Oscar Producers Speak Out

Regardless of all the shocked press stories about this year's Oscars, the producers of the show unequivocally supported Seth MacFarlane's performance.  TVGuide reports Oscar producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan recently stated:

"We were really, really proud of Seth MacFarlane...He did the job at we wanted him to do. Seth is irreverent, he comments on things that happen in our culture, and that's what he did and we thought he did an extraordinary job."

I have to agree that this year's show was better than most, and the tongue-in-cheek "attack" on celebrities, as well as the supporting role played by William Shatner as a critical Captain Kirk, worked perfectly.  Sadly, the media finds it more useful to pretend shock than enjoy the show for what it is - a partial roast of pretty people who take themselves far too seriously.  While MacFarlane says he will not host again, I hope he reconsiders.

Bates Motel Returns

What would Alfred Hitchcock think of the return to television of his classic Psycho?  His 1960 film caused quite a stir and it is somewhat surprising that a well worn tale could take on a new life on A&E's Bates Motel, but that is the plan starting tonight (March 18).

A&E wants to tell us the prequel to Pyscho so that we have a better understanding of what made Normal do the things he did:
  
"Bates Motel,” serves as a contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film, “Psycho,” and promises to give viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ psyche unravels through his teenage years.  Fans will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn first hand just how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is and how she helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.

Back in 1987, NBC tried a Psycho television pilot only to see it fail.  And of course we have already had a Psycho II, III, and IV (the prequel), so this is not a new idea.  So what can we expect?  Alessandra Stanley in a tepid New York Times review noted:

On one level the series explores the twisted steps that led Norman to his fate. The creators made “Bates Motel” less an exercise in “what if” than an “if only” — keeping viewers wondering whether, with some intervention or lucky break, the ultimate mama’s boy could come to a different end. But the series has to keep the narrative going and needs to add surprise turns that could affect Norman’s destiny...“Bates Motel” has a talented cast and a memorable back story that guides, but doesn’t limit, the narrative, and at its best it’s intriguing and enjoyably grim. But even more than Norman, the series itself has a split personality, a Hitchcock classic grafted onto a much more mundane brand of suspense.

What is even more interesting is that Hitchcock intended Pyscho to be a comedy, according to a recent story in England's The Telegraph.  In 1964, Hitchcock stated:

"I once made a movie, rather tongue-in-cheek, called 'Psycho'..."The content as such was, I felt, rather amusing and it was a big joke. I was horrified to find that some people took it seriously." 

So A&E has a lot of material to play with and now we have to see how it all comes together.  With all the fluff vampires and werewolves running around, maybe the retelling of a classic tale will add some gravitas to the genre again.  It's all up to Norman now.

Top of the Lake Starts Tomorrow

If you were worried about Elisabeth Moss and her part as Peggy Olson on Mad Men since she left the firm, don't worry.  She has shown up as detective Robin Griffin in New Zealand.  And if you thought the people were interesting and odd in the 1950s, just wait until you meet these folks.

The new 7-part series Top of the Lake starts tomorrow (March 1th) on the Sundance channel.  The show also stars Holly Hunter as a spiritual leader, Peter Mullan as the menacing father of a missing daughter, and David Wenhan as the more senior detective in the Queenstown Police Station.

From what I have read and taken away from the trailers, this is no longer the New Zealand of Lord of the Rings.  In fact, I doubt the New Zealand tourist board is pushing this new show.  Think of it as The Killing in another beautiful environment with less rain. 

Here is the basic premise of the show:

12 years old and 5 months pregnant, Tui Mitcham walks into a freezing lake ... then disappears. Detective Robin Griffin returns home to investigate, but it's not a simple missing persons case. In this breathtaking but remote mountain town, there are evil forces as powerful as the land itself. And those who offer a glimpse of paradise also provide a path to hell. Trapped where happiness and honest work are just out of reach, Griffin must not only find the girl but also face her own haunting past. With the men that she once left behind now standing in her way, every step closer to solving the case unearths a dangerous truth about herself. 

Nancy DeWolf Smith in The Wall Street Journal noted the show's brutality in a recent review. pointing out:

...we soon learn that every character here is damaged in some way. Most of the men are ignorant brutes who act like dogs that have been chained in a yard all their lives. Most of the women are victims, addicted to emotional or physical pain at the hands of men they recklessly pursue. Among those trying to recover at the lake with GJ is a woman still in shock after seeing her beloved chimpanzee kill one of her friends before being killed himself. But wait, says one of the local louts, "Was the chimp your boyfriend or a pet?" 

Our Peggy is no longer in Manhattan.

Note:  Interestingly enough, The Killing was filmed in Vancouver.  According to The Seattle Times, the show's creator Veena Sud decided to use Seattle as the setting for a few reasons: 

"The graphic beauty of Seattle was so compelling; it reminded me of Copenhagen in the Danish series, incredibly brooding and tragic," said Sud..."As I started to research more about Seattle, it became clear it's one of the most liberal cities in America and one of the most literate ... and yet it's also a city with a dark underbelly," she said. "It has a huge runaway population that's very striking when you're a visitor to the city and see so many of these lost kids."

Comedians and Coffee: Fun and Serious Talks

Jerry Seinfeld has put together 10 interviews as part of his series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (go here for the promo and better digital output).  I have enjoyed each one, but my favorites are Alec Baldwin in terms of pure fun and Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) for honesty. In the final episode with Michael Richards, Seinfeld brings up the incident from 7 years earlier where Richards fired racial remarks back at the audience, effectively ending his career.  Richards discusses how the incident "broke him down" and he has not done any comedy since.  He also thanks Seinfeld for sticking by his side during the turmoil that followed. 

