FOX Upfront Part II - Almost Human

How could we survive the year 2013 without a new TV series produced by J.J. Abrams? Luckily we don't have to find out. After this year's finale of "Fringe" his new sci-fi crime series "Almost Human" is set in 2048 and involves John Konnex (Karl Urban, "Star Trek"), a cop that is returning to work after a traumatizing incident where his partner was seriously injured (and most likely killed). He is emotionally unstable and refuses to partner with an android, which became a requirement at the LAPD in the 2 years he was gone. After he destroyed his first MX, he teams up with Dorian (Michael Ealy), an outdated model with several quirks and bugs that was designed to feel human emotions (what we can only suspect was eventually not a desirable feature for a robot).

I really miss Fringe and this trailer looks quite promising. I love imaginative future tech and the characters seem to be pretty well defined, too, so I'm looking forward to this one.

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FOX Upfront Part I - Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow is promising new series that will attract viewers that enjoy a little mystery and fantasy. We know the main story arc already - either from the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" or (more likely) the 1999 movie adaptation of the same name. So it's again Ichabod Crane vs the Headless Horseman. The twist (as seen many times within the last years): It's a contemporary retelling that is set in the Sleepy Hollow of the present. The show will premiere on September 16th, 2013 on FOX.

Interestingly, up until this point, the series is not yet in production. Filming will begin in July 2013 ^[1]. This means that everything that we see in the upfront trailer is taken from the pilot episode:

Sleepy Hollow is co-created by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (famous for the "Star Trek" and "Transformers" franchises). Tom Mison stars as Ichabod Crane, who teams up with a local police officer (Nicole Beharie). The rest of the cast includes Orlando Jones, Katia Winter and John Cho (Star Trek).

~News~ Elementary: Rhys Ifans as Mycroft Holmes

Rhys Ifans was confirmed to play Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes in the 2nd Season of Elementary, which will premiere on Sept 26th on CBS. The welsh actor is best known for his appearances in movies such as “Notting Hill”, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 1” and has starred most recently in “The Amazing Spider-Man”. 

According to CBS Mycroft Holmes will be a recurring character in the series. The first episode of the 2nd season will be the first to be filmed at original locations in England and deals with Sherlock’s return to London to work on an old case. Sherlock will be living with Mycroft and Joan in the well-known apartment at 221B Baker Street.

Introducing: Bates Motel (A&E) - Questionnaire

"Bates Motel" is a contemporary prequel to Hitchcocks "Psycho" from 1960. 

What's it about? We witness how the psyche of a 17-year old Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore - the kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) unravels throughout his teenage years. On the way the show pulls you into the twisted and macabre world of Norman and his mother Norma, after they bought the infamous motel and try to start over in new town with many problems of its own.

Genre?	Drama, Thriller, Suspense
Length?	40-47 min
Episodes?	10
Main Actors?	Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot,  Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz
Aired?	March 18, 2013
Renewed?	Yes. Season 2 in 2014.
Story?	Quite linear. Easy to follow. 6.5 (Scale 1 to 10).
When should I watch it?	If you don't mind, that you already know how the overall story will end. If you enjoy to watch how certain events can alter your persona. If you don't mind psycho kids. ;)
Recommended?	Very. There's not as much potential for future storylines as in Orphan Black, but I guess the characters are interesting enough to follow them for another season.

Introducing: Orphan Black (BBC) - Questionnaire

So, three days ago I got into a new show called "Orphan Black". 

What's it about? It's a story that focuses on a Sarah Manning, a grifter who assumes the identity of Elizabeth Childs, a police officer that committed suicide. During the first episodes we learn that Sarah is one of at least 8 clones raised apart from each other.

Genre?	Science Fiction
Length?	43 min
Episodes?	10
Main Actors?	Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce, Jordan Gavaris, Kevin Hanchard, Michael Mando, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Aired?	March 30, 2013
Renewed?	Yes. Season 2 in 2014.
Story?	Strong, but not overwhelming. Easy to follow. Solid 7 (Scale 1 to 10).
When should I watch it?	If you enjoy strong female leads, gay best friends, hot guys (Dylan Bruce) and if you don't mind a little (!) science. Don't watch if you don't like Tatiana Maslany, duh.
Recommended?	Absolutely. Also, after the first season there are enough interesting questions open for a promising second season.

True Blood S01E01 "Who are you, really?" Recap

Caution.

First question: Did I like it? 

Well, the first half was actually kind of terrible, to be honest. The second half was better, though I'm not quite sure if this is due to better quality or the champagne that I had to drink to get through the first minutes.

