The Last Child on Earth?

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

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

Here is the basic plot from Fox:

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

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

Be careful what you wish for, Phil...

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

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

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

The End of an Era: Leonard Nimoy

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

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

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

Thanks, Mr. Nimoy.

A Different Take on House of Cards

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

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

Reality TV: Sex and Outlaws

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon Deciding on Pilots

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

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

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

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

Season Three with Frank Underwood

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

Are You Ready for a New Odd Couple?

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

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

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

The Vikings are Coming!

The third season of Vikings returns to the History Channel tonight.  The story follows the tale of Ragnar Lodbrok and his family as they lead the expansion of the vikings into England and surrounding areas.  Starring Tavis Fimmel as the legendary Ragnar, the first two seasons covered the reorganization of the clans on the home front and probes into ancient England.  This season the saga continues as the vikings get a better foothold on this new land.  

Here is the summary from the History Channel:

Season 3 begins with Ragnar as King and follows the great responsibility that now rests on the shoulders of the former farmer.

With the promise of new land from the English, Ragnar leads his people to an uncertain fate on the shores of Wessex. King Ecbert has made many promises and it remains to be seen if he will keep them. But ever the restless wanderer, Ragnar is searching for something more and he finds it in the mythical city of Paris. Rumored to be impenetrable to outside forces, Ragnar and his band of Norsemen must come together to break down its walls and cement the Vikings legend in history.

The gripping family saga of Ragnar, Rollo, Lagertha and Bjorn continues as alliances and loyal friendships are questioned, faith is catechized and relationships are strained. VIKINGS tells the extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors and portrays life in the Dark Ages, a world ruled by raiders and explorers, through the eyes of Viking society.

Some have called the series a lighter version of Game of Thrones, but I find it to be a unique story that sheds some light on the past.  While I like dragons like the next person, I also like to dip into a good historic tale.  

Netflix: Dark Bloodline Coming Soon

I recommend the trailer for Netflix's new series Bloodline.  The show stars Kyle Chandler, who I haven't really seen much of since his time on the terrific series Friday Night Lights, and was created by the same people who brought us Damages, another great series.  With this combination, I am already impressed.  

Here is Netflix's summary:
 
"Bloodline" is a dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents' hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns' dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.

The trailer is dark and ominous.  It is not exactly a warm and fuzzy family story.  And while Chandler's character is no longer the earnest coach, he is still the good guy as the local law officer, though I am not sure that helps him given what we see in the trailer.  Stay tuned. 

The series will be released on March 20th.  In the meantime, you can watch the third season of Netflix's House of Cards (starting February 27th) and catch up on its new show Marco Polo. 

Rob Lowe and His Television Presence

Variety magazine reports that Rob Lowe will soon be starring in a new Fox comedy called The Grinder where he plays TV lawyer Dean Sanderson who returns home assuming his time on TV qualifies him to assist with his family's law firm.  

Rob Lowe is also starring in the part of a priest in NBC's new series Apocalypse, described by Variety as follows:

The series, slated for 10 episodes, follows an extended family whose lives unexpectedly cross paths, just as the news of an impending comet colliding with Earth hits. The characters — some of whom are destined to live in a bunker below ground — are described as a foul-mouthed priest, an unhinged white supremacist, a mild-mannered bank manager, a germophobic cyberterrorist, a five-star general and a child who possibly rose from the dead.

And Comedy Central is also making an animated series starring the voice of Rob Lowe called Moonbeam City.  The new series should start shortly on the network.  Here is the trailer and a quick description:

The animated series Moonbeam City stars Rob Lowe as Dazzle Novak, a detective in America’s most fluorescent metropolis, whose desire to serve is second only to his non-stop sex drive. But with Chief Pizzaz Miller (Elizabeth Banks) cramping his style and his rival Rad Cunningham (Will Forte) undermining him at every turn, he may have to face the (very synthy) music and do some actual police work.

All of this should keep Rob Lowe busy, especially when you also include his work with the final season of NBC's Parks and Recreation as well as his television commercials for Direct TV.

For someone who started out as a star in feature films, he has done very well with the transition to television.  Of course, we knew that years ago with his work on The West Wing and Brothers and Sisters, but his film career is dwarfed by his television work, though we still see him making TV movies (The Pro and Killing Kennedy) and most recently taking smaller part in regular films (The Interview and Sex Tape).  

As we have also seen to a degree with Tom Cruise, he is willing to poke fun at himself and have fun with smaller roles. And I think his acting is better than ever.  Too bad Charlies Sheen never learned how to tone it down with age. 

More New Shows: Schitt, Slaps, and Bosch

If you still have room on your television schedule, a few new shows are starting this week, though at least one is probably doomed from the start.  

-- Schitt's Creek (POP), February 11:  With an unfortunate name like this, should you still watch?  I'm both intrigued and repelled.   Here is the basic story from USA Today:

Schitt's reunites Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, who've collaborated for decades on the SCTV sketch-comedy series and Christopher Guest's mockumentary movies (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman). The series, acquired from Canada's CBC network, stars the pair as a rich couple who lose their riches, earned from a failed video-store chain, and are forced to live in a motel in a sad-looking town that dad bought as a joke because of its name. Levy created the series with his son, Daniel, who co-stars as his fictional son, and it was filmed in and near Toronto. 

-- The Slap (NBC), February 12:  Can you sustain and entire season based on an adult slapping a child?  I doubt it, but you have some promising writers and actors trying to pull it off.  And did we really have to go to Australia to find this plot?  This is the story: 

"The Slap" is a miniseries based on the book by Christos Tsiolkas and the Australian television series ("The Slap") produced by Matchbox Pictures.

Meet Hector (Peter Sarsgaard, "An Education," "Blue Jasmine"), a public servant, husband, father and valued friend on the cusp of his 40th birthday. Meet Aisha (Thandie Newton, "Crash," "Beloved"), Hector's beautiful and intelligent wife who is planning his party filled with friends and his very boisterous Greek family. Sounds like the makings of a great day, right? Wrong.

As Hector tries to navigate family politics, awkward friendships and the young woman he is dangerously captivated by, the built-up tension explodes when Hector's hotheaded cousin slaps another couple's misbehaving child. Everyone is understandably stunned, and the party abruptly ends with the child's parents vowing legal action. What the hosts and guests don't know, however, is that this moment will ignite a chain of events that will uncover long-buried secrets within this group of friends and family... and vigorously challenge the core values of everyone involved.

"The Slap" also stars Uma Thurman ("Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill"), Zachary Quinto ("Star Trek," "American Horror Story"), Melissa George ("30 Days of Night," "In Treatment"), Thomas Sadoski ("The Newsroom") and Brian Cox ("X-Men 2," "Red 2").

From writer-executive producer Jon Robin Baitz ("Brothers & Sisters"), executive producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald ("Gladiator," the "Men in Black" franchise) and director (pilot only) and executive producer Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right," "Olive Kitteridge"), comes this unflinching look at how one little slap can have a huge impact. 

-- Bosch (Amazon), February 13:  I have long awaited this Amazon Original after an excellent first episode.  It was part of the pilot season that brought us Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle, a very successful pilot period.  You can still see the first episode here.  This is a must see.  Here is the teaser:

Based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels, Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), an LAPD homicide detective, stands trial for the fatal shooting of a serial murder suspect. A cold case involving the remains of a missing boy forces Bosch to confront his past. As daring recruit Julia Brasher (Annie Wersching) catches his eye, and departmental politics heat up, Bosch will pursue justice at all costs.

Amazon Pilot: The Man in the High Castle

I watched a few of the new Amazon Originals pilots and so far I enjoyed all of them for different reasons. I was particularly hopeful that The Man in the High Castle would shine, it being a Philip K. Dick alternative history story.  As Amazon notes:

The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Some 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. 

I wish I could say it was a fascinating tale, but the pace of the show was slow and the amount of back story was limited, so you did really know how the characters came to be nor what they and their country faced over the years.  Also, there was clearly some parallel history taking place, but it was never developed nor explained.  Is this a science fiction time-travel story, or a clean version of what could have been?  It is not clear.  

I would like to see the series continue and round out these points, and there was enough suspense to keep me watching, but it may be hard to sell this tale at this pace.   And maybe if had read the book (which I hope to do shortly) it would have probably made more sense, but here are a few items from the book that I located that may help viewers understand the state of the world:

- President Franlin D. Roosevelt was assassinated in 1934, preventing US entry into WWII.

- The US lost its Pacific fleet to Japan and it never built up its military given a prolonged Depression to fend off a Nazi assault on the Atlantic coast. 

-America was split between the Japanese and Germans, with the Rocky Mountains serving as a neutral zone.

-The Germans have nuclear weapons (the TV series mentions the nuking of Washington, DC) that will lead to other technological achievements, including the colonization of the solar system.

-Back on Earth, the Nazis will exterminate Russians and Africans while draining the Mediterranean Sea for farmland and Lebensraum.

Yes, it is one hell of a dark future. The bleakness came through in the Amazon series, but not the full scale of the horror. And while the opaque background reminded me a little of Orwell's 1984, where the past is less important than the present woes, the past is critical here because we know where we left the pieces and now they have been moved.  

I hope the series continues, but it needs to stop assuming everyone has read the book. Only then can it get the viewership it deserves and provide us all with some thoughtful commentary on "what if?"

Update:  Amazon has picked up the series for a full season.  I guess others are similarly hopeful.

 

AMC's Better Call Saul!

I was never a fan of Breaking Bad. While I agree the acting was excellent, I found the story gruesome. Not that I have tender sensibilities, being a fan of Justified and Fargo, yet I still prefer to cheer for the "good" guys. Likeable bad guys are common yet tiresome and potentially bad for society at large (though some or many may disagree). That was also my problem with The Sopranos, but I am steering off topic.

AMC returns this week with Better Call Saul highlighting the early adventures of a character from Breaking Bad.  Will I like it any more than the parent show? I'm not sure, yet I'm willing to try it out.  

Here is the spin from AMC:

Better Call Saul is the prequel to the award-winning series Breaking Bad, set six years before Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) became Walter White’s lawyer. When we meet him, the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and often against, Jimmy is "fixer" Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), a beloved character introduced in Breaking Bad. The series will track Jimmy's transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts "criminal" in "criminal lawyer." 
 

The first season is 10 episodes, and another 13 episodes for a second season have already been approved.  Of course, 23 episodes used to be one season many years ago, but who's counting.  

Forbes magazine is already providing five reasons why you should watch this new series, including "It fills a void left by Breaking Bad while still being unique."  I am counting on it since I have no history to build on. 

Remake Black Mirror?

Speaking of remakes, why do we need to remake the UK's Black Mirror here in the states?  That is what is currently being contemplated, and I think it's a dumb idea.  Screenrant notes that such discussions are in the very early stages and amount to "hey, we’re interested if anyone’s willing to pony up some cash." 

I would much rather see more of the current UK series.  And, by the way, the show should be easy for everyone in the US to understand as it is an English-language broadcast.  You can even add a few more Americans if that helps, as was the case with Jon Hamm in the Christmas special.  

I can see remaking a Danish series, such as The Killing, when people have trouble watching the action and reading sentences (much like walking and chewing gum), but we should leave Black Mirror alone and the producers of that series should know enough not to water down their unique series.  It almost seems like a bad episode of the show. 

And speaking of Danish shows, I am glad the remake of Borgen fell through.  It would not have translated well given the underlying politics.  Of course, House of Cards was also a European parliamentary story (British in this case) that was successfully remade.  Hence, the transition has worked successfully for a number of shows (Shameless also comes to mind), but is also fraught with danger (Skins comes to mind).

Allegiance: Copycat or Remake, It Is Nothing New

So tomorrow night (February 5) you can see NBC's new show Allegiance about a Russian family operating as an American sleeper cell in America while worrying about whether it should truly be a one-generational gig or bring in the kids.  Sound familiar?  It should, because we have already viewed a few seasons of FX's Americans.  It is funny how NBC is also making the comparison, stating "Like The Americans? - Watch NBC's Allegiance." 

However, instead of being a copy of an American original, it is a remake of an Israeli original.  I am not sure this is better, but this is the case.  Here is a trailer and NBC's summary of the new show:  

This high-octane thriller revolves around the O'Connor family and their son, Alex (Gavin Stenhouse), a young idealistic CIA analyst specializing in Russian affairs. Unbeknownst to him, both of his parents and his sister are part of a dormant Russian sleeper cell that has just been reactivated. 

Years ago, Russian-born Katya (Hope Davis) was tasked by the KGB to recruit American businessman Mark O'Connor (Scott Cohen) as a spy, and the two fell in love. A deal was struck: as long as Katya remained an asset for Russia, she would be allowed to marry Mark and move to America. After years in America building a happy life and without word from Moscow, they thought they had escaped. Now it seems the new Mother Russia has one more mission - turning Alex into a spy. The SVR (Russian Intelligence) has re-enlisted the entire family into service as they plan a terrorist operation inside U.S. borders that will bring America to its knees. For these anguished parents, the choice is clear: betray their country... or risk their family.

When The Americans was first broadcast is was a quaint idea playing on a somewhat true story after we had discovered Russians in hiding.  Of course, since that time the Russian foreign policy has shifted again and the Russian Bear has gone from a Teddy Bear back to a grizzly bear. Maybe the fact that our past opponent is now our opponent again has drummed up more interest in such programs. 

So far a lot of the press about the show is its "mocking" the Pledge of Allegiance.  Sounds like a Russian plot to me, or at least a way to get a little bit of press.

Update: NBC has cancelled Allegiance after only five episodes. 

ABC's Fresh Off the Boat

Wednesday night (February 4) ABC premieres a comedy about a newly arrived Asian family called Fresh Off the Boat, but in this case the title is a little misleading because they are only moving from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida for this fresh start.  

From the trailer, it appears the show will play on many Asian and "white" stereotypes, which may not go over too well with some viewers.  Then again, Blackish is one of the latest break-out hit comedies with plenty of commentary on stereotypes.  It all depends on whether we have a funny-bone and, if not, whether we can change the channel to one of hundreds of other shows.  

Of course, some fireworks already started when the network tweeted the image below stating "We're All A Little #FreshOffTheBoat," including various images such as a cowboy (I'm thinking more of a wagon train, but whatever), an apparent Mexican wearing a sombrero (no boat required), and an Asian wearing a bamboo hat.

Celebrity chef Eddie Huang, upon whose memoirs the sitcom is based, was not too happy as he tweeted, "Someone please reverse this... at least they didn't do the Native American with chicken pox blankie lol."

This is not necessarily the way you want to roll out a new series.