Sunday, August 02, 2015
"I'm here, she's here, we made it."
Indeed, we have made it. It's really happening. In 4 short weeks I am headed to Chicago to meet up with loyal blog-followers Fu, Des and Jenni. I am so very excited to spend a weekend watching our favorite episodes, reminiscing about the good old days of Alias (or TV in general) and actually SEEING each other in real life.
And again, another thank you to all who made and still make this blog what it was and still is- a place for smart people, who enjoy smart TV to talk. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of that happening once I arrive in Illinois. Stay tuned!!
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«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 1810 Newer› Newest»Jen's been clinging to the movie star dream for far too long, but nothing ever comes her way. It just isn't happening for her, and frankly, there's nothing wrong with that. TV worked for her once, it can work for her again.
There are a lot of great TV roles filled by people I've never heard of and, with Netflix etc..l, there are people you would normally associate with movies that are lining up to participate in expensive, well produced serial shows.
My suggestion to Jen is to get on board before that train leaves her standing at the station just like movie stardom did.
Shows I've cut loose since New Year's Day:
"Supergirl": I wanted to like it, but it's like a left wing manifesto (like most of Hollyweird). I just object to TV shows hell-bent on grooming me.
"Quantico": I don't even know why I was watching. Well, yes I do. It was a show about the FBI. Sort of. Really what it was was a really bad soap opera.
"The Blacklist: Redemption": This is a show that just didn't need to happen. The network should focus fully on the original show, which tends to spin its wheels more than I would like.
"Taken": For some reason, I just didn't like the actor playing the Liam Neeson role. It just didn't work for me.
I haven't dumped "Blindspot" yet, although I'm not sure why.
I'm getting ruthless and impatient in my old age and I fear that the "golden age" of TV that we enjoyed early in this century ended around 2011, with POI being the last really good network show to debut.
But, while American networks have lost the plot, there is still TV worth watching out there.
I'm nearing the end of S2 of "Stan Lee's Lucky Man" with the always great James Nesbitt.
Just finished the final season of "Broadchurch".
Starting on S2 of "The Man in the High Castle" which is very good.
"The Americans" is the single best spy show on TV right now.
"Line of Duty" is always brilliant.
If there's a theme here, it's that most of these shows are British.
American network TV needs to pull its socks up soon or risk becoming irrelevant.
Looking forward to the return of the adrenaline rush known as "Strike Back". Now, if only they hadn't cancelled it a couple of years ago, we could still have the previous cast, instead of having to tune in to "Blindspot" and "Chicago Justice" to see them.
"The Americans" 5.08
....."Directorate K"......
Ha! I love it.
Though it's been nearly a year since Anna Torv's upcoming Netflix thingy, "Mindhunter", began filming in Pittsburgh, it looks like AT's beautiful "Olivia Dunham" hair is struggling to recover.
Here she wins some sort of Aussie award for the very watchable "Secret City".
Sarah Shahi gets her show.
Well, it will be interesting to see what develops.
Yeah, I like the science-fictiony angle and the cast includes Denis Haysbert ("The Unit", not to mention the Allstate man) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Jai Wilcox from "Covert Affairs"), both of whom I like.
Either way, it sounds more hopeful than "Nancy Drew", which you'll recall was slated to be Shahi's new show last year at this time.
I'm not sure I was aware that "Timeless" had been cancelled, but looks like it's been "uncancelled" now.
I haven't watched OUAT for several years, but if I were to tune in for S7 (I can't believe it's getting a 7th season), I might not recognize it at all. Mass exodus of cast members, both of the voluntary and not-so-voluntary variety. Even little Henry gets the boot. He's the rascal that believed when no one else did and look where it gets him.
Heck, I channel surfed it one night earlier this season and Robert Carlyle was sporting a banker's haircut. Didn't see that one coming, but I guess it was for his "Trainspotting" sequel.
I was hoping Timeless had not been cancelled. Oh well.
I stopped watching OUAT after the second season. Everything was always changing, and it became oozing with villainesses and estrogen whirlpools; a witches soap opera.
Sadly, Sarah Shahi's new one, "Reverie", is on NBC's midseason schedule, so we're gonna wait almost a year to find out if it's any good.
Oh, man!! I'll be on Social Security by then!!!
Ha, so you'll have TWO things to look forward to.
Actually, when I look at the list of rubbish the networks have on display for the fall, I have to wonder why they can't unveil "Reverie" in September.
tvbythenumbers.com has a list of all the new shows we can "look forward to" for next fall. Slim pickin's, IMO. The Golden Age of network TV, not so much.
