture can now cease – at least for the moment – as House season 8 is currently at a standstill.  NBC Universal, the production company behind the award-winning series, and FOX Television, the network that airs House, are currently in dispute about who should pay for the actual production of the hit series going forward.

Speaking to the press yesterday, House co-star Lisa Edelstein revealed:

There is some issue… We are produced by NBC, even though we’re on Fox… which is a little unusual, but not all that uncommon. There’s a whole complicated structure in terms of who pays for what when you make a show. Now that the show has been on for so long, I think NBC wants Fox to take over the cost of production and Fox doesn’t want that. So, there’s just been some dispute there.

Until that’s resolved, they can’t even begin to talk to any of us. I know that they officially have Hugh [Laurie] for an eighth season – he negotiated that a long time ago. So, for the rest of us, we’ll just have to wait until the contract is finished between the studio and the network.

While the continuation of an award-winning, highly-rated and extremely profitable series should be a no-brainer, recent events have caused NBC Universal to want to shift more of the production responsibilities and cost to Fox – specifically, the Comcast-NBC merger.

Now that the Comcast-NBC merger has been approved, NBC Universal as a whole is looking to cut as much overhead spending as possible to appease Comcast and provide a more lucrative situation for its current (and future) stockholders. While the production of a hit television series may appear to many as something other than “overhead spending,” there is some validity to their reasoning.

Despite House being a profitable franchise for NBC Universal, much of that profit comes from future earnings – DVD sales, syndication, worldwide distribution. When filming a television series, there is a lot of upfront expense associated with the simple day-to-day production – around $5 million per episode, $115 million per season.

Even though FOX pays NBC Universal for the rights to air the series on television and, in turn, helps cover the cost of production, NBC would like to shift more of the direct expenses to the television network.

Why FOX wouldn’t simply agree to the financial shift with NBC Universal is an interesting question. While there’s no overt reason why FOX wouldn’t, it mostly likely has to do with FOX already having a budget set in place for the upcoming fiscal year.

Fortunately, NBC Universal and FOX will absolutely come to an agreement in the end. It’s going to take some time for FOX to look at their current financial commitments and see where additional funds can be found and reallocated, but House season 8 will ultimately happen.

…Especially since series creator David Shore already revealed that he has plans for Olivia Wilde and her character Thirteen in season 8.

We reached out to both FOX and NBC Universal for a comment, but they had yet to respond at the time of publishing.

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House airs Mondays @8pm, on FOX

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‘Jersey Shore’ Season 4 Headed To Italy

Now, some longtime readers of Screen Rant may be ready to blast me in the comments, but I’m sure that some of you reading this were lured here by the proclamations of the headline above -- this news is for you. The rest of you who are ready to hate on this proud Jersey Shore lover -- there are plenty of other articles for you to read.

MTV has confirmed that Jersey Shore Season 4 will be shot in Italy! Meaning that the JS cast will be taking their hijinks overseas, likely continuing to erode America’s international relations.

So how will Europe react to The Situation’s perennially missing shirts, Pauly D’s hammerhead blowout hairdo, gorilla Ronnie’s effeminate giggles and the entity only known as Snooki, I hear you asking? Well, my friend, therein lies the juicy trashy TV that millions of Jersey Shore fans have come to love wallowing in every week.

Said MTV Executive Vice President of Programming, Chris Linn:

“While the stateside “Jersey Shore” locales have become iconic for our audience it’s really the constantly evolving dynamic amongst the cast that keeps them coming back each season, and Europe is a fresh spin on a show that continues to reach new heights for us…The cast is headed to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by. We can’t wait to see what erupts as a result.”

The gang reportedly won’t be left out in the “Old Country” without a haven: cast member Vinnie Guadagnino has family in Italy who will open their doors (and their dinner table) to America’s favorite guidos and guidettes. More than that, though, there are several questions that this news raises:

Which cast members will we see in Italia (specifically, will Sammy Sweetheart be back)?How will actual native Italians react to a group of (possibly offensive) American-Italian stereotypes?Will Italians accept those cast members who aren’t even fully Italian? (Do your research, some of them aren’t Italian.)Will Italian women swoon for M.V.P.?Can America suffer this kind of foreign relations nightmare?Will Snooki ever find love???

All these questions -- and others -- will be exactly the sort of bait that hooks me and millions of other Americans into watching Jersey Shore season 4. Love or hate it, the show is a monster hit for MTV (8.9 million viewers as of the last episode) and the fact that they change locales every season has certainly kept things…interesting.

Personally, I’m glad they’re taking this act overseas. Watching the current third season of Jersey Shore (which has returned the cast to the Seaside Heights setting of season 1), it’s become apparent that what made the show so entertaining is no longer sustainable within an environment where these kids are now bonafide American celebrities. I’ve noted to other viewers all season that the increased presence of security guards and the hyper-awareness of every shore-head walking the boardwalk is robbing Jersey Shore of it’s natural, organic aesthetic. Ok, Ok, I’m really more upset that the security details mean the opportunities for fights are fewer, and that the fists that do fly do so for shorter amounts of time. Maybe the lower profile setting of Italy will change all that…

You excited to hear Jersey Shore is going to Italy, or are you ashamed that I’m reporting this?

Jersey Shore season 4 starts filming in Italy in Spring 2011 and should air later in the year.

BONUS: The cast celebrate the news that they’re going to Italy (not really, but suddenly this video is very fitting):

Source: MTV

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CBS and ION Help Save ‘Flashpoint’ Season 4

How is this for diplomatic relations? The Canadian cop drama Flashpoint will live to see a fourth season, thanks to a collaborative effort from American channels CBS and ION that will help finance the upcoming 18 episodes ordered by CTV.

After CBS aired its last episode of Flashpoint in September of 2010, the network remained mum on future plans to have the program continue in the United States. Then, at the Television Critics Association press tour, CBS president Nina Tassler briefly indicated the network still had six episodes from the third season that had yet to be shown. Executive producers of the show Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos later confirmed Tassler’s statements and elaborated by announcing a syndication deal with ION that follows the shows return to CBS at least one more time.

In the deal, CBS plans to mash up the aforementioned six unaired episodes with seven more from the upcoming fourth season, into a 13-episode run that will likely round out the network’s plans for original programming this summer. So, what then will become of the other 11 episodes of Flashpoint? Are they destined to sit on a shelf until a network president needs to fill a slot in the network’s summer programming?

