TV Quote: The Game Continues

"Dead is dead is dead...Yes, everything I've seen, heard and read...Jon Snow is indeed dead."

--Statement by HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said at the Television Critics Association press tour last Thursday discussing the fate of Jon Snow. He also noted Game of Thrones may go on for eight seasons.

I like what KiaEclipse100 stated on the TV.com website in response to this quote:

I reallywish they would stop it with the Jon Snow thing. Come on. If he was really gone they would say "Jon Snow is dead and not coming back." Instead, they just keep saying, "Jon Snow is dead." No one is questioning if he's dead. He's obviously dead. We all think (KNOW) he's going to be brought back. It's getting a little frustrating actually. Just say nothing at all! And why can't the HBO President just say that he's not privvy to all the major storylines and wants to be surprised just like the rest of us instead of putting in his own two cents? 

Very true. We know HBO has no problem playing with the plot, but I would hope George R.R. Martin determines the fate of Jon Snow and not HBO. 

Summertime Boredom? Not with Wet Hot American Summer

If you did not see the film Wet Hot American Summer back in 2001, called a "cult classic" but some and a dud by others, you are not alone.  I watched it the other week and thought the movie had a number of highs and plenty of lows as it poked fun at all the camp movies that preceded it.  However, the best part was seeing so many top actors and actresses together before they became the stars they are today, including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper.

Well, they are back tonight on Nexflix in Wet Hot American Summer:  First Day at Camp, but this time they are playing their teenage characters at a point before the last movie, making the scenario more goofy.  It will be fun again to see them all together.  But wait, there's more, because additional cast members include Jason Schwartzman as well as Jon Hamm and John Slattery (with Mad Men over, I guess their summer schedule was free). 

It is clear they are all having fun and we are along for the ride.  This is not great comedy or high cinema.  It is more of a guilty pleasure that many will share with you.  Check out this trailer and start your binging tonight.  

Late Comer: The Review Returns

Comedy Central's series Review returns tonight for a second season.  I am late to to this series and still catching up, but the idea that the main character could still be alive for additional episodes is amazing given all the horrible stunts he has had to perform on behalf of his audience.

If you are new to the show, it is basically about a fictional television show where the host of the show Forrest MacNeil, played by Andy Daly, will reenact any idea put forward by his viewers.  For instance, these are just a few of the things he was asked to do in the first season:

-- Demonstrate drug addiction,
-- Create a sex tape,
-- Sleep with a celebrity,
-- Act out road rage, and
-- Quit his job.

As you might imagine, these experiences wreak havoc on his personal life, and you hate the fact that it is all so enjoyable to watch.  You cannot help but sit on the edge of your seat and shake your head at the courage and foolishness wrapped up in one host.  And Andy Daly is great in this role.  In a review of the first season, Indiewire noted: 

It's the dad-like squarishness of Daly, who created and executive produces "Review," that solidifies the series and makes it so uncommonly entertaining.

The first season premiered in March 2014 and contained nine 30-minute episodes filled with plenty of danger and laughs.  While I am surprised he survived to see another day, I will be watching to see what happens next. 

Colin Morgan and Humans

If you have not watched AMC's Humans yet you are missing an excellent tale of humanity versus technology.  Humans has three key stories in an alternative London where robots (1) replaced the mother in a stressed family, (2) became Pinocchio to a robot scientist, and (3) escaped to become something greater than the sum of the parts - conscious. As the series progresses, we are seeing the three story-lines come together.

Actor Colin Morgan, who plays Leo, is the leader of the last group and he seems to be losing the battle as the series continues.  His character also has a mysterious past, being the presumed dead son of the robot creator.  He discussed his character in a recent interview with Access Hollywood, noting Leo is a loner:
 

A big part of why he is the way he is and his psychological makeup is because I guess he has an intense loneliness because he is quite literally the only thing like that in the world. So he is very isolated in that respect. Because of the way he is and because of those wires inside him, it's more important and it's vitally important for him to hold on to his synthetic family that he has, and because I think his hope of belonging and his chance of feeling a sense of belonging within the human world feels a bit impossible. And so I think his drive and his determination comes… as a direct result of the type of technology that's inside him.

 

Spoiler alert - don't read on if you don't want to know too much yet.  But the quote above cites "wires" and "technology that's inside him," indicating Humans is about more than robots.  It might even have some cyborgs.  And concerning that bit about robot consciousness, the series shows us that other robots have already successfully integrated into the human world without the humans knowing it.  Yes, another layer on an already complex story.  That's what I like about the show.  The broken characters are often the humans and not the robots, and the role of humanity versus technology is not so apparent as the story continues.

 

Its a great story at a time when we fear losing ourselves to this new world of ours.  And like USA Network's Mr. Robot, there are many ways to tell the tale.  Tune in and catch up.  

Cancelled Shows at FX and Showtime

You know the airwaves are full to plenty to watch when two series involving well known actors cannot get a second season.  First, FX has canceled The Comedians starring Billy Crystal after one season.  Before the show premiered, executive producers Ben Wexler said:  

All I can do is hope it fits well in the TV comedy landscape. Your goal is to fit into the comedy landscape and also to not fit into it. I think that the shows that transcend, there is no sister show like it.

Well, apparently it did not fit into the comedy landscape and there is no sister or brother - the family is gone.

On Showtime, Happyish starring Steve Coogan has also been canceled after one season.  The series never received much praise, so the single season is not surprising.  In discussing his character on the show during an interview, Mr. Coogan stated: 

We like and celebrate people who are failures, who are frustrated and malcontented and haven’t achieved what they wanted to achieve.

Well, I guess that means we should celebrate that the show failed after one season.  Or should we be happy we had at least one season with Steve Coogan?  I prefer the latter response, and I hope to see him in films again soon.

Good News for History Buffs

With the questionable history surrounding Spike's recent Tut miniseries, I am glad that AMC has renewed Turn: Washington's Spies for a third season.  American history is filled with plenty of well-documented stories that can keep viewers entertained while also teaching them a thing or two.  

In an earlier discussion with Interview magazine, English actor Jamie Bell noted his amazement that America was created at all: 

What surprises me, to be honest with you, because it so important—and it should be; independence was born—is that people don't know how it came about. They don't actually understand that Washington was really getting his ass handed to him almost daily by the British. If the British had just pursued him and actually stamped him out, they would have won. There were several times when all Britain had to do was keep pressing, but for some reason, England went, "No, we'll wait. We'll just chill here for a second." It's just so English.

And yet a spy ring helped to turn things around (as well as a few battles here and there, of course).  Intrigued?  I suggest you take a look at the show for yourself.  You will not be disappointed. 

Tut on TV

Are you ready for a summer epic? Spike's mini-series Tut, starting tonight (July 19th), will provide three days of distraction if you need it.  What could be better than a young pharoah marrying his sister and attempting to hold his kingdom together while being attacked from within?  The cold, dead mummy comes to life in this new series.

USA Today noted how the show writers could create a new story without the bother of facts:

We know little about Tut's life beyond the famous items from his tomb — one of which, that glittering gold mask, shows up in the second of Tut's three parts, just to remind us who we're talking about. Free of an historical record they might otherwise be accused of trashing, writers Michael Vickerman, Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige are free to invent as they choose.

Hence, you might as we watch Outlander or Poldark, which as fictional pieces might teach you even more about the period represented than Tut.  That's maybe what I will do and skip this new series for now.