Return of the Teenage Werewolves

What would the summer be without the werewolves to brighten it up?  And with the return of MTV's Teen Wolf tomorrow night for its fifth season, you get two hours of action with Scott and his friends, or at least those that have survived the show to this point.  The days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are long gone when the regular crew stuck together until the bitter end, though I expect the bromance with Scott and Stiles will remain throughout the series.

So what does MTV have in store?  Here is the quick summary (which could have been written for just about every season):

On the eve of Senior Year, Scott and his friends find themselves facing the possibility of a future without each other, a next phase of their lives that might take them in different directions despite their best intentions. Little do they know that outside forces are already plotting to break the pack apart long before they ever see graduation. New villains that use a combination of science and the supernatural for a malevolent and mysterious purpose that will eventually pit Scott and his friends against their greatest enemy yet. 

This trailer for the new season provides a little more.  As usual, we have a completely different monster taking on the Scooby Doo crew.  Sometimes they show gets a little too creative with its foes, be it Japanese swordsmen or Mexican mystery curses.  This season it appears to be someone in a gas mask/scuba diving outfit. 

And just as characters die or go away on this show, new characters tend to pop up.  Last season we had the werewolf pup Liam, who will have a bigger role this season as Derek recedes into the background. 

Teen Wolf will have 20 episodes this season, with a mid-season finale as before.  So get ready for another dark romp with the gang.

Update:  The first episode introduced the insect-like enemy and flashed forward via Lydia to the dark events to come.  And we also caught a glimpse of departed Aidan, while meeting a new werewolf Theo who wants to join Scott's pack. So the senior year just got a little more interesting. You just wonder if Theo will make it through the season given the show's high body count.

Second Update:  Teen Wolf has been picked up for a sixth season.  Buffy the  Vampire Slayer, another great high school ensemble battling monsters, lasted seven seasons. Can Teen Wolf surpass this record?  

Sci Fi on Sunday: The New Humans and the Returning Falling Skies

Tomorrow (June 28th) will be a busy TV day.  In addition to all the shows I outlined from last Sunday, AMC will be showing its new series Humans while the SyFy channel will broadcast the final season of Falling Skies. 

So what is Humans about? It is an alternate world where robot servants, or Synths, are about as hot as iPhones.  Starring William Hurt and Colin Morgan from Merlin, the series discusses the blurred line between human and machines.  And where do you draw the line?  This is an open question that seems to confuse and concern more and more of us in this technology controlled world of ours.  

Here is a quick trailer for the series.  It reminded me a little of the recent film Ex Machina, another scary story about human-like "robots" trying to integrate with our world.  And who can forget Steven Spielberg's AI with the factory-bought Haley Joel Osment or Will Smith in I, Robot?  I guess the list is pretty long, and we have even seen it in a few recent television shows, including Extant and Almost Human.  So it is not new territory, but another entry is always welcome.  

In a recent interview, Colin Morgan attempted to sum up the show:

Without being too clichéd about it, it is genuinely more about the humans and the effect of that on them. It covers every sector of society, the domestic setting with the family, another domestic setting with a retired gentleman, the scientific side of it, the police force, the youth, the workplace, it kind of covers everything in a really unexpected way and that’s what draws you in.

And if you want to see the damage wrought by alien occupiers versus man-made machines, you should watch TNT's Falling Skies.  Now in it final season, you can watch the Tom Mason, his family, and the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment fight their last battles with the alien invaders who have decimated the planet and enslaved the children.  This is a very bleak story with plenty of false hopes along the way. In the final episode from last season, Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) was part of a bombing run targeting the moon when he was set adrift in space.  It seems he is coming back to Earth as one angry alien hunter.  This clip from the new season with Tom Mason holding an alien head is all you need to see. 

HUMANS is set in a parallel present, where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a Synth –- a highly-developed robotic servant, eerily similar to its live counterpart. In the hope of transforming the way his family lives, father Joe Hawkins (Tom Goodman-Hill) purchases a Synth (Gemma Chan) against the wishes of his wife (Katharine Parkinson), only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences. Through four concurrent story lines, HUMANS explores the emotional impact that comes as the lines between people and machines become increasingly blurred. The series also stars William Hurt, Colin Morgan, Rebecca Front, and Neil Maskell.

Under the Dome Continues

If you were not sure Stephen King's story Under the Dome could support two seasons, then you will be really surprised it is in its third season.  I believe the CBS series has outrun the book and all you have to do is take a look at this summary of season two to see the story is all over the place - plenty of murdered characters, big holes in the ground, and dysfunctional families. And now you have people running out of the Dome and back into it.  Very confusing. 

Season three begins tonight.  Are you up for this strange marathon or will you be sitting this one out?  My fear is that this will be a seven season debacle resembling Lost where the ending cannot support the lead up.  At least the book had a real ending, but will it be enough and will the producers stick with it or mess it up?  I am not sure I want to wait around in Chester's Mill hoping to find out. 

