A Busy Monday on MTV

With the summer finale of Teen Wolf earlier this week, MTV is ready to start up more teenage fun.  But unlike Teen Wolf and Scream, where the kiddies are bait for bad things, the shows starting up next week are facing the normal high school woes.  

For instance, Awkward is back on Monday (August 31)  for its final season.  If you are still a fan of the show, then you may want to know whether Jenna and Matty seal the deal. 

Of course, the second part of season two of Faking It is also premiering the same night.  If so, maybe you are interested instead in the fate of Karma and Liam, or Karma and Amy, or Amy and...  Okay, given the supermoon tonight, maybe the gang from Teen Wolf can visit  Hester High School in Austin, Texas, and put an end to this madness. 

Update:  TV.com had a good article praising Faking It.  I agree it is the better of the two at this point.  The article noted: 

To some, watching people make mistakes and stumble into the circumstances portrayed on Faking It may be viewed as predictable, but to others it's a welcome reprieve from the dramatics that have shaped so many teen-oriented series since Dawson's Creek attempted to portray its leads as hyper-articulate and intuitive, even more so than their actual adult counterparts, while still falling prey to their teenage hormones...To take that one step further, it's downright refreshing to watch a series focused on teens that doesn't have a gimmick or doesn't rely on out-of-this world circumstances and saving loved ones and/or the world from yet another supernatural threat. 


That said, I still like the werewolves. 

We Can Wait for Mr. Robot

I was eager to see the first season's final episode of Mr. Robot earlier this week, but the recent shooting of a reporter and camera man was too similar to this last episode to go forward.  Hence, we will all have to wait until next week to wrap up Mr. Robot.  This is a sensible response to an insensible act.

The USA Network posting this announcement to its website:

The previously filmed season finale of Mr. Robot contains a graphic scene similar in nature to the recent tragic events in Virginia. Out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers, we are postponing the finale until Wednesday, September 2 at 10/9c. Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time.

Sadly, the continual gun violence in our society goes on unabated and one could probably suspend much of our evening television at this point except for a few comedies.  And now even the movie theaters are conducting security checks. The reality show that is America's streets can be a pretty scary place these days.  

Update:  Documentary Now! also switched out an episode out of respect for those impacted by the Virginia shooting.

Second Update:  It was worth the wait. Mr. Robot's final episode of the season was confusing, overwhelming, and open to multiple interpretations by all involved. It was fascinating to watch Elliot even reach out to the audience to try and understand the events over three missing days. We left the season with the world falling apart and Eliott spinning out of control.  The second season cannot come soon enough.

TNT Premieres Public Morals

If you are tied of the modern police serial and need a change, how about a police serial that plays with the past to become more The Untouchables than NCIS? Tonight's premiere of Public Morals on TNT will try to take you there.  Here are the basics and a trailer:

Edward Burns writes, directs, executive produces and stars alongside Michael Rappaport and Elizabeth Masucci in this powerful police drama that will take viewers to the seedy, gritty streets and bright, seductive lights of 1960s New York. The series centers on Terry Muldoon (Burns), an officer of the Public Morals Division, which investigates vice crimes in the city. Many of Muldoon's fellow cops in the division walk a thin line between morality and crime as vice-related temptations threaten to snare even the best of officers, including Muldoon's partner, Charlie Bullman (Rapoport). As Muldoon watches the Hells Kitchen streets where he grew up devoured by an escalating war within two factions of the Irish-American Mob, he becomes more determined than ever to fight back against the city's dark underbelly so he can provide a safe place where he and his wife, Christine (Masucci), can raise their family.

It looks more interesting than your average cop show, much in the way Justified was a fun spin on an old genre.  Executive produced by Stephen Spielberg and starring a great team that includes Ed Burns, Michael Rapaport, Timothy Hutton, and Brian Dennehy, you have the ingredients for something great. 

Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times calls the show 

...a picaresque, briskly written and quickly captivating series that is neither afraid nor ashamed of entertaining its audience.  Though it deals with its genre's big issues (the difference between law and order, the danger of defining oneself through loyalty), "Public Morals" does not fall prey to the current epidemic of Televisionous Prestiguous (symptoms may include swollen monologues, lethargy and sensitivity to normal light).

It sounds like the antidote to True Detective.  Sign me up! 

Fear the Redundant: More Zombies?

AMC knows it has a cash cow and it continues to milk it with tonight's premiere of Fear the Walking Dead.  Does it add anything new to night time television? Not really. It looks a little like The Strain with less definition of the cause. But does it line the pockets of AMC? Most certainly. 

As with movies these days, we need to fear the prequels and sequels. They are easy ways to fill the airwaves with well-worn stories.  No risk with little reward.

Blunt Talk Works

Tonight you can see Patrick Stewart in a comedic role on Starz's Blunt Talk.  In fact, you can go to the website now to see the first two episodes for free.  

The pilot episode was enough for me to want to stick around for more.  Where else can you see a true Shakespearean actor standing on a Jaguar quoting Hamlet after being caught with a transsexual?  Okay, maybe this happens in England all the time, but it's a little new here (even in Hollywood).  Stewart's character is an almost washed up television newsman who lives as much in the past as the present.  Say "Falklands" and you are likely to get a salute. 

It is hard to believe it has been more than 20 years since Mr. Stewart wore the red captain's uniform on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  And while he is so much more, it is still fun to see Captain Picard a little tipsy. 

I also liked seeing Richard Lewis playing the straight role as the psychiatrist.  You have to be in real trouble to trust this guy as your doctor.  

All in all, it was a fun 30 minutes, and nine more episodes will follow.  Better yet, a second season has already been approved.  So sit back enjoy the show.  As Captain Picard would say....Engage!

IFC: Documentary Now!

You are probably accustomed to seeing Fred Armisen in a dress in one of the skits on IFC's Portlandia.  Well get ready, because Fred is back with friends Bill Hader and Seth Meyers to take on more skits in Documentary Now! Tonight's pilot ia a skit from Grey Gardens (see below).  

Given their busy careers, I am glad the three of them found time to have some fun together with this series.  I was also somewhat surprised they could get Helen Mirren to serve as the host of the show, providing it with a bit of gravitas before everything falls apart.   

When you see the show you may think the three comedians have successfully channeled a craziness similar to Monty Python's Flying Circus.  Seth Meyers cited the British comedy team as an inspiration in an NPR interview:

Those are the guys that, I think, pretty much inspired the idea of playing around with documentaries...And that form — they just sort of showed everybody, oh, you can do stories about characters, you can still have jokes, but it also sort of moves at a nicer pace. It doesn't feel as dependent on having a joke every 15 seconds.

IFC has already approved a second season, so the team must have done something right.  The pilot as well as the second episode is available on the website if you want to see for yourself.

Elmo Says Hello to HBO

So will Elmo be introducing the episodes of Ballers on HBO?  One wonders with the new agreement between Sesame Workshop, the makers of Sesame Street, and HBO.  While the move from non-profit to pay wall may seem odd, at least PBS will still benefit because it will get free episodes of Sesame Street nine months after they air on HBO.  And though the delay may not be a perfect situation, we are not talking about a topical show here.  I don't think we need the Cookie Monster's take on the presidential debates or anything like that.  

And I would rather have this arrangement than watch Sesame Street disappear because of funding issues.  In addition, maybe this will open up new opportunities for both companies, such as cross-over episodes involving Big Bird defending Arya on Game of Thrones.  Or maybe not.

 

Something About Kevin from Work

Kevin from Work premieres on ABC Family tonight if you are looking for another simple comedy.  What is it?  It's the tale of a man who shares his heart with a coworker thinking he will not see her again, but then finds he is back in the same position dealing with the consequences.  And luckily for him the consequences are not horrible, though also not completely to his liking.  

