tv diary '19- winter and spring
what's all on the teevee an' whatnot.
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- CreatorSeth MacFarlaneStarsSeth MacFarlaneAdrianne PalickiPenny Johnson JeraldSet 400 years in the future, the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continue their mission of exploration, navigating both the mysteries of the universe, and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.We will continue with season 2. The premiere has exactly one gut-busting hilarious joke, but smartly weaves it into the plot of the episode; that's about par for the course-- no, more accurate to say that that's about as good as it gets for this show. The Orville really needs its sense of humor; without that, it's just a pale imitation of Star Trek. The Trek franchise, love it or hate it, comes with a wealth of worldbuilding and lore that the Orville nakedly aspires to, but is hard pressed to match. Meanwhile it can only gesture toward the imagination and cerebrality of the best of Star Trek.
- CreatorJoel HodgsonStarsJoel HodgsonFelicia DayPatton OswaltKinga Forrester continues the B-movie watching experiments of her father and grandmother on a new test subject aboard the Satellite Of Love.I have survived... The Gauntlet.
Hoping to see Jonah and the bots again soon. In the mean time, there's always MST3K Classic. - DirectorBen O'BrienAlan ResnickStarsKerry DonelliJacqueline DonelliJackson ManningShort film that starts as footage of a grizzly bear and is then interrupted by a commercial for a drug called "Claridryl." The protagonist talks about the drug. But it quickly becomes clear that something is very wrong.A nature documentary interrupted by an extended commercial for a new product that can help you get back to being a mom... if you can avoid spiraling into madness.
- CreatorByron MinnsScott SandersMichael Jai WhiteStarsMichael Jai WhiteByron MinnsKym WhitleyAction comedy-spoof that follows ex-C. I. A. Agent and full-time ladies man, Black Dynamite, who's out to avenge the death of his brother against kung-fu masters, drug-dealing pimps, and The Man.Not loving it.There is too much of that Family Guy-style comedy of reference here; you got your episode riffing off "Diff'rent Strokes", you got Black Dynamite and the gang fighting Fred Rogers, Elvis and the Muppets. Occasionally it hits you out of nowhere with a great gag; my favorite is Joe Jackson confiding that Michael was fathered by an alien, which finally provided him with talented offspring AND saved him two minutes of hard work. There is too a lot of gratuitous content, homophobia, racist banter and caricatures of all stripes.
I guess I don't remember the movie a whole lot all these years later, but Black Dynamite wasn't a pimp in the movie, was he? It makes the character a bit harder to take. (also, somehow Bullhorn and Cream Corn are still alive) The show does smartly undercut his machismo from time to time, but as a paragon of black masculinity he remains a fairly static character. - CreatorVernon ChatmanStarsVernon ChatmanJaneane GarofaloZadieA miniature propellant cluster bomb of painfully mutinous nightmares, all dripping with the orange sludge of dream logic.The latest unsettingly oddity from the madmen who brought us Wonder Showzen (yay!) and Xavier: Renegade Angel (can I go now?).
- CreatorSimon BeaufoyStarsHarris DickinsonDonald SutherlandHilary SwankIn 1973 Rome, John Paul Getty III, the heir and younger member of an oil tycoons' clan, is kidnapped by the Italian Mafia in order to get a ransom.slowly going through this. It's pretty good, though.
This is far better than the Ridley Scott joint that came out just before the show. Sure, in 10 episodes they have more space to develop the cast and setting, but "Trust" makes a stronger impression in less time than "All the Money in the World". Look at the character of Fletcher Chase, the Getty family fixer. In the movie he's the lead, essentially, a stock Mahky Mahk action hero who in the climax, essentially shames his employer to death, or something. It's a boring nothing character that does little but take screentime away from Michelle Williams. In 'Trust' Chase is a wily operator who invites his foes to underestimate him with his cowboy get-up and brash manners. After the Getty boy disappears he flies into Rome in a bolo tie and ten gallon hat and he hangs an American flag off the balcony of his fancy hotel room. He is our occasional fourth-wall-breaking narrator as well, providing bits of expositional and geopolitical context in little asides to the audience. I never though I would be so happy to see Brendan Fraser on the screen. - CreatorMichael SchurStarsKristen BellWilliam Jackson HarperJameela JamilFour people and their otherworldly frienemy struggle in the afterlife to define what it means to be good.Season 3 sort of starts shakily as it struggles to bring the gang back together, but that's the risk you take with this sort of gung ho plotting, and it recovers very well. Consistently hilarious and affecting.
