Season Two of Under the Dome: What to Expect

Tonight (June 30) is the premiere of the second season of Stephen King's Under the Dome on CBS.  And what can we expect? In a recent article, King promised the second season would be darker, stating 

“For me, the most interesting idea is this Malthusian concept that there’s too many people and too little space, there’s starting to be this talk about euthanasia and thinning of the herd, and that’s a scary idea,” said King, who will also make a cameo in the season premiere. “In a fantasy series, you have a chance to tackle some of these hot-button issues, and people will accept it, because it’s only make-believe.”

I just wonder if the body count is necessary because the story is starting to drag.  What could have been a one season phenomena is now stretching into multiple seasons, which runs the risk of thinning the story and messing up the original story line.  And now King seems a bit jealous of George R.R. Martin's role in writing Game of Thrones episodes, so he too is more involved in this series.  However, Dome is no Game, and it would need to be Thunderdome to come even close.   

If you want to get up to speed, you cannot do any better than checking out TV.Com's story "Everything We Know About Under the Dome Season 2 and a Catchup on Season 1." All you have to do is read the summary of the first season's last episode and you start to question you sanity about waiting for season 2.  I would like to think Under the Dome is a guilty pleasure that you cannot tell anyone about, but I am not sure if I could explain it anyway.  Maybe the book is better, but I have put down many a Stephen King book (and movie) without getting to the end.  I think the same may happen here.  Enjoy, I think.

HBO: Don't Be Left Behind

While it may sound like a new cooking show, HBO's new series The Leftovers is deadly serious.  We have moved from an age that fears nuclear war to one that fears two things - environmental disaster and the wrath of God.  Of course, the recent movie Noah blended both in its telling, but generally they are told separately.  

Well, the religious masses are getting their own show on HBO tomorrow night (June 29).  The Leftovers begins three years after 2 percent of the world's population simply vanished.  Was it the "rapture" and, if so, what does it mean for those left behind?  The series will discuss this and more.  If you want to read ahead, you can review Tom Perrotta's book of the same name that formed the nucleus of this new show.  Here is a summary of the situation from Mr. Perrotta's website:

What if the Rapture happened and you got left behind? Or what if it wasn't the Rapture at all, but something murkier, a burst of mysterious, apparently random disappearances that shattered the world in a single moment, dividing history into Before and After, leaving no one unscathed? How would you rebuild your life in the wake of such a devastating event?

This is the question confronting the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, a formerly comfortable suburban community that lost over a hundred people in the Sudden Departure. Kevin Garvey, the new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized neighbors, even as his own family falls apart. His wife, Laurie, has left him to enlist in the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence but haunt the streets of town as "living reminders" of God's judgment. His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet by the name of Holy Wayne. Only his teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she's definitely not the sweet A student she used to be.

Through the prism of a single family, Perrotta illuminates a familiar America made strange by grief and apocalyptic anxiety. The Leftovers is a powerful and deeply moving book about people struggling to hold onto a belief in their own futures.

I believe the mayor is now the chief of police in the HBO series, but much of the story remains the same.  In discussing his book on NPR, Mr. Perrotta noted:

"I spent a lot of time thinking about contemporary Christianity, and obviously the rapture kept coming up," he says. "My first impulse was ... to laugh it off — it's sort of a funny idea, people just floating away. But I kept thinking: What if it did happen? ... I thought, I'm such a skeptic that even if it did happen, I would resist the implications of it, and I also thought that three years later, everyone would have forgotten about it. No matter what horrible thing happens in the world, the culture seems to move on."

And what do the critics say?  Salon called it "stagnant" in a recent review:

The whole plot of “The Leftovers,” in fact, despite being a plot-driven show, feels stagnant. Not only do all of the reasons for everything occur in the past, but none of it makes sense or follows from the facts on the ground. A bunch of people disappeared without a trace, so now… everyone is running wild and doing crazy self-destructive stuff? So it’s just like the whole globe got sent to an elite prep school, in other words? No, some people are still trying, but desperation and despair reign supreme. All of this because an event no one could explain occurred three years ago? I’m not sure I buy that most people wouldn’t have employed their usual modes of denial (Hello, global warming!) and moved on with their blindly optimistic humdrum lives by now.

