Technically it could be considered 4 episodes of Alcatraz since the 2 hour pilot episode was really only two back-to-back episodes. For those of you who haven’t been watching along, Alcatraz is the newest J.J. Abrams procedural with weird stuff in the background series. This series, as you can tell by the title, focuses on the ex-prison (and now tourist attraction) Alcatraz. They imported Jorge Garcia from Lost and setup the long term storyline which is moved along by the weekly procedural storyline. So, let’s see what the show’s about.
Category Archives: TV
Everything You Need To Know About Babylon 5
IO9 has a great article for those of you who are interested in getting into Babylon 5. The article goes over the main characters, storylines and essential episodes. I loved seasons 2-4 (1 had some issues and the 5 was hurt due to questions about whether or not it was coming back). Hopefully I’ll be able to review the series at some point, but if you’re interested, go check out the article.
BBC’s Sherlock renewed for season 3
Steven Moffat’s other little series Sherlock has already concluded season 2 on BBC and is scheduled to arrive on US shores in May. I’m assuming season 2 must have been really good since the BBC has already confirmed a third season. NOTE: Do NOT click on the link if you are worried about spoilers and it also has a NSFW picture on the site.
Star Wars Live Action TV Show
Lucasfilms Producer Rick McCallum has started talking about the live action Star Wars TV show, tentatively named Star Wars: Underground. It’s a look at the underside of the Star Wars galaxy.
He confirmed earlier reports that the action will take place in the 20-year gap between the end of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and the beginning of “Episode IV: A New Hope.”
Set in the early years of the fledgling rebellion against the Galactic Empire the series will focus on the bounty hunters, criminals and gangs in the seamy side of the “Star Wars” universe. Confirming what George Lucas told reporters last year, McCallum revealed that producers already have 50 “incredible” one-hour scripts waiting to be filmed. He described them as “dark, complex and adult.”
Sounds interesting and hopefully it will be better than the prequels.
Best TV, Movies, Video Games of 2011
Ground Rules first. This is a list of the best TV shows, movies and video games that I saw (played) for the first time in 2011. The TV/movies/games didn’t have to be distributed in 2011. And this is the best TV/movies/video games I saw(played) this year in no particular order.
- Super 8 – I absolutely hated the ending and think Abrams blew it with the monster and how he handled the dads. But the first half to two-thirds was a well done movie that was ultimately undone by a poor ending. My review.
- Captain America – One of the better super hero movies recently and it manages the trick of making the super hero film into a war movie while still being a super hero film. My review.
- The Muppets – Jason Segal manages to bring back the Muppets into relevance without damaging anything that came before. Not really science fiction or fantasy, but a good, fun film. My review
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Surprisingly good prequel to Planet of the Apes that was a lot smarter than the previews made it out to be. My Review
- Alphas – After several disappointing super hero shows on the major networks, Syfy shows everyone how it’s done. Interesting characters that fight bad guys, but the show focuses on the characters more than the super hero schtick. My review.
- Once Upon A Time – Interesting but a little flawed fairy tale show that distinguishes itself from the charge that it is a bad Fables ripoff. But it’s dark side might harm it’s family audience. My review.
- Batman Arkham City – OK. I haven’t had a chance to actually review this one yet. But if you liked the Arkham Asylum game, then you are going to love this one. They take the best of the first game and add to it with more tricks and goodies as well as multiple storylines, multiple characters and more powers.
This post is part of the thread: BestOf – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.
Three Inches – A Failed Pilot Review
With little to no promotion and pretty much no information about it, Syfy threw up a pilot for the show Three Inches. The show was originally ordered in early 2010, but it seemed to languish in development hell for awhile. Then, when Syfy moved forward with Alphas, they decided to see if they could make Three Inches seem more different. That failed and the show was shut down. But in the dead of winter, in the dead time between Christmas and New Years, Syfy decided to throw the pilot on. I happened to run across it on the channel guide and decided it was worth a watch. And it’s probably good it didn’t move forward. Read on to see why.
No Heroics review
A couple years ago, ABC tried to bring in another British comedy to the US when they cast Freddy Prinze Jr in the remake of the UK comedy No Heroics. I hadn’t seen the show, since it hasn’t been released in the US, but, thanks to a friend of a friend, I was able to view all 6 episodes recently. And let me tell you that I’m so glad that it wasn’t able to be redone in the US. Part of the fun of the show is the swearing, drinking and sex talk that makes up most of the dialogue and I truly doubt that ABC (or any other major network) would leave that in. It stars a bunch of people that you’ve probably never heard of if you don’t watch UK television and is (in Warren Ellis’ words) “funnier than a comedy show about bloody superheroes has any right to be”. So, let’s talk about “No Heroics”.
The Prophets of Science Fiction
I just heard about this and it starts tonight (11/9/11) on the Science Channel:
Starting tonight at 10PM ET/PT on the Science Channel, movie maker Ridley Scott brings together scientists, writers, and other thinkers to honor the Prophets of Science Fiction. Each episode focuses on a writer who helped explain and expand the world of science through the use of fiction. The series will use film clips, reenactments, illustrations, and interviews with top thinkers — including director Paul Verhoeven and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kakuto — to tell the story of the author, and the modern day scientific implications of what they wrote.
The lineup looks great:
- Mary Shelley — Tonight
- H.G. Wells — 16 November
- Phillip K. Dick — 23 November
- Arthur C. Clarke — 30 November
- Isaac Asimov — 7 December
- Jules Verne — 1 February
- Robert Heinlein — 8 February
Grimm TV show review
The second of the fairy tale shows premiered last night with the pilot of Grimm. I would say that it was a boring Law and Order: Fairy Tales show, but that might make it sound too interesting. I would say that the lead actor (David Giuntoli) was boring, but that might make it seem like he showed some semblance of a personality on the show. It wasn’t worth the time and I’m pretty sure I’ll be skipping this show from now on. So, let’s see where the disaster started.
Is Terra Nova worth watching?
Since we have a break in Terra Nova this week for the World Series and we are one-third of the way through the season (4 out of 13 is about as close as we can get to 1/3), I thought I’d take a second look at the show and determine whether or not to keep watching. The ratings seemed to have stabilized (and even gone up a bit), so there is little danger of it being cancelled. So, let’s go over what’s happened so far and see if it should still be followed. Warning: spoilers inside if you haven’t been watching.