- CreatorRachel BloomAline Brosh McKennaStarsRachel BloomDonna Lynne ChamplinVincent Rodriguez IIIA young woman abandons a choice job at a law firm and her life in New York in an attempt to find happiness in the unlikely locale of West Covina, California.
- CreatorPeter BergStarsKyle ChandlerConnie BrittonZach GilfordA drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.season 1 on demand. really great show, great ensemble cast. I love these characters (even the Garritys).
Rough start to season 2. - CreatorPat BishopMatt IngebretsonJake WeismanStarsMatt IngebretsonJake WeismanAdam LustickA dark, edgy look at life as a Junior-Executive-in-Training at your average, soulless multi-national corporation.Watching season 1, and shall continue into season 2. A comedy for our dystopian times. Frequently hilarious, but very frank about the toll this insane world takes on our minds and bodies.
- CreatorMiles Orion FeldsottRick RemenderStarsBenedict WongBenjamin WadsworthLana CondorA coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of late 1980s counterculture, which follows a disillusioned teen recruited into a storied high school for assassins.It's a fun show. sort of a punk rock Harry Potter, set at a secret boarding school for assassins.
- CreatorFrank DarabontStarsAndrew LincolnNorman ReedusMelissa McBrideSheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.I'm sticking with it. Walking Dead is now on its fourth showrunner, the talented Angela Kang, and with all the years of baggage the show has accumulated, not to mention a number of cast departures, she certainly has her work cut out for her. The result feels like a whole new show, and largely for the better, though the seams of patching it all together still show. The new castmembers are actually pretty great. I don't know if I ever especially liked a Dan Fogler character before. And the Whisperers are good villains. Hopefully Kang can make the old principals just as compelling.
- CreatorLiz HeldensStarsMark-Paul GosselaarSaniyya SidneyJamie McShaneWhen a botched U.S. government experiment turns a group of death row inmates into highly infectious vampires, an orphan girl might be the only person able to stop the ensuing crisis.Already Fox wants to bring back The Strain? If only this were as good as that (note: The Strain was not very good).
the s.o. likes it enough, so I guess this is my one allotted hate-watch of the season. But it elicts rolled eyes rather than laughs.
So, it's a vampire thing. Zack Morris IS Brad Wolgast, ex-soldier extraordinaire, who now works in the private sector by offering convicts on death row a stay of execution if they volunteer as test subjects for a drug that turns them into telepathic bloodsuckers. The show establishes him as the good guy by surrounding him with people who are even worse; you know he's the hero because he draws a line when his partner punches a little girl in the face. Also, it's a Lost-type thing, with each character taking turns with the formative flashbacks. Top notch, cutting-edge stuff, huh? Innovative storytelling at its finest. - CreatorBill ArhosStarsWillie NelsonLyle LovettJohn PrineEstablished singer-songwriters and acclaimed newcomers perform country, blues, rock, folk, bluegrass, and related styles of music from Studio 6A of public television station KLRU (formerly KLRN) at the University of Texas at Austin."Iggy Pop", "Cyndi Lauper". Strong performances. Iggy, electrifying as ever, plays the hits with Josh Homme and the Arctic Monkeys. Lauper offers a set of country music covers and countryfied versions of her signature songs.
Excellent show from Robert Plant and the Spectacular Space Shifters, with new songs and fresh arrangements of some Led Zeppelin standards.
Also watched shows' by Dan Auerbach, Shinyribs, the Pretenders.
