I know a lot of people may still be feeling a little betrayed after Lost’s finale. They may be thinking they’ll never watch anything with J.J. Abrams‘ name on it ever again. I on the other hand didn’t have a problem with the last season of Lost or the ending. I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Sure there were a few things that I wish they had done differently, but I had my closure.
So it’s no surprise that I’m pretty excited for his newest show titled Alcatraz, which stars not only the excellent Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), but also Jorge Garcia of Lost fame. (He played the fat guy – Hugo Reyes, remember?) It seems like that whole mystery thing is going on again, but whether or not it’s the same caliber as Lost I can’t say. I’m all for mystery and huge plot reveals, but I hope they don’t go seasons long like Lost did. I’m sure Abrams and the other people working on the show realize that might alienate a lot of viewers this time around, so I’m sure they’ll veer away from that. Anyways, check out the preview below, it looks pretty cool.
It would seem Abrams has some sort of time travel/alternate dimension fascination going on (Star Trek/Fringe/Lost), which is cool because I do too. With so many shows canceled, and about two dozen new ones coming on multiple channels, nothing else really catches my eye besides Terra Nova, Falling Skies and this, so hopefully it’s at least decent. Any Lost fans or haters out there have an opinion on this? Will you watch it or pass on it? Sound off below!
Just when I thought Camelot couldn’t get any worse…. it didn’t. Which is good because if this episode had been as terrible as the last one I’d have stopped watching completely. Lord knows it’s much classier neighbor, A Game of Thrones, comes on two nights after and is better in every aspect.
As I said above, the show wasn’t any worse. I would say it even got a little better with some action and a plot development that could prove interesting in the upcoming episode or two. The story starts with Morgan throwing a feast in honor of her brother Arthur to promote friendship and an alliance. That means an open invitation to everyone including Arthur, Merlin, Kay, Leontes, Guinevere, Gawain and Igraine. Of course Morgan has some sort of scheme behind the whole thing. Would you expect anything less?
Who would have thought there would ever be a reboot to the Flintstones franchise? Apparently Seth MacFarlane did and it is now his quest to bring the town of Bedrock back into our lives. No signs of whether this means a new TV show or new movies, but I shudder to think of there ever being another live action movie.
Tim Allen, Michigan native and admitted Lions fan has a new show coming out. It was listed among the successes being picked up by ABC for the upcoming season and will be called Last Man Standing. I bring this up though not because Allen grew up in Metro Detroit, or cause I enjoyed Home Improvement as a kid, but because of the show’s description. This is from EW:
Tim Allen’s return to primetime is a go: ABC ordered a new comedy that will star the Home Improvement star as a traditional manly-man in a progressive world. The laugher also will feature Nancy Travis, who will play Allen’s “smart and loving wife who doesn’t miss much.” Hector Elizondo will serve as Allen’s boss Ed.
“A traditional manly-man in a progressive world” That is what peaked my interest. As I’ve talked about before, there is a shortage of real modern day men left on television. We are for the most part given one of two men. First, a man who is portrayed as a buffoon, shown to be on the same intellectual level of his kids, and cowers before his all-knowing wife. Perfect example would be Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) on Modern Family.
Secondly we get a man who is such an elite bad-ass that he is completely shut off from the world around and therefore becomes unrelatable. Best example here may be Jack Bauer. Now don’t get me wrong, 24 is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I love Modern Family. But can you imagine grabbing a beer with Jack? What would you talk about? Sports? Movies? Terrorist Attacks? Perhaps how inept his daughter is? And what about Phil? Could you look at Phil and not lose respect for him entirely once you saw how easily he is pushed around by his own kids?
“So Jack, how about them Lakers?”
Those are the 2 archetypes we are most commonly given now, but they aren’t the only ones. A 3rd type, and one that is appearing more often, is the old-school, fatherly caveman. Sticking with Modern Family you could look at Ed O’Neill‘s ‘Jay Pritchett’, but an even better even better example Zeke Braverman (Craig T. Nelson) on Parenthood. Here are the guys that remind me of my dad. They have an old school ideal, but it is almost always displayed in negative light. Their way is considered ‘archaic’ and the world has changed around them. All the problems of the next generation are heaped on them as they get blamed for any shortcomings since.
There is at least one show though that has a lead who is a somewhat believable beacon of modern masculinity – and that show is Justified. The main character, Raylan Givens is a lawman, but unlike Jack Bauer he is not some unstoppable killing machine, he actually loses fights more that once. Unlike Phil Dunphy however, he commands respect for not only his actions, but his character as well. He has the old school attitude of a Zeke Braverman, but without the constant crutch of being always questioned and looked down upon. Raylan Givens is like a modern-day Will Kane and he is ever the rarity.