The good news is that Seinfeld has agreed to do a second season, this time with 24 interviews.  I look forward to more fun and, at times, revealing discussions.

Note:  It is hard to get the video to pull up on Crackle.com.  Just go the main Crackle page, find the list of series videos below, and pull up the one you want to see. 

Supernatural Does the Harlem Shake

I have always liked the way the CW's Supernatural cast and crew have a funny bone that does not take things too seriously.  In this vein, Jensen Ackles leads Jared Padalecki and the rest of the team in the Harlem Shake.  Check out the clip.  

Zero it Out: ABC Cancels Zero Hour

All one can say to its credit is that ABC's Zero Hour lasted one episode longer than NBC's Do No Harm, but that is not saying much when you are pulled after only three episodes.  ABC cancelled Zero Hour not long after its premiere, which was reported to be the lowest-rated ABC premiere for a scripted show during the regular TV season ever.

I had high hopes for Zero Hour after the first episode, but by the second episode I had already lost interest and decided a third episode was not worth my time.  The story became too wacky with Edwards running around the globe followed by a multi-lingual FBI agent who never heard of the word sequestration.  We have good people in government, but the bottomless budget supporting this over-talented agent was more incredible than the Catholic Church hiding a secret from the Nazis.

Would the show have worked as a two-hour television movie?  Probably, but only because one would have felt invested (or too lazy) after an hour to change the channel.  But 13 hours?   In the end, I was not interested trying to follow the story of 12 clocks while pretending to care about the fate of Anthony Edwards' wife who we only saw for 5 minutes in the first episode.  ABC asked us to invest too much time in a complex tale that started to go off the rails.  

If you are still interested in the show, ABC will mostly likely show the remaining episodes over the summer.  I think I will pass.

Catch the New Dwight Pilot This Thursday

As I noted in an earlier entry, we will not see The Farm as a new series starring our friend Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) from The Office.  Nonetheless, in The Office episode this Thursday at 9pm ET/8pm CT we can see the pilot and learn more about what could have been. 

And if you are a Dwight fan, you have an opportunity to display it by wearing this "Schrute Farms Beets" shirt available at NBC.  Dwight also has some final words on the Schrute family in this clip from NBC.  Can you imagine 10 little Schrutes running around?  It is too scary to imagine.

More on March 3rd: Christians and Mobsters

If the premiere of Vikings is not enough to keep you satisfied this Sunday (March 3), you may want to check out these new shows instead:

-- The Bible, History Channel: This is quite an adventure covering both books of the Bible and just in time for the approach of Easter.  This 10-part series started as a documentary and morphed into a drama.  The Christian Science Monitor, in writing about the series producers Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, opined:

Burnett and his wife have produced a mini-series that is not only "not disappointing," but actually rises to the top of the "Wow" scale. Attempting to take on the whole Bible in 10 hours is pretty much an impossible task for just about anyone, but apparently not for the Burnetts. They really have produced something of epic proportions.

-- Red Widow, ABC:  This is a remake of the Dutch series Penoza.  This can be good or bad, depending on the quality of the effort.  In the case of The Killing, Shameless, and House of Cards it was a great success.  The new show sounds like a grittier version of Showtime's Weeds.  Here is the plot from ABC:

Marta Walraven seems to have an idyllic life. A stay-at-home mom in tony Marin County, just north of San Francisco, she is devoted to her three children and her husband. Behind this perfect façade, however, is a more complicated story: Evan, Marta’s husband, supports the family by exporting marijuana. Marta is familiar with the world of organized crime: her father, Andrei Petrov, and his loyal bodyguard, Luther, are Bratva – Russian gangsters – in San Francisco. It’s a world from which she and her sister Kat always wanted to escape, though they never quite did.
But when Evan is brutally murdered in their driveway, everything changes. Marta’s first concern is to protect her children – and yet when FBI Agent James Ramos promises Marta justice in exchange for her cooperation, she cannot go against the Bratva code. She refuses his help.

Slowly, the truth about her husband’s murder begins to emerge: Evan’s business partners – Marta’s scheming brother, Irwin Petrov, and their best friend, the hapless Mike Tomlin – were involved in the theft of millions of dollars of cocaine from the formidable international crime boss, Nicholae Schiller. Evan paid with his life, but as far as Schiller is concerned, his debt is not clear. It falls to Marta, as Evan’s widow, to navigate the criminal underworld in order to repay this debt – in whatever way Schiller sees fit.

Hounded by the FBI on the one hand and by Schiller on the other, while also trying to raise three grieving kids on her own, Marta discovers a tenacity she never knew she had. As she hunts for the truth about her husband’s death and struggles to keep her children safe, she’ll rely on her resourcefulness, determination and her Bratva DNA like never before. But just how far is Marta willing to go in order to beat her adversaries at their own deadly game? 

I will probably watch Vikings, record The Bible, and hold off on Red Widow until some later time.  Who knew Sundays could be so busy?

Update:  I think I chose my viewing schedule well.  Vikings turned out to be an excellent choice.  While I was worried in the first few minutes when I saw Odin lifting bodies from the battlefield, the story quickly came together and the acting was fine throughout.  The Bible, on the other hand, did not work at all.  Seeing Ninja angels in Sodom was a little too strange.  And while the show may work for the thoroughly devoted who know their bible stories backward and forward, I do not see the show bringing on any new followers.  Maybe doing a documentary with some acting in the background would have been better.  Finally, it seems Red Widow was off to a slow start in the ratings and may not last too long, so I am glad I did not become committed to this new show.