A warning for the office place?  Maybe.  A great premise for a show?  Not sure just yet.  I remember NBC's A to Z office love story that was also promising and did not last for very long.

Deadline Hollywood notes that even Amy Sedaris cannot save this show and calls it "a real dog of a show."   

You can check out the trailer to see if you might be interested.  No promises.

It is Odd How I Will Miss Mr. Strange

Of course, I will also miss Mr. Norell, both from the BBC America series Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell that broadcast earlier this summer.  The two magicians - whether together or apart - make for a compelling story that shows the light and dark sides of magic.  Think of it as Harry Potter for adults.  The seven-part series is worth seeking out and can be found on iTunes and elsewhere.  This trailer gives you some sense of what you are missing.

I have already started the book by Susanna Clarke to learn more about the characters and other happenings most likely left out of the series for brevity or some other purpose.  For instance, my reading have already shown that the talking church statues in pilot episode filled the viewers with awe more than fear, yet BBC America took at different tact in its retelling.  So it goes with television and film, yet the BBC America adaptation is certainly worth revisiting and I recommend it to anyone with or without the book.  

And speaking of books, a new book titled "The Ingenious Mr. Pyke" was recently written by Henry Hemming.  Geoffrey Pyke was an interesting may who had the idea of building a navy out of water.  Sound familiar?  In Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell, we find that Mr. Norell also constructed a naval blockage using rain water.  Mr. Pyke's ships would have been made of ice and served as extra-large aircraft carriers, but they could have been just as scary and even more practical than Mr. Norell's ships.  You can read more about this idea here.  It just shows you that reality continues to keep pace with fiction in many ways. 

Image Credits:  Jim Kay's Concept Art 

Sundays on HBO: Ballers, Brink, and True Detective

One of my favorite Sunday night shows these days is HBO's Ballers with Dwayne Johnson and Rob Corrdry (who just appeared on the last episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart).  I did not have high hopes for this Mark Wahlberg-produced, football-themed story, expecting it to be Entourage in tights.  In fact, the first episode seemed that way with the spoiled players representing one more tier of the entitled in the entertainment industry, yet Mr. Johnson made the show so much more.  As the mentor of the younger players, he becomes a soothing presence where ever he goes even though he has his own home, health, and financial issues.  It is also fun to watch the ever-energetic Rob Corrdry as his faithful sidekick.  I am glad HBO decided to pick Ballers up for a second season.

HBO's The Brink is a different animal altogether and while I continue to watch the series, I am always ready to quit like a bad habit (and like a bad habit I continue watching it).  Of course, with a cast including Tim Robbins, Jack Black, and John Larroquette, as well as many other familiar faces, it is hard not to like the effort of the whole enterprise.  Yet too often this Middle East-based political comedy seems like an episode of Veep that escaped Washington, DC with real military hardware.  Of course, one could also see it as a M*A*S*H* of sorts, where we laugh in the face of horrible political foibles at play in Pakistan rather than Korea.  However, the 30 minute format does not really allow the show to wrap us the various plots spinning in the air.  A more measures pace over an hour would have served the story better.  HBO has also picked up The Brink for a second season, so my bad habit may continue.

I did not spend much time on True Detective, underwhelmed with the overacting in the first season and completely put off by the dark and strange second season.  Enough ink has been spilled beating up the show, so I will move on.  Plenty more to see on TV, I say.

Jon Stewart: The Real "End of an Era"

We seem to have a lot of endings these days as talk show hosts move off the stage or change places, but I for one will miss Jon Stewart of The Daily Show more than most of them. Like Bill Maher, he makes politics more palatable. 

Sadly, with his last show taping tonight at 6pm he will miss out on follow up to the clown car careening off a cliff otherwise known as the first republican presidential debate. Such a feast for comic news more so than real news. Maybe he will be the cherry on top of a crazy night.