The Chicago Tribune's review was more nuanced:

There's nothing warm or welcoming about it, nor is there meant to be..."The Leftovers" grafts more unhappiness onto unhappiness. Where "Game of Thrones" revels in even its most gruesome developments, it exists safely within the bounds of fantasy, so slay away. "The Leftovers" mainly acts as a means to deliver the worst news about human nature.  Yet, despite the downer language of this review, the show delivers on an exceedingly intriguing premise, with some of the most beguilingly morose performances delivered this year. It's a strange but good wallow.

Plenty to ponder.  So see for yourself if you are depressed or fascinated with HBO's latest program.  If it turns out to be one of the best new shows this season, you don't want to be left behind.

A New Type of Tyrant?

If you want to pull yourself away from the slow melt-down in the Middle East, you can turn on your television tonight (June 24) and see it all from a different angle.  The new series Tyrant on FX is the story of one man returning from his Western existence to his Middle Eastern home to take on a leadership role.  As with the young Bashar Hafez al-Assad (an eye doctor) who returned home after the death of his older brother only to be the latest tyrant in the region, we can watch this new doctor return home and determine if he can do any better.

Here is FX's quick summary of the program (and a trailer):

Tyrant tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the inner workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed (Adam Rayner), the youngest son of a war-torn country's controversial dictator, returns to his homeland after a self-imposed 20-year exile in America for his nephew's wedding. Upon his return, Barry is immediately thrown back into the familial and national politics of his youth. He braces himself to confront the stark realities of his father and older brother Jamal's (Ashraf Barhom) harsh rule, and finds himself at odds with Jamal's wife, Leila (Moran Atias), who strongly believes in a firm, unforgiving regime. 

Although his wife, Molly (Jennifer Finnigan), struggles to comprehend her husband's apprehension, Barry is unable and unwilling to make his all-American family understand his unease over returning home. Emma (Anne Winters), their 17-year-old daughter, adores her father and shares his disdain for the extravagances of her extended family. Meanwhile, their son, 16-year-old Sammy (Noah Silver), revels in the lavish lifestyle their "royal" status brings, but dangerously tests cultural divides with his poorly disguised interest in handsome family bodyguard Abdul (Mehdi Dehbi). 

Barry's only warm memory of his childhood, boyhood friend Fauzi (Fares Fares), wants nothing to do with him. Fauzi is now a journalist, whose reports on the abuses of the Al-Fayeed rule resulted in his arrest and torture. Barry must now confront the life he once fled. With his father's health in decline, everyone – Jamal, their mother Amira (Alice Krige), their father's top advisor Yussef (Salim Daw), and even easygoing U.S. diplomat John Tucker (Justin Kirk) – expects him to assume a more active role in both the family and the regime.

The new show is already in trouble with some because it is seen as stereo-typing all Arabs.  A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations stated, "In the pilot of FX's 'Tyrant,' Arab Muslim culture is devoid of any redeeming qualities and is represented by terrorists, murderous children, rapists, corrupt billionaires and powerless female victims...In 'Tyrant,' even the 'good' Arab Muslims are bad."

It probably doesn't help the main character is played by a non-Arab and the whole series is filmed in Israel.  But even with all of this baggage, we have few shows that venture into this region, so maybe is can shed some light.  Maybe. 

Werewolves Are Back on Monday Night!

Season four of MTV's Teen Wolf starts tonight (June 23), and the Japaneses theme is over.  The new twist is Mexican, but the party is smaller with the death of a Allison and departure of Issac and the twins.  Its a scaled down show, but the crew is getting back one of its original characters from season one - Allison's aunt Kate.  You may remember Kate's nasty death, but that never really stopped anyone (does that also include Allison one of these days, I wonder?).  Take a look at this trailer to see what's in store for you tonight.

I like the Nerdist's spin on the series:

This series is the closest thing we’ve gotten to Buffy since the famed Whedon show ended in 2003. We already mentioned the tone, but what the series also does, much like the vampire drama, is build dynamic, three dimensional characters in a world that’s normally devoid of them.

I never thought of it that way, but this scrappy show has built a strong fan base on likeable characters in a very weird world.  It is not the dreary, snarky Vampire Diaries, or the off-the-tracks True Blood.  It goes back to regular friends in a screwed up world.  Let's hope we never get tired of the simple things in life (with a werewolf thrown in).