The answer: ION. After CBS’s episodes have aired, a syndication deal with ION will go into effect. The deal gives ION access to all 51 episodes of Flashpoint—including the final 11 episodes of season four—to air on its owned and operated stations across the United States. ION has had great success before with its syndication of other CBS procedural dramas, such as Criminal Minds and Without a Trace.

While this is certainly great news for both fans of Flashpoint, and those who crave new summer programming, the lackadaisical announcement by CBS, combined with the potentially awkward multi-season mishmash that is planned, all but indicate the network’s relationship with the program has likely come to an end.

CTV, however, may continue to run with the show despite a lack of interest from CBS. Flashpoint has seen its hometown audience grow during its latest mid-season run, which concludes February 6th after the Super Bowl. In what is being touted as a “shocking season finale,” cast members Enrico Colantoni (Galaxy Quest, Veronica Mars) and everybody’s favorite pink ranger, Amy Jo Johnson, will face off alongside the rest of their unit against Alias’ Victor Garber as he puts his plan to destroy the special tactical team into action. Whatever the outcome, American fans will just have to wait for the show to return this summer to see what happens.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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‘Supernatural’ Season 7 Likely to Happen

It appears that fans of Supernatural will be following the adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester through their paranormal conflicts for at least one more year.

While television’s favorite brotherly duo are currently battling the repercussions of the Apocalypse, The CW is focusing on the future of this successful Friday night series…and as of now, the future looks good!

Speaking with E! Online, CW president Dawn Ostroff revealed:

“We haven’t officially picked anything up yet, but [Supernatural] is doing so well—and it’s doing better on Friday night than it was on Thursday night—so I can’t imagine we won’t pick it up.

“We haven’t started talking about next year, but I’d be shocked if we didn’t pick it up.”

As Ostroff noted, nothing is official. Fortunately, when a television network president says that a particular show is doing so well that they’d be “shocked” if it wasn’t picked up, the whole notion of it being “official” is really a moot point.

Of course, one has to ask: If The CW is so interested in renewing Supernatural for seventh season, what – if anything – could prevent this series for coming back? Simply put, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.

Follow the completion of Supernatural’s current season, both Padalecki and Ackles’ contracts are up. While both have attempted to transition into more theatrical rolls, Padalecki and Ackles haven’t given the impression that they’re through with the characters, yet.

With Supernatural conventions being held almost every weekend around the world (Many of which Padalecki and Ackles attend), these two lead actors will now be put in a position where they have to make a decision that may impact their acting careers in the future (read: typecasting). While Padalecki and Ackles may love working on Supernatural, one or both of them may feel the need to move on from this 6-year-old series.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Warner Bros. and The CW won’t be able to tempt Padalecki and Ackles into re-signing. Even though Supernatural has a somewhat limited budget and an appropriate salary raise probably isn’t an available option, there’s always the possibility of Padalecki and Ackles becoming executive producers on the series they helped make a hit.

Promoting lead actors into the role of executive producer is something that is often done on series where budgetary constraints make it impossible to provide them with a substantial salary raise. You may be wondering why someone would become an executive producer on the series, instead of taking a salary raise. I’ll give you a hint: it’s not all about creative control.

As an actor in a series, you receive a set salary per episode (sometimes bonuses are built in for exceptional rating performances) and without going too deep into it, you’ll receive residuals from syndication, worldwide distributions, and perhaps some merchandising and DVD sales.

As an executive producer, you’ll receive a similar payout to the actors (although usually more elements are included), but it’ll be a larger amount. So, if an actor was getting 10 cents per every DVD sold, an executive producer may receive $1 (though these amounts I’m pitching are completely fictional, especially in relation to the difference in amount between the two).

That being said, Supernatural is one of the most lucrative franchises on television. With a series of Supernatural novels from HarperCollins, a mini-series of Supernatural comic books from Wildstorm (DC Comics), a pen & paper role-playing game, trading cards, shirts, posters, calendars, figurines AND a Japanese anime spin-off series, there’s a lot of incentive in becoming an executive producer of the sereis.

Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see what Jared and Jensen do.

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Supernatural airs Fridays @9pm, on The CW

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Source: E! Online

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FX Summer Comedies: ‘Louie’ Season 2; Elijah Wood on Board For ‘Wilfred’

Bolstering a heavy lineup with a little levity, the FX network has announced it will be bringing back the acclaimed Louis C.K. sitcom Louie and paring it with Wilfred—a new dark comedy series starring Elijah Wood. The half hour comedies are part of an hour-long block of comedy planned for this summer.

Famed comedian Louis C.K. will begin the sophomore season of his sitcom by continuing to blend elements and excerpts from stand-up routines with the droll imaginings of the world around him. Louie will again bring in Pamela Adlon of Californication fame as a guest star throughout the season. Like the first season, the series will air 13 episodes, many of which will be filmed on location in New York.

While Louie joins returning drama Justified on the 2012 FX schedule, the network plans to debut Wilfred, a dark comedy starring Elijah Wood that is based on an Australian series of the same name.

According to FX President John Landgraf, Wilfred is “really weird and really different and really original and really funny. And it also has heart, which is odd for a show that’s so different.”

How different, you ask? Wilfred is about a young man (Wood) and his imaginary dog, which is seen by him as a man in a dog suit. Co-creator of the original Australian series, Jason Gann, will play the dog—er, man in dog suit.

Gann commented on the differences between the American version and the Wilfred of down under by saying, “I would not have made another version of Wilfred if I didn’t think it could be better. Wilfred has had a Hollywood makeover. He’s had a fur job.”

Wood, meanwhile, is looking forward to working in a new genre: “[It is] a wonderful opportunity to do something different, to work in the realm of comedy and to be challenged in a way that I haven’t before.”

While both series have several months before their seasons begin, anticipation is likely to grow as publicity for each show increases. FX is likely to get a surge of acknowledgement for pairing unlikely fare like Wilfred with a proven success like Louie. The block of time the two programs will be sharing may very well become the next ‘must see’ television.

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Louie and Wilfred premiere summer 2011, on FX

Source: E! Online, LA Times

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‘Californication’ Season 4 Premiere Review & Discussion

David Duchovny returns as playboy author Hank Moody on Californication tonight. How does the fourth season of Showtime’s opus to excess start? Read on to find out.

After three years of sincerely trying to redeem himself in the eyes of his girlfriend and daughter, Hank reached a low point in Season 3's finale over a year ago. Arrested after assaulting a police officer with dwindling hope of reuniting with Karen and Becca, the author emerges from jail in “Exile on Main St.” with little remorse and even less tact. As he tries to hold his career together after his scandalous and now public affair with a manipulative underage author, Hank and Charlie negotiate for the screenwriter position of the book that Mia stole from him in season one. At the same time, the two try to beat the rap and make amends to their significant others. They don’t try very hard.

