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The History Channel will broadcast a special three-part series this holiday weekend (starting Monday night) to commemorate those who served in the two World Wars. The series, The World Wars, shares the stories of the leaders of World War II in terms of their stories during World War I. In addition to the typical historians, narrators include John McCain, Colin Powell, John Major, and others.
Here is the History Channel's summary:
An assassination in Sarajevo sparks a global war. For the next 30
years, deadly fighting rages across Europe, Africa, China and the
Pacific.
Hitler. Churchill. De Gaulle. MacArthur. Patton. Stalin. Mussolini.
We know them as legends. But they first learn what it will take to rise
to greatness as young soldiers, fighting for their lives on the
frontlines.
This is the story of a generation of men who come of age in the
trenches of World War I, only to become the leaders of World War II. The
lessons they learn on the frontlines shape them as they rise to
power—and haunt them as the deadly fighting breaks out again. Some
become heroes, forged in courage under fire. Others emerge as the most
infamous villains the world has ever seen.
Theirs is one story—the story of a 30-year global struggle. A fight that will either save the world—or destroy it.
This is an interesting twist to an otherwise well-known story. And given the horrible destruction at the start of last century and the trouble brewing in the Russian and Chinese neighborhoods, it should be told again to a new generation. Someday someone will tell the story of the young Putin of the Cold War in East Germany and the later Kremlin bully annexing parts of Ukraine. I just hope that is the full extent of his sad and destructive deeds.
How about this as a reality show storyline: 12 women travel to England to meet Prince Harry and potentially become his wife. Can you find 12 women in America who believe the Royal Family would allow this? Apparently so. Fox will be broadcasting I Wanna Marry "Harry" starting this Tuesday, May 20th.
Will anyone watch this car wreck? Of course, they will. Let's just hope everyone learns a little bit about British history as part of this. We are not talking Downton Abbey here, but at least it is not another set of loud-mouths based in New Jersey.
Update: The May 23rd edition of British magazine New Statesman had a good article by Laurie Penny titled "Who Needs Fox's Fake Royal Reality Show 'I wannan Marry Harry'? The Windsors are the Real Thing," where she writes:
The real Harry is terrible marriage material – but a perfect supporting cast member in the longest-running and most successful reality television series on the planet. The British royal family is reality TV incarnate. I mean that literally: the coronation of the current monarch coincided with the emergence of TV culture as postwar austerity drew to an end and was the occasion for which many British families purchased their first television set...The royal family
remains, despite setbacks, Britain’s biggest celebrity brand, as useful
for distracting the native population from the economic turbulence at
home as it is in persuading the rest of the world that British class
hierarchy is not only benign but adorable.
I guess we hit a nerve.
This was not a good month for a number of science fiction shows, but The CW seems to take the brunt of the hit with the loss of The Tomorrow People and Star-Crossed.
The Tomorrow People followed a group of young adults with the powers of telekinesis, teleportation and telepathic communication. The series started with all of them hiding in the city subway system since they were being hunted to extinction by those who feared these powers. It was a somewhat predictable scenario with enough action to keep one mildly interested. The series had 22 episodes in its first and only season.
Star-Crossed involved aliens who landed on our planet and found the struggles of high school were about as dangerous as anything in the universe. While it may have been a partial remake of Roswell, at least Roswell had three seasons. Star-Crossed had one season and only 13 episodes in all. Not everyone will be sad to see it depart. USA Today's critic Robert Bianco will not shed a tear:
As vapid as it is unoriginal, Star-Crossed is sadly typical of a
network that continually underestimates its audience. Teenagers may not
be smarter than they were when the WB was at its peak, but it's unlikely
they're dumber. So why does CW treat them as if they are?
The Sci Fi survivor in all of this is The 100, which has remained a good story on two fronts - the orbiting space station with the adults and the planet's surface with the kids trying to form a new society. Of the three it has the most interesting plot, which is probably why it was renewed for a second season. And unlike many of the shows, it has so many characters that you can lose a few and not interrupt the story. In that way it reminds me of NBC's Revolution where characters were dropping like flies. Of course, Revolution was also cancelled recently, so the future is pretty uncertain for shows on a number of networks.
I guess everyone is in the television series game these days. Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Studios has snagged Steven Spielberg to produce a series based on the Halo video game. Not too long ago I watched the web-series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and was surprised by the quality of the program. Hence, a new television series similar to this type of series could be very promising. Showtime is interested in hosting the new program, while Microsoft will still make it available to customers via the Xbox.
Microsoft plans to create other shows as well, including a new drama Humans, to be created with the United Kingdom's Channel Four. Xbox Entertainment Studios defines the new show in this way:
"Humans" is set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for
any busy family is a 'Synth' - a highly-developed robotic servant
eerily similar to its live counterpart. In the hope of transforming the
way they live, one strained suburban family purchases a refurbished
synth only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences.
