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.

Downton Abbey: Not Everyone is a Fan

In the most recent The Atlantic, James Parker wrote a review of Downton Abbey titled "Brideshead Regurgitated."  In describing the venerable Robert, Earl of Grantham, Mr. Parker writes:

Imagine Tony Blair stripped of that wolfish gleam of self-interest, inflated with 20 or 30 brisk strokes of a bicycle pump, squeezed into a tweed hunting jacket, and then sent out into the world with a fixed frown of genteel incomprehension. Bonneville has fine comic instincts (he was tremendous, for instance, in Notting Hill), and for the role of Robert he has cultivated a strange, plodding denseness and deliberateness, as if the earl is contending with a minor brain injury. In a sense, there is something wrong with Robert’s brain: his pomposity is so complete, it is almost a state of innocence.

I would have to say such a description is pretty accurate.  I recommend the article for another take on this royal  family that has mesmerized America.  Not to say the negative opinions are difficult to find.  I provide a few more comments below.

-- Simon Schama writing in The Daily Beast:

Nothing beats British television drama for servicing the instincts of cultural necrophilia. So the series is fabulously frocked, and acted, and overacted, and hyper-overacted by all the Usual Suspects in keeping with their allotted roles. 

-- Benedict Cumberbatch quoted in Reader's Digest:

“We’re remembering that there was a world before the First World War. We’re living in a culture now that’s revering, or having a nostalgia trip with, the beginning of the 1900s. Although Downton traded a lot on the sentiment in the last series…but we won’t talk about that series because it was, in my opinion, f*****g atrocious.”

Fringe: The Finale Has Arrived

I for one will miss the Fringe family as the show ends tomorrow night (Friday, January 18th) with a two-hour episode. We have been through a lot with David, Olivia, and Walter, including multiple universes, multiple Walters, and future take-overs of Earth, not to mention all the creepy story lines filling up the space between these major arcs. 

I think it all comes back to the basics of each character.  As with any family, one needs to understand their start and their motives.  Fox provides a nice Fringe 101 profile of each character, which I provide again below.

Peter Bishop:  As the neglected son of a real-life mad scientist, Peter set out to make himself as different from his father as he could. A college drop-out, but also intuitive mathematician, Peter is a jack-of-all-trades who has held every imaginable job from bouncer to biochemical engineer. Against his better judgment, Peter now finds himself following in his father's dangerous footsteps - while assisting a government agency that holds a file containing information about his own possible criminal activity.

Olivia Dunham:  FBI agent Olivia has assembled a task force to investigate The Pattern - a mysterious sequence of unexplained phenomena suggestive of someone or something performing experiments on the world. With the help of mad genius Walter Bishop and his estranged son Peter, she aims to bring high-tech criminals to justice, while defusing previously unimaginable threats to national security. 

Walter Bishop:  Once hailed as one of the most brilliant scientific minds of his generation, Walter's groundbreaking work with lab partner William Bell propelled him into an undisclosed relationship with the U.S. government to advance its most scientifically innovative - and ethically questionable - research projects. Now, Walter supplies the scientific genius and technological wizardry needed to explore The Pattern - a series of events that often trace back to Walter's own scientific explorations. Sadly, his shattered memory can only tell him fragments of the real story. 

These three characters - father and son, husband and wife - combined to create compelling stories each week that allowed them to grow from these important roots yet also continually entangled them in their past (and the family was larger than this, but certainly centered on these three).  The amazing story and special effects surrounding them never changes them fundamentally and, even when they started in different universes, fused their pasts into a new whole.  Was it difficult to follow?  Absolutely.  Was it frustrating at times?  Certainly.  But was it worth the ride?  Yes.  And I hope it will be around for a long time while others discover it.  

Fringe never won any major awards from what I can remember, but when you see and hear its fan base you know it earned something greater.  Revisit the Fringe cast's meeting with fans this past summer at the San Diego Comic Con and you will see what I mean.

The Killing is No Longer Dead

AMC recently announced the return of The Killing for a third season.  Both AMC and Fox will be partnering for this new effort.  While the first two seasons disappointed a few views since the resolution of the Rosie Larsen case took longer than anticipated, it was a well performed, dark, and intense series that merited even greater attention.  Maybe that is why the AMC promises the latest crime investigation will be wrapped up by the end of the third season.   

And we have to remember that the first two seasons of the American version of the story covered a total of 26 episodes, whereas the original show on danish television, known as Forbrydelsen or "The Crime," had 20 episodes in its first season to solve the crime.  So maybe good story telling takes time.

AMC stated the third season will involve runaway girls and a gruesome murder.  If it maintains the quality of the first two seasons, we should expect some great drama.  Let's not forget that Mireille Enos, who played Detective Sarah Linden, was nominated for a Golden Globe.  I am glad to read it is returning for another try, and we are fortunate the key players - Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman (Detective Stephen Holder) - are still available to be part of the third season.  Here is part of the AMC press release: 

AMC and Fox Television Studios (FTVS) announced today a new deal which will return The Killing to AMC for a third season. As part of the deal, Veena Sud returns as executive producer, writer and showrunner along with actors Mireille Enos (Sarah Linden) and Joel Kinnaman (Stephen Holder). Season 3 will focus on a new case, which will be resolved over the course of 12 episodes. Production on Season 3 begins Mon., Feb. 25 in Vancouver.

"The Killing from day one has been a truly original take on the crime drama. Veena Sud and the rest of the talented creative team are hard at work shaping the lives of Linden and Holder, portrayed by the terrific Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman," said Charlie Collier, AMC's president. "We're so pleased to welcome back The Killing for another season."

Fox TV Studios President, David Madden, said, "We have always believed in The Killing and remain extremely proud of it, which is why we all worked so hard to find a scenario that could give it new life."

"I couldn't be happier to know that I will be returning to work with AMC, FTVS and Mireille and Joel on what is and has always been a passion project for me. To the fans that have supported the series, thank you for doing so. My team and I will work hard to deliver the best story that we can for season three," said Veena Sud.

A year after closing the Rosie Larsen case, Sarah Linden is no longer a detective. But when her ex-partner Stephen Holder's search for a runaway girl leads him to discover a gruesome string of murders that connects to a previous murder investigation by Linden, she is drawn back into the life she thought she'd left behind.

American Experience: The Abolitionists

Tonight you can see part two of PBS American Experience's miniseries The Abolitionists.  Below is the official write-up of all three parts.  This may be a nice piece to accompany the award-winning movie Lincoln. 

Radicals. Agitators. Troublemakers. Liberators. Called by many names, the abolitionists tore the nation apart in order to make a more perfect union. Men and women, black and white, Northerners and Southerners, poor and wealthy, these passionate antislavery activists fought body and soul in the most important civil rights crusade in American history. What began as a pacifist movement fueled by persuasion and prayer became a fiery and furious struggle that forever changed the nation.

Bringing to life the intertwined stories of Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Brown, The Abolitionists takes place during some of the most violent and contentious decades in American history, amid white-hot religious passions that set souls on fire, and bitter debates over the meaning of the Constitution and the nature of race. The documentary reveals how the movement shaped history by exposing the fatal flaw of a republic founded on liberty for some and bondage for others, setting the nation on a collision course. In the face of personal risks -- beatings, imprisonment, even death -- abolitionists held fast to their cause, laying the civil rights groundwork for the future and raising weighty constitutional and moral questions that are with us still.

Part One
The opening hour of The Abolitionists features the documentary's five principal characters, whose intertwined lives and shared beliefs came together to form a powerful movement that forever changed the nation.

In the 1820s and 30s, Frederick Douglass was a young slave growing up in Maryland who became hopeful when he heard about abolitionists and their push to end slavery.

William Lloyd Garrison found his life's purpose in the crusade against slavery, founding the newspaper The Liberator in 1831. The paper would become a powerful voice for the movement.

Angelina Grimké, the outspoken daughter of a wealthy Charleston, South Carolina plantation family, abandoned her life of privilege and moved to the North in 1829, where she would become a persuasive and authentic public speaker against slavery.

In 1833, Harriet Beecher Stowe witnessed the brutality of slavery in her first trip to the South. The searing memory of what she saw changed her forever and impacted her greatest work, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Multiple business failures coupled with the murder of an antislavery activist in 1837 galvanized John Brown, and he devoted the rest of his life to the cause.

By 1840, the growing abolitionist movement these activists helped create had fragmented; increasing violence had raised doubts as to the efficacy of its pacifist tactics.

Part Two
In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped slavery, eventually joining William Lloyd Garrison in the antislavery movement. In the North, Douglass became a powerful orator, and reached tens of thousands more with the 1845 publication of his autobiography. When threatened with capture by his former owner, Douglass fled to England, where he experienced life as a free man for the first time. Returning to the U.S. in 1847, he launched his own antislavery paper, The North Star, out of Rochester, New York, causing a rift with his mentor Garrison. Later that year, John Brown met with Douglass in Springfield, Massachusetts, and revealed his radical plan to raise an army, supply them with arms, and free the slaves. Douglass did not share Brown's enthusiasm for such violent tactics.

In 1852, following the tragic death of her own young son and moved by the plight of slave families being torn apart by the Fugitive Slave Law, Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. An instant best seller that became wildly successful as a play, this influential fictional story helped change the hearts and minds of millions of Americans by depicting slavery through the eyes of its victims.

In the spring of 1854, fugitive slave Anthony Burns was held in Boston's city jail, where he became a focal point for both pro- and antislavery advocates. Angry Bostonians attempted to free him, but President Franklin Pierce, an ardent Southern sympathizer, sent in the military to escort him to a ship in the harbor and eventually back to enslavement.

All the attempts at compromise and resolution had only deepened the divide between North and South, touching off a crisis that was about to careen out of control.

Part Three
By 1854, the battle over admitting new territories to the Union had reached a fever pitch. Kansas was the front line of a bloody battle between pro-slavery and free-soil contingents. In 1859, John Brown summoned Frederick Douglass to a secret meeting in Chambersburg, PA, and revealed his plan to capture the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, VA, and start a revolution; Douglass refused to join him. Brown went ahead with the raid, and was injured and captured. Before being executed, he managed to turn himself into a public figure and a martyr for the cause.

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. As Southern states seceded from the Union, the country continued its descent into chaos, and by the following spring, the Civil War had begun. What was almost universally expected to be a quick and bloodless conflict dragged on. On the 22nd of September 1862, news broke that Lincoln would sign the Emancipation Proclamation. For Lincoln, the carnage was unendurable unless it could be given over to a higher purpose.

On New Years Day 1863, Bostonians gathered at two celebrations: William Lloyd Garrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe attended a concert at the Music Hall; Frederick Douglass was at Tremont Temple. Near midnight, the crowds erupted with joy when the announcement came that Lincoln has emancipated the slaves in rebel territory. Not only were slaves free, but African American men could now enlist in the Union forces. Two of Douglass' sons went to war; and even William Lloyd Garrison, the "ultra peace man," allowed his first born to sign up.

In December 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, banning slavery in all the states -- forever. For almost four decades, the abolitionists had dedicated their lives to this moment. It is a triumph of perseverance, of steadfastness, and in the logic and moral power of a movement that had never wavered.

Golden Globe Winners

Just in case you did not catch the winners at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, here is the list:

Best Television Series – Drama

• Boardwalk Empire
• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• Homeland (WINNER)
• The Newsroom

Best Performance by an Actor – Drama

• Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Damian Lewis, Homeland (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress - Drama 

• Connie Britton, Nashville
• Glenn Close, Damages
• Claire Danes, Homeland (WINNER)
• Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
•  Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

  Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical 

• The Big Bang Theory
• Episodes
• Girls (WINNER)
• Modern Family (last year's winner)
• Smash

 Best Performance by an Actor - Comedy or Musical

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Don Cheadle, House of Lies (WINNER)
• Louis C.K., Louie
• Matt LeBlanc, Episodes (last year's winner)
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Performance by an Actress - Comedy or Musical

• Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
• Lena Dunham, Girls (WINNER)
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Game Change (WINNER)
• The Girl
•  Hatfields & McCoys
•  The Hour
• Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actor – Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys (WINNER)
• Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock (Masterpiece)
• Woody Harrelson, Game Change
• Toby Jone, The Girl
• Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn  

Best Performance by an Actress – Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television 

• Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn
• Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
• Sienna Miller, The Girl
• Julianne More, Game Change (WINNER)
• Signourney Weaver, Political Animals   

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Max Greenfield, New Girl
• Ed Harris , Game Change (WINNER)
• Danny Huston , Magic City
• Mandy Patinkin , Homeland
• Eric Stonestreet , Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television 

• Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
• Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
• Sarah Paulson, Game Change
• Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey (WINNER)
• Sofia Vergara, Modern Family 

For a second year in a row, Homeland was awarded best drama, and actress Claire Danes from the same show also won for a second year.  Moreover, Damian Lewis from Homeland also won best actor.  Hence, it was a sweep for HBO (not including Girls and Game Change).  While a number of people have talked up the show, it never really worked for me and I do not understand the buzz.  The last award-worthy spy thriller I saw on television was AMC's Rubicon.  