The appeal of Californication lies in its brazen and unapologetic approach to money, sex and drugs on the West Coast. There’s plenty of that in the fourth season premiere: Hank begins indulging his vices mere moments after leaving jail, while simultaneously proclaiming his love and devotion for his estranged girlfriend and daughter. Fans tuning in for the show’s quick wit and brazen dialogue won’t be disappointed as Hank and Charlie, along with seemingly everyone in the movie business, rattle off as if they’re swearing on commission. The cable-only dialogue is enjoyable, and after the extended melodrama of the latter half of season 3 it’s good to see the writers returning to one of the series’ hallmarks. There’s also plenty of visual candy on display for those who want it – of Duchovny and his bedfellows.

Throughout the episode Hank continues to speak of his noble intentions while charging headlong into the habits and situations that made them leave in the first place. For example, Karen spares just enough time to Hank to explain her revulsion at his relationship with a then-16-year-old Mia. The girl had intentionally concealed her age, so at the time Hank wasn’t guilty of much more than an overactive libido and extremely poor judgement. But by the time the episode ends we once again see him bedding a girl half his age mere moments after appealing to her – and the audience – that he just wants his family back. For a brilliant writer, Hank seems to have a remarkably dim appreciation of cause and effect.

Hank treads water just above personal ruin and far below his own potential. While it certainly makes for a believable character, I take issue with the fact that the show expects us to sympathize with him. We’ve seen Hank make the same mistakes for years, topping himself in almost every episode. The series began with Hank as a talented man trying to overcome his own shortcomings and the obstacles others place in front of him. But now Hank is four years older and apparently none the wiser, and all the problems he faces at the beginning of the fourth season are of his own making. Why should the audience continue to care about a man who refuses to better himself? At this point, the show is simply presenting us with Hank’s (admittedly enjoyable) character traits and letting Duchovny loose in Los Angeles.

There’s no more character development to be found in the series’ lead – it’s time to either introduce a game-changing element or give us a look at the other players. Sasha, the actress hoping to play Mia’s role in her book’s movie adaptation, may fit the bill. She’s hopelessly infatuated with Hank, even as he explains that his heart lies elsewhere. She goes so far as to mimic the book’s tagline (and Hank’s own life) in an attempt to endear him to her. When Hank inevitably breaks her trust, be it with his estranged family or someone new, there should be some good drama to be had. Look for Sasha to play an increasing part in the coming season.

Charlie comes off as more annoying than endearing as he tries to fix Hank’s life while commiserating on his own misfortunes. The attorney he hires makes for some great dialogue, and since women are powerless to resist Hank in Californication, it’s almost certain that she’ll be an intimate part of this season’s plot. Karen and Becca, the characters I do feel sympathy for, are almost completely absent. While they may finally be gone from Hank’s life, it would have been nice to see more of their reactions to his continually collapsing situation.

Californication is as raunchy as it ever was as it begins its fourth year. The adult-only themes and humor are still enjoyable, but if the main character continues his unapologetic slide downwards, it’s hard to see how the plot will stay compelling.

Californication premieres tonight at 9:00 PM on Showtime.

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AMC Vice President: ‘Mad Men’ Will Return For 5th Season

It looks like AMC could use a little Don Draper-style negotiation savvy of its own. The cable channel’s highest profile show Mad Men still hasn’t been renewed for a fifth season, but Senior Vice President Joel Stillerman told reports that a return to 1960s Manhattan is being planned.

The hold-up is on multiple fronts: neither production house Lionsgate TV nor showrunner Matthew Weiner have agreed to continue their work on Mad Men. Stillerman told reporters at a TCA panel for The Killing that while AMC plans for the series to continue, he didn’t know when that would happen. When a Deadline Hollywood correspondent asked about the state of Mad Men, AMC president and general manager Charlie Collier said, “We’re negotiating, don’t know much more than that yet.”

AMC has leveraged its breakout success with Mad Men into more original programming, first with Breaking Bad and then The Walking Dead. Both shows will return in 2011 for seasons four and two respectively. In addition to The Killing which premieres in April, the network is currently producing a Reconstruction-era western show called Hell on Wheels. In the four years since Mad Men debuted AMC has become a major player for original cable shows, rivaling more experienced channels like FX and TNT, and even creeping up on premium channels like HBO and Showtime. They’ve come a long way from simply rerunning American Movie Classics, and the Madison Avenue boys are largely to thank for their recent success. Both Mad Men and Breaking Bad are multiple Emmy Award winners.

'Mad Men' cast and crew, cleaning up at the Emmys.

The interested parties found themselves in a similar situation between seasons two and three. In the summer of 2008 AMC announced the show’s renewal before deals had been struck with Lionsgate and Weiner. Both signed on after Mad Men won big at the Golden Globes in January of the following year. The show has been nominated for three Golden Globes this year, including Best Drama.

We previously reported that Matthew Weiner intends for Mad Men to last for six seasons. Between his creative intentions and the large amount of money on the line for both AMC and Lionsgate, I don’t think fans have too much to worry about.

Mad Men will (hopefully) return in July or August on AMC.

Source: Deadline Hollywood

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‘Merlin’ Season 3 Premiere Review & Discussion

SyFy’s BBC import Merlin has captured its fair share of fans on this side of the pond, and American audiences can see Season 3's 13-episode run on Frinday nights at 10.

How does the first episode fare? We review the Season 3 premiere episode “The Tears of Uther Pendragon” and discuss in the comments.

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The season starts off a year after Morgana’s betrayal and dramatic disowning of King Uther Pendragon. Unbeknownst to Uther and everyone else, Morgana has been with her half-sister Morguese plotting the kingdom’s downfall. Young Prince Arthur and Camelot’s knights have been searching for the king’s ward for a year, with Merlin keeping quiet in the hopes that no one discovers his nascent magical powers – or that he poisoned Morgana to end the curse Morgause had placed on the castle. When she’s welcomed back to Camelot with open arms, Morgana begins the machinations of a plot to drive Uther insane and topple the kingdom.

Morgana uses her impressive skills of manipulation and her own emerging powers to achieve her nefarious goals. With help from her sister, she hides an enchanted mandrake root under Uther’s bed which begins to warp his mind. At the same time, Morgues recruits a neighboring warlord to invade the kingdom while its king is incapacitated. In Camelot, Merlin begins to suspect Morgana as the cause of the king’s malady while Arthur struggles to rise to the challenge of assuming command. Merlin follows Morgana and discovers the sisters’ plot, only to be captured and left for dead. The episode ends with Merlin rescued by the dragon Kilgharrah and an army besieging a leaderless Camelot.

