The Making of England from the BBC

BBC's new series The Last Kingdom premieres tonight on BBC America. And unlike The Bastard Executioner, but similar to Vikings, this tale should touch upon some real history and use battles and blood appropriately. Think of it as the real games of thrones in English history between the Danes and Saxons.

Based on Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales," an excellent series of stories I still need to finish, the story centers on the Saxon Uhtred captured by the Danes and eventually realigned with the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex.  BBC America notes: 

Set in the 9th century AD, many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, only the great Kingdom of Wessex stands defiant under its visionary King Alfred the Great (Dawson). It is the last kingdom.

Against this turbulent backdrop lives Uhtred (Dreymon). Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he — Saxon or Viking? On a quest to claim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands.

It's nice to see this story coming to television, and from all appearances it will be another well-produced BBC series.

Update:  The pilot episode was excellent. I felt I was watching Vikings from another perspective.  And the fate of young Uhtred reminded me of the young Conan in Conan the Barbarian (but this time in more plausible circumstances). So while our friends in Vikings plunder Paris, I'm glad to have an eye back on the British battlefield. 

Amazon: Return to the 80s with Red Oaks

Starting tonight you can watch season one of Red Oaks.  This drama did well during the last set of Amazon test pilots and is now a full-blown 10-episode series on Amazon. Here are the basics:

Set in suburban New Jersey in 1985, Red Oaks centers around college student David Meyer--a young man at a crossroads as he tries to figure out who he is and what he wants to be in this world. He gets a summer job as an assistant tennis pro at the Red Oaks Country Club and while there, David finds himself the recipient of unsolicited life advice from a colorful group of coworkers and club members.

I agree that the cast is colorful with David as the only sane one of the bunch. Even his parents are lunatics, though few parents are role models on TV these days. It is worth watching the pilot just to see Paul Reiser have a tantrum.

I also enjoyed seeing the 1980s as one of the show's characters via the music, cars, and clothes. It seems as far away as Downton Abbey. I think I will go along on this nostalgic trip.

Supermansion on Crackle

If you are a fan of Robot Chicken (not Mr. Robot, mind you) then Crackle.com has a show for you. Tonight you can catch the premiere of Supermansion, another animated show from our friend Seth Green.  It stars Bryan Cranston as the voice behind Titanium Rex, one of the aging superheroes in the League of Freedom.

This should be a fun diversion from the all-too-serious superhero shows filling the airwaves. I am eager to have some simple fun, and it appears Seth and Bryan are of a similar mind.

The Flash Returns

Of all the superheroes on television today my favorite is The Flash (followed by Daredevil). The CW series has the right mix of drama, humor, and action. Season two starts tonight.

While The Flash started on The Arrow, another show premiering tomorrow night for its fourth season, it is a much lighter and more hopeful show - more Spider-Man than Batman. 

Barry Allen and his somewhat merry band had a tough first season facing Reverse Flash and ultimate betrayal, but the core of the story holds. Barry is still the little boy who watched his mother die and his father wrongly imprisoned, and he will continue to struggle with the effects of this childhood trauma with his foster family. The rest of the series is good and bad men and women with other powers  seeking their own salvation for their own reasons. Expect more strange battles, yet never forget the story that fuels The Flash.

Update: If you are more in the mood for a classic set of heroes you can watch Dean and Sam Winchester on the eleventh season of The CW's Supernatural. I am not sure how many times the brothers can beat hell, but they have had luck for 10 seasons already.  The fun starts tomorrow as well (10/7).

A Few Shows You May Have Missed: Magic and Dancing

While you have plenty of new and returning shows to view this season, you may want to try these two new shows that are a little out of the ordinary since they do not include cops, doctors, or spies. 

First, I enjoyed the premiere of NBC's Mat Franco's Got Magic.  This winner from the ninth season of America's Got Talent walked away with one million dollars and now a television show and act in Las Vegas.  The two-hour special demonstrated some amazing magic, much of it in the open air, that was too amazing to be true.  You want this guy in your living room to prove it again since it has to be camera tricks or something else for these "tricks" to happen.  Whatever the case, it is great entertainment and worth your time.  If you don't believe me, just take a look at this clip. 

