A Very Busy Fall Schedule

BuddyTV has put together a helpful schedule listing 121 television shows premiering this fall, starting with Houdini on the History Channel tomorrow night.  It includes reality shows, cartoons, dramas, sci fi, and more.  Of course, even this endless list does not include new shows from other online sources, such as Netflix, Amazon, Crackle, and many others.  I will try to highlight some of my favorites as well as the more promising shows as I see them, but staying ahead of this tsunami of shows is a challenge for anyone.  At least BuddyTV got us started.

SyFy: No More Will Wheaton

More bad news for TV land - The Will Wheaton Project has been canceled by the SyFy network after only 12 episodes.  I guess it did not have the audience SyFy was hoping, but I believe the geeks were happy.  Overall, it was a low-budget yet fun production allowing Wil to pick fun at Hollywood, including a few SyFy productions (I am sure that had nothing to do with it, right?) 

Wil Wheaton is taking it well so far based on his blog, though he seems to wonder if the executives green lighted a show they never really understood: 

Ultimately, he told me, the executives in New York just didn’t think we had enough viewers to justify more episodes. I didn’t say anything about the total lack of promotion off the network, or point out that our ratings were on par with The Soup, or that ratings are always lower in summer than the fall. I didn’t  bother saying any of that, because I know he knows that. I was reasonably confident that he made those arguments with New York when he was trying to get the show renewed. I presume he fought hard for us, but ultimately couldn’t sway executives in New York who never seemed — in my opinion — to really understand what kind of show we were doing, who I was and why I was hosting it, and how to engage with and promote to the audience who would like it.

Maybe another network will see that SyFy was starting to mine a rich vein of fans that are now following everything from The Big Bang Theory to Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley.  It is only a matter of time before a similar program pops up, and I hope they give Wil and others a little more money and support.

A&E: The Demise of Longmire

I was disappointed to hear that the A&E network decided not to renew Longmire for a fourth season.  The third season ended with a cliffhanger (spoiler alert) as Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire continued to deal with his wife's death, deputy sheriff Vic Moretti faced a disintegrating marriage, and officer Branch Connally had a tense battle with his father that ended with a gunshot.  Plenty of excellent material for more seasons, but I guess A&E thought differently.  

I am not sure what A&E has going for it in the drama department after dropping Glades and now Longmire.  Makes you wonder if they want to be a serious contender, or stick with dumb programming such as Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars. Fortunately, the network still has Bates Motel, but I wonder if they are smart enough to hold onto it.  A disappointing day in TV land. 

The Emmys: Mapping the Future

I do not watch the award shows, but the outcome can tell us a little about what the television industry may support in the future. In that regard, it is unfortunate that Netflix did not come away with much in the way of Emmy Awards this week since I believe the company has done very well with the creation of new programs, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, as well as offering a lifeline to other shows, such as The Killing.  That said, I am glad that Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Reg E. Cathey, and Kate Mara from House of Cards were at least nominated for awards, which is still an impressive feat. I should add that House of Cards had 22 nominations in the last 2 years and 4 wins in the more minor categories, and the same goes for Orange is the New Black with 12 nominations this year and 3 wins.  So in no way were these programs ignored.  

I should also add that I was very happy to see Amy Poehler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the twin heroines of comedy television, nominated as lead actresses in a comedy series even if they did not win.  Parks & Recreations continues to be ignored for all its great work, but at least they are on the board (11 nominations over the years and 0 wins). 

Yet I was most pleased to see Fargo's Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, and Allison Tolman nominated, with Fargo winning in the Outstanding Miniseries category (and garnering 18 nominations this year with 3 wins).  What an amazing show Fargo turned out to be, and I for one look forward to a second season with (sadly in a way) a new cast, location, and story.  TV doesn't get much better, and the Emmy Awards recognized this.  Maybe not enough, but Fargo had its day in the sun, which is much appreciated up north.

