New Programming at YouTube

If you thought you had enough to watch on TV, well the amount of content out there on the computer (and eventually TV) may grow considerably in years to come.  YouTube announced plans to add 100 new channels to its service covering areas such as pop culture, music, sports, entertainment, and health.  Various stars and celebrities, such as Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, and Shaquille O'Neal, are expected to contribute content to this new venture.  YouTube has also committed to 25 hours of new programming each day.

Of course, the owner of YouTube, Google, Inc., is still working to bring this content to TV screens, creating an expanded venue for both YouTube and Google.  I expected much greater competition as the computer screen and TV screen became one.  If it works the way it should, we can have better programs in the years to come, as well as more flexibility concerning where we watch our favorite programs.

For a sample of the new YouTube channels, go here.  I like some of the ideas, many of which build on an already successful brand.  For instance, you will see Slate, The Nerdist, and TED.  And yet, I see some interesting new players, such as:

-- i am OTHER: Brought to you by Pharrell Williams. Championing individuality by giving a creative platform to a generation of game changers: Thinkers, Innovators, Outcasts.  

-- Noisey:  The Noisey Channel will feature performances and behind-the-scenes footage from bands all around the globe, hand-selected by people who know a lot more about music than you. 

-- Stan Lee's World of Heroes:  Every story has a hero; from the legendary Stan Lee come amazing tales about unique characters and extraordinary individuals.

I look forward to the new programming, though the current players on TV may have another impression.

Starz Has a Winner with Boss

Starz new series Boss (Fridays at 10pm EST) is an impressive political drama that profiles a whole new side of Kelsey Grammer, which can be difficult to watch at times.  The pilot starts with a very bleak scene showing Grammer's character, Chicago's Mayor Tom Kane, learning about his pending death.  Think Macbeth on Lake Michigan.  From there we go back to his day-to-day activities, which includes a lot of yelling, slamming of doors, and ear twisting (and even more with ears).  I am not sure if either of Chicago's mayors, be it former Mayor Daley or current Mayor Emanuel, will find much of themselves in this character (at least I hope not).

The intro credits provide a dark entry into Chicago, showing both the well-known spots as well as lesser known underside of the city, thereby preparing you for what is to come.  In addition to Grammer, you have an aspiring politician eying the governor's mansion (played by Jeff Hephner) and a brooding trophy wife (played by Connie Nielson), who together set you up for a roller-coaster of public victories and behind the scene treachery.  However, it is Grammer that surprised me the most with his unsmiling, violent character.  His acting has a gravitas that centers the pilot while keeping you guessing about his next move (and motives).

I expect a lot of soliloquies about the role of Chicago in American history as well as American hearts, but this is something I welcome.  Chicago has been the setting of many new shows over the past few years, including The Beast, The Chicago Code, Shameless, and most recently The Playboy Club.  Of course, all of these but Shameless were either cut mid-season or lasted only one season.  Boss has already been renewed for a second season, so this show may be around for awhile. That's great for TV, but maybe not so great for Mayor Rahm.

First Fall Casualty - Playboy Club

So far I like the way the new fall season is being spread over September through November.  This slow trickle of new shows gives everyone time to digest the new programs and make decisions based on more than the amount of DVR storage space available.  That said, even this approach cannot save every show, as we now see with the canceling of NBC's Playboy Club.  This is now NBC described this new show:

From Academy Award-winning Executive Producer Brian Grazer, "The Playboy Club" is a provocative new NBC drama about a time and place that challenged the existing social mores and transformed American culture forever. It's the early 1960s, and at the center of Chicago lies the legendary and seductive Playboy Club, a living, breathing fantasy world filled with $1.50 cocktails, music, glitter and of course, beautiful Bunnies. The key to the club, which offers the ultimate in beauty, is the most sought-after status symbol of its time. But all that glitters isn't gold, and in the back rooms and alleys behind the club, life happens - both good and bad. 

It sounds a lot like another nostalgic Mad Men-like program set in Chicago with a different type of hustling.  After watching the pilot, I found that Edie Cibrian's Nick Dalton certainly looked and sounded like Don Draper.  In fact, I think he was being too much of a carbon copy.  And the first segment of the show was too much like a cop drama with the death of a club client.  Whatever happened to easing the audience into the setting and characters?  Not a great start, as it appears the rest of the viewing audience has already determined.

I am not sure how ABC's Pan Am, the Mad Men of the skies, will fare in these turbulent TV waters.  But that's another posting for later.

By the way, this shot from Pan Am also brings to mind Don Draper.  Is it only me?

More on the Fall Season: Person of Interest and Terra Nova

I am trying to catch up on my favorite shows as well as the new season these days.  It is not easy with a slew of new programs coming out in September and many more to follow in October and even November.  Of the new shows so far I found one I like and one I will not watch again.