Within the first minutes of the show, we loose the first main character, Luna. I'd love to say I'll miss her, but I probably won't. She was always a little annoying to me and didn't bring much into the show. To be completely fair, I think Ball didn't handle very well the werewolf storyline. Alcide is okay, but overall we have either characters that nobody cares for or that are plain dislikable. Maybe her little daughter in combination with her guardian-to-be Sam will build a bridge between this part of the show and the one that circles around Sookie.

Apart from that, the first 10 minutes of the episode are filled with painfully bad special effects and make-up and the action doesn't feel agitating at all. It's actually so bad I started to regret spending my time watching this episode. I don't care for Billith, don't care for Jason. Actually, Jason... What were they thinking? He is just annoying. I don't feel him at all. I don't feel his reasoning or his pain. He's always been like a stupid teen, but somehow he was charming or you could relate to him in some way. He's not even that anymore - he's just plain dumb. Not even his conversation with Warlow (Niall?) could change that for me. IMO it would've been much better to introduce Warlow through another character of the show, but not Jason.

Coming to yet another character, that I didn't care about: I never was very interested in Eric's sister and Pam's weeping and wailing doesn't really help much with that. Where is the strong Pam that we saw in the first seasons of the show and that would've never feel intimidated by another female she just met? What's the purpose of Nora anyways (maybe I'm just annoyed, because I didn't want Eric to jump from Sookie right next to his sister)? Anyways, thanks to Pam for the best line of the episode: "I hate the beach. Fish piss and sand in your cooch." 

Okay, after so much hate, I also want to appreciate the good things about this episode. The strongest character of this episode for me was Jessica. I really understood her. I could feel her pain. Her loss. Her fear. Her reasoning. (Again: contrast to Jason). She had the best scenes - first her talk with Sookie, then her conversation with Bill after she chose him over the other vampires. 

As for Bill. I think he delivered quite well and I'm quite intrigued what will become of him, though I'm not really a fan of religion and its shortcomings. 

I liked, when Sookie staked Bill. Not because I want to get rid of him, but it finally creates some real tension between characters. It was also put into perspective within the following minutes when we watch her rescinding Eric's invitation. By that, you clearly see her being sick of all the vampire sh*t (and not just Bills transformation) and her need to get back to "normal" (whatever that means for her as a half-fairy). The same scenes include Eric showing his affections (indirectly) for Sookie, which might or might not be just for the fangirls at home to keep them on the hooks. (Yeah, I feel betrayed by Charlaine Harris' end of the book series' and I'm suspicious.)

What might be interesting plot-wise in the following episodes: Warlow being Lillith progeny has some potential. Also, the buy-in of Louisiana governor Burrell into the TrueBlood factories and the relationship between Bill and Jessica. In contrast, not interesting for me at all are the werewolves, which are just bat-shit crazy and not connected to the vampire story-line at all and the Jason/Sookie relationship.

Oh yeah, and I won't ever comment on Andy Bellefleur. I just couldn't care less.

On a scale from 1 to 10? Probably a 5 for me (given that it was the season's premiere).

Dexter Season 8 Trailer Review

After my rather reluctant review of the "True Blood" Season 6 Trailer, it's time for a more wholehearted review of Dexter's Season 8 Trailer, which will premier on June 30, 2013. 

Season 8 is going to be the last season of Dexter and though it feels to my like  something very special going to end, it's definitely the right time. But, first things first:

After Debra shot LaGuerta in the final minutes of the last season, the story will pick up a few month after the events.

We see a very desperate and forlorn Deb struggling with her decision to shoot LaGuerta instead of her brother - taking drugs and getting involved with clearly what can only be the wrong people are certainly only the most severe signs of her own downfall. "You made me compromise everything about myself that I care about." and "I shot the wrong person in that trailer" says it all.

Especially the striking contrast between her telling him that she is in love with him last season and now saying that her life is none of his business and that she hates him for the choice she made because of her feelings for him, creates an intriguing suspense that I'm very eager to explore.

For me Debra's journey will be the driving force of the last season, since I expect Dexter to be the way he's always been, trying to distract himself and fix his (emotional?) problems by "killing the bad guys". In the end his existence hangs by a thread and it's Deb's actions that will decide for the better or the worse. Which by itself is an interesting aspect. What's the right ending for a series like Dexter? What do we want? Letting him live and go on while he himself says that psychopaths (like him) "have no empathy", what clearly can't be something that we want in our average human being? 

So, this season's antagonist will be Dr. Evelyn Vogel, a Neuropsychiatrist... Well, I don't see her alone being of particular importance, but again as another influence on the whole Dexter / Debra dynamic and relationship. 

Another thing I like about the trailer is the reference to Dexter's main opponents - though I did not really get why we ended with Trinity (Season 4) dismissing Jordan Chase, the Doomsday Killers and Hannah McKay. Feel's like a major hint that we had reached the climax of evil at that season. 