PBS Shows Us London's Underside

Tonight (June 22) on PBS you can take a tour of London's underground and learn about the fascinating layers of history under this great city.  Here is some background on Secrets of Underground London:

On the surface, London is a buzzing, modern metropolis — but underneath lies a hidden world, all but forgotten by the millions of people above. From ancient caves and preserved Roman remains to mysterious rivers and plague pits, SECRETS OF UNDERGROUND LONDON uncovers 2,000 years of subterranean history.

 

The special unearths historical locations such as the London Silver Vaults beneath Chancery Lane and Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s bunkers — where he conducted his strategic plan to win the war — directly under Westminster. Also revealed, among others, are the derelict elevators and platforms of Aldwych Tube Station, which not only provided citizens shelter during the WWII Blitz but housed the British Museum’s priceless treasures in secret tunnels.

 

“As people go through their everyday lives, untold treasures of history and mystery are hiding in plain sight across the city of London,” said Gareth Sacala, director at Pioneer Productions. “In never-before-seen footage, we take viewers to places that demonstrate the resiliency and ingenuity of the British throughout history.”

Here is the trailer.  It looks great and I plan to check it out. 

More Weekend Adventures: The Last Ship and The Musketeers

Two new shows premiere tonight (June 22) and I am not sure when I will get to them with all the other great shows starting this summer or still underway.  TNT, the same network that is bringing us Falling Skies tonight, has a new show called The Last Ship.  And BBC America is bringing us more than fake royals with its retelling of a great French classic The Three Musketeers.  Some details are provided below.

-- The Last Ship:  Remember ABC's show Last Resort about a renegade submarine with a crew that did not want to be part of killing millions of Pakistanis for a crazy U.S. president?  Well, now we have another navy ship separated from the pack, but this time unintentionally as the world goes to hell.  About 80 percent of the world's population has died from a mysterious virus, and our crew is determined to hold things together while searching for a cure.  By the way, the 20 percent still alive is not too friendly, so you can expect mad Russians and nuclear explosions.  This series is a Michael Bay product, so you know the action will be pretty crazy. Take a look at this clip for more.

-- The Musketeers:  Retelling classic tales can be dangerous if you stray too much from the original tale  and upset readers, though I am not sure how many young adults are reading classics these days versus The Hunger Games and similar stories.  So in this case, retelling may be the first telling for many in the audience and it could lead to a greater curiosity about the source material. Let's hope BBC America can bring back the classics one at a time, starting with the 1844 classic story by Alexandre Dumas.  BBC America also brings viewers up to speed with this quick bio of the characters:

D’Artagnan, a skilled fighter from rural Gascony, meets the three Musketeers while on a mission to right the wrong of his father’s death. Although he meets the men in unfortunate circumstances, he finds kindred spirits in the other soldiers. Athos, who has rejected his noble roots to become a Musketeer, quickly befriends D’Artagnan, but has a past which is shrouded in mystery, and is prone to getting in trouble.

Porthos is a larger-than-life character, who has come from humble beginnings to become a soldier in the most elite regiment in the land, finding a family in the other Musketeers. Never short of admirers, Aramis has an effortless charm which leads him in and out of love. Despite this, he is a shrewd pragmatist who is ferocious in battle and commands a key place in the brotherhood.
 
Constance Bonacieux (Tamla Kari) leads a dull but comfortable life married to a cloth merchant, but her life is turned upside down when D’Artagnan tumbles into her world, and she becomes involved with the Musketeers.

Cardinal Richelieu (Peter Capaldi), while striving to achieve his vision of a thoroughly modern France, is a shadowy character who will stop at nothing to achieve his objectives. Milady (Maimie McCoy) is the Cardinal’s secret weapon, the most mysterious and beautiful of villains whose motives are often concealed.

The King relies on the advice of the Cardinal, his shrewd wife Queen Anne and also Captain Treville (Hugo Speer), the brave and respected commander of the Musketeers who keeps an eye on the soldiers to ensure they stay out of trouble. The series bursts with escapism, adventure and romance and is set to thrill audiences with riveting stories every week. 

BBC America must have some faith in this production since it has already renewed it for a second season after it aired in the United Kingdom earlier this year.  Here is a trailer showing what you can expect. 

GOT Season Finale: Just Okay

Game of Thrones fans have been raving about the season finale last week, "The Children," and viewership was certainly high, with 7.1 million sitting by their televisions and the show's popularity surpassing HBO's The Sopranos.  However, I was underwhelmed.