Coming to PBS: First Peoples

Tonight on PBS you can catch the premiere of the new series First Peoples.  The program discusses where we came from by sifting through the evidence left behind by our ancestors.  Here is the PBS summary:

200,000 years ago we took our first steps on the African savanna. Today there are 7 billion of us living across planet Earth.

How did our ancestors beat the odds and spread from continent to continent? What was the secret to their success?

This is a global detective story, featuring new fossil finds and the latest genetic research. It’s a story that revolves around a shocking revelation. In prehistoric times, we met and mated with other types of human – like Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo erectus. This mixing of genes helped us survive - and ultimately thrive.

Scientists are beginning to realize that ours is not a pedigree species, but a patchwork. We are all hybrids.  

The first two episodes will appear tonight and the series will run through July 8th.  Episode one is called Americas and covers the initial colonization of the Americas as well as the role of the Kennewick Man.  Episode two is titled Africa and discusses the appearance of Homo sapiens on the African continent as well as the spread of early humans from this region. 

Do Not Miss Mr. Robot

Do not miss USA Network's Mr. Robot, officially premiering tonight.  If you have yet to tap into the earlier offering of the pilot episode, you will be pleasantly surprised with this new series.  It may tap some of your ongoing angst about this hyper-connected society of ours.  Rami Malek, the star of the series, does a great job demonstrating both his own ills as well as those of the society we have created.  And so far, my earlier concerns about Christian Slater have not been realized.  Check it out before the authorities decide to turn it off.

Update:  Before the first episode was officially broadcast, USA Network has ordered a second season of Mr. Robot.   I guess the 3 million people who tuned in via other platforms was an encouraging sign. 

Will Hannibal Return?

The executive producer of NBC's Hannibal, Bryan Fuller, seemed to be closing a door on his project after three seasons when he stated:

NBC has allowed us to craft a television series that no other broadcast network would have dared, and kept us on the air for three seasons despite (low) ratings and images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser Standards & Practices enforcers. ... Hannibal is finishing his last course at NBC's table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again. And personally, I look forward to my next meal with NBC.

Yet is Hannibal really gone? Emily Yahr at The Washington Post doesn't think so, noting:

If a program has a loyal fan base, cancellation truly means nothing. It’s more just waiting to see where it will end up next.  However, is that a good thing? (Except for the people getting paid to create it, of course.)

Yahr cites Community, Longmire, and The Killing as some examples of resurrected shows.  I am for some resurrections, but maybe not this time.  I thought Hannibal was a waste of talent for a great cast, including Hugh Dancy, Lawrence Fishburne, and Gillian Anderson.  I would like to see much more of them on television, but this time on more appetizing programs. 

A Very Busy Sunday: Loads on HBO as well as Masterpiece

If you thought you could relax now that Games of Thrones and Silicon Valley have completed their seasons, you had better get back into the living room.  HBO is rolling out two new series as well as the second season of True Detective tonight, and even Masterpiece is back in the game after the recent showing of Wolf Hall.  Yes, another busy Sunday and another busy summer. 

The first new HBO show is Ballers with Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock") as he plays the part of a retired football player who now mentors other players in this half-hour comedy.  David Hinckley The New York Daily News seems to like the show, but he notes, "Pro football itself doesn’t come off well here."  Are you surprised? 

The second new HBO show is The Brink, starring Tim Robbins as the Secretary of State and Jack Black as a foreign service officer trying to keep the world together.  Good luck.  It looks like a great way to discuss the insanity of politics today without being too serious as was the case with The Newsroom or shows set overseas such as Tyrant (which returned for a second season last week).

And not to be outdone, PBS's Masterpiece returns tonight with a remake of Poldark with Aidan Turner.  Mr. Turner plays the part of Ross Poldark, who has returned from fighting against the Americans in the Revolutionary War only to learn that everything he left is gone, including his family's wealth and his first love. The program has already run in the UK and been renewed for a second season. 

As far as True Detective, HBO lined up a whole new cast, including Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Taylor Kitsch: Here is the basic story (it was really too much to easily summarize):

A bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California. Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in the all-industrial City of Vinci, LA County. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life’s work, while his wife and closest ally (Kelly Reilly), struggles with his choices and her own. Rachel McAdams is Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff’s detective often at odds with the system she serves, while Taylor Kitsch plays Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle cop for the California Highway Patrol who discovers a crime scene which triggers an investigation involving three law enforcement groups, multiple criminal collusions, and billions of dollars.

By the way,  if you still have time tonight you can watch the second season of The Last Ship on TNT.  Last season the Navy crew thought they were bringing an end to the plague, but nothing is that easy (especially when you have a hot show and you need a way to continue it for another season).  Hence, stay tuned for more shipboard and land-based battles as the diseased and cured fight the immune - don't ask, just watch it for yourself.