The Vikings are Coming!

What happens when the channel that brought you the award-winning Hatfields & McCoys (History Channel) joins the creator of The Tudors and The Borgias (Michael Hirst)?  Hopefully, you will get another great show and we shall see if that is the case with the new series Vikings, premiering on March 3rd.  This will be the History Channel's first scripted series and it is already ready to commit to three more seasons should the premiere go well. 

Here is a quick summary of the show from the History Channel:

Vikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore—and raid—the distant shores across the ocean. His ambition puts him at odds with local chieftain Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne), who insists on sending his raiders to the impoverished east rather than the uncharted west. When Ragnar teams up with his boat builder friend Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) to craft a new generation of intrepid ships capable of conquering the rough northern seas, the stage is set for conflict.

But for all its warfare and bloodshed, Vikings is also a story of family and brotherhood, capturing the love and affection between Ragnar and his wife, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), a respected warrior in her own right. It is the tale of Ragnar’s brother Rollo (Clive Standen), a fierce fighter who simmers with jealously; of Earl Haraldson’s wife Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig), a dutiful beauty who may be less than loyal; and of the monk Athelstan (George Blagden), whose Christian morals clash with the Vikings’ pagan society. As ambition and innovation rattle a civilization, these characters will be put to the test—and their way of life will never be the same again.

You may remember Australian Travis Fimmel from his time on A&E's The Beast, a Chicago cop show also starring Patrick Swayze (who died before a second season was possible).  At that time I wrote how Fimmel reminded me of a young Brad Pitt.  As a result, I have high hopes for his part in this new series.  I am also interested in seeing the acting chops of Sweden's Gustaf Skarsgard, brother of Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood).  If he is anything like his brother then we have quite a set of actors on our hands. 

In an interview with ManJr, Fimmel describes his character Ragnar:

Well Ragnar is based on a historical character. He is very adventurous and he is one of the first people to sail west and discover England and do what Vikings do when they discover places. Say good hey to the ladies and beat up people...He is so curious. He thinks he is a direct descendant from a god named Odin, who was a god of slain warriors and curiosity. Legends say that the god Odin killed himself just to see what death felt like. Ragnar has that same curiosity about stuff. Nothing is good enough for him. He wants to know what is out there. It is not just for the raping and pillaging stuff. He wants to learn about people and the gods they worship, what the look like, and their customs. He is just a curious person and his curiosity doesn’t end.

The nine episodes of season one were shot in rustic Ireland.  From the few scenes I have watched, the setting and production values are terrific.  And I look forward to seeing the viking longboat in action.  We shall see if it all holds together as another great TV epic.

TV This Week: World War I and New York Cops

Tomorrow night (February 26) will see the premiere of two more shows, both of which look back in time at men at arms.  I used to think the fall was a busy time, but it is pretty amazing to see the number of new shows appearing in January and February, with even more to come next month.

-- Parade's End (HBO):  Based on Ford Maddox Ford's four book series, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) plays the role of Christopher Tietjens, an English gentleman, employee of the Imperial Department of Statistics, husband in a dysfunctional marriage, and soldier in the trenches of war.  The original story, very broad and complex, was adapted for the screen by Tom Stoppard and primarily covers the first three books.  The 5-part drama will show over three consecutive nights. You can see a trailer on HBO is you want to see the quality of the production.  This is a much deeper look a the British than the surface dwelling Downton Abbey (and we already know what Cumberbatch thinks of Downton Abbey).  Parade's End was broadcast in Great Britain last summer and was well received.   The Guardian noted:

Parade's End looks beautiful, is wonderfully made and has some fantastically resonant and descriptive language: Tietjen's comparison of the noise on the Western Front to a "wet canvas being shaken out by a giant" just one of many sublime moments of dialogue. I've also enjoyed getting to know a source text that is not, perhaps, as well known as others. 

-- Golden Boy (CBS):  Speaking of Downton Abbey,  you may remember a Turkish visitor in the first season of the show who caused a stir with Lady Mary.  Well, the actor, Theo James, is back as a police officer, Walter Clark, who works his way up the chain to become New York City's youngest police commissioner.  Co-starring Chi McBride as Detective Owen, who is always fun to watch whatever he is in, it covers Clark's difficulties in gaining the respect from fellow officers as he moves up.  I like the initial meeting between Clark and Owen, particularly where Owen holds open the car door for Clark only to slam it when he approaches, noting "Who am I, Morgan Freeman?  Open your own damn door."  And so it starts.  You can watch the pilot episode here if you cannot wait. 

The Americans Get A Second Season

If you have not had the chance to see the new FX show The Americans then you are missing out on a fascinating story about a KGB family undercover in Reagan's Washington.  I discussed the show in an earlier entry before having seen the show and I was was hooked after viewing the pilot.  Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys are superb as the KGB couple with their own internal issues while being watched by their masters and outrunning their American counterparts.  I would put it in the same category as AMC's Rubicon, though the former was more of an indoor show while the latter has plenty of high-energy outside drama.  Unlike Rubicon, The Americans is getting a second season.  This is great news for all of us. 

Bill Maher and the Orangutan

You may have heard that Donald Trump is using HBO Realtime's Bill Maher for a comment he made in one of his monologues. Back on October 26, 2012, Maher has this to say in his "New Rule" segment:

Donald Trump must immediately submit to DNA tests to determine whether he is, in fact, the love child of a human woman and an orangutan from the Brooklyn Zoo.

