The Last Child on Earth?

Okay, that's not the name of the new Fox series starting tomorrow (March 1), but the name The Last Man on Earth might be too optimistic.  

I like Will Forte, the writer and lone star (and lonely star) in this series, but can he carry this show by himself?  I remember Tom Hanks in Cast Away and Robert Redford in some boat movie, though here we are talking multiple episodes.  Not even C.K. Louis would want to take on this much at once.

Here is the basic plot from Fox:

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH is a new single-camera comedy that chronicles the life and adventures of an average guy – and humanity’s last hope – who discovers what life is like when no one is telling you what you can and cannot do. 

The year is 2020, and after a deadly virus has swept the planet, only one man is left on earth: PHIL MILLER (Forte). He used to be just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job. Now, in his RV, Phil searches the country for other survivors. He has traveled to every city, every town and every outpost in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and has found no one. As he returns to his hometown of Tucson, Phil comes to the painful realization that he is almost certainly the last living being on the face of the earth. All he wants is for someone – anyone – to find him in Tucson – preferably a woman. 

Be careful what you wish for, Phil...

As this clip will demonstrate, this is more Zach Galifianakas on crack than anything else.  Maybe this is what happens when we tire of the zombies attacking the survivors.  We just get the survivor.  This could also be the ultimate merging of reality series and apocalyptic scripted series - an offspring showing the fate of humanity in the form on one remaining dope.  

Can this storyline carry a season?  Doubtful.  Does it say something about our culture?  Probably.  Will I watch it myself?  Probably doubtful. 

Update:  Fox has renewed the series for a second season.

The End of an Era: Leonard Nimoy

With the loss of Leonard Nimoy yesterday at the age of 83, the Star Trek television series and movies become that much more relevant since they represent a tribute to a man and an idea about what is possible.  

With all the negative versions of our future, the Star Trek universe was much more hopeful.  Sure there was war, death, and destruction, but a diverse and capable Federation emerged from the chaos led by scientific spacecraft more than military spacecraft. 

I expect we will see dozens of tributes on television, as is natural and appropriate. But I plan to return to the first season of Star Trek, a somewhat naive yet promising start to a science fiction legacy that changed the way we see ourselves and the future.

Thanks, Mr. Nimoy.

A Different Take on House of Cards

Leave it to Sesame Street to create a parody of House of Cards and make it intriguing for children and adults.  I did not know the children's program ventured into such waters, but I like how they did it.  Enjoy House of Bricks.

And should you want a few more parodies, such as Upside Downton Abbey, you can check them out here.

Reality TV: Sex and Outlaws

The only way to draw an audience for a reality show these days appears to be taking some extreme measures.  I guess the fall of Fox's Utopia did not wake up the reality industry, so more black and blues will be necessary.  And here are two winners coming to you television screen tonight.

-- Sex Box (WETV), premieres February 24:  This goes a little beyond a husband and wife trying to guess the others favorite color.  The box (see above) and description says it all:

Our couples have sex on stage in front of live studio audience in a specially designed chamber – the Sex Box. The Sex Box is private, camera free and sound proof. It allows couples to focus on one another and their needs with no outside distractions. And when they emerge, the truth is shared. 

-- Outlaw Country (WGN America), premieres February 24:  This is basically anti-Cops.  In this "real life" series you follow a couple of thugs trying to outrun the police.  You wonder how long the police would really tolerate this behavior in any town.  This description says it all:

WGN America's unscripted series is a real life ride-along with a street crew and the cops sworn to bring them down. When bad blood threatens a good town... whose side are you on?

Outlaw Country is set in Buckner, Missouri.  The town was paid $5,000 for location fees, which tells you this is not high-priced entertainment.  Gary Thompson, president of the Northeast Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, seemed to put an odd spin on it all in a recent news article:
 
I would hope it doesn’t put a bad light on (Buckner) because it’s a really nice town...It’s safe and very family-friendly and a lot of good things are going on.

The town may have just lost that reputation so it could collect a few dollars.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/tv/article10765808.html#storylink=cpy

Amazon Deciding on Pilots

Amazon has already started to make decisions on its latest season of pilots.  You may recall they included (1) Cocked, (2) Down Dog, (3) Mad Dogs, (4) The Man in the High Castle, (5) The New Yorker Presents, (6) Point of Honor, and (7) Salem Rogers.  

So far, Amazon has decided to pick up The Man in the High Castle, Mad Dogs, and The New Yorker Presents.  All good choices with some nice additions to traditional television (you can see them here).  High Castle provides alternate history that we have not seen since Fox's Fringe, Mad Dogs tells a crazy friendship/murder story set in Belize, and The New Yorker Presents is a magazine variety shows.  I want to see more of all three, and now I know I will.

As far as the others, I would not mind seeing more of Point of Honor, a Civil War story, though the acting was thin.  I found the background black slave story to be much more interesting than the main southern family tale.  And Cocked contained some solid acting, but it also had too much urine going in too many directions (sorry for that visual).

All in all, we can look forward to some good stories down the line.  And it is possible one or two more of the new pilots could be picked up, though it is also possible one could be dropped as was the case with The After, which was green-lighted for a full series and then canceled earlier this year.  By the way, that was a smart move by Amazon.  The After was pretty horrible (as I noted earlier).  

Season Three with Frank Underwood

Netflix has released another third season trailer for House of Cards. Some are already analyzing it for additional clues (assuming they did not catch the accidentally released episodes the other week).  The third season "officially" starts next week (February 27th).  Enjoy.

Are You Ready for a New Odd Couple?

If sword-wielding vikings are not your thing tonight, you could also watch the latest iteration of The Odd Couple on CBS.  This time Matthew Perry gets to play Oscar Madison and Thomas Lennon plays Felix Unger.  

The new duo has large shoes to fill, be it the original movie pairing of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, or the television pairing of Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.  I do not envy them for even trying, but maybe the new generation needs a new set of faces.  I am thinking this is probably not the case and this new series will be short-lived. 

I will be watching Vikings tonight, but should The Odd Couple survive a season I may tune in at some point.