By the way, Mat Franco bumps into Neil Patrick Harris on his new show, which leads me to another fun new program - NBC's Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.  This is another entertaining show to make you laugh after a long day.  It is part Ellen, part The Price is Right, part Candid Camera, and part circus act.  For instance, Harris picked a couple out of the audience, brought them on stage, and demonstrated how he had been part of their lives for months, including being present at their wedding.  I am not sure if this is creepy or just genius.  It will be one of the most energetic hours you have ever watched on television, and the idea that Harris wants to do this every week is all the more amazing.  The pilot episode would have made a great special all by itself (similar to Mat Franco's new show).  

Kudos to NBC for trying out some new types of shows.  I hope this is the start of a new wave of great live entertainment.

Great Programming on PBS: Politics, Murder, and War

PBS has already impressed us earlier this year with Wolf Hall and Poldark, and now they are back with more great programming starting with Indian Summers last Sunday and new shows starting tomorrow - The Widower and Home Fires.

Masterpiece's Indian Summers is being sold as Downton Abbey set in India.  I am not so sure about that, but the first episode was an interesting mix of family dynamics, politics, and clear class separations.  The first season includes 10 episodes and another four seasons are already planned.  Here is a little more from Masterpiece:

Set in a subtropical paradise during the twilight era of the British Empire, Indian Summers explores the collision of the ruling class English with their Indian subjects, and the intricate game of power, politics, and passion that ensues. Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Oscar® nominee for Billy Elliot and Educating Rita) stars as Cynthia Coffin, the glamorous doyenne of an English social club, and is joined by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth, and Lillete Dubey. 

Told from both the English and Indian perspectives, the drama of Indian Summers unfolds as illicit agreements, romance, and revolution abound. Though the English socialites are having the time of their lives in Simla, the local Indians have started to call for national independence, a path which is quickly rendering the world’s greatest empire helpless. As pressure builds, the two sides alternately clash and merge in a passionate and dangerous game. 

The Widower is not as sunny a show as Indian Summers though based on a true story.  Here is a little more on the series from PBS (and a review from The Hollywood Reporter):

The Widower is the 3-part true story of Malcolm Webster — an infamous wife-killer who marries, and then attempts to kill, a succession of woman to mask his debts and cash in on their life insurance policies. Webster, a nurse by profession, is on the surface, a perfect gentleman. Well-spoken, personable and oozing with charm, he marries first wife, Claire Morris, in 1993. However, a year after her dream wedding, Claire is dead — the apparent victim of a tragic road accident. What no one knows at the time is that Webster has spent the entire marriage plying his unsuspecting wife with sedatives. He aims to keep her in a constant state of fatigue and drowsiness to prevent her from questioning his wild spending habits or mounting debts. But with his debtors closing in on him, he decides to silence his wife once and for all  by killing her in a staged car accident that will pay him a life insurance policy that will resolve his financial difficulties.

Finally, Home Fires is another Masterpiece series, this one in England before and during World War II, that also includes one of the stars from Downton Abbey.  A second season is already in the works.  Here is more from PBS (and a review from the Wall Street Journal): 

At the heart of a rural English village on the verge of the Second World War, a diverse group of women with personal struggles, conflicting views and a shared mission  forge a community that will inspire their finest hour. Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey) and Francesca Annis (Reckless, Cranford) head an ensemble cast in the moving wartime drama, Home Fires.

In August 1939, war with Germany is all but certain. While citizens of the isolated village of Great Paxford each face the prospect of war in their own way, all agree that they must do everything they can to hold their village—and their nation—together. But when the value of the largely social group, The Women's Institute, is called into question, forward-thinking Frances Barden (Samantha Bond) and snobbish Joyce Cameron (Francesca Annis) clash over the fate of the Institute and the roles its members can play, far from the front.

So you have plenty of great shows to watch during this very busy season, or put them aside for a quiet winter evening.

A Return of The 4400?

A petition is calling for Netflix to revive the earlier show The 4400.  You may recall that this show covered a group of 4400 individuals who mysteriously disappeared over many years only to reappear in the state of Washington one day with special powers - think of it as The Leftovers with a happier ending.  Compared to much on television in 2004, it was one of the better shows.  

Well, it appears some would like to see it return.  An iPetition is requested Netflix's assistance to bring this series back, stating the return of Arrested Development is an example of what is possible.  I would add Netflix's revival of Longmire to that list since, like The 4400, it ended with a cliff-hanger and never truly had the closure it deserved.  I agree that even one last season of The 4400 would be a great bookend to an excellent series.  

A fan video shows a number of your favorite actors from the original series talking up their interest in returning to the show, which is essential since a final season with a new cast would not really work.  If you are a fan and want the series to return this is your chance to shout it out.