The story and acting are par for Merlin‘s course: solid but not outstanding. The compelling part of this series, and certainly what will bring fans back for its third season, is its modern take on legendary characters. Merlin has this in abundance. The first season was spent cementing the relationship between Arthur and Merlin, and the second season was largely concerned with fleshing out the rest of the core characters. As the third season begins, it’s clear the writers intend to capitalize on the work they’ve done setting the stage for some more earth-shaking story developments.

Morgana’s treachery and skillful deception is entertaining to watch. We’ve seen this character evolve from a naive ward of Uther to a villain in her own right, and it’s clear that her classically nefarious side will be on full display as the season continues. Uther’s paranoid and often brutal reigning serves as a good reminder of whose actions set up most of the conflict in Camelot. But the two main draws leave something to be desired – Arthur and Merlin squabble like schoolyard kids, and Arthur continues to berate and tease Merlin for his lack of fighting prowess. Yet, when faced with the gargantuan task of assuming his father’s throne and fighting off a potential invasion, Arthur becomes immediately serious and contemplative. The back-and-forth between the two is entertaining, but the sudden shifts in character are hard to reconcile with an Arthur who is still very much a boy.

Some of the best parts of the episode are seeing Uther Pendgragon get his comeuppance. Much of the drama in the series is set up by Uther’s ruthless slaughter of hundreds of magic users, and when the women and children he drowned in his rage begin to appear as cold and terrifying hallucinations, you begin to sympathize with the warlocks and sorceresses intent on toppling his throne. Merlin remains the only magic user in Christendom who isn’t out for Uther’s blood, and even that’s only in the hope that Arthur fulfills his destiny as Camelot’s greatest king.

The production design, cinematography and costumes are among the best seen yet in the series. It’s clear that the crew has hit its stride with Merlin and are becoming comfortable in its medieval world. And then there are the special effects. There’s no nice way to say it: the CGI in Merlin is awful, and continues to be so as the series progresses. cramped action shots and greenscreen effects abound. In part two of the episode there’s a scene where sword-wielding skeletons animate and attack the castle, presumably having just finished their gig on Jason and the Argonauts. It’s hard to fault bad effects on a TV budget, especially in something as difficult as a period piece, but the CGI just doesn’t match the impressive fit and finish of the rest of the series.

However, Merlin fans don’t tune in for blockbuster-level production values – they want story. And for the most part, the episode delivers. We get to see more of the blossoming relationship between Arthur and Guinevere, and Uther’s bipolar love for Morgana and hatred of magic is compelling. There isn’t much for Merlin to do except react to the antagonists, but the tension created by his secret keeps you wondering how he’ll stay undercover. There are, unfortunately, a couple of sore spots. The writers seem to reach for poison more often than the average Castle Elsinore tenant; Morgana poisons a guard that she failed to murder, marking what must be the dozenth use of the plot device in the series. And the climax that sets up for part two sees the villains ride off in the sure knowledge that their intricate trap will finish off Merlin once and for all. That trick was old when The Once and Future King was published, and it’s disappointing to see it here.

All in all, the episode is a decent reintroduction to Merlin‘s core characters with an excellent set-up to next week’s concluding episode. Those hungry for the continuing adventures of the wizard and the would-be king will be delighted, and eager for the next piece of the story – which, trust me, will pay off on the premiere’s setup.

Merlin airs Fridays at 10 PM on SyFy.

Note: If you’re new to Merlin, or if you just want to catch up on the story, Hulu is currently streaming all of season 1 and 2 for free.

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Season of the Witch Review

Rating:

2 out of 5

Screen Rant’s Paul Young reviews Season of the Witch

Traditionally January is set aside as the month studios release movies for which they have low expectations of success. Every once in a while a rare gem will emerge from the dross that is usually offered at this time of year – unfortunately or maybe unsurprisingly, Season of the Witch isn’t that rare gem.

However, that’s not to say that the film was a total letdown. Even though Season of the Witch is wrought full of problems ranging from weak dialog via poorly delivered, uninspired one-liners – to under developed characters and CG effects reminiscent of a Saturday night SyFy channel original film… I managed to walk out of the theater pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it.

Season of the Witch stars Nicolas Cage as Behmen, a knight in the time of the 14th century Crusades, who along with his best friend and battle partner Felson (Ron Perlman) grow tired of killing sinners and unbelievers in the name of God for the Church of England. After 12 years of fighting side-by-side they decide it’s time to break their vow by leaving “God’s” army and are branded as deserters.

Soon after, their travels bring them to a village which is besieged by a mysterious plague which the local monks are certain was brought about by the appearance of a girl whom they accuse of being a witch. After Behmen and Felson are revealed as traitors to the Church, they strike a bargain with the Cardinal D’Ambroise – a virtually unrecognizable Christopher Lee. In exchange for their freedom, the knights agree to escort a monk named Debelzaq (Stephen Moore) and a local man named Eckhart (Ulrich Thomsen) to a monastery which is four days away.

Before they leave they pick up a guide named Hagamar (Stephen Graham) and an altar boy named Kay (Robert Sheehan). Along the way the witch, Anna (Claire Foy), gets into their heads and uses their weaknesses against them in an attempt to escape. Ultimately Behmen, Felson and Kay have a final showdown with Anna as they realize there is more to her evil ways than they first suspected.

Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman prepare to battle evil in a scene from 'Season of the Witch'

Season of the Witch should have been a better film because the story had good potential. Writer Bragi Schut does a decent job of keeping the story moving along without letting it get bogged down in one place for too long – unfortunately, the dialog for the film comes across as very heavy – every word seems to trip and bumble off of  the actors lips. Director Dominic Sena (Whiteout) doesn’t seem to help much; it feels like he told the actors to OVER. EMPHASIZE. EVERY. WORD. THEY. SAY as if each line was a witch they should be stabbing with a sword.

Even though Cage and Perlman’s characters are supposed to be long time friends there is very little chemistry between them and most of the “buddy” style banter – “You’re buying the drinks tonight” or “She stole a year’s worth of your salary” – feels forced and doesn’t come across with any emotion at all. I know I’m supposed to care about the relationship between these two long time warriors but at the end of the day I just don’t.