Look, Donald, I'm not saying that your mother was repeatedly f**king an orangutan back in the 1940s. I don't know if that's true. I hope it's not true. But, given your face, your physique, your intelligence level...and, of course, your hair...the American people deserve some real proof that your mother did not spend most nights in 1945, covering her body in banana oil, sneaking into the monkey cage and compulsively humping an orange-haired ape. Somebody had to say that.

Trump and his legal team recently sued Maher for $5 million because of this comment.  This seems to be one more attempt for Trump to get publicity for himself and Maher is using it to rain down even more insults on the man (you can see his February statements here).  Trump's lawyer thought it was helpful to share a copy of Trump's birth certificate with Maher to prove trump was not born in a zoo.  I wonder how much money was spent preparing that very important letter.  

The other week on the Conan O'Obrien Show, Maher further defended comedy and said Trump was wasting the time of the legal system, noting the legal system is not a "joke" and "...it's not a toy for rich idiots to play with."  Maher also put down Trump's relevance in today's society, pointing out "He's not even a real person...it just like a pop reference from the 80s...it's like having a spat with JR Ewing" (go here for the clip).  

Another sad day for the American legal system while a good day for comedians everywhere.

Maggie Smith on 60 Minutes

If you missed Maggie Smith on last Sunday's 60 Minutes then you missed a rare opportunity to learn more about this actress in her own words.  The star of Downton Abbey discussed how she never watched the show and thought it appropriate that her character should die off, though not to worry since she has already committed to appearing on a fourth season of the show.  

In the interview, she discussed how her parents thought she was too ugly to go into acting and recommended typing instead.  Yes, it sounds like a plot line in Downton Abbey.  We also learn a little bit more about her 53rd film Quartet, which is directed by Dustin Hoffman who joined her for part of the interview.  Overall, it is an interview you will want to check out.  Go here for the full video. 

CW's Cult Starts Tonight

You can see the CW's new show, Cult, tonight (February 19) at 9pm ET/8pm CT.  While the program covers a level of TV addition that might be the dream of most networks, I get the impression this amount of devotion is somewhat dangerous.  Starring Matt Davis (from The Vampire Diaries, another CW cult-classic), as detective Jeff Sefton trying to locate his missing brother, you will be entering into a world where television is the medium for some pretty strange behavior, not that reality TV is any good for us. 

Here is the plot outline from the CW:

The fictitious show, centered on the cat-and-mouse game between a charismatic cult leader and the detective who was once a cult member, has become an obsession for its viewers – and now some of its devotees seem to be taking their fixation to deadly extremes in the real world. 

In the parallel worlds of the show-within-a-show, the cult’s leader, Billy Grimm, is played by actor Roger Reeves (the double role of Billy/Roger is played by Robert Knepper, “Prison Break,” “Shameless”). Roger plays Billy as a compelling but ruthless leader, a man whose primary agenda is winning back his former follower and lover, Kelly Collins, played by actress Marti Gerritsen (the double role of Kelly/Marti is played by Alona Tal, “Supernatural,” “The Killing”). Since escaping from the cult, Kelly has become an LAPD detective. When her sister is kidnapped, Kelly finds herself drawn back into an investigation of the group’s activities, and she struggles to keep Billy at a safe distance, knowing he would stop at nothing to get her back. As the television show grows in popularity, cast members Roger and Marti feel the effects in their “real” lives – Roger isn’t sure who he can trust, and Marti is beginning to realize that being the star of this particular show may have truly dangerous consequences. 

The only person who seems willing to help Jeff with his investigation into this double world is Skye Yarrow (Jessica Lucas, “Melrose Place,” “Cloverfield”), a young research assistant for “Cult” who has also started to grow suspicious of the increasingly dark happenings surrounding the show. Jeff and Skye are both driven by personal reasons to uncover the mysteries surrounding “Cult.” Jeff is focused on finding Nate, the brother he raised following the death of their parents, while Skye is searching for answers about her father, who went missing 10 years ago and is presumed dead. All Skye knows is that her father was investigating Steven Rae, the reclusive executive producer/writer who created “Cult.” In fact, she took the job on the show in order to make contact with Rae and see if he will answer her questions. Jeff and Skye are practically strangers to each other, but they are united by the common goal of finding out what happened to their family members.

Jeff will need all of the investigative skills he honed as a journalist to make sense of the treacherous world he and Skye have entered. It soon becomes clear to Jeff and Skye that the gruesome plot twists on this television show are much more than fantasy for some very unfortunate people. The hardcore fans of “Cult” would kill to see what happens next… 

The show's website already has the pilot available for viewing.  After watching it I can say it's an interesting twist having a show within a show (a CW show, of course), though this is a delicate novelty that may not stand the test of time.  In the right hands and with the right amount of balance, we may have two good shows on our hands.  As the San Francisco Chronicle writes,

"Cult" could work over time, but it could also implode because it's a very high-concept show. In other words, it depends heavily on the gimmick of the show within a show, refracted by social media. Beyond the gimmick, will there be enough to maintain our interest? If not, "Cult" could easily wind up as one TV show in search of an audience.

Will the program find it own band of dedicated fans?  Possibly.  The CW has done well with vampires, super heroes, and demon hunters, so it knows its fan base and should be able to deliver. 

We May See More of AT&T's Beck Bennett

If you enjoy AT&T's "It's Not Complicated" commercials where the kids are let loose to cover any topic, you probably enjoy the straight delivery of actor Beck Bennett.  My favorite ad clip it the kid who suggests taping a cheetah to his grandma's back to make her faster.  Beck seems to have a talent in such forums, and you can see more of his talent with unscripted kids in his YouTube series Fresh Perspectives.  He puts on the show with his partners called the Good Neighbor team.  I particularly like the kids' discussion on the debt ceiling, which I found more coherent than the entire set of Republic debates. And the conversation on Libya is more informative than the recent Senate hearings (with one little girl showing even more passion than Secretary Clinton). 