If you haven't seen it, you should go no further here.  If you have, maybe you will agree with me that the prior episode, “The Watchers on the Wall,” with the entire episode focusing on the Wildlings attack on the Wall would have been a better ending to the season.  The two-front battle scenes reminded me of the Lord of the Rings films on a somewhat appropriately scaled down level, while we saw Jon Snow finally take on the long-awaiting role as leader of the Night's Watch.  The ending scenes with the death of Ygritte and Jon Snow walking alone into the wasteland north of the Wall was the perfect set up for the next season.

But no, we still had one more episode where instead of a single location, we hopped from location to location as characters drop one by one - Tywin, the Hound, Shae, and Jojen - and went to Dany long enough to show here chaining two of her dragons.  The whole episode had the feeling of cleaning up the remains of the season so things can start anew next season.  Maybe this is consistent with the book, but the writers have not been afraid to stray a bit for the sake of the on-screen story, and this is maybe where they should have tried a little harder.  I am not saying the final episode did not have plenty of good scenes and was an important marker in the series.  I am simply saying it could have been part of the cliffhanger going into the next season.  Oh well, what's done is done. 

What is it About "Royalty"?

I was happy to hear that Fox's  I Wanna Marry "Harry" was cancelled soon after being introduced, thinking that we did not need another show that embarrasses Americans on a international scale.  But the networks had other plans on this front, and now BBC America is getting into the act (those silly Brits).  So prepare yourself for Almost Royals, a reality show about fake aristocrats visiting various parts of America to poke fun at us.  Yes, Borat times two.  The Brits seem to have a lot of fun with this type of comedy.  I am not sure we could do the same over there.  

Here is BBC America's spin on the show:

Georgie (Ed Gamble) and Poppy Carlton (Amy Hoggart) are heirs to Caunty Manor, a large country estate in Norfolk, England, where they have enjoyed privileged lives as distant descendants of the British Royal Family. They have agreed to have a camera crew follow them on an unofficial royal tour of the USA.

While also commemorating their late father, Lord Carlton, the road trip will provide the sheltered siblings with an opportunity to spread their wings and experience life across the pond. Georgie and Poppy have never worked a day in their lives, driven themselves anywhere or solved any problem more complex than telling their butler to tell their cook what they want for lunch. 

Georgie Carlton is the most affable man one could meet. He’s using the trip around America as a way to become more “manly” in order to take on the responsibilities of Caunty Manor and live up to his Father’s legacy. Poppy Carlton is looking forward to raising her profile on the trip around America. She has high hopes of finding fame as a pop star/actor/author/lifestyle guru/cookery presenter. Poppy has all of the self-delusion required to find fame without having a scrap of talent. 

I guess talentless people hoping to find fame is the name of the game in our current celebrity culture, so few Americans should be surprised by this pair.  However, unlike Fox's "Harry" attempt, this one was a lot of fun.  The first episode takes place in Los Angeles, followed by Boston.  I watched the second episode, available online, and took an immediate liking to the dimwitted pair as they walked their way through Boston calling Paul Revere a "snitch," complaining about the lack of tea at a Tea Party event, and trying out American baseball.  None of it was mean-spirited and it did shine some light on American habits, but good and bad.  I will take Georgie and Poppy over "Harry" any day.

Angel Battles on SyFy

I recently noted that a Supernatural spin-off with Castiel taking the lead would be a good series.  Well, The CW has yet to take this step, but SyFy is giving this a concept a spin with its new series Dominion.  The show premieres tonight (June 19) and stars Christopher Egan (Kings) as Alex Lannon and Anthony Head (Merlin, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as the Secretary of Commerce.  Here is the story from SyFy:

Dominion is an epic supernatural drama set in the near future. Specifically, 25 years after "The Extinction War," when an army of lower angels, assembled by the archangel Gabriel, waged war against mankind. The archangel Michael, turning against his own kind, chose to side with humanity. Rising out of the ashes of this long battle are newly fortified cities which protect human survivors. At the center of the series is the city of Vega, a glistening empire that has formed from the ruins of what was once Las Vegas.