After watching the trailer, everything hints at a grave ending (as in death or imprisonment) for Dexter and the falling Orchid seems to be a marvelous analogy for this. However, it's a trailer and they are often meant to be misleading for the viewers.

One way or the other, I'm looking forward to the final season of Dexter and I am open for whatever ending they have in mind. Also, I am sure that Jennifer Carpenter's performance alone will be a treat.

True Blood Season 6 Trailer Review

I know, it's out for a while now, but I guess as one of HBO's most-watched TV shows, it deserves a proper review. The sixth season of True Blood is set to premiere on June 16, 2013. Alan Ball gave the reigns to Mark Hudis, who joined the writing staff at the beginning of the fourth season. The main question which is supposedly answered is: "Who is Warlow?" 

We start right where we left off with Bill as a god-like vampire-whatnot fondly called Billith (not sure if this is supposed to be an official name - sounds to me like fangirls merging their desired HEA couples' names). Everyone else is basically on the run and vampire's are hunted down at least in Louisiana. As foreshadowed and introduced in season 5 Jason's gonna show quite openly his hatred against vampires. My guess is that this is also going to be one of the more important storylines. Otherwise the trailer doesn't give away much plot-wise. But see for yourself:

Anyway, when True Blood started in 2008, I was totally psyched about the premise of the show and was very happy with what Ball presented in season 1 and 2. BUT, I have to be honest, I don't care about True Blood that much anymore - mainly for the following reasons:

1. It's so damn colorful. Where's the dark? What's up with this cheesy fairy-sh*t (excuse my french)?

2. Why do I have to care about so many absolutely boring characters like Andy Bellefleur and Arlene Fowler (Bellefleur)?

3. Where's Lafayette's screen-time and why is he so damn whiny? Yes, he lost his love (and I really was sad about Jesus' departure) and was basically out of luck all the damn time, but still... Make him angry, dangerous, whatever, but not whiny. Please!

4. Too little Pam, too little Eric, too little going on with real vampires not circling around Sookie.

So, yeah. I'll watch the new season of True Blood, but mainly because I'm out of options for summer at the moment, not because I'm looking forward to it and waited for it the way I waited for GoT or Dexter.

abc Upfront Part II - Mind Games

I think there's a new strategy on the Hollywood market to make long forgotten actors relevant again. Do you remember Kevin Bacon in "The Following"? Yeah? Me too. Well done, mate.

This year's not gonna be any less crazy. We have Karl Urban (Star Trek) in "Almost Human", Giovanni Ribisi in "Dads", Michael J. Fox in "The Michael J. Fox Show" and Robin Williams in "The Crazy Ones". TV shows today surely have a different stand than ten years ago...

Also, there's Steve Zahn and Christian Slater in "Mind Games". I always loved Slater, though in the last years it was very quiet around him with only minor parts in mediocre films.

The premise of "Mind Games" is the following: two brothers - one bipolar, the other a con man - run a problem solving firm that offers solutions based on psychological manipulation.

Bipolar disorder has been proven interesting after watching Carrie Matheson in "Homeland" suffer through all different kinds of emotional outbreaks. Judging from the trailer Zahn seems to be doing a good job as well and Slater could profit from that.

abc Upfront Part I - S.H.I.E.L.D.

It's Upfront time. Well, not just since today. Did you already pick your new might-be favorite TV show? No? Well, there's an informative listing to be found here:

www.tvtango.com

Every year TV show enthusiasts are faced with the unpleasant truth that probably at least one of their most favorite TV shows is going to be cancelled or is coming to an end story-wise. This year for me this has been the case for Fringe. Dexter is going to follow soon. That's how it is. HOWEVER, this is where you have to start talking about UPFRONTS. New discoveries can heal every wound, no? Well, nearly every wound. I'm pretty certain that a lot of people are still incensed about Firefly being cancelled after just one lousy season. Well, that's life. In return we get a new series developed by Joss Whedon.

Marvel - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Spin-Off of the 2012's Blockbuster "The Avengers". Airing on abc starting from Sept 3rd. Notably cast: Clark Gregg (Iron Man, The Avengers), Ming-Na (ER) and August J. Richards (Angel).

 

In Whedon universe a single trailer probably won't be able to show the strong suits of the whole series. Why? Well, with Joss it's all about interesting characters, witty dialogues and strong female leads. Something that you can't really show in a 3 minute trailer. I'm in for August J. Richards 'cause I liked him in Angel and because I hope that Phil Coulson (Gregg) is not just the nice loyal (*cough* boring) guy. And because I love Whedon. I love everything he puts his hands on.

What do you think, can Joss Whedon live up to his former glorious days when Buffy was still running and when he was earning so much praise for Firefly?