"The Blacklist" is moving to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, banishing "Blindspot" to Friday nights. Though I have to say that TB is THAT close to being a train wreck, I'm glad to see it on before 10:00 p.m.
Here is the insult of the season. While we sit here (11 years after "Alias" ended) hoping for some sort of a reboot, ABC announces the rebirth of "American Idol", after it being off the air for a single season.
Trailer for Alex Kurtzman's upcoming series, "Star Trek: Discovery".
Trailer for CBS's upcoming "Seal Team", featuring David Boreanaz (the man who hasn't been off of TV for 20 years).
Note the distinctive sound of Scala and Kolacny Brothers doing their version of "Heroes". Is there anyone more likely to appear when you need a haunting trailer cover song than these ladies? "Covert Affairs", "Homeland", "Zero Dark Thirty", the list goes on.
RIP Edward Poole (aka Roger Moore).
His cup of coffee on "Alias" was just over 15 years ago, on March 10, 2002. (S01E16, "The Prophecy"). Those were the days.
Amazon makes "Hanna", the series, official.
Just finished watching "The 100", which churned out a very good season finale.
Well, I'm finally letting go of the domain Page47.net. I've never really developed it into anything, and it looks like what little artwork I did have on there, cool as it may have been, has disappeared.
Uncle, missing art work? Sounds like there's a movie in there somewhere. I remember checking out page47.net back in the day.
BTW, here's the link to the comment where you first mentioned it. A mere 9 years ago it would seem. Heck, there were actually people on the blog 9 years ago.
Where have all the great shows gone?
I miss:
"Alias"
"Lost"
"Fringe"
"Burn Notice"
"Covert Affairs"
"Person of Interest"
"Warehouse 13"
"Chuck"
"Nikita"
"Battlestar: Galactica"
I may have left out a few, but all of these shows belong to a 10 year period between 2001 and 2010. Since then, it's as if no one on the networks is even trying.
I've been looking over the networks' offerings for the upcoming season and it's yet another year of uninspired rubbish. And still, we have reboot after reboot, but no one is rebooting any of the shows I've listed (setting aside the fact that "Nikita" WAS a reboot). Instead we're getting reboots of "Full House", "The Gilmore Girls", "Arrested Development", "Prison Break" and any number of others that I've never been interested in in the first place.
I'm left wondering "is this all there is?"
Watching some old Allman Brothers videos since Gregg Allman's death. It occurs to me that this could be the theme song for Letstalkalias: nobody left to run with anymore.
So, Victor Garber has a recurring role in "The Orville".
Sooooo, are your "Alias" ears burning?
You'll recall the news posted here some time ago about the "Alias" writer's room panel convening at the ATX Television Festival. Well, the day of that panel was TODAY and now tongues are wagging.
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
That's quite likely the most "Alias" discussion since the 2010 reboot rumours. Notice the one article mentions the obvious scenario for a return, that being an excuse to tell the story of Isabelle, who just happened to exhibit spy aptitude like her Mama.
And, BTW, many of the panels find their way to the ATX Festival Youtube channel, although no sign of "Alias" yet.
If I see it, I'll post it for all two of us to enjoy.
Tom Cruise isn't the only one suffering in the wake of the "Marvel paradigm shift". I think we're all worse off because of it. Marvel and DC are sucking all the oxygen out of the room. No one seems to want to work on anything but super hero projects.
As promised, here is the "Alias" panel video", all "47" minutes of it. Actually 47:15, but who's counting?
True confession: the video was in the 2nd link I posted the other night, but I didn't even notice it was there. Maybe I had a mini-stroke or something, I don't know.
The "Alias" ATX panel inspired this entertainment "news" piece dealing with the reboot question. Just a repackaging of stuff we already know.
I've never seen a Daniel Day-Lewis movie. Dude's subject matter just holds no interest for me. Nevertheless, it strikes me as odd that an actor (especially a 60 year old actor) announces that he is retiring from acting.
Is he giving us 2 weeks' notice or something? Should we all take him out for lunch? I mean it's not like he's expected at work in the morning. We aren't going to have to train some new guy to take his place or anything like that. Just don't make any more movies. No announcement required.
I just saw Francie undercover as a clerk at a bookstore on Sienfeld.
Still no trailer for Sarah Shahi's "Reverie", but here's a little video to fill the void. This is the first time I've seen her since the POI finale, which, dare I say, was already more than 1 year ago. Where the heck does the time go?
POI was my favorite, and I loved SS...hot!!! Even though I have the DVDs I will still watch it if I run across it while channel surfing...especially if she's on screen.