Here is a quick clip so you can see the Las Vegas of the future.  It looks promising, though I never did see the 2010 movie Legion, where this story begins.  Here is the Legion plot if it help (taken from Wikipedia, the place for everything):

The Archangel Michael falls to Earth in Los Angeles and cuts off his wings. He steals a police car after a policeman is killed by another officer who is possessed. He then heads for the Paradise Falls diner, near the edge of the Mojave Desert. Meanwhile, Kyle, a single father driving to Los Angeles, stops at the diner. There he meets the owner, Bob Hanson; Bob's son, Jeep; the short-order cook, Percy; a pregnant waitress, Charlie; a married couple, Howard and Sandra Anderson; and their rebellious teenage daughter, Audrey. An old woman enters the diner. She seems pleasant at first, but then begins taunting the diner's patrons. When Howard confronts her, she rips his throat open, screeches that they are all going to die, and climbs up the ceiling like an insect. Kyle shoots her before she can kill Jeep. Percy, Kyle, Sandra, Audrey, and Charlie try to get Howard to the hospital, but they are forced to turn back after passing through a swarm of flies.

Michael arrives and arms the patrons as the entire sky plunges into blackness. Hundreds of cars approach, filled with possessed people who begin to attack the diner. Michael leads the patrons in the fight, but Howard is dragged away. Later, Michael explains that God has lost faith in mankind and has sent His angels to destroy the human race. He also reveals that Charlie's baby must stay alive, as it is destined to be the savior of mankind; Michael disobeyed God's order to kill Charlie's baby, as he still has faith in humanity. The next morning, Sandra discovers Howard crucified behind the restaurant and covered with huge boils. She tries to rescue him, but he violently explodes into acid. Percy dies shielding Sandra from the blast, and Sandra is driven insane. Meanwhile, the remaining survivors hear a radio transmission that reveals there are other pockets of resistance. One such refuge is nearby, but Michael advises them not to go, since they would be too vulnerable on the move.

That night, a second wave of possessed attack. Kyle is lured out by a trap and killed, and the attack pushes a panicked Charlie into labor. Audrey and Michael help her deliver the baby as trumpets sound, signaling the approach of the Archangel Gabriel. In a panic, Sandra breaks her restraints and tries to give the baby to the possessed, but Michael guns her down. Moments later, Gabriel enters the diner and seriously injures Bob. Michael urges the group to escape and enigmatically tells Jeep to "find the prophets, learn to read the instructions". The hordes of possessed humans are unable to approach Charlie's baby, so Jeep, Audrey, Charlie, and the baby make their way to Michael's cruiser. 

Gabriel and Michael fight to a standstill, ending with Gabriel's stabbing Michael through the chest with his mace. Michael dies and his body disappears. Dying, Bob uses a lighter engraved "hope" to ignite the diner's gas main and blow up the diner, incinerating himself and the remaining possessed.
 
Jeep's body is covered in the same mysterious drawings seen on Michael's body; Jeep concludes that the tattoos are his instructions. Gabriel then appears and swoops down on the fleeing car. As he tries to reach Charlie, Audrey jumps on him and sacrifices herself by yelling at Jeep to slam on the brakes, sending her and Gabriel through the front windshield as the car crashes and buys Jeep and Charlie time to get away. Gabriel finally corners the three in the nearby mountains. He is about to kill them when Michael descends from Heaven, an angel once more, and stops Gabriel. Michael tells Gabriel that Gabriel gave God what he asked for but Michael did what God needed, thus giving humanity another chance; Michael also gives the impression that everything that happened so far was part of God's plan to test His angels and that Gabriel failed Him. Ashamed, Gabriel leaves. Michael explains to Jeep that he is the child's true protector and to have faith they will see him again. Michael then flies off. Charlie and Jeep make it to the top of the mountain and see a small town in the valley below. Sometime later, Charlie, Jeep, and the baby are seen driving off into the distance with a station wagon full of weapons.

That's quite a story.  Still interested?  Christopher Egan's character Alex Lannon is the son of Jeep, now that we know who he is.   I am not sure about the series, but I will watch the first episode to see what happens next.   However, I think I may still want that Supernatural spin-off as well. 

Update:  I enjoyed the pilot episode more than I expected to.  Whereas the archangel Michael is a little stiff (no sense of humor it seems), the activity around him is pretty exciting.  The shows starts with a bang and gets really interesting when the city tries to keep one of the possessed humans as a pet.  I am not sure why the "bad" angels are dressed like superheroes (we have enough of those shows), but overall the story and special effects held together.  I am just surprised that Las Vegas looks so good after the horrible "Extinction War."  I was not sure Las Vegas could even survive nowadays with the "Water War" (my term) and bad economy.  You just never know, do you?