On a positive note, despite of all the above mentioned flaws there was something about Season of the Witch I found to be entertaining in a Beastmaster or 13th Warrior sort of way – when all is said and done, isn’t a film supposed to entertain?

A lot of other critics and reviewers – OK almost all of them – are giving this movie a very, very low score. It’s currently sitting at a 3% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.2 on IMDb but the film opened in third place on Friday while only showing on half the number of screens as True Grit and Little Fockers. Once again it turns out that while it might be fun to totally trash a film during a review, it doesn’t always mean the critic or reviewer has their finger on the pulse of what audiences are interested in seeing.

Season of the Witch may not be worth seeing for full price at an evening show, but if you’ve already watched everything else available in theaters right now and you happen to catch the midday matinee, then you should have a pleasant enough time.

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‘V’ Season 2 Premiere Review & Discussion

Tonight, the Visitors return and we finally see what became of Anna’s burst of human emotion in the season 2 premiere of V.

When we last left the world, Erica had taken it upon herself (with the help of Joshua and Lisa) to do one thing you probably shouldn’t even do to a dictator alien that wears human skin – kill her children. Of course, that lizard-headed figure of fallacy deserved it – considering her intentions to take over the planet Earth.

That being said, not everyone made it out of the first season finale of V intact. Following Anna’s capture of Valerie and her unborn baby, Ryan had to watch as both his alien child was taken from him and his fiancé was murdered. Unfortunately things became even more complicated when Joshua revealed himself as being one of the Fifth Column. Even though Anna killed and then, er, unkilled Erica’s main alien contact, I’m sure that Joshua will never be the same freedom fighting reptile that he used to be.

As for Lisa and Tyler, these two love birds need to sit down and have a discussion. With Lisa forming an alliance with Erica to take down Anna, and Tyler becoming completely engulfed in Anna’s rhetoric, it’s only a matter of time before things take a turn for the worse.

With Red Sky unleashed on the planet, the world is on the brink of war and there is chaos all around. Ryan is being kept in isolation on the mothership since Anna wants to experiment on his hybrid baby. Seeking redemption for being used by Anna, Chad wants to fight with the Fifth Column. Erica goes on a journey to find a scientist who can give her the answers to what Red Sky is and it’s there she learns the horrifying secret of what the Visitors are planning to do.

With the revelation of “red sky” at the hands Anna’s burst of human emotion, the second season of V begins with a more angry tone. Gone is the general acceptance from the public that highlighted much of the first season. Something such as this is an interesting and welcoming move that certainly sets the feeling and pace as the series ventures into what might be its final season.

Of course, the aggressive focus is one that could not last, as it would prematurely progress the series story-arc beyond the central focus, so that element is quickly removed. While the proverbial “pep-talk” from Anna to cover her underlying intentions with “red sky” was a little simplistic, it felt well within the character’s obvious traits.

Unfortunately, this was not the only thing that felt simplistic. In the first season’s series finale, many of the main characters went through intense emotional hardship. When we visit them in the second season premiere, those elemental references are somewhat touched upon, but generally not given the focus that they needed.

Instead of dedicating a specific amount of time to highlight any of the personal struggles that Erica, Ryan, Joshua, Lisa, Tyler, Chad or Anna are currently dealing with or attempting to overcome, each character was given their own minute scene to provide some kind of personal perspective and halfhearted progression. After that, the focus returned to the general “bigger picture” storylines, with multiple characters in each scene and their personal struggles highlighted, but mostly hidden.

With that, one cannot mention “bigger picture” storylines without touching upon the highly anticipated reveal of what the adult Visitors look like beneath their skin covering (not to mention a Visitor skeleton). On both accounts, the long-awaited reveal was everything that fans of the series could hope for. They revealed more than enough to satisfy all those interested, all while providing the skeletal base to help fans completely picture the actual reptile-based Visitor in their mind.

At first glance, the use of a much younger actor to portray the lab-rat Tripp Donovan (who found the Visitor skeleton) seemed a bit odd compared to the general make-up of our familiar Fifth Column segment. Fortunately after a few interesting scenes and copious amounts of scientific dialogue with the word “phosphorus” in it, the character felt like one of the team.

Unfortunately, the continual references to this sage chemical element is still one of the weakest elements of the entire series. Despite the fact that the series completely explains the reasoning and purpose behind it, there’s still something odd about aliens relying solely on something that is part of household baking powder.

Despite rattling off numerous faults of the season 2 premiere of V, the episode was actually a great start to the second season. Sure, certain elements were missing, but that can happen with any series. What’s important is that what made it to the screen is not only entertaining and intriguing, but also provides the audience a bit of uneasy anticipation about what’s to come and a touch of excitement about actually seeing it when it does.

In that respect, V delivers completely… they just had best not do this every week. (Which they don’t. The subsequent episodes that I’ve seen are completely enjoyable and have few faults.)

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V airs Tuesdays @9pm, on ABC

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‘Southland’ Season 3 Premiere Review & Discussion

Southland returns to TNT for its third season premiere tonight. The show has made a name for itself as a hard, no-compromise cop drama that doesn’t shy away from brutal crimes and honest characters. In stark contrast to lighter fare on both network and cable TV, Southland aims to bring the audience on a ride-along with the beat cops and detectives of the LAPD, showing every tense moment and hard choice. (which may be why it made the jump to cable last year.) The season 3 premiere of Southland delivers on the points that made the previous two seasons excel: showing the monotony, frustration and occasional terror that police experience in a city rife with gang violence and apathy.

The synopsis, courtesy of TNT:

SOUTHLAND Season 3 Episode 1 “Let It Snow” – Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King) endures a stressful adjustment period with her new partner, Josie Ochoa (Jenny Gago), as they investigate the disappearance of an illegal immigrant. Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott), Lydia’s former partner, adjusts to a new desk job on the force. Meanwhile, Detectives Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) and Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro) look for the killer of two gangbangers and Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) catches the eye of an attractive woman during a traffic stop, while his partner, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), struggles with increasing pain.

The show treads familiar ground as the story follows the disconnected story lines. Those who tune in for the unflinching looks at street-level violence won’t be disappointed, though those looking for more development after season 2's finale may find the first new episode a little lacking.

Cooper’s continuing injury is the most prevalent theme of the beat cops’ plot, and his developing addiction to his pain meds becomes problematic. The show follows along as he and Sherman start a typical day of traffic control. When Cooper needs a moment to try and augment his medication supply, he assigns the junior officer a trivial traffic stop. Sherman pulls the speeding Porche over, but in a predictable move lets the attractive and showy female driver off with a warning. The scene feels forced and more than a little stereotypical – how many times have we seen a hot woman talk her way out of a ticket? – but serves to show Sherman’s own moral failings as he tries to convince Cooper to seek help.