Actually, what made me check up on SS's new show last night was the fact that I ran across an episode of POI running on WGN.
I'm bummed that her show is a mid-season debut, especially in light of the weak offerings by the networks this fall. Come to think of it, EVERY fall nowadays. C'mon, NBC, take a chance.
This week's episode of "Dark Matter" is titled "All the Time in the World" (no, it's not the series finale). Run time of the episode? 47 minutes.
Ooooo... someone had to plan that.
Surprised to hear Michael Nyqvist died. He's been in a lot of things, including the "Dragon Tattoo" movies. Remember he was the bad buy in the verrry short-lived "Zero Hour" a few seasons back.
Watched the S3 premiere of "Zoo" last night. I kinda like the 10 year time jump, mostly because it brings in some futuristic tech etc... The whole apocalyptic vibe gives it more of a S5 "Fringe" feel. Still, I've never been a fan of the menacing animal aspect of the show, which, let's face it, is what the show is about. Can't have everything, I guess.
That feeling you get when you tune in to see the season finale of "Doctor Who" and find out it started 1/2 hour earlier than usual.
Lotsa bad press for H50 over the 2 actors leaving after being unable to negotiate pay equal to their co-stars. What I find doubly surprising is that both of these actors, IMO, sport much more impressive resumes (no less than "Lost" and BSG) than their more financially fortunate co-stars and yet they're the ones living in what passes for poverty in the TV world.
I actually heard "Alias" and Jen mentioned on local radio yesterday. It was in connection with Charlize Theron's new "Atomic Blonde". The conversation was essentially about whether the world was ready for female action heroes (in this day and age of "Wonder Woman") and whether the next James Bond should be a woman (as if Bond was The Doctor or something).
Kudos to the show host who mentioned that "Alias" already showed that audiences love a great spy girl.
Sadly, I think "Atomic Blonde" falls short of Sydney Bristow and James Bond. While the action might be worthy, Theron's character clearly lacks the classy touch that Bond and Bristow bring to the table, as demonstrated in this NSFW trailer. Still, one can hope that this might light a fire under someone to give us a female spy we can actually like.
I suppose that, before ABC could bring back "Alias", they first had to bring back "The Gong Show". Consider that box ticked.
How about a little Flashback Thursday?
"Covert Affairs" debuted 7 years ago this month, and I gotta say, I miss me some Annie Walker (although not necessarily Season One Annie Walker).
And, BTW, remember when characters were welcome on USA? What a disappointment that network has become.
Bad Robot spy-chick sighting in Disney's upcoming "A Wrinkle in Time". Not to mention a Bad Robot starship commander.
Pete, Myka, and Artie and the rest of the W13 gang debuted 8 years ago last week. My life is flying by (and fun shows like "Warehouse 13" are currently in short supply these days).
So, the new Doctor is unveiled. The new showrunner obviously caving into mounting pressure for "gender equality" in the Whoverse.
I don't really care that much as long as the story works, and she's a familiar face from "Broadchurch", which already starred a previous Doctor, not to mention Rory and Gwen from "Torchwood".
Some people thought that another star from "Broadchurch", Olivia Coleman should be chosen. I actually believe I would have preferred her. I liked her in "The Night Manager" as well.
It's been more than 6 years since Syfy cut the legs out from under "Stargate: Universe" with this terrific final scene.
Now, MGM is bringing the franchise back to life in the wimpiest way possible: ten 10 minute webisodes airing this fall under the name "Stargate: Origins".
Maybe it will lead to something more substantial, but frankly, I'd rather just have SGU back.
Comics continue to suck the life out of TV. We already have Jack Bristow mired in "Legends of Tomorrow". This season, with the demise of POI, we have Root getting her Marvel on with "The Gifted".
And now, comes word that Harold Finch will join "Arrow" in a recurring role. This is not what I was hoping for. Now, all hope for Team POI rests with Sarah Shahi. I was hoping her show would have a Comic Con trailer similar to Amy Acker's show, but......
But wait, it gets worse. Agent Marcus Dixon is signing on for S3 of "Supergirl".
But, it could even be worse than that.
Let's say for instance that Marshall Flinkman decided to cave and take the Marvel paycheque in "The Runaways". But that would never happen, right?
A "supernatural spy thriller", "instantly addictive from the very first scene", is coming to Starz in 2018. Based on a book I've never heard of, called "The Rook".
Well, we'll see if it amounts to anything. I think the only show I've ever seen from Starz was "Torchwood: Miracle Day".
Just finished "Jason Bourne". I read a few reviews that opined that it was crapola, but I thought it stuck pretty close to the Bourne formula, which has always been good enough for me.
