-- Ripper Street (BBC America, premiering January 19, 2013): This new 8-part series takes up a bloody old story set in the 1880s London.
-- The Following (Fox, premiering January 21, 2013): Kevin Bacon stars in this new series that modernizes the mayhem of London, though the "theme" is Edgar Allan Poe. Bacon is a a former FBI agent hunting down an escaped killer of 14 female students. The new show it created by Kevin Williamson of The Vampire Diaries fame. Williamson has moved from pretend monsters to modern day monsters. I think I prefer the former.
-- Spartacus: War of the Damned (Starz, third season premiering January 25): The third and final season of the Roman battles returns. Starz provides a quick update:
Gaius Claudius Glaber is dead. Many months have passed since his defeat, and the rebel army, led by Spartacus and his generals Crixus, Gannicus and Agron, continue to amass victories over Rome. With the rebel numbers swelling to thousands of freed slaves, it has become a force that has started to challenge even the mighty armies of Rome. Spartacus is more determined than ever to bring down the entire Roman Republic. Following the death of Ashur, Naevia and Crixus fight as one with newfound strength and determination. And Gannicus, always seeking to embrace life to the fullest, shares his bed with the beautiful and dangerous Saxa. Together, the rebels engage in one bloody skirmish after another and prepare for the inevitable: a full out war with Rome. The Roman Senate turns to its wealthiest citizen, Marcus Crassus, for aid. A powerful, strategic politician, he respects his opponent and refuses to make the same mistakes Glaber and his predecessors have. With a young and fiercely competitive Julius Caesar as an ally, Crassus is determined to crush Spartacus and his rebellion.
And if you are looking for a little less red meat, here are some science and travel shows that should keep you busy:
-- Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (BBC America, premieres January 22, 2013): Rested now from Lord of the Rings, Lost, and FlashForward, Dominic decides to take a break with this 8-episode program where he tours the world looking for exotic creatures. BBC America provides a little bit of history on Dominic, including his private forest in India:
Dominic’s passion for wild things developed long before his acting career began. As a child, he worked alongside his father – a teacher and biologist – and learned the proper way to handle, care for and appreciate the creatures of the wild. Never losing his love for insects and reptiles, Dominic owns a small forest in India, and has worked with the animal rights group PETA. He’d often be found bug hunting while on location in Hawaii while filming “Lost,” and his California home is purposely “infested” with a growing menagerie of rare beasts including two giant spiders, a darkling beetle, a Scolopendra, a gecko, and dozens of mammoth hawk moths. Dominic hopes to dispel the myths we have about these creepy crawly creatures, and shed new light on their importance to earth’s ecosystem.
-- Edge of America (Travel Channel, premieres January 22, 2013): If you are looking for something more local, you can always check out calf testicles. Yes, that is the selling point of this new show (matched up with "fun") as highlighted by the Travel Channel:
Calf testicle festivals in Oklahoma … lobster boat races in Maine … tall bike jousting in Oregon … Americans will do just about anything to entertain themselves, and arts and entertainment reporter Geoff Edgers wants to know why we do the things we do in the name of fun.
It sounds like a remake of the BBC's Stephen Fry in America, which had an episode on a Maine fisher man who could hypnotise lobsters. I think I may stick with the original.
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