It’s funny to think that when I was a kid, watching Roseanne, and seeing John Goodman‘s ‘Dan Conner’ character, that I was watching a dying breed. This was a TV Dad who actually lost his shit and yelled at his kids sometimes. He liked football, played poker, and worked on his motorcycle. He was a good father and a good man, but did it all without paying the cost of giving up what made him a man. He was a relatable everyman and even that is something not often seen anymore.
So that brings us back to Tim Allen. As masculinity is so often looked down upon now in a public eye, where people want you to talk about your feelings and get in touch with your feminine side, it’ll be interesting to see the direction this show takes. And I think in private, most woman would still prefer overly masculine man to an overly sensitive one, that just not how it’s perceived in modern media. So where will ABC will take this new show. It’s a comedy obviously, but will they allow Allen to buck back against progressive society, or will he simply be made the butt of every joke as the television medium once again tries to tell us men need to evolve?
Tonight’s episode I thought really picked up the pace from last week. We are now 8 days into the investigation of Rosie’s murder. Linden still hasn’t left Seattle and when we last saw our Detectives they had just been ordered to the floor by and FBI Tactical Unit…
As always, the show is broken into 3 interwoven chapters, all running concurrent, each focusing one of three groups: The Detectives, the Larsens, or the Richmond campaign.
This episode opens with Holder and Linden are in handcuffs and we get to see some of the room they broke into. Linden noticed a pink sweatshirt and makes clear that she not only believes a girl was held captive in this room, but that Rosie was that girl. The Feds are investigating terrorist activity and believe that Linden and Holder have just jeopardized their case. It doesn’t help that crime scene photos have somehow been leaked to the press, and Linden suspects Holder is behind it.
The FBI sequesters all of the Police files on the Larsen case and we learn it was Linden’s son who betrayed her by sharing crime scene photos with his friends, which obviously then made way to the press. Sarah Linden is then basically told to leave town by her boss, as it would be ‘best for everyone’. Very High Noon. For those unfamiliar with the Gary Cooper classic, it’s about a lawman who hands in his badge in hopes of leaving town and moving on towards a peaceful retirement with his new spouse. On the day he is to leave, evil returns to town only to draw him back in to finish what he started without the backing of the town, most of whom think trouble could just be avoided all together if he just left. Quite a humbling experience. Sound familiar?
This episode also finally shows us who Holder is, a repentant man who has made mistakes and is now attempting amends. This is the episode where Holder is really becomes more than a set piece, and can finally be accepted by not only Sarah Linden, but the audience as well. Linden’s brutal humbling brings her to see Holder in a new light and they finally seem to be on the same page moving forward.
The Richmond campaign seems to be continuing it’s downward spiral as Darren himself is attending the parole hearing for the woman who killed his wife. While there is has to contemplate weither or not to release some damning info on Mayor Adams and tarnish his moral standing. The emotion of the parole hearing drives him to play dirty and news comes out that the Mayor has been supposedly keeping a mistress/former intern. If the cops are our principal point of view, and the politicians our the hierarchy, than the Larsens must be the common man perspective.
A lot of what happens in the Larsen household seems small scale compared the war for the Mayoral title or the investigation into the killing, but it reminds us of the stakes for which the character’s actions play into. The Larsen family seems to be falling apart. In the week plus since their daughter’s body was found life seems to be moving at a crawl. Mitch’s condition is not helped when she sees photos of her dead daughter on the news, which leads to some careless parenting. Stan knows that a change is needed and starts to pack up Rosie’s room. This is where we really see the seam split. Mitch and Stan both blame the other for what happened and you can already see a major strain on a marriage, that just a week earlier seemed still full of passion.
Overall I really liked this episode. For the first time it solidified the Detectives as a team, proved Darren a fighter, and gave a valuable look into the break down of a family. Oh, and did I mention it ended with a phone call that put our old friend Bennett firmly back a top the suspect list? This show has found its flow and seems to really be moving now.
After such a cliffhanger last week I’m sure everyone is just eager as hell to get into this week’s episode. Once more, the opening title showed us a new place the show will be visiting: The Eyrie, which is the home to Catelyn Stark’s sister and John Arryn’s widow Lysa Arryn. I think everyone will get a kick out of her.
The episode starts out with the tournament of the King’s Hand still proceeding. Ned gets to see the body of Ser Hugh, musing as to how he was so lucky to face down the Mountain. The joust continues in the next scene where get to see a lot more of Ser Gregor and are introduced to Loras Tyrell “The Knight of Flowers” who is a bit of a pretty boy. The joust goes well, but not for Gregor again, as he is unseated by Tyrell. Gregor definitely knows that Tyrell’s mare was in heat and caused his stallion to be a little skittish. But before he takes out his frustrations on Ser Loras, he gives his horse a final reminder of keeping in line… by chopping it’s head off!
Picture courtesy of Warming Glow
His attack on Loras falls short as the Hound and brother to Gregor steps in to stop in. This is more due to his hatred of Gregor than any goodwill to the Tyrells.
Grizzly Bomb 