-- Person of Interest:  This CBS series starts off with an interesting premise - two leftovers from the government's war on terror find each other and team up to fight ordinary crime.  We have seen plenty of shows (and even movies) where the stars try to alter the future with their limited knowledge of things to come.  For instance, think of ABC's show Lost.  Speaking of Lost, it is nice to see the calm present of Michael Emerson again, even though I believe his role on this show will be a bit more benevolent than Ben Linus. The energy of the pilot is promising, yet I can see this slipping back into a simply cop/national security chase each week.  I mean, how much can you do with a single Social Security number?  I guess that will be the question each week.  I may put this show on the back burner while I try other pilots, but overall I enjoyed the first episode.

-- Terra Nova:  "Terrible No No" is what comes to mind.  There has been an enormous amount of press about this Steven Spielberg-guided project concerning future Chicagoans who return to the dinosaur past in order to restart civilization.  An interesting idea where Jurassic Park meets Land of the Lost meets Blade Runner meets Lost in Space.  However, what we really have here is "Lost Without a Script."  The central family returning to the past is an odd pairing of personalities which never convinced me they cared about one another.  And the dinosaur battles seemed to be the only passion on the screen, with everyone else mumbling predictable lines as they walked around their Gilligan huts filled with Apple-like machines.  The show takes me back to Episode One of the Star Wars movies where George Lucas still had his machines but he had lost all interest in writing a script with convincing dialog.  I did not expect the same from Spielberg, but that is what I see here.  I guess I now have more time to catch up with other shows.

The Emmys and the New TV Season

Now that the Emmys are over, we know what worked on TV last season.  I am happy that the winners included such well-written, produced, and acted shows as Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Justified.  In terms of Networks, HBO came out with the highest number of awards (19), followed by PBS (14), and CBS (11).  I was surprised about PBS coming out so high, but then again Downton Abbey was worth all of the attention (with the second season already underway in England).  Only HBO's Boardwalk Empire did better in terms of total Emmys.  I was also happy to see The Kennedys getting recognized.  This mini-series was a hot potato among networks until it was picked up by the unknown Reelzchannel. 

So, on we go to a new fall season.  I will be carefully watching many of these new series and offering up some commentary along the way.  Of course, dozens of shows are premiering in the weeks ahead, though many will die on the vine.  For the best listing so far on upcoming shows I would check out TV Guide's fall listing. 

September's Returning Shows

I have been looking forward to a number of returning television shows.  Here some of them from my list:

-- Sci-Fi/Fantasy:  The fourth season on this FX's  Fringe returns this  Friday (September 23rd).  I have already written about this series and the show's website provides some great background on the series and the characters.  It's a story about alternate universes, a father's love for his son, and decisions that can change the worlds.  And speaking of family, I look forward to the return of the two brothers of Supernatural the same evening as Fringe on the CW (the seventh season of the series).

-- Sitcoms:  Modern Family is back for its third season this Wednesday (September 21st) for a one-hour episode, this ABC series has elevated the half-hour sitcom to something worth watching.  Of course, I would add these others to my list as well:

•  Raising Hope:  Season two returns to Fox this Tuesday (September 20).  This season you can see Greyson Chance playing the part of a young Jimmy Chance.
• Parks and Recreation:  Season four returns to NBC this Thursday (September 22).  I wonder what's happening in Pawnee.

-- Simply Strange:  FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia stands by itself and is not for the weak of heart.  Going into its seventh season, it is probably one of the more politically incorrect shows on television, including odd spins on topics such as abortion, child abuse, drugs, and prostitution.  It is basically Seinfeld on crack.  The season premiere was this past Thursday (September 15th) and it was just as shocking as ever with a scene out of the movie Carrie, a poke at diabetes, and the disposal of a dead prostitute's body.  Check out this trailer for more on this very strange show.

Fall Season: The Secret Circle

Think of the CW's The Secret Circle as a Twilight wannabe and all will be well.  This new show from Kevin Williamson (producer of the Vampire Diaries, another Twilight wannabe contender) is set in the state of Washington as well.  However, in this case we meet Cassie who is also running away from her past to family in the deep dark woods of upstate coastal Washington.  And instead of meeting an attractive vampire on her first day at a new high school, she meets an attractive witch (or warlock, thought that word was not used in the pilot).  Oh yeah, she is also saved in the parking lot by her handsome beau, but rather than threatened by an out-of-control car driven by a classmate, she is stuck in a burning car set alight by an out-of-control spell driven by a classmate.  Did I miss anything?  Of course, there is also the meeting in the woods between the two new friends who seem to be destined for each other while nature glistens (or floats) around them.  I think that does it. 

So, now that we have that out of the way, does this show have a chance on its own merits?  Possibly, but only because you have two decent actors; Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected and Thomas Dekker from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  Leaving aside the cluster of vampires, werewolves, and witches crowding television these days, this show could stand alone as its own version of high school angst.  All I know is that the television version of high school is getting more interesting each day, whether you are singing in the halls, biting a bully, or casting a spell on the new girl.