And now Beck and team may have his own show on Comedy Central called "The Good Neighbor Show." If you want to see what type of comedy this team can do, check out the groups Unbelievable Dinner.  Hopefully, Comedy Central will have the wisdom to give this group a chance.

More of President Lincoln Coming to TV

If you had a chance to see Daniel Day Lewis in the film Lincoln, you may have had your fill of dramatic recreation of history.  If not, you may be disappointed with a Lincoln in the hands of Billy Campbell, a less accomplished actor.  If not, you may be avoiding history books by big mouth Bill O'Reilly.  If not, the National Geographic special on Sunday (February 17) called Killing Lincoln is for you.  

All of that said, I plan to watch it because I enjoy programs that illuminate history, and Billy Campbell is a good actor in his own right (see 4400 and The Killing for some of his more charismatic roles).  However, I am not a fan of Bill O'Reilly, so I will leave that point aside.  

Here is a little background on the special from National Geographic:

April 14, 1865. One gunshot. One assassin hell-bent on killing “a tyrant,” as he charged — the 16th President of the United States. And in one moment, our nation was forever changed. This is the most dramatic and resonant crime in American history: the true story of the killing of Abraham Lincoln. From Executive Producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, and narrated by Tom Hanks, National Geographic Channel's first original docudrama, Killing Lincoln, based on the New York Times bestseller, combines re-creations with historical insight in a thrilling chronicle of the final days of President Lincoln and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

The two-hour special is a welcome addition to a list of period pieces on television that provide viewers which options beyond reality shows and poorly scripted comedies.  I put the History Channel's drama Hatfields & McCoys into this same category of beneficial period pieces.  I hope to see many more of these programs.  And I recommend visiting the website for the show since it provides a lot of additional information on Lincoln and Booth - something I would expect from National Geographic.

The Premiere of Zero Hour

Tomorrow night (February 14) on ABC you can watch the premiere of Zero Hour, a fast-paced drama that involves Men in Black, in this case Nazis and priests.  Starring Anthony Edwards (ER) as the husband of a kidnapped wife caught up in great secret, the plot is fast-paced throughout the first hour.  

The show starts in 1938 Germany where a mysterious relic is being hidden from the Nazi regime, with the relic's secrets stowed away in a clock, and soon shifts to modern day Brooklyn where the ripples of the past (and the clock) appear in the present.  If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure, this show is for you.  Whether or not it can keep this pace the entire season is another matter.  But the creator of the show has promised that the story will be solved in the first 13-episode season (since The Killing, everyone knows what to promise).

In discussing his role with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Edwards kept an open mind on the future of his new show:

"And then I read this script [for 'Zero Hour'] that I love and think, 'Really? The network really wants to make this pilot? Well, if they're crazy enough to want to make this pilot, I'll make the pilot. Because, worst-case scenario, we do it, it doesn't work, it'll never go anywhere. But if this does work, this could be really fun.' "

I will be the first to admit the pilot is a lot of fun.  And you will not keep looking at your watch (no pun intended).  I am staying glued for a few more episodes to see what happens. 

Note:  You can download a free copy of the pilot on iTunes.

Update:  Zero Hour is not off to a great start, but hopefully the network will not panic just yet and instead give it a chance to gain traction.  The Hollywood Reporter noted, "Zero Hour got off to an inauspicious start on ABC...It stands as ABC's lowest-rated in-season premiere for a scripted series."

Return of Southland

TNT's Southland returns on Wednesday, February 13th, for its fifth season.  While I will not recommend too many police shows, this is one worth watching.  The adventures of Officers Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), as well as their partners in LA crime-fighting, will keep you riveted each week.  

I have particularly enjoyed the story arc of the pregnant Lydia Adams (Regina King) who surprises you each week with her grit and heart for police work.  And this season the cast is joined by Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), who plays Officer Dave Mendoza.  I think the current cast is fantastic, so Murray will have quite a chore just keeping up.  

If you want to catch up on the show, you can review the previous episodes here.  

BSG Blood & Chrome on SyFy

If you have not had a chance to go online and watch the new movie Blood & Chrome, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica, you have the chance to see it on the SyFy channel tonight (February 10) at 8pm ET/7pm CT.  

It is worth your effort and will remind you of what we lost when the series went off the air.  Maybe this is the start of new interest in the show and its characters.  I hope so.

If you missed my previous post, here is the plot from SyFy:

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (a prequel to the critically acclaimed hit series, Battlestar Galactica) takes place in the midst of the First Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama (Luke Pasqualino), finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton). With only 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine escort mission with an enigmatic passenger (Lili Bordan) turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet.

Check It Out: H+: The Digital Series

If you enjoy Continuum, particularly the part where the female lead has a microchip placed into her neck allowing her to see greater detail and related input on her surroundings, then you may want to check out H+ and see the rest of the story.  In the web series H+, available for free on YouTube, you can learn what happens when a computer virus infects the microchip and thereby the human wearing it.  It is basically a combination of FlashForward and Revolution.  Here is a quick summary from the Facebook page:

H+: The Digital Series takes viewers on a journey into an apocalyptic future where technology has begun to spiral out of control.... a future where 33% of the world’s population has retired its cell phones and laptops in favor of a stunning new device – an implanted computer system called H+. This tiny tool allows the user's own mind and nervous system to be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.  

But something else is coming... something dark and vicious... and within seconds, billions of people will be dead... opening the door to radical changes in the political and social landscape of the planet -- prompting survivors to make sense of what went wrong.

The first season of the series, produced by Bryan Singer (X-Men), is told in 48 episodes (255 minutes in all) that jump from the day everything went wrong back in time to when the idea was germinating and the new H+ product was spreading around the world.  The intriguing plot combined with excellent acting for a show using this medium, gives you the impression of a well-executed television program in mini-bites.  

H+ is a good warning about what can go wrong, and may cause you to view Google Glasses in a whole new way. 

TV This Week: Monday Mornings

If Do No Harm did not scare you away from new doctor shows, you can view TNT's new Monday Mornings premiering Monday night (February 4).  Jamie Bamber, who you may remember as Apollo from Battlestar Galactica, stars as neurosurgeon Tyler Wilson in this David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, The Practice and Ally McBeal) produced story based on a book by Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN).  That's a lot of fire power for a TNT show.  

The new series sounds like many others.  Here is TNT's description:

Doctors face life-and-death decisions each and every day as they fight against often-impossible odds to save their patients. When things don’t go as they should, it’s up to their medical colleagues to determine what went wrong and learn from those costly mistakes. 

Monday Mornings follows the lives of doctors as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. Every Monday, the doctors must gather with their peers for a confidential review of complications and errors in patient care. 

Leading the staff at Chelsea General are Dr. Harding Hooten, the steely-eyed chief of surgery, and Dr. Jorge Villanueva, the hospital’s trauma chief. Their cadre of medical talent includes hotshot neurosurgeons Dr. Tyler Wison and Dr. Tina Ridgeway; the abrasive Dr. Buck Tierney; the socially challenged Dr. Sung Park; the petite-but-formidable Dr. Sydney Napur; and inquisitive resident Dr. Michelle Robidaux.

However, in a recent TV Guide interview, Bamber argues this show will be different from other medical dramas:  

...Bamber argues that perhaps the biggest difference between Monday Mornings and other recent medical dramas is the portrayal of the doctors as humans, not surgical superheroes.  "The normal trope is that these people are flawless at work, but flawed personally," he says. "Our show is fundamentally trying to do a different thing. We're trying to show that these surgeons, yes, they're brilliant, but they are flawed in the professional work as well. They make mistakes. The mistakes are actually the things that are highlighted in the show. ... For the first time with these M&M meetings, you get to see that sort of honesty."

So, if you have space on the DVR, here is another one to check out. 

"Do No Harm" Did Some Harm to NBC

While the new shows Americans and House of Cards did well with their premieres last week, the initial reviews for Do No Harm indicate the show is in trouble.  According to the press reports, it now has the distinction of the lowest-rated, in-season premiere of any scripted series ever on the major networks. Let me just cite a few reviewers' comments:

...a poorly-written show, with dialogue so cheesy you could use it for fondue. The actors do their best with what they're given, but that's not saying much.

-- Zap2it

Do not watch. Do not resuscitate.

-- The Hollywood Reporter

Unfortunately, "Do No Harm" suffers from a split personality of its own. Far more sentimental than thrilling — there are no real monsters under this hospital bed — it plays more like a mash-up of "A Gifted Man" and "The B— in Apartment 23."

-- LA Times

I do not plan to watch anything past the pilot, and I should have known better than to even start the pilot.  The show does not know what it wants to be - a decent doctor/patient show, though we have enough of those, or a monster-of-the-night show, which would need someone with much more of a dark side (and body count) to keep today's viewers interested.  NBC will need to go back to the drawing board with this one.

P.S.  That image above shows Stephen Pasquale throwing the remote control at the TV after viewing the pilot.  I know the feeling. 

Update: Do No Harm has been canceled by NBC after only two episodes.  No surprises here.

Screen Actors Guild Awards for 2013

The Screen Actors Guild had its 19th awards ceremony last week and sung praise to the following television programs (you can see the nominees here):

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES 

-- Downton Abbey

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

-- Modern Family

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

-- Bryan Cranston, Walter White in Breaking Bad

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

-- Claire Danes, Carrie Mathison in Homeland

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

-- Alec Baldwin, Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

 -- Tina Fey, Liz Lemon in 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

-- Kevin Costner, "Devil Anse" Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

-- Julianne Moore, as Sarah Palin in Game Change

I am most happy to see Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey recognized for their terrific work on 30 Rock, this year being the end of the series.  I am also pleased to see Kevin Costner on the awardee list for his excellent performance in Hatfields & McCoys.  The remaining awards were not too surprising.

Nashville for Guys: The Wedding Band

If you have not had a chance to view TBS's show The Wedding Band then it may be time to check it out.  I see it as the guy's version to ABC's Nashville, less drama and more comedy.  And while I am a fan of Connie Brittan and do not want to take anything away from her singing, I think you will also be surprised to see that Brian Austin Green (90201, Terminator:  The Sara Connor Chronicles) can carry a tune. 

The basic plot of The Wedding Band is four guys in Seattle joining up on weekends to become a wedding band, and the trials of making money while also having fun (and choosing among the female groupies after the show).  Green plays Tommy, he band leader and playboy, joined by Eddie (Peter Cambor from NCIS: Los Angeles) the dad, Barry (Derek Miller from Secret Girlfriend) who is Eddie's brother an a music store clerk by day, and Stevie (Harold Perrineau from Lost) who is the most recent and more accomplished member of the group.  The four band members are reigned in by event promoter Roxie Rutherford (Melora Hardin from The Office), and her assistant Rachel (Jenny Wade from The Good Guys).

Overall, each episode is a mini-movie with set-ups you would see in any goofy wedding-related movie, which is what makes it fun since you get to see the back story rather than the main story.  And the music is fun as well, with the songs available on iTunes (similar to the Nashville).  Check out their songs, such as Making Love Out of Nothing at All, Party Rock Anthem, and We Are Family.  I only recently learned that Green's father was a country-music singer and he plays the piano, drums and guitar.  In addition, Perrineau studied music and theater at the Shenandoah Conservatory.

Green spoke about the music in an interview with TheTVAddict.com: 

For the most part I knew the melodies, but most of the songs, I’ve got to be honest, when I got the lyric sheets my first thoughts were, “Oh, those are the words.  That’s not what we’ve been singing.” Like when you hear REM’s “End of the World as We Know It” and you go, “What is he talking about?!” I think the only thing anybody ever knew was “it’s the end of the world as we know it” and the rest of the words were completely unknown. So I’ve always had a bad habit of that. Just as I’m a huge music lover, I grew up listening to it.  But I’m one of those just because when I play — I play piano and drums — I connect way more with melodies usually than the lyrics. So the lyrics are usually the last thing that I learn, whereas a lot of other people I know really sit and study the lyrics first and the melody is kind of the last thing. So I didn’t know any of them. I knew pretty much none of the songs.

Sadly, the show was cancelled after only one season and 10 episodes (the last episode aired on January 19), so it will only live on iTunes and in reruns.  With all of the new fall programs, it was hard to get traction. Nonetheless, it is a small gem in the TV universe that deserves your attention.    

Whatever Happened to "The Farm"?

Do you remember all the talk about The Farm, an NBC spin-off from The Office where Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) would show us travails of running the family beet farm?  I thought about it recently now that The Office is winding down.

It appears NBC passed on the new show late last year, even though the pilot was filmed and ready to go.  According to Entertainment Weekly, Wilson tweeted:

NBC has passed on moving forward with The Farm TV show. Had a blast making the pilot — onwards & upwards!

We may still get to see the pilot as part of The Office sometime later this year.  Seeing Dwight and his family together will be fun however it happens.

You can watch Wilson talking about the new show on The Tonight Show last year.  He also talks about his time in Haiti on the clip.  And to learn more about what you will miss now that The Farm series is no more, here is a summary of the plot from We Got This Covered (much of which I hope we can see in the pilot episode on The Office):

 ...the potential new series will revolve around Dwight and his siblings reuniting after they inherit their family’s beet farm, which also doubles as a bed and breakfast.

...the characters joining Dwight on his new business venture include the following.
 
First, is Dwight’s younger sister Fannie. Despite trying to make it on her own in Boston, Fannie is forced to give up her urban ways and has to move back to the Schrute farm after her divorce.

Fannie, who has been described as having an ironic sense of humor, will be bringing her nine-year-old son Cameron with her. Dwight’s nephew, who is known to be slightly weird, feels linked to his family, especially his uncles.

Dwight and Fannie’s brother, Jeb, is seeking redemption on the family farm too as his previous career endeavors haven’t been successful.

Despite the Schrute siblings’ good intentions, their manipulative great uncle Heinrich Manheim joins them on the farm as well. He’s said to make an impression on the family after vowing to kill Dwight by the end of the first episode.

And if you want to see more of Rainn Wilson, check out the reshowing on SoulPancake tomorrow (February 3) at 1pm ET on the OWN cable channel (click here for a clip).  Wilson and Oprah discuss love:

What is love, anyway? Whatever it is, this four-letter word is one of the most fundamental human experiences. In a special hour-long presentation this Sunday, SoulPancake is exploring love through many lenses—meet some precocious kids, see mind-blowing art and hear three very different types of love stories.

You can also learn more about Wilson and see all of his videos at SoulPancake.com.

TV This Week: Spies, Mad Doctors, Shuttles, and Politics

Get ready for another week of good television as we move to shows about imbedded spies, a monster doctor, the anniversary of the Columbia Shuttle disaster, and a conniving congressman.

-- The Americans (FX, premiering January 30): Remember the story a few years back about Americans who turned out to be Russian spies living normal lives within our society.  Back in June 2010, ABC News shared the story:

The allegations are shocking: four couples living in the U.S. under assumed false identities while secretly working as covert Russian spies on long-term, "deep-cover" assignments to obtain information on nuclear weapons. 

They are part of a clandestine network that used a series of cold war tactics such as encrypted Morse code messages, brush passes and invisible writing to send intelligence back to the Russian government, the FBI said today as it announced the results of a multi-year investigation into the alleged spy ring. 

Charged are Richard and Cynthia Murphy of New Jersey, Donald Howard Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley of Boston, Massachusetts, Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills of Arlington, Virginia, and Juan Lazaro and Vicky Pelaez of Yonkers, New York. 

Well, FX is bringing to television a similar story about a family living under assumed identities in the 1980s.  Here is the description of the new program:

The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), who have two children – 13-year-old Paige (Holly Taylor) and 10-year-old Henry (Keidrich Sellati), who know nothing about their parents’ true identity – grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but is constantly tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control. Complicating their relationship further is Philip’s growing sense of affinity for America’s values and way of life. Tensions also heighten upon the arrival of a new neighbor, Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), an FBI agent. Stan and his partner, Agent Chris Amador (Maximiliano Hernández), are members of a new division of Counterintelligence tasked with fighting against foreign agents on U.S. soil, including KGB Directorate S illegals, Russian spies posing as Americans.