Words of Wisdom from Nick Offerman

If you are impatient for the next season of Parks & Recreation, Mashable has put together a fun clip with Nick Offerman pondering a number of ideas called Simply Genius Shower Thoughts With Nick Offerman.  The content comes from Reddit's Shower Thoughts.  Here are a few more:

 -- The reason why lottery winners often go bankrupt is because all the financially-responsible people know that lottery tickets are a waste of money.

-- Pickpockets must hate skinny jeans.

-- Greece invented politics. Rome invented bureaucracy.

Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson also has a grilling site that you may want to visit.  He is very clear about his grilling preferences, stating "No 'vegetable burgers,' no kabobs, no chicken thighs. This isn't a tea party. Meat is spelled C-O-W or P-I-G."  Yes, straight-shooting Ron.

And I should add that Parks & Recreations returns to NBC for its seventh and final season next year.

Vicious on PBS

If you missed the six-part series called Vicious on PBS, you can still catch some episodes online.  And a Christmas special is still coming, while season two is in the works.

The comedy from the UK stars Freddie (Ian McKellen) and Stuart (Derek Jacobi), a gay couple of 50 years as they deal with the everyday issues of friends, family, and more.  Having two such accomplished actors, and gay actors I should add, playing these parts makes for a entertaining show.  And while the one-liners and laugh track may be too reminiscent of Are You Being Served? and similar imports from Great Britain, the two actors keep it interesting and lively in a time where older couples are seldom portrayed on American television. 

And in addition to watch McKellen's Lord of the Rings Gandalf in a completely different role, you can watch Iwan Rheon, the evil Ramsay Snow from Game of Thrones, play the innocent next door neighbor.  It is not for everyone, but it demonstrates the Brits continue to produce more than Downton Abbey. 

Doune Castle: Interesting Double-Billing

If you were watching the new Starz series Outlander and you noticed that the main castle in the story looked familiar (first image below), you are not crazy.  Doune Castle was also used earlier in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the second image with the flying cow, if you need help).  I am happy Starz decided to use real horses in its new series and killer rabbits have not made an appearance, so far that is. 

You can visit Undiscovered Scotland if you want to learn a little more about the actual uses of the castle in the past.

The Killing Works Better This Way

I am not a binge watcher, though I want to be with the new The Killing series.  Released by Netflix on August 1, I am treating it more as a weekly show and have watched the first three episodes. And all I can say is that this season is probably how the show should have always been structured.  

While the fourth season is building on earlier layers, and earlier sins of Detectives Linden and Holder are a large part of the continuing saga, the murder investigation itself is clean, swift, and fascinating without all the dead ends and ridiculous coincidences that filled the first three seasons.  And the investigation will be resolved after six episodes rather than two seasons.  If The Killing had been like this from the beginning it would probably be in its fifth or sixth season with many more to follow.  

I know this was a Danish series transplanted to America, and the original seeds were strong.  I only wish it had grown in a different direction.  It is finally meeting its potential in its last season.  Will Nexflix see this as well and give it a fifth season, as it may do with Arrested Development?  I hope so.

Sean Bean Returns in Legends

You cannot keep a good man down, even if he loses his head (as a northern king, that is, in Game of Thrones).  Sean Bean has returned to television as an FBI agent with multiple personalities.  But that is because he is good at transforming and not crazy, or so it would seem.  The new show, Legends, premiered August 13 on TNT.  Here is the trailer as well as a quick summary from a story in the The Los Angeles Times:

In it, he plays one Martin Odum, an FBI agent with such a gift for deep cover that he often has a difficult time establishing where his "legend" ends and his real life begins. The undercover aspect obviously allows Bean to assume many different characters. Not the least of which is Martin, a man clearly troubled by his own internal scaffold of opposing forces. When the action opens, he has spent six months infiltrating a backwoods domestic terrorist group; not surprisingly, his job has already cost him his marriage and threatens his relationship with his young son.