Another trailer for Anna Torv's Netflix gig, "Mindhunter".
This is not really in my wheelhouse.
Today marks 2 years for this "current" blog post. Or, as I like to think of it, our Julia Thorne period.
So tonight I'm watching a Ben Affleck movie and when we break for commercial, it's Jen flogging whatever it is she's flogging these days.
As the Donald would say, "it's sad, really".
Jennifer Lawrence enters the spy game with "Red Sparrow", a 2018 movie based on the first of a trilogy of novels by a former CIA agent.
The novel seems to be well received, so let's hope for a nice spy thriller trilogy with J-Law.
An interview with "Heroes"/"Covert Affairs" dude re: "Reverie". Still no trailer, sadly.
So, Shonda Rhimes is leaving ABC (for Netflix) and Carlton Cuse is returning to ABC.
If I'm keeping score, I call ABC the winner in these two developments.
"The Last Ship" returns tonight with a 2 hour season premiere. Unfortunately, it doesn't start till 10:00 p.m. in my neck of the woods.
ESPN is officially unhinged.
Floundering ABC goes for Julia Child spy show. There is no hope for us.
Francie and that coffee ice cream, remembered.
In the "I'll do anything for a buck" category, Bad Robotians John Noble and Rachel Nichols will be popping in and out of SyFy' "The Librarians", one of the current crop of truly unwatchable shows.
Nine years ago last night, Broyles asked Olivia to come work for him, but Olivia just wanted to go back to before. Lucky for us, she came to her senses.
Nine freaking years already!!!
Which of these statements is correct?
1) JJ Abrams won't direct another remake or reboot?
2) JJ Abrams will direct (and write) "Star Wars: Episode IX".
Here I was hoping JJ would get back to doing something original.
Here's a handy calendar showing when all the shows either debut or start their new seasons. Now, if only there were more than 2 or 3 of those shows worth watching.
Some time ago I mentioned that Alex Kurtzman (and Peter Lenkov of H50 fame) had a new series coming to CBS. And then I forgot to watch it. "Salvation" debuted in July, but I didn't even notice it until last week, after 8 episodes had already aired. So I rushed to stream those episodes and finally got caught up in time to watch tonight's episode live.
It's a story about an asteroid headed for Earth and the team that works frantically to save the world from destruction. Yeah, I know, how many times has that story been told? JJ Abrams' "Armageddon" for one. But I've actually enjoyed this series. Sure, suspension of disbelief is essential, but I like the characters (which include Walter Bishop in a few episodes), it's completely serialized and sprinkled with lying conspirators doing what they do.
"Star Trek: Discovery" kicks off on September 24th. Reasons to be hopeful include "Fringe"/"Alias" personnel: Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman (thoroughly panned for their "Dark Tower" screenplay) and Jesse Alexander (writer of 10% of "Alias" episodes).
Reasons to be skeptical: they promise that it will mirror the political turmoil of the day, and considering Hollyweird's overwhelming anti-conservative bent, I fear this could go off the rails early and often. Part of the beauty of "Alias" and "Fringe" was that real-world politics were nowhere to be seen in the respective storylines.
Ten years ago, at LTA, we were talking about Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp character and the potential for a movie franchise. I see we now have the first installment, "American Assassin". I think Michael Keaton is the only name I recognize from the cast list.
First trailer for Jennifer Lawrence's spy flick, "Red Sparrow".
Jen actually signing on to do an "action drama thriller"?? Not to mention, working on her kick-boxing.
So last night, I spent a blessed evening free of Trump-bashing, Hillary-praising, LGBTQRUST whining, sexist/racist/mysogynist-labelling and Islamo-apologizing.
In other words, I skipped the Emmys!!!
The Girl Who Waited. One of my favourite DW scenes. Already more than 7 years old. Sheesh!!
"Trailer Teaser" for the Alicia Vikander version of "Tomb Raider". I didn't even know trailer teasers were a thing. I guess trailer teasers are for when trailers just don't cut it anymore.
I watched this again recently and had forgotten this:
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=National+Treasure+page+47&oq=National+Treasure+page+47&gs_l=psy-ab.12...7689.20793.0.28840.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.USYMp-Rq7r8
Uncle, I do remember seeing that Page 47 the first time. Caught me by (pleasant) surprise. That's "Alias", "Fringe" and "National Treasure" that all reference the mysterious Page 47.
Haven't seen a Nicolas Cage movie in ages, although I just checked his IMDB and he's banging out movies non-stop (like 8 this year alone). They must all be direct to DVD or something. Dude must have serious bills to pay or he just hates to go home.