Another show in development is Winterworld, described as a limited live-action series in which a new ice age covers the world and those humans remaining "have formed tribes that war, enslave
and trade with one another in an effort to survive the infinite winter." Yes, another potential outcome of climate change. Al Gore, are you listening?
Some of these new shows seem to be natural products of a game maker, while others such as Winterworld are more of a stretch. Potential content is everywhere. The secret is to tell a new story that interests the viewers, or at least an old story in new clothing that still holds up in the present day.
Prepare yourself for some new and returning "monsters" this weekend. First, we have the second season of BBC America's In the Flesh returning for its second season tonight (May 10). You may remember this England-based tale of the cured zombies that are now being reintegrated into society. But as we soon find out, not everyone is willing to accept the suffers of Partially Deceased Syndrome, or PDS, back as their neighbors or family members again. The second season picks up the story nine months later. The main character, Kieren, is played by actor Luke Newberry who walks you through the new season in this clip. Although the first season had only three one-hour episodes, the second season will be covered in six episodes.
NBC will be showing a two-part remake of Rosemary's Baby beginning on Sunday night (May 11) and finishing on Thursday night (May 15). If you have seen the 1968 film then you may be pleased or disappointed with the variations in this story, but you have to admit it is a good story overall. If you have not seen the earlier film, then sit back and enjoy the television show. Then go back and watch the film to see what you missed the first time around.
Finally, Showtime is premiering the 8-part new series Penny Dreadful on Sunday night (May 11). This monster mash-up takes place in Victorian England (yes, two this week set in England) and involves characters from popular past horror tales, including Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dorian Gray. While this is not exactly three monsters in an apartment, like Britain's Being Human, or America's superhero S.H.I.E.L.D, it tries to bring together well-known characters in a new way. Starring Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett among others, it should be a good story if you can stand the gore. However, Variety magazine gave the show weak praise, noting:
If there’s a drawback here, it’s the slightly uneven production values.
The monsters feel a trifle generic — more “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
than anything else — which doesn’t blunt the brooding atmosphere or the
grisliness of their handiwork.
Plenty of shows to try out and add to an already full slate of TV viewing.
While I am pleased Fox is moving forward with new shows like Gotham, I am disappointed that this may come at the cost of other good shows. The recent decision to cancel Enlisted and Surviving Jack, both of which premiered earlier this year, removes two solid and unique shows from America's living rooms.
Enlisted tells the story of three brothers serving together at a Florida U.S. Army post. It is Bad New Bears meets Private Benjamin, though it addressed in a fun way some of the issues faced by millions of Americans who have served in the military in both combat and support roles. Nowadays the military characters we see are usually officers as part of some serious drama, but we learn very little about the day-to-day life of these characters. With all the cops, FBI agents, and spies running around on television, you would think we could fine some space for the everyday soldier. Fox broadcast only eight episodes before deciding to fill the time slot with a cooking show. I am hoping Fox does the right thing and at least finishes out the 13-episode season.
Surviving Jack was another quality show that needed more time to develop. Unlike so many of the family comedies these day, the father played by Christopher Meloni was not an absolute idiot. Whether one watches The Simpsons or the recently canceled Raising Hope, you would assume the children need to teach the parents about life. In this show Meloni's character is more of a super-dad with his son, played by Connor Buckley, actually needing advice from his father as he navigates life. It broke the mold, or at least gave us some variety on television, but it appears it has come to an end. Only eight episodes were produced, so this excellent show will disappear after the final episode next week.
Americans likes their superheroes, which is apparent if you take a look at the list of current movies. Spider-Man 2 and Captain America 2 are playing at theaters today, while Thor, Iron Man, Superman, Batman, and many others have been part of our summer movie viewing for years. And the same goes for television, with Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Smallville, and other shows focusing on heroes on a weekly basis (not to mention the flops, such as The Cape).
So do we need more our of television viewing dedicated to superheroes? The television executives think we do, so prepare yourself for The CW's The Flash, NBC's Constantine, and Fox's Gotham. All three will premiere later this year. And I have to admit Gotham looks like something I may add to my list of must-see TV. Take a look at this trailer for the new series.
Gotham is a Batman prequel starring Benjamin McKenzie, who recently finishing his role as a police officer in Southland, as Detective Gordon, and Donal Francis Logue, who just completed his role of King Horik in season two of Vikings, playing his partner. The cast, storyline, and visuals are promising, with this new series showing the well-known story of young Bruce Wayne but also bringing us the origin stories for other key figures, including the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman, Two-Face, the Joker and Poison Ivy. Yes, Batman has been done to death in the theaters and television, but I am willing to give this story one more look.
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