From here the two are called to a shooting and we’re treated to an excellent action set piece. There isn’t a lot of set up; bad guys have automatic rifles, a cop is down and Cooper and Sherman are under fire. Southland manages to show off an impressive bit of screenwriting as the cops pull out some unconventional tricks to rescue the fallen officer and take down the suspects. The scene is tense and tight, with exactly the right amount of action and restraint, making for the best part of the episode by far. After the crescendo, the two accompany the downed man to the hospital where Cooper tries to convince his estranged wife to grant him more medications and Sherman (rather inexplicably) comes across the woman in the Porche again.

Detective Adams remains the upright and uncompromising investigator, but her new partner puts her off balance. Southland newcomer Jenny Gago delivers a sympathetic and believable performance as detective Ochoa. The two are a microcosm of the tense relationship between Latinos and African-Americans in the city, a contrast that the show isn’t shy about showing off as the pair investigate the disappearance of an illegal immigrant who is raped and murdered at her workplace. There’s an excellent scene as the two are driving to a suspect’s home that tells you everything you need to know about the new detective in a few short moments. The dialogue in this exchange shines. The animosity between the two is palpable while being subtle, even as their contrasting skills allow them to close in on the suspect. The women’s storyline proves to be the most compelling of the episode, as both are dealing with stressful home life while following the viscous deeds of their quarry.

The third sub-plot, following detectives Hatosy and Moretta, is dry and relatively uninteresting. Two gang members found murdered under a bridge are found to have raped the daughter of another powerful gang member. Aside from some tense moments while apprehending the suspect, this storyline left a lot of potential on the editing room floor. There’s no sympathy for the murder victims, there’s no sympathy for the violated girl – everything here is disappointingly procedural. Even the normally solid cinematography seems to take a dive, as several shots cross the line from cinema verite to downright bad camerawork. All in all, this one should have bee nleft alone to give the audience more time with the other two teams.

It’s worth noting that series regulars Arija Bareikis and Tom Everett Scott barely make an appearance in the premiere. They aren’t really missed; there’s enough solid action and dialogue going on that their absence goes largely unnoticed. But this could be an indication that there characters will be taking a backseat this season. If that means more screen time for Cooper and Ochoa, the third season is shaping up to be a memorable one.

All in all, “Let it Snow” is a solid return for Southland. It delivers on the points that make it a favorite for those who want more gritty realism than the likes of Law and Order can provide. Excellent pacing and storytelling allow the show to clip along, with only a couple of sore spots. The police drama isn’t always completely accurate, but seems to nail the feel of LAPD life down pat. Characters develop on a slow burn that doesn’t get in the way of the action. If this episode is an indication of things to come, viewers will be delighted with the new season.

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‘Season of the Witch’ & ‘The Rite’ TV Spots

Witches, demons, Nicolas Cage, oh my! Horror is the name of the game this week as Mr. Cage’s long-delayed Season of the Witch finally hits theaters. Anthony Hopkins will round out the month’s collection of horror (and horrible) movies by appearing in the exorcism tale, The Rite.

Several TV spots have been released for both films, which feature (among other things) milky-eyed monsters and humans, rat-eating corpses, women who spit out nails, and men looking on in concern at this highly unorthodox behavior.

Season of the Witch stars Cage as Behmen, a Crusader who must transport a mysterious girl (Claire Foy) to a monastery where she will have her supposed sorceress powers removed -- assuming that she is a witch and not something far more dangerous (*dramatic clap of thunder*). Those who have already watched either the most recent trailer and/or clips from Season of the Witch likely understand why this cheesy supernatural thriller is being sprung on moviegoers at the beginning of January.

Cage is generally entertaining to watch, even when he’s not wearing a floppy wig while doing battle with winged creatures and girls seemingly possessed by dark, sinister forces. Season of the Witch looks pretty silly, what with its fake-looking CGI wolves and standard slo-mo battle sequences, but it could make for a fun if fleeting few hours at the cinema this weekend.

Check out the Season of the Witch TV spots below and see what you think (kudos if you don’t tire of hearing Ron Pearlman ask “What madness is this?” by the end):

Colin O’Donaghue stars as seminary student Michael Kovak in 1408 director Mikael Hafstrom’s upcoming exorcism thriller, The Rite. Kovak is a skeptic forced to attend exorcism school at the Vatican, where he encounters the eccentric Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), a man perhaps a bit too well versed in waging battle with the devil’s minions.

Neither the first theatrical preview or the second trailer for The Rite made it look like anything but a run of the mill exorcism story, complete with clichés that include seemingly possessed young women, a priest literally battling for his soul, and dramatic cuts/flashes of people with unnatural eye colors. The film itself might offer something more, but we have strong doubts about that.

Watch TV spots for The Rite below:

Season of the Witch arrives in theaters this Friday, January 7th.

The Rite hits theaters in the U.S. on January 28th, 2011.

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‘Doctor Who’ Season 6 Trailer

Not only was this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, a fun and surprisingly kinetic episode -- it also ended with an intriguing sneak peek at the show’s upcoming sixth season.

For those of you who were unable to catch it, don’t get your suspenders in a twist --  the minute-long trailer has just debuted online courtesy of BBC America. So now you can get your first glimpse of old friends, new foes, and The Doctor’s latest fashion accessory (personally, I prefer the fez).

In a somewhat unusual move, the new season of Doctor Who will be split it into two parts. The first six episodes begin airing this spring and will culminate with a mid-season finale (presumably a cliffhanger) before picking up again in the fall. Since the show is still currently in production, the majority of the footage featured in the trailer (such as The Doctor’s inaugural trip to America) is likely from the earlier half of the season.

Fasten your bow ties and check out it out below:

It’s hardly a surprise to see that the River Song character will be prominently featured again. Evidently, season six will finally clue fans in on her connection to The Doctor and in my opinion it’s not a moment too soon. The ambiguity of their relationship was great fun initially, but I felt that the whole thing was getting a bit tiresome by the end of last season.

There have been a few other missteps along the way (like the Crayola-colored Daleks), but by and large I think showrunner Steven Moffat has done a pretty incredible job since he inherited Doctor Who. I remain impressed with previous showrunner Russell T. Davies’ ability to craft a multi-season arc, but I have to say I much prefer Moffat’s writing and overall approach.