I haven't seen "John Wick", but I keep reading that Jen's new flick will see her as a female John Wick.
While I'm excited to see her tackle an action role for the first time since "The Kingdom", I would like to see her in something that amounts to more than revenge-porn. Maybe it will whet her appetite for more action roles, though. A guy can dream, can't he?
A little more "Tomb Raider" footage released today.
AND, finally an actual real-life trailer for "Tomb Raider".
Tvbythenumbers.com has a handy dandy list of all new show coming to network TV this season. The slimmest of slim pickings.
Good TV, where art thou?
An article about Jen's upcoming kill-em-all revenge movie.
In this post by Girlscout (remember her) from 2007, she introduced the patrons of LTA to a new show, called "Painkiller Jane". We all know that turned out.
Now, 10 years later, we have Jessica Chastain about to give us her take on "Painkiller Jane". This time, of course, it's a movie. This "news" is a year old, but I just noticed it today.
I like Chastain (ever since I saw her in 2010's "The Debt"), but I'm not sure that another comic book adaptation is the best use of her talents. It seems to me that we hit the comic book saturation point 5 years ago.
I was just tripping through the LTA archives. Took a while, but I found my first comment using Page 48. It was a real beauty. I was clearly on my game that night.
Looks I didn't post anything until after the series finale and then spent a couple of months as Anonymous (no relation to the hacker group of the same name) before deciding on a handle.
I think, when I get to work tomorrow, I'll grab a coffee, return to my desk, and take a knee. I'll no doubt set Twitter on fire, but isn't that the point?
When I hear all this nonsense, it makes me want to sell my TV and go live in the Amazon rain forest with a tribe that doesn't know what TV is. One thing I wouldn't miss is the NFL, which I never ever watch.
Of course, with my luck, they wouldn't know what TV is, but the minute I got settled in, some guy with a pointy spear and a grass skirt would discover the art of taking a knee. At that point, there would be nothing left to do but grab whatever passes for beer in the Amazon rain forest.
Page, I posted this on Facebook yesterday along with several pictures of medieval knights kneeling. "The fad of athletes kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem as a sign of protest is very ironic. Kneeling before something or someone has for centuries been a sign of submission or loyalty to what someone is kneeling before. Football players in their armor, ready to do battle with the enemy, kneeling during the National Anthem, whether they realize it or not, is a sign of loyalty and obedience to our flag and it's nation."
Uncle, good point. It's like on "Game of Thrones", where Daenerys insists you "bend the knee" to her or she'll have one of her dragons reduce you to a lump of charcoal.
Two-hour premiere of "Star Trek: Discovery" tonight. Reckon I'll see how that goes.
Despite several valiant attempts to watch various "Harry Potter" movies, I've never been successful at caring what was crossing my screen. But I just finished the first 5 episodes of J.K. Rowling's BBC private detective series, "Strike" and it's decidedly more my style, mostly because of the title character's assistant Robin, who, IMO is really the heart and soul of the show. Without her, it would be a pretty pedestrian private-eye show. As near as I can tell, the 5 episodes covered 2 separate Rowling books.
One thing the BBC won't do is bore you with long seasons. After 5 episodes, it's "see you next year".
And, because the bail-skipping, pill-popping, knee-bending footballers aren't annoying enough, they've already delayed "Star Trek: Discovery" by 20 minutes.
The series finale of "Will & Grace" aired a mere 4 days before the series finale of "Alias".
Unlike "Alias", "Will & Grace" is back.
Just sayin'.
Tonight, "The Blacklist" returns for Season Five. Midway through this season, it will eclipse both "Alias" and "Fringe" in terms of total episodes. If there was any justice in TV land, it would have been the latter 2 shows which enjoyed the longer runs.
TB, while not the worst show around, is clearly inferior to either "Alias" or "Fringe" (and we could throw "Chuck","Burn Notice", and "Covert Affairs" in there along with a few others). Unfortunately, longevity rarely comes down to the quality of the show.
Mulder and Scully taking a pointless knee.
"Taking a Knee" is the new "Ice Bucket Challenge". If you live/work in Hollyweird, you gotta get on board because to appear uncool is a fate worse than Stage 4 melanoma.
"Marvel's Inhumans" getting slammed by critics and viewers alike. And that's a good thing, IMO. If there's any hope of keeping comic book adaptations from completely clogging up network TV (if it's not already too late) is to have those network experience this kind of humiliation.
I've been saving this catch up post till I had time to post it:
-ZOO- haven't even heard of it.