But the Tom Waits concert from 1979, that is just an incredible, once in a lifetime performance. - CreatorDan GoorMichael SchurStarsAndy SambergStephanie BeatrizTerry CrewsComedy series following the exploits of Det. Jake Peralta and his diverse, lovable colleagues as they police the NYPD's 99th Precinct.Back from the dead and better than ever.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsFionn WhiteheadCraig ParkinsonAlice LoweA young programmer starts to question reality when he adapts a mad writer's fantasy novel into a video game.Like the best episodes of Black Mirror, this interactive movie from Booker and co. has a bunch of fascinating ideas. Perhaps too many ideas, even, which pull it in too many different directions. I plan on seeing it again, but I'm not sure that another viewing will make me more than lukewarm.
- CreatorLiz FlahiveCarly MenschStarsAlison BrieMarc MaronBetty GilpinA look at the personal and professional lives of a group of women who perform for a wrestling organization in Los Angeles during the 1980s.
- CreatorDylan MoranStarsDylan MoranBill BaileyTamsin GreigBernard Black runs a book shop, though his customer service skills leave something to be desired. He hires Manny as an employee. Fran runs the shop next door. Between the three of them many adventures ensue.finished season 3. goes off on a good note, with Manny meeting a nice girl who shares his hangdog charm and Bernard revealing a tragic past which is ultimately undercut in one of the show's very best jokes.
- StarsSimon PeggJessica HynesJulia DeakinFriends Tim and Daisy, 20-something North Londoners with uncertain futures, must pretend to be a couple to live in the only apartment they can afford.
- StarsRowan AtkinsonTony RobinsonTim McInnernyIn the Tudor court of Elizabeth I, Lord Edmund Blackadder strives to win Her Majesty's favour while attempting to avoid a grisly fate should he offend her.
- CreatorJoel HodgsonStarsJoel HodgsonMichael J. NelsonTrace BeaulieuIn the not-too-distant future Joel Robinson is held captive by Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank, forced to watch B-Grade movies on the Satellite of Love with the help of his robot friends: Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.
- CreatorAdam ScottNaomi ScottStarsAmanda AnkaJeff ProbstJon SchroederAdam Scott is determined to make the greatest event in television history by remaking the opening sequences of TV shows.“Bosom Buddies”
- CreatorJames L. BrooksMatt GroeningSam SimonStarsDan CastellanetaNancy CartwrightHarry ShearerThe satiric half-hour adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.Rewatching classic episodes. “Bart Sells His Soul” is a new favorite. “How can someone with glasses that thick be so stupid?”
- CreatorJeff BuhlerStarsEoin MackenDavid AjalaJodie Turner-SmithA crew of scientists embarks on a mission aboard a ship called the Nightflyer to investigate a mysterious alien signal, but they soon begin to question if something is already on the ship with them.George RR Martin says that he wrote his story Nightflyers when he was told that scifi and horror weren't compatible, and he took that as a challenge. But he didn't challenge himself to combine the two in an ongoing tv series; that's harder to do. This is a show that is far too stingy with its mysteries. Time and again characters promise answers later for questions they could answer now. Fresh horrors arise, and whatever dilemma the characters were last puzzling over is forgotten as the crew deals with the new threat. So how did a space probe sent out into the void magically appear back on the ship? Nevermind. Why doesn't the captain ever come out of his room? Oh, I guess his agoraphobia is cured. What's up with the weird bee lady? Whoops, she's gone. What's causing these infectious spores? Ok, guess it didn't matter.
- DirectorAaron SpringerGenndy TartakovskyStarsDiedrich BaderCorey BurtonJohn DiMaggioUnsold TV pilot and a dark, violent and gory sword and sorcery spoof set in a postapocalyptic new dark age about a Conan-like barbarian warrior hired to steal a golden goblin from a dangerous wizard who lives in a tower in the sky.Gleefully violent, over the top and vulgar pilot from Aaron Springer and Gennedy Tarkovsky, sadly rejected by Adult Swim.