Surviving the End of the World - Defiance and Falling Skies

Before we had the planet-bound teenage tyrants taking over a decimated Earth in The CW's The 100,  we had SyFy's Defiance with various human and otherwise tribes fighting over a decimated Earth as well as TNT's Falling Skies, where humans are caught between two alien races fighting their own star wars with Earth as collateral damage.  

If you missed the first season of Defiance, hurry up and catch up because the second season starts Thursday (June 19).  This trailer may help as well. Yes, parts of Defiance make little sense, such as a terraformed Earth in 2047 that puts the city of St. Louis underground but somehow leaves the arch above ground, but I am not sure is that is any more surprising than multiple space species living and fighting on the planet's surface after a destructive war.  It seems Earth was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the Votans looking for a new home on Earth after losing their own planet.  Soon the suspicious Earthlings and space-bound Votans fought a war that led to a run-away terra-forming of the planet and a new dark age of warring clans with periodic flashes of useful technology.  Think Mad Max with a dash of the Wild West thrown in.  

Falling Skies is going into its fourth season on June 22nd with the 2nd Mass militia continuing to follow Noah Wyle's professor Tom Mason.  He leads his growing family and the remaining survivors into a very uncertain future after allying with a newly appearing alien race while also coordinating with rebel elements of the original aliens who destroyed Earth and enslaved its children.  The series provides a hopeful family drama within the wastelands of a devastated Earth, and Wyle's performance is a big part of the show's success.  As the new season begins, the 2nd Mass has returned to their new home in Charleston, South Carolina, after a series of battles.  This clip provides insight into what awaits them in Charleston.  Hint - it is not a warm welcome.  

Update:  The first episode of Falling Skies is available early at no cost on iTunes.   Be prepared for a complex story and more broken families.  You get few light story lines in this show.

More of The Fosters on ABC Family

The second season of The Fosters premieres on ABC Family tonight (June 16). This story about a mixed-race lesbian couple raising five children, both natural and adopted, has come at a time the definition of a "family" has been changing across the country.  The first season tackled a number of issues, including gay marriage, abortion, drug abuse, and parental rights.  Rosie O'Donnell joined the cast in the second half of the season as a tough but loving counselor at a home for troubled girls.  

The executive producer of the show is Jennifer Lopez, who stated at the GLAAD Awards that she had a lesbian aunt in Manhattan who did not have an easy time living her life.  In speaking of her support for The Fosters, Lopez stated, "Love is love and that’s what I tell my children everyday. It’s what we have to make everyone understand so that the world can be a better, safer, more diverse, more inclusive and more loving place and we are on our way."

American Pharaoh on PBS

If you want to understand the Middle East through a different lens, in this case sports, check out PBS's program American Pharaoh scheduled for tomorrow night (May 16).  The program covers the Egyptian soccer team the Pharaohs as they attempt to quality for the 2014 World Cup under the leadership of an American coach.  PBS notes:

After a successful run as coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, reaching the second round in the 2010 World Cup, Bradley signed on to coach the Egyptian team in September 2011. Faced with ongoing violence and political upheaval within the country, the Pharaohs were the only team in the world to win every qualification game prior to a 6-1 regional loss to Ghana in October 2013. 

While we will not see the Egyptian team playing in Brazil in this year's World Cup, the story still resonates in a time of new upheaval in the Middle East, this time in Iraq.  While sports cannot change the political situation on the ground, it does offer other more constructive methods of competition.  If only we could settle the Israel-Palestinian situation with a few soccer games.

Are Your Ready for Even More Vampires?

Only one month remains before the July 13th premiere of FX's new 13-episode vampire series The Strain.  This is not the London-based inventor version of vampires, as was the case in the NBC's recently canceled Dracula, but instead a much scarier version.  In fact, the original Dracula attack on London would probably be seen as child's play compared to this attack on New York City.  One look at this trailer will give you some idea what is coming our way.  

The television series is the product of filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and author Chuck Hogan and based on thier best-selling vampire novel trilogy of the same title.  FX explains:

The Strain is a high concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers, wage war for the fate of humanity itself.

It sounds like a variation of World War Z, with the trailer looking like a episode of Fringe.  In his review of the book some years ago, Xan Brooks in London's The Guardian writes: 

The Strain makes a break from Stoker's model. These vampires are not the silky Transylvanian aristocrats of yore. Nor, for that matter, are they the troubled, emo-style heart-throbs featured in the novels of Stephenie Meyer or the film of Let the Right One In. Instead, they are mindless, undead leeches, more akin to the zombies from a George Romero movie. 