-I still need to get caught up on Dr. Who, though I doubt that I will even bother with Dr.Hooters.
- H5O- too bad if they can't keep those two regulars.
- Any safe places to watch TV sereis online?
- I started rewatching Covert Affairs, but I only have S1 on DVD.
- I'm seriously behind on new movies of the last couple of years. What are the best?
- I'm lost Re: Marvel TV shows. I can't always watch, so I get lost. And some are really nothing new. I think with Marvel's Inhumans they are seriously in danger of collapsing under their own weight and end with low quality and low market share.
- Supergirl is just too PC for me.
- Where are we re:The Last Ship?
- How about the series Salvation?
- American Assassin looks good, but haven't seen it yet.
We took our first vacation in 13 years a couple of months ago. We spent a week in Colorado Springs. We missed going there since my sister moved from there. We had a great time. Went to the new Spiderman movie a week later and caught the worst cold from a young child who's parents seated him next to me. He coughed literally through the entire movie. After 2 weeks I am just about well.
Well, this wasn't as long as I thought it would be. I should have done it sooner. :)
Safe places to watch TV online? The most reliable that I've found is putlocker.io (one, maybe two popups and then you're in business and not a lot of buffering). Not exactly 1080p, but I've used it to get caught up on any number of missed episodes, including "Salvation", which I had to binge about 8 or 9 eppies to get up to speed.
With H50, I don't understand why they let the 2 actors go. They've already replaced them, I believe. BTW, "Salvation" is also from Peter Lenkov, the dude responsible for rebooting H50.
"Zoo" is produced by a bunch of former "Alias" and "Fringe" writers (the same crowd that is currently filming "Salamander"), but is not in the league of either of those shows. It's based on a book (nobody does original stuff anymore). 'Dixon' actually appeared in several episodes of Season 1. It's one of CBS's stable of summer shows. Pretty crazy stuff about animals and eventually hybrids taking over.
"The Last Ship", currently in S5, is rumoured to be ending after S6. In my opinion, that's probably fair enough, cuz I think they're having trouble stretching out the story in a credible fashion.
Marvel shows. Just a classic case of tooooo much of a good thing. Between Marvel and DC, it's just comic book fatique for me. How many of these characters are there anyway? Give me MAOS on ABC, "Daredevil" on Netflix and "Lucky Man" on Sky 1 (in other words, on putlocker.io) and I've got all the Marvel I need. And, of course, we've still not seen Amy Acker's "The Gifted" and Kevin Weisman's "Runaways". Seriously people, enough already.
As far as DC, I ditched "Arrow" a few seasons ago, never took up "The Flash" and kissed "Supergirl" goodbye last season. I'm on a DC-free diet.
Like you, I'm way behind in movies. I just realized that I haven't even seen last year's "Star Trek" movie yet.
"Doctor Who" obviously caved to pressure. I've seen her in "Broadchurch", which oddly enough starred The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Rory and even the woman from "Torchwood". I'll give her a try as DW. She'll be gone in 3 years one way or the other. Frankly, I would be quite happy to just go back to Tennant or Matt Smith. I like the chemistry that Tennant had with Rose Tyler and that Smith had with Amy and Rory. I could have stuck with those pairing for a lot longer.
Yeah, I long for the days when USA Network was all about "Covert Affairs" and "Burn Notice" (and even Sarah Shahi's "Fairly Legal"). USA's decision to take their programming to the dark side is really disappointing.
I watched the first 2 eppies of "Star Trek: Discovery" last week. I'll keep watching. I'm not a die-hard Trekkie so I don't kill myself looking for 'mistakes' in Trek mythology or anything like that. Just tell me a good story.
Speaking of binge-watching, this summer I caught up on the first 2 seasons of "Man in the High Castle", which is very good. Of course, these days "very good" means not on mainstream TV. This one is on Amazon Prime.
It pushes the right buttons: sci-fi, thriller, great lead characters and a great story.
I said "The Last Ship" was in S5 and rumoured to end after S6. Subtracting 1 from each of those numbers is required for the sake of accuracy. But who's counting, right?
A brief glimpse of 'Marshall' in his new Marvel show coming to Hulu.
The pilot for Shara Shahi's "Reverie" was shown today at NYCC. So far, I can't find any video of the panel, but here are a few photos from today's event. Now that some people have seen the pilot, can't the rest of us at least have a trailer????
While we're at it, why isn't this on the fall schedule? Why are we waiting until March for this when there is so little of value on any of the networks' fall scheds?
When Mulder and Scully aren't busy taking a knee, they're working on filming S11. Here's a trailer from NYCC.
Jesse Alexander wrote the 6th episode of "Alias". Tonight, roughly 16 years down the road, he nabs the 4th episode of "Star Trek: Discovery".
"The Gifted", created by Matt Nix of "Burn Notice" fame, is providing employment opportunities for BN survivors Coby Bell and Sharon Gless (not to mention Amy Acker).
For the record, Harvey Weinstein has never laid a hand on me. I may be the only one, but still.
JJ's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was my one and only foray into the world of "Star Wars". Trailers are now emerging for SW: The Last Jedi.
Although JJ is hands-offing this one, I'll probably keep watching Rey's storyline, but I'll certainly never be a zealous follower of the franchise and will likely never see the original.
Couple of shows in development that might amount to something:
1) Alex Kurtzman and his "Limitless" team at CBS are working on "Recall".
2) NBC is working on a spy/action series, "Cipher". I'm not real keen on the "dysfunctional ex-con" angle. Just sayin'.
The good news: Victor Garber is ditching "Legends of Tomorrow" The bad news: he's going back to Broadway to do "Hello, Dolly".
"Hello, Sydney, Your Mother Can't Be Trusted" would be more up my alley.
Sarcasm alert!!
What a pleasure it is to tune into a show ("Designated Survivor") and get brow-beaten for an hour by a barrage of political talking points ranging from racist statues to evil big-pharma, wrapped in a warm blanket of white privilege guilt.
I love a show (like "Alias" or "Lost" or "Fringe" or "Burn Notice", etc..) where I can watch the entire series and not even get a whiff of the political climate of the day. I watch TV series to escape this kind of endless nonsense, not to get schooled by ABC.
Netflix just announced the return of "Longmire" for a 6th and final season. "Longmire" is a show that normally wouldn't tick too many of my boxes, but I actually like it. I first checked it out because Katee Sackhoff of BSG fame was in it. I had never heard of the books the show is based on.
This is another example of a show that was axed and left for dead (this time by A&E after 3 seasons) and then picked up by Netflix.
There aren't any spies and there's no sci-fi, but I still have plenty of time for "Longmire".
This being 2017, it took only 5 episodes for "Star Trek: Discovery" to break out the gays and the F-bombs. Not your daddy's "Star Trek"
"Salvation" renewed for a 2nd season. That's a bit of good news. I think it's deserved.
"Reverie" cast conversation from NYCC. No trailer yet. C'mon guys, a trailer already.
Looks like "Zoo" won't be back for a 4th season. Frankly, I'm pretty much over it already. Had a lot of Bad Robot types behind the scenes (and a couple actually IN the scenes), but the story started out ridiculous and only got more ridiculous with time. Time for the guys to move on and (hopefully) find something better to work on (which I'm not betting on).
"Designated Survivor": The first season had one interesting storyline and that was the Maggie Q angle. This season, even her storyline has been rendered completely uninteresting. I was reading a number of comments on tvbythenumbers.com, and it seems that I'm not alone. Firstly, people only watch for the Maggie Q. bit, and even those people really just want "Nikita" back.
"The Blacklist": I don't even know what this show is anymore. I know we're supposed to care whose bones are in the suitcase, but I just don't. Does Tom get killed at the end of this season as was teased in the season opener? I don't know and who cares?
What channel is the good TV on?
What's better than Jen reading kids' books to her dog?
"Books with Birdie"
Who needs the "Russian Dossier" when we've got Hollyweird (aka Hillary's base) sacrificing one of its own every day? Bill Cosby has to be LOVING 2017.
"Nerd Herd": "Blindspot" drops a "Chuck" nod in tonight's eppie.
A clip from the upcoming "Doctor Who" Christmas Special.
I've probably linked to this scene a dozen times so what's one more? Where's Olivia Dunham when we need her?
When Anna Torv was cast as Olivia, there was 1 photo of her to be found on the Google machine. I miss "Fringe" and I miss "Alias". Bad Robot in its prime. Those were the days.
Watched the 2 hour premiere of "Marvel's Runaways" last night, because what could be better than another Marvel show, right?. You know what I'm talking about: kids with funky powers. The kind of funky powers that everyone else on every other show on TV today has.
This one has Marshall Flinkman and Spike from BtVS. My one takeaway from this show is that Kevin Weisman comes off sounding more Marshall-like than he has on anything he's done since "Alias". Now, that isn't the takeaway that Hulu (or Marvel) had in mind, I'm sure, but "Alias" is the lens that I watch everything through, so that's what I zeroed in on. The rest was just Marvel being Marvel. Can we please now move on?
The Grammy Awards are dead to me. Not that they were ever much more than a fiasco, but with this batch of nominees, clearly this isn't about music anymore.
I would just tell Jay-Z that his services aren't needed, hand out a Grammy to this girl and thank everyone for coming out. Drive safely.
Okay, so my first thought was "Welcome to Fringe Division".
Here is a recent article offering suggestions on how "Alias" could make a successful return.
Here at LTA, we've already had the discussion about whether "Alias" could have achieved greater longevity if it had reined in the sci-fi element. Sure, that discussion was more than a decade ago, but we darn well had it.
One suggestion that I completely disagree with is #3, "Less Focus on Tragedy and More on Missions". I believe that all great shows, and "Alias" is certainly among them, are better when the stakes are high and the characters we love are vulnerable. When I'm watching "Alias" or "Fringe" or "Chuck" or BtVS, I want the writers to bring me to the edge of a breakdown over the fate of my heroes. That's where the fun is. Yeah, the missions are great, obviously, but we need to get through some rough patches together if we want to achieve TV greatness.
I haven't posted this since 2009, but I listened to it again tonight. "Finale" from "The Kingdom", Jen's one and only action role since "Alias". So much potential wasted.
How can "The Librarians" stay on the air? Such brutal TV. This show isn't mature enough for a 4-year-old.
Great 2-part S2 finale for "Travelers". Gonna have to watch the last episode again, though (or read a great recap).
Fanboy piece about Sydney Bristow (actually Jen's portrayal of same) at The Daily Caller.
The "Doctor Her" era begins right about..........now.
Seems we're finally getting around to the spy reboots. "True Lies" TV series in the works at FOX.
Anyone in my neck of the woods, thinking they might find something on the tube tonight, had a choice of:
Marvel ("Avengers: Age of Ultron")
Marvel ("X-Men")
Marvel ("Deadpool")
Marvel ("The Gifted")
Marvel ("Iron Man 3")
This might sound like variety, but in reality, this is what's wrong with the world today. We're buried up to our blowholes in comic books.
Of course, if Marvel isn't one's thing, there was also "Green Hornet".
Jodie Foster is what I like to call "right", at least as far as it comes to her recent comments on superhero movies. Of course, she throws in some leftie babble about fracking, but that's to be expected I suppose.
This week's "The Blacklist": might have been the 1st episode not about a Blacklister and featured very little Reddington and the Team. And, it was easily one of my favourite episodes of the series. Why? Because it was all about Liz being a badass. That's what I wanted the show to be about 5 years ago.
Etta Bishop gets herself a sci-fi show ("The Crossing") on ABC. Of course, ABC being in the sorry state it's in, is heavily pushing the whole "from the network that brought you "Lost"" angle, which smacks of desperation.
The number 47 features prominently. An accident, I'm sure.
I don't have enough black in my wardrobe to be able to watch the Golden Globes tonight.
#notme #notwatching
New trailer for Jennifer Lawrence's spy flick, "Red Sparrow".
It was probably more than a decade ago that I set up a Google Alert for "Fringe Abrams" and like an aging satellite, millions of light years away, every now and then it calls home.
Tonight it produced this piece about JJ's first hands-on TV creation since "Fringe". Early days yet, though and my hopes are not high.
Another trailer out for the "Tomb Raider" reboot.
Five years ago tonight we said farewell to Walter, Peter, Olivia, Philip, Astro and the Observers.
There's a great new series coming to USA. It's called "Covert Affairs". Oh wait, that was YEARS ago. What the hell happened to USA?
Just prior to "Alias", there was "Roswell". I'm watching it for the first time these days. Aside from Kevin Weisman being in a few episodes of "Roswell", turns out the shows have something else in common.
"Timeless" set to return to NBC on March 11th (almost a year after the end of Season 1). Meanwhile, NBC still has no date set for "Reverie". Not so much as a trailer yet. Bodes well.
I had forgotten all about Timeless.
I don't think I ever saw Roswell, except when I have drive through on trips.
I started watching CA 1st season some months ago. I think I stopped because I only had S-1 DVDs.
Oh, I'd love more Fringe. Guess I have to see if the library has the DVDs.
Don't remember if I saw Tomb Raider.
I don't think I'm up on ANY new tv series for the past 4-6 years. WOW.
Uncle, "Roswell" is sort of typical of the CW, prior to the comic book madness that it's known for now. Basically, it skews toward a younger audience. I didn't really know anything about it when I started watching and if I had it to do over again, I'd probably just take a pass.
The last 4-6 years of new programming hasn't amounted to a hill of beans, so you haven't missