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.