We shall see if the series lives up to the book and all the hype.  If so, two more books await transformation to the television set. And if you still need more vampires, you can always watch gory versions of the monster in Victorian England via Showtime's newly broadcast  Penny Dreadful, which has already been renewed for a second season.  Penny Dreadful is much better than I anticipated given some of the earlier reviews (see my earlier entry).

Status Check: Where Are They Now?

With all of the network television carnage last month, I though it would be good to take a look at shows I have covered this year to see where they are today. And now that I have tallied the list, it was pretty bad but pretty evenly divided among ABC, CBC, NBC, Fox, and The CW.  With so many new shows coming on line this summer, I guess some additional room was required.  I miss some of the canceled shows, as I have noted earlier, but we are lucky so many good shows are still with us and more on the way. 

 Renewed/Returning:  

• The 100 for a second season on The CW
  
• About a Boy for a second season on NBC
  
• Alpha House for a second season on Amazon
• The Americans for a third season on FX
• Bitten for a second season on SyFy
• The Blacklist for a second season on NBC
• Black Sails for a second season on Starz
• Broad City for a second season on Comedy Central
• Chicago P.D. for a second season on NBC
• Chosen for a third season on Crackle
• Comedians in a Car Getting Coffee for at least six more seasons on Crackle 
• Da Vinci's Demons for a third season on Starz
• Downton Abbey for a fifth season on PBS
• The Fosters for a second season on ABC Family
• Game of Thrones for a fifth and sixth season by HBO
• Girls for a fourth season on HBO
• Helix for a second season on SyFy
• HitRECord for season two on Pivot
• Homeland for a fourth season on Showtime
• House of Cards for a third season on Netflix
• Justified for a sixth season on FX
• Looking for a second season on HBO
• Mad Men for part two of its last season on AMC
• Parks and Recreation for a seventh season on NBC
• Portlandia for a fifth season
• The Red Road for a second season at Sundance
• Resurrection for a second season on ABC
• Salem for a second season on WGN
  
• Scandal for a fourth season on ABC
• Shameless for a fifth season on Showtime
• Sherlock for a fourth season on PBS 
• Silicon Valley for a second season on HBO
• Supernatural for a tenth season on The CW
• Teen Wolf for a fourth seasion on MTV
• True Detective for a second season on HBO
• Veep for a fourth season on HBO
• Vikings for a third season on History Channel
• Wahlburgers for 18 more episodes on A&E.

 Canceled:

• Assets on ABC
  
• Being Human on SyFy
• Believe on NBC
• Betas on Amazon
• Crisis on NBC
  
• Enlisted on Fox
• Friends with Better Lives on CBS
• Growing up Fisher on NBC
  
• Hostages on CBS
• Intelligence on CBS
• Mind Games on ABC 
• Mixology on ABC
• Rake on Fox
• Star-Crossed on The CW
• Supernatural: Bloodlines on The CW
• Surviving Jack on Fox
• The Tomorrow People on The CW 

Update:  MTV's Faking It and Showtime's Penny Dreadful have both been renewed for a second season.

A&E's Longmire: Wyoming's Finest

The third season of A&E's show Longmire arrived quietly last night (June 2) but it will not go unnoticed if only because it is one of the more unique police shows on television these days.  Sheriff Walt Longmire is one of those gritty old west characters that you seldom see on television anymore, though together with the rest of his team he solves a mystery each week in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. 

In addition to the recently-widowed sheriff, played by Robert Taylor, the show hosts a number of interesting characters, including Katee Sackhoff (well known from Battlestar Galactica) playing fellow officer Vic who escaped to Wyoming and is being haunted by part, as well as Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays Walt's friend Henry and often represents the spiritual conscience of the show.

In the current season, the search for the killer of Walt's wife continues, as does the search for the killer's killer.  Walt and Henry are both suspects, with Henry being jailed at the end of last season.  But this is just one of a number of cliff hangers from last season.  What really keeps the show going is the Luddite Walt learning more about himself and seeking out Native American traditions to keep himself on the right path.  Not that the local Native Americans leaders see him as a ally as they take uniquely non-traditional paths to address their own interests.  

I look forward to the new season and the adventures of Walt.  I cannot think of another police serial with this amount of texture, which I hope is enough to support more seasons of the show.  So sit back and enjoy the "Wild West" as it intersects with the world of today.