From what I have seen and read, it sounds like a winner.  Here are some clips of the new show.  You can also find more information on the program's Facebook site.  

-- Do No Harm (NBC, premiering January 31):  Now that we have Beauty and the Beast and Grimm, why not throw in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for good measure?  This new show takes the old tale to the hospital (of course, otherwise he would need to be a detective), where Dr. Cole plays the good doctor by day and the mad man by night.

Dr. Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale, "Rescue Me") is a highly respected neurosurgeon who has it all - a lucrative career, confident charm and the gift of compassion. But he also has a deep, dark secret. One morning, after waking up disoriented in a wrecked hotel room amidst near-naked women he's never seen before, he knows one thing: it happened again. Every night at the same hour, something inside Jason changes, leaving him almost unrecognizable - seductive, devious, borderline sociopathic. This new man is his dangerous alternate personality, who goes by the name Ian Price. For years Jason has battled Ian, keeping him in check with a powerful experimental sedative. But now his - their - body has developed a resistance to the serum, setting Ian free once again. And to make matters worse, after being suppressed for so long, Ian is hell-bent on taking revenge on his oppressor. With everyone Jason cares about at risk - patients, friends, coworkers and even the woman he loves - he must stop Ian once and for all. Will they find some common ground, or will they bring each other down? Hell hath no fury like an alter ego scorned. 

-- Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope (PBS, premieres on January 31):  The program is broadcast one day before the 10th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and focuses on Col. Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli to go into space.  According to PBS: 

Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope goes behind the scenes to explore the “mission within the mission” for Ramon, who carried into space a miniature Torah scroll that had survived the horrors of the Holocaust, given to a boy in a secret bar mitzvah observed in the pre-dawn hours in the notorious Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. The bar mitzvah boy grew up to become Israel’s lead scientist for the mission, Joachim “Yoya” Joseph.

The film follows the scroll’s path into Ramon’s hands, and the dramatic moment when he tells its story live to the world from the flight deck of Columbia. From the depths of hell to the heights of space, his simple gesture would serve to honor the hope of a nation and to fulfill a promise made to generations past and future.  

And here is a quick preview.

-- House of Cards (Netflix, premiering February 1): Netflix continues with its own programming following Lilyhammer, which was actually produced by others but financed by Netflix.  In this Netflix produced series (and remake of a BBC series of the same name), Kevin Spacey plays Congressman Francis Underwood who holds sway over his peers in the House and uses this power to hopefully obtain a position as Secretary of State.  You can watch all 13 episodes, if you so choose, in one sitting since they will all be available at the same time.  Given the reviews to date, you may want to treat this one like a fine wine rather than cheap beer - savor it.  Time Out London gave the show 5 stars and noted:

For all the hoo-hah about Netflix shifting the viewing paradigm from traditional television to streaming via computer or set-top box, it wouldn’t mean a thing if its content fell short. So far, Netflix has relied on buying in films and TV shows, but ‘House of Cards’ is its first self-made series. And, on the basis of the opening two episodes, it’s outstanding. Ian Richardson was always going to be a tough act to follow as the scheming politician at the heart of the original British series from the 1990s. Thankfully, Kevin Spacey is little short of impeccable in his place, bringing all his years of complex villainy to bear on Congressman Frank Underwood.

This is high praise from the Brits.  Of course, they also have a soft spot for Mr. Spacey, who has spent some time on the London stage.

SyFy Continuum: Good, Yet Awfully Familiar

If you have yet to watch last week's premiere episode of SyFy's new show Continuum, I recommend you take a look if you enjoy sci fi political intrigue, fast-paced action, and an updated version of The Bionic Woman (okay, a second updated version since NBC already tried it in 2007).  Here is the SyFy version of the new show:

When a group of fanatical terrorists escape their planned execution in 2077 by traveling back in time to 2012, they inadvertently take City Protective Services officer Kiera Cameron with them. Trapped in a more “primitive” past, Kiera infiltrates the local police department to try to track down the terrorists before they change the course of history. 

And here is what I saw in the first episode:   

• An interesting premise where the government failed to pay its bills and the corporations stepped in to save, and take over, said government.  Sound familiar?
• The new "country" is called Vancouver District within the North American Union.  This is due to the show being produced in Canada (and funded in part by the Canadian government, which I hope they can do without going into debt and needing a corporate bailout).
• A female lead who is eerily similar to a young Jodie Foster, married to a man who is eerily similar to a young Christian Bale.
• A futuristic world (2076) that is eerily similar to Caprica in that this peaceful future is being threatened by terrorists bombs.  Moreover, the terrorist bombing is eerily similar to the destruction of the World Trade Center.
• The return of Brian Markinson, who played detective Durham from Caprica investigating terrorist attacks, as detective Dillon of Continuum investigating terrorist attacks.
• A police station attack that is eerily similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's shooting spree in the first Terminator film.   

Even with all of these similarities, or maybe because of them since it is creative repackaging, I will continue to watch the new series.  That said, the future version of the show struck me as the more interesting part of the series so far.  I hope flashbacks and other devices may allow us to learn more about the North American Union.  

While the show was originally created for the U.S. market, it was picked up by the Canadians after little interest in the States (you can read an interview with creator Simon Barry for more).  The show has already been approved for a second season in Canada, so SyFy will most likely continue with the new series if it finds a U.S. audience. 

TV This Week: Murder, Mayhem, and Other Wild Things

January continues to be a busy month of new shows as well as the return of old favorites.  Below I provide a small sampling:

-- 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.