At some point they might was well call this the Cable Golden Globe Awards (or even the HBO Golden Globe Awards) since the networks were basically shut out.  It must be pretty discouraging to work at a network these days.

Update:  The awards show is available on YouTube, including the opening monologue, Bill Clinton's presentation introducing Lincoln, and the acceptance speech by Jodie Foster.  You can catch the entire awards show here.  

2012 Fall Season Deaths, Part II: Not As Bad As I Thought

By now I thought we would have a higher casualty list for the fall season, but it has been pretty quiet.  Part I of the casualty list included Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue.   To date, this is what I can find on the cancelled pile:

-- Animal Practice:  This NBC series did not last very long - only eight episodes.  While some, such as TV Blend, had promising reviews when the show started, it was not to be:

Animal Practice isn’t a life-changing comedy, and it may suffer from the rut of repeat plotlines a few episodes in, but the pilot is witty, sets up the premise and characters well, and is certainly passable. If you ignore the monkey and the impossibility of such a huge practice with so many regular and exotic animals streaming in at any given moment, and hone in on Justin Kirk, you may find yourself liking NBC’s comedy more than you meant to. Animal Practice may not be as innovative as Louie, but it also doesn’t shoehorn in jokes like Two Broke Girls. 

At least PETA was cheering the demist of the show.  Yes, another controversy over a comedy.  PETA stated the following on its website (showing everyone is now a TV critic):

The only thing funny about this "sitcom" was its laughable ratings. By not tuning in, viewers told NBC that they weren't interested in watching animals dressed up and made to perform cheap tricks—animals who had been torn away from their mothers as babies and subjected to cruel training methods and unnatural living conditions. 

Below are other shows that never made it:

-- Partners:  The CBS comedy about a two friends in an architecture firm, one gay and one straight, died shortly out of the gate.  Although it was created by the same team that gave us the successful Will & Grace, it was not enough.

-- Jersey Girl:  This CBS show about a Jersey girl in a New York law firm never made it past two episodes.   

-- Mob Doctor:  Fox's medical drama about a Chicago doctor with ties to the local mafia was cancelled early in the season but allowed to show all 13 episodes.  

-- Emily Owens, MD:  This CW doctor series about high school friends at a Denver hospital was given one season only. 

-- The Inbetweeners:  While this MTV remake of a British comedy of the same name technically started last summer, I thought it was worth mentioning.  As I wrote earlier, I thought it was a good show that came across as fresh (in both senses of the word) and good in its own right.  Sadly, it was never given a second season to mature (pun intended).  You can watch all of the season one episodes here.  

You can stay abreast of these and other cancellations at TV Series Finale.  Check it out.

January TV: Deception and More

Just this past week a few a number of new shows premiered, including Deception.  This NBC program, premiering last Monday (January 7th), stars Megan Good as Detective Joanna Locasto investigating the death of her friend.  It also stars Tate Donovan, who I miss from his time on Damages.  This is the NBC summary:

When wealthy socialite and notorious party girl Vivian Bowers is found dead of an overdose, no one is really surprised. The heiress to the Bowers pharmaceutical empire has been tabloid fodder for years: wild, pretty, privileged... and now dead at the age of 32. But for FBI agent Will Moreno (Laz Alonso, "Avatar"), things don't add up with this suspicious dynasty. Convinced the troubled girl's death was a homicide, he has a clever plan to get to the truth. Her name is Detective Joanna Locasto (Meagan Good, "Think Like a Man"). Twenty years ago she was Vivian's best friend and practically grew up inside the Bowers' home. And when she appears at Vivian's funeral, the family re-embraces her and no one is the wiser. Joanna quickly begins to uncover dark secrets and clues about why Vivian's life was very much in danger. At the same time, she rekindles an old romantic relationship and rediscovers the allure of the luxurious lifestyle she once knew. She's about to see once again just how the other half lives... and dies.

I enjoyed the pilot episode but I am not sure if I will stay with this one.  As with Revenge, we are supposed to support the wronged woman and dislike the prominent family.  I am not sure how many of these shows we can support each season.  My money, and not that much of it mind you, is on Revenge for now.  You can watch the first episode of Deception here. 

Another show premiering this past week (January 11th) was Banshee from Cinemax.  Lucas Hood (played by Antony Starr shown below) is an ex-con taking on the role of fake sheriff in the small town of Banshee, PA.  The show is from the creator of True Blood and, as expected, it is violent and bloody in order to attract a new audience.  Within the first five minutes you have Hood released from prison, having sex behind a bar, stealing a car,  starting a car chase, and contacting his transvestite friend.  I don't think I forgot anything.  And it gets crazier.  Watch at your own risk.

Entertainment Weekly has a good profile on the show and Starr as well, with Greg Yaitanes, the executive producer of the show, stating:

Starr is from New Zealand and “one of great miracles of the show.” “We were looking for a guy who has life on him as well as feeling compelling and warm while still being a guy. When we got the tape from New Zealand, we started pumping our fist. He just nailed it. He had all that rakish charm that we wanted, yet deeply pained and conflicted. I joked if Alec Baldwin and Russell Crowe had a kid, it would be Antony Starr.”

You can watch the first episode on Cinemax for free. 

One more show officially starting last week (January 10th) was NBC's 1600 Penn, which I discussed in an earlier piece.  Go here for the first episode.

Update:  According to The Chicago Tribune, Banshee has been renewed for a second season.

New on Crackle: Chosen

While you may feel January is busy enough with new shows and the return of favorite shows, you may want to check out the Internet as well.  Crackle has a new series starting January 17th called Chosen starring Milo Ventimiglia that looks pretty interesting from what I can tell from the trailer.  Here is the basic story: 

Ian Mitchell (Milo Ventimiglia) is a small time defense lawyer struggling to raise his daughter in the aftermath of a messy divorce from Laura Mitchell (Nikki Whelan). His life is uprooted when he discovers an intricate box left at his doorstep. Inside the box is a gun, a photo of a stranger, and simple instructions to “expire” this person in 3 days.

Before Ian can wonder if this box is some sick prank the bullets begin to fly. Someone is also trying to kill him. Ian has been ‘chosen’ join a secret, deadly game that is happening all around us every day – but few will ever know. This is the beginning of an adrenalized life-or-death ride that will change Ian’s life forever and force him to decide what is most important to him.

I have not watched Milo in a series since Heroes a few years back (and The Bedford Diaries before that).  And the plot sounds more better than the many of the current shows that have adventure combined with super powers (Arrow), dark powers (666 Park Avenue), or no power (Revolution).  I plan to tune in.

The Return of Justified

I have been patiently awaiting the return of FX's Justified, which returns tonight (January 8th) for its fourth season.  Timothy Olyphant's Marshall Raylan Givens is a combination of failed partner (in love and life), good ol' boy charm, and serious lawman.  After three seasons of fighting local drug lords, distant mob hit-men, and mining companies, it will be interesting to see what he faces this season.  The FX summary says the following about the new season: 

Raylan will start to pick at the thread of a cold case over 30 years in the making, unraveling a riddle that echoes all the way back to his boyhood and his criminal father’s bad dealings. Meanwhile Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) finds his grip on Harlan loosening due to a Pentecostal preacher with a penchant for theatrics and a knack for manipulation to rival his own. 

I am happy to read that Walton Goggins (as Boyd Crowder) is still with the series.  Given his recent performances in the movie Lincoln, as well as his guest appearance (see below) on Sons of Anarchy, I was afraid he might have moved onto other things. 

Walton summarized the new season in a Men's Health interview in this way:

There’s going to be some love, some motherf**kers are going to die, just to be blunt, and the pieces on the board are going to move further toward a showdown between these two men, Raylan Givens [Timothy Olyphant's character] and Boyd Crowder. What more could you want?

Sounds like we are in for another good show.

The Real Star of Downton Abbey

Tonight the third season of Downton Abbey premieres on PBS Masterpiece, yet the real star of the series will appear earlier in the evening.  Highclere Castle has been the backdrop and some may say the centerpiece of Downton Abbey.  If you think about it, the whole series revolves around maintaining the house and surrounding lands.  So what do we know about this castle?  Plenty, and PBS will walk us through it tonight on a special program Secrets of Highclere Castle.  Below I provide more on this series from the PBS site:

Secrets of Highclere Castle is the true story of one of the world’s most famous homes, Highclere Castle in England. Famous as the location backdrop to the hugely-popular costume drama Downton Abbey, the castle also has its own extraordinary tales to tell. 

For centuries it has been the real-life home of the aristocratic Carnarvon family, and has entertained Kings and Queens of England along with a host of nobilities and celebrities. An ancestor of the modern-day Lord and Lady Carnarvon bankrolled the expeditions that discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, which explains one of this stately home’s astonishing secrets. Hidden within secret compartments in its wall are centuries-old Egyptian relics, while in the basement are replicas of the contents of the tomb itself: a slice of Egyptian history transported to the depths of the English countryside.

The show explores Highclere’s illustrious history and reveals that truth can often be stranger than fiction. Many of the events played-out in the fictional Downton Abbey are based-upon true tales from Highclere’s past. Just like its television counterpart, the castle was, for example, a military hospital that played a vital role in the First World War. The hospital, complete with operating theater, was set-up and run by the fabulously wealthy Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, who traded the trappings of her comfortable aristocratic life for the chance to nurse wounded officers brought home from the battlefront.

In the early years of the 20th Century,English aristocrats owned more than half of the land in the country, and the phrase ‘nothing exceeds like excess’ was coined to describe their lifestyles. It was a world of luxury and indolence for a wealthy few, supported by an army of servants toiling ceaselessly "below stairs" to make the privileged lives of their Lords and Ladies run as smoothly as possible. And Highclere was no exception. It was deemed, the social epicenter of Edwardian England, and even hosted HRH The Prince of Wales, the future King of England, for the most extravagant shooting party in Highclere’s history.  The bill came to a staggering thirty thousand dollars just to feed the guests.

Unsurprisingly, such highlife took its toll on the pockets of the aristocrats. Owners of British manor houses were “land rich,” but “cash poor,” and many sought out rich wives as a means of improving their financial fortunes. The 5th Earl of Carnarvon earned new money for the estate through his marriage to a teenage heiress named Almina Wombwell, the illegitimate daughter of banking giant Alfred De Rothschild. She gained a title and access to High Society: he gained access to her fabulous wealth.

Even so, the social and political changes that followed the end of the war in 1918 were to spell ruin for many British country estates. Huge increases in income tax and death duties meant that many families were forced to sell homes that had stood proud for centuries. For British aristocracy it was the end of life as they knew it.  Great country estates fell into ruin and many were demolished. Life at Highclere changed forever – but the house withstood it all.

Today, the castle remains the family home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon. At around a million dollars a year in upkeep, the life of the English nobility is no longer one of extravagant parties and opulence. Secrets of Highclere Castle gives a privileged, behind-the-scenes taste of what it is like to be a modern-day Lord and Lady living in a home with 1300 years of English history.

The Magic of Merlin Lingers a Little Longer

Tonight you can watch the beginning of the end of our friend Merlin.  SyFy will be broadcasting the fifth and final episode of the BBC series.  It has been a fun four seasons and I look forward to seeing how it all wraps up.  And compared to Starz's Camelot, which lasted only one season, the BBC has kept Merlin, Arthur, and the rest of Camelot lively, fun, and interesting for multiple seasons.  

The United Kingdom has already said goodbye to Merlin since the program finished its run last year in that part of the world.  The BBC quoted Colin Morgan, who plays Merlin, as stating "I think the show has run its natural course."  Richard Wilson added, "Speaking as Gaius I feel I have mentored the young wizard as far as I can. He is much smarter and greater than me now and I am simply exhausted."

So what can we expect on tonight's premiere episode called Arthur's Bane - Part One?  Here is a quick summary from the BBC:

Camelot basks in the halcyon days of a new golden age. But even as she flowers, so the dark seeds of her destruction are being sown... For in the frozen wastelands of the north, men are disappearing without trace. In search of answers, King Arthur and his knights must undertake a dangerous mission to the unknown. As the sun sets on the icy plains, Merlin finds himself locked in a battle unlike any he has fought before; a battle with fate itself.

And here is a sneak peak from SyFy on the first episode. 

And don't give up yet on more of Merlin in the future.  Deadline recently noted that the creators of Merlin are starting their own company and considering Merlin spin-offs.