While there haven’t been too many callbacks to the Davies era, it’s nice to see the Ood pop up in the trailer. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of context provided for their appearance or for anything else that we’re seeing in the preview, but this definitely teases at a refreshingly diverse and suitably epic season.

Matt Smith is probably my favorite actor to play The Doctor since the show’s resurrection in 2005 and I think Amelia Pond (Karen Gillan) is one of his better companions. I can’t wait to see what sort of trouble they get into this season.

As stated, season six of Doctor Who will premiere in spring 2011.

Source: BBC America.

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‘Boardwalk Empire’ Season 1 Finale Earns Strong Ratings

Stroll down to the speakeasy and pop open the champagne, the freshman season of Boardwalk Empire is a success!

The first season finale of HBO’s hit series had 3.3 million viewers Sunday night, and another 900,000 tuned in for the encore showing. According to HBO, each episode has averaged 10.5 million views across live, on-demand and recorded audiences. This makes Boardwalk Empire their second-most popular series behind True Blood, and the best opening season for an HBO show since Six Feet Under.

Some viewers have criticized the show’s relatively slow pace in its opening episodes (a ‘flaw’ shared by AMC’s successful Mad Men), but the show has picked up quickly in the last few episodes and delivered a satisfying conclusion. Fans will be happy to know that Boardwalk Empire has been renewed for a second season, and barring a catastrophic drop in viewership, a few more years of prohibition-era drama seems like a certainty.

Like The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire will take its time coming back: new episodes aren’t expected until the fall. The pilot drew the highest viewership of the season, due in no small part to the promotion of Martin Scorsese’s involvement. It has been noted that Scorsese may be directing future episodes, time permitting.

The show’s mix of real and fictional gangsters, politicians and G-men is a potent one. Combined with typically top-notch period piece production design and casting from HBO, (not to mention a healthy advertising campaign) it’s no wonder that Boardwalk Empire has caught on so quickly. The show’s hair-trigger tension and quasi-historical Atlantic City setting make it compelling television – you’d be hard-pressed to find anything like it on TV, now or in the last ten years. The episodes are lighter on action than the trailers would indicate, an observation that has irked some viewers.

Steve Buschemi, who is used to small supporting roles in big pictures, has drawn favorable reviews for his character “Nucky” Thompson. Expectations for Stephen Graham’s portrayal of a young Al Capone are high, especially considering his other gangster roles in Public Enemies and Snatch. If the show writers are accurate (and smart) they’ll allow the iconic gangster to slowly gain underworld momentum over several seasons.

Boardwalk Empire season 2 will premiere fall 2011, on HBO

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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‘Fringe’ Season 3 ‘Entrada’ Trailer is Movie-Style Epic

Fringe has been struggling in the ratings during it’s third season. The show started out strong with over 9 million viewers tuning in for the pilot and a good portion of season 1, while season 2 fell into 7-6 million range, and recent reports mark the show below 5 million viewers each week. It’s little surprise then that Fox is moving the series to the dreaded Friday night “death slot” starting at the end of January.

Still, despite the bumps in the road I personally find Fringe to be even better than ever in season 3. Instead of continuing to tease us about alternate dimensions and an epic overarching storyline, the Fringe pushed boldly ahead, splitting the season into two parallel storylines running across two parallel dimensions. And who says sci-fi TV is running out of good ideas?

Of course, parallel storylines must intersect at some juncture (I hear they’re like dimensions, that way), and Fringe season 3 is going to literally make worlds collide this Thursday in an episode titled “Entrada”.

The premise is simple: Peter Bishop (boy from the alternate world, now living in our dimension) has discovered that the agent Olivia Dunham he’s been bedding with recently is actually the Dunham from his home alterno-world, sent to our world on for reasons of espionage and sabotage.

Meanwhile, the Dunham from our world, who got trapped on alterno-world and brainwashed into thinking she is alterno-Dunham has regained her memory and figured out how travel back and forth between dimensions. But Walternate (the alterno version of Walter Bishop, Peter’s dad…sort of) has discovered that our Dunham no longer thinks she’s alterno-Dunham and he is taking steps to have her eliminated.

Alterno-Dunham isn't going down without a fight.

OK… so maybe this is not so simple after all…

Bottom line: there is going to be some serious good twin/evil twin drama going down on Fringe this week -- drama so epic, in fact, that Fox has sprung for this movie-style trailer to showcase it:

Despite the titillating nature of the trailer, from what I can see, “Entrada” will be more of a stage-setter for the real payoff, rather than being the payoff itself. It would make sense that Fox would market the show hard in the lead-up to the big showdown: If they hook enough viewers in the next few weeks, Fringe could have a nice soft landing into its new Friday night time slot. And that’s something I think most of us sci-fi TV fans would like to see happen.

Catch Fringe‘s latest episode, “Entrada” this Thursday @9pm on Fox

Source: Fox

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‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman Talks End of Season 1

‘The Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman talks about the phenomenon of his comic-turned-TV series and what fans can expect from the end of season 1.

Robert Kirkman has had a very good year. The creator of The Walking Dead comic book series has seen his creation gain mainstream exposure, be converted into a highly successful TV series on AMC, and most certainly watched it sell more trade paperback and graphic novel collections than he probably dared to dream.

Kirkman recently spoke to EW about The Walking Dead phenomenon, and what fans can expect from the end of the TV series’ first season.

If you’ve been keeping up with The Walking Dead TV show then you already know that this coming Sunday, December 5th, will (sadly) mark the finale of the show’s six-episode inaugural season. From previous reports we know that The Walking Dead season two has been greenlit…but won’t premiere on the airwaves until Fall of 2011.

However, Kirkman is speaking up, assuring fans that before we have to endure a grueling wait to see the further adventures of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his small band of zombie apocalypse survivors, there’s still some meaty stuff (no pun) left to cover in season 1:

Robert Kirkman: Well, if you’ve been watching the show, you’ll know there’s a lot going on between Rick and Shane (Jon Bernthal) and Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies). I think if you’re interested to see how that love triangle is going to progress, you might want to make sure you tune in for the last episode of this season. So that’s good. And then I think someone takes a shower.

And yes, fellas, that “someone” in the shower will be a lady.