But the same LA Times story also notes that the plot is predictable and Sean Bean may not be able to carry this new series all on his own.  Suffering cops and damaged Federal agents does seem to be a pretty standard tale these days, but happy law enforcement types with care-free lives does not seem to "entertain" us, so I guess we are stuck with such narratives.  Add this to your summer television watch-list if you like, but I see more interesting shows appearing these days. 

Another Busy Weekend: The Knick and Outlander

Who needs the fall season when you have a summer like this?  I cannot catch up on the old batch of summer shows, and now two new shows have premiered over the weekend.  The first is a series from Cinemax (premiering August 8th) called The Knick starring Clive Owen and directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Here is the basic plot from Cinemax: "Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics"  This is the Russian roulette version of ER where all the chambers but one are filled with bullets.  And given our misuse of antibiotics, we may be looking at our future as well.  Pay attention. 

And the story is about more than medicine.  One NPR review noted:

Because race has so often been used as a shorthand for class in America, these stories open up new ways of talking about poverty and oppression at the century's turn. And because every period story is also about the time in which it is made, The Knick also gets to make poignant observations about how health systems treat the poor and people of color today.

If doctors in early New York are not your thing, how about a nurse in early Scotland.  On Saturday (August 9th) Starz premiered Outlander.  Brought to you be Ronald D. Moore, the creator of Battlestar Galactic, the show starts in 1945 and then flips to 1743 where her skills as a World War II nurse come in handy since Europe seems to like battles regardless of the century.  For a while you can watch the season premiere here on YouTube. 

And should the Cinemax show get some traction, there is plenty of material in author Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series to keep things interesting.  The Los Angeles Times recently pointed out how not even Stephen King could compete with Ms. Gabaldon's book:

Twenty-three years after the first “Outlander” book was published, there are now some 26 million copies of the series’ installments in print. When the eighth book, “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood,” was released this June, it outsold Hillary Rodham Clinton’s new memoir, “Hard Choices,” and dethroned Stephen King from the top of the bestseller list. The novels have spawned countless websites, reams of fan fiction, a cottage industry of Jamie and Claire tours of Scotland — and finally, after languishing in development for decades, a television series.

Could Cinemax have its own Game of Thrones?  That is a high bar, yet judging from the first episode, Cinemax has created a quality product.  I look forward to more episodes.  

Update:  Outlander has already been renewed for a second season after showing only the first episode.  Good news for the those who like their time travel series filled with kilts, medical kits, and plenty of adventure.  

Partners: The New Odd Couple?

I don't know who thought of linking up Kelsey Grammer (aka Frasier Crane) and Martin Lawrence (aka Big Momma) for FX's new comedy series Partners, premiering tonight (August 4), but it sounds a little too crazy for me. Both have good funny bones, but at different ends of the comic spectrum. Kelsey discussed the collaboration with Martin a little in this clip from Chelsea Lately. 

Here is the basic story from FX: 

Partners is a half-hour, multi-camera comedy centered on the newly established partnership of high-end elitist lawyer Allen Braddock (Kelsey Grammer) and for-the-people, ethics driven lawyer Marcus Jackson (Martin Lawrence).

After his father fires him from the family law firm, Allen Braddock seeks to get back in the lawyering game on his own terms - making big bucks on high profile cases via legal loopholes and skirting ethics. Recently divorced, nice-guy Marcus tries to balance family and operating his law office out of his home, doing cases for neighbors and friends pro-bono, or for baked goods.

When a court ordered sanction teams Allen Braddock with Marcus Jackson in hopes that some of Marcus' conscience will rub off, the two find themselves in a partnership nature never intended. 

So, good cop, bad cop?  Of course, if you saw Kelsey Grammer in Starz's Boss, you will know he can play the part of a heartless misanthrope.  I just wish Boss lasted a few more seasons, though it was getting pretty dark.  And, speaking of short runs, CBS had a show called Partners a few years back that did not last very long.  It too was about an odd couple.  Deja vu all over again?