Best wishes, Jon. You will be missed.

Update:  It was great seeing all the cast from over the years together again.  Stephen Colbert offered a heartfelt thank you to Jon for all of his work and support over the years.  Colbert later stated "That might be my favorite thing I ever did on the Daily Show, making Jon squirm."

Amy Poehler Has a New Show

If you saw the pilot of Netfix's Wet Hot American Summer then you know Amy Poehler is back as the camp's acting coach, and she is just as perky as ever. And where does she get this endless energy? I'm not sure, and now she is bringing us a new series called Difficult People on Hulu premiering tomorrow night (August 5). The new series stars Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner as two obnoxious NYC comics who don't take crap from anyone. Yes, the old New York comic on the street shtick. That said, Eichner did some fun pieces on Poehler's Parks and Recreation as an over-the-top office manager, so I may take a look. 

And back to Poehler, with the end of Parks and Recreation last spring and the recent cancellation of her Welcome to Sweden series after two seasons, she still has a third season of Broad City and did some great work with Disney's summer movie release Inside Out, so I expect we will be seeing much more of her (or at least hearing her) and her projects. That's great news for all of us. 

Another Summer Comedy: Mr. Robinson

On Wednesday (August 3) NBC premieres its new comedy Mr.Robinson starring Craig Robinson from The Office. Here is the basic story as well as a trailer:

Every struggling artist knows the drill: you have to pay the bills while you wait for that big break. So when Craig finds himself short on cash, he takes a job as a substitute high school music teacher. It's an easy gig, right? Yet when he realizes the kids think his class is an easy A, Craig's moved to inspire his students.

The school principal (Peri Gilpin, "Frasier") believes that rules are made to be strictly upheld. She's none too fond of Craig's unorthodox teaching style, or his crush on the pretty English teacher (recurring guest star Meagan Good, "Think Like a Man"). It's a constant struggle for Craig, having one foot in the music world with his band, Nasty Delicious, and having one foot in the teaching world. But if Craig wants to get the girl of his dreams and teach these kids the joys of music, he'll have to buckle down, shape up and get the funk out.

So far I am not reading much in the way of praise for the show, and it appears NBC ordered only six episodes to date.  Tonight may be the start of something fun and funky, or a slow disaster pushing Mr. Robinson into the background again.

One More Summer Comedy: Significant Mother

Get ready for another silly premise for a new show. The CW premieres Significant Mother tonight about two friends, one of whom is sleeping with the other's mother. Dumb idea.  Sounds like it, yet I thought Younger about a woman lying about her age to get a job was a dumb premise, but it was given a second season.  So who knows? 

And yet with the pilot of this new series titled "Welcome to Bonetown" I doubt we have a quality show on our hands.  Watch at your own risk.

Update:  Well, it was not much of a show unless you like penis and vagina jokes for 22 minutes.  And let's admit that the whole premise of a woman having an affair with someone she once babysat is pretty weird (others might say icky).  It is a sad set up with some otherwise okay, if not good, acting if you consider singing Sam, played by Emma Fitzpatrick. 

Knock, Knock...Who Cares?

Speaking of series that cannot make it with a well known starts, Ryan Seacrest experienced a spectacular failure only two episodes into his now cancelled Fox program Knock Knock Live.  The premise was Seacrest would go to someone door with a celebrity and give the home owner a surprise.  

Variety summed it up well enough before the show tanked:

Being live, of course, is considered one of the ways to neutralize the effects of delayed DVR viewing, which makes experimenting with the form logical. Yet “Knock Knock Live” plays like a cautionary tale (are you listening, Neil Patrick Harris?), demonstrating that just training a camera on unsuspecting folks, plastering “Live!” across the screen and tossing money at them isn’t enough.

The show was created by Simon Fuller of American Idol fame who must think he can sell anything to Americans.  I really think the mistake was thinking anyone would want to see Justin Bieber in their neighborhood.  I would simply call the cops.