Kirkman also discussed the drama that unfolded in last night’s penultimate season one episode, “Wildfire”, including the final act when Rick and the other survivors found some unlikely salvation at the CDC facility in Atlanta:

RK: It occurred to me that, if this were to happen to real people, then real people wouldn’t be concerned with why it’s happening and how to fix it. They would just be concerned with finding food and surviving from day to day. But Frank Darabont said, “We’re in Atlanta and the CDC is based in Atlanta. Why wouldn’t they at least pop by?” And I said, “Huh?” Because I don’t know where the hell the CDC is stationed. I don’t watch the news a lot. I mean, sometimes. But they’re not talking about the CDC mostly. It’s always about, you know, who Britney Spears wrecked her car into. But when Frank brought it up, I said it was a really good idea. I like that we are diverging from the comic book here and there. For anyone that that terrifies, all I would say is, “We’re always going back onto the path.” Frank has always maintained that the comic book is a path but we’re not stuck on it. If a story idea comes up, we’ll leave the path for an episode or two, but we’ll always come back to it. I’m sure there are going to be some people out there that are like, “The CDC? What the heck? This isn’t in my comic book. This is no good!” And all I would say to those people is, “Calm down.”

You can read more of the interview with Kirkman – in which he discusses the tragic fate of Amy (Emma Bell), the possible return of Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) and where The Walking Dead TV show diverges from the comic book – by going HERE.

Above you can see the upcoming EW cover which proclaims that The Walking Dead is “The Best New Show on TV.” I don’t want to brag (ok, maybe I do) but I stated in many of my posts at the start of the Fall 2010 TV season that this show and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire were going to be the best freshman series to debut this year. And, as both shows finish out their first seasons in the next week, I wholeheartedly stand by that claim. Just call me the Mrs. Cleo of your DVR.

Catch The Walking Dead season one finale this Sunday @ 10 pm on AMC.

Source: EW

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‘True Blood’ Season 4 Casting Update: A Witch, Cage Fighter, & Shapeshifter

With one week before production begins on True Blood season 4, actresses Janina Gavankar, Alexandra Breckenridge and Vedette Lim have joined the familiar Bon Temps family.

Additionally, Jessica Tuck, who plays American Vampire League spokeswoman Nans Flanagan, has been bumped up to a series regular for this season. Although, no information has been provided as to what Tuck’s newly boosted role will entail.

Kicking off the flurry of new casting for the HBO hit series is former star of The L Word Janina Gavankar. Gavankar will play Luna, an extremely attractive school teacher who also happens to be a shapeshifter. The character of Luna will first maker her appearance at an informal gathering of shapeshifters. No word yet on whether or not Sam will also be in attendance. Although, after where we left him in the season 3 finale, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Alexandra Breckenridge, who is best known for her roles on FX’s Dirt and the struggling CW series Life Unexpected, will play the character of Daisy. While not much is revealed about her character, we know that she will be an integral member of a Wicca group that was founded by Marnie. As we previously reported, Marnie will be played by Harry Potter alum Fiona Shaw and is described as a depressed and incompetent local medium/palm reader who becomes possessed by the spirit of a powerful witch.

Rounding out the new character additions is former As The World Turns actress Vedette Lim, who will play the fierce cage fighter Naomi. Like Sam’s younger brother Tommy, Naomi participates in underground fights for money. Although, unlike Tommy, she won’t have to turn into a dog before each match.

While the addition of new cast members to a series can provide some refreshing stories and intriguing character interactions, one has to worry when it comes to True Blood. Out of all three seasons, last year’s was easily the worst. Something that many chalk up to having too many story-arcs occurring simultaneously, which resulted in many characters and story lines having to share the same 52 minute episode.

On top of that, one can’t forget the conclusion-less season 3 finale. When True Blood returns for season 4, they’ll not only have to somehow wrap up all the lingering storylines, but also introduce these new characters. Unfortunately, many have felt that True Blood is barely keeping its proverbial head above the water as it is – in terms of delivering a satisfying story with fully realized characters.

If the past has shown us anything, it’s that Alan Ball and company already had a hard enough time juggling the large cast that they put together for season 3. Could the addition of these three characters (on top of the four already announced) serve to overwhelm the already struggling storylines and inevitably sink this juggernaut series?

If it does, there’s always the True Blood movie to look forward to.

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True Blood season 4 will premiere June, 2011, on HBO

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Source: Deadline

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‘Smallville’ Season 10 ‘Luthor’ Preview: Lionel Is Back, Clark Is A Murderer!

Last week on Smallville, not only did we witness Colonel Slade Wilson become Deathstroke, but Lois Lane is now even closer to Clark’s extracurricular activities as the Blur ever since she has been welcomed into Watchtower. The only way to top that surprising turn of events would be to bring back one of the Luthors.

Fortunately, that’s exactly what they’re going to do!

When it was previously announced that John Glover would be reprising his role as Lionel Luthor, the only things fans wanted to know was when and how. Considering Lionel Luthor was killed at the hands of Lex, nobody could figure out how they would bring the iconic Luthor (and Jor-El’s vessel) back from the grave.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone knew that they’d find a way to bring Lionel back, but nobody knew what that specific means might be. After the season 10 premiere and the introduction of Lex clones, the notion that there could possibly be some Lionel clones out there wouldn’t exactly be off base, but it would most certainty be out of character for the stoic figure.

With the release of this week’s episode description, we find out both how and why Lionel Luthor is returning. In typical Smallville fashion, it involves a mysterious Kryptonian artifact – only this time, the artifact transports Clark into an alternate universe where it was Lionel that rescued Clark from the field when he was a child, not Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Of course, a simple switch must always have a complicated result. In this instance, Clark is no longer the nice guy farm boy that everyone has grown to love. Instead, his bizarre adoption leads to Clark Luthor becoming a murderer. And, as Clark Kent has taken the place of Clark Luthor in this alternate universe, Clark Luthor has replaced Clark Kent in the real world.

As much of this episode surrounds Lionel Luthor and this mysterious Kryptonian article, it appears that this will put the ongoing Darkseid storyline on hold. While I’m sure this episode is going to be amazing (how can it not with John Glover), I’m never a fan of filler storylines that delay the main seasonal arch.

Although, I also said the same thing about “Isis” and then we saw what romantic revelation came from that.

Tess (Cassidy Freeman) acquires a Kryptonian box that once belonged to Lionel Luthor (John Glover). When Clark (Tom Welling) accidentally activates the box, he’s transported to a parallel universe where Lionel found Clark in the cornfields instead of the Kents. In this universe, Clark Luthor is a murderer and Lois (Erica Durance) is engaged to Oliver (Justin Hartley) and both of them hate Clark. Clark must be careful not to tip off Lionel that he’s not his son while trying to figure out how to get back to Earth where the monster Clark Luthor was transported in his place. Executive producer Kelly Souders directed the episode written by Bryan Q. Miller.

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Smallville airs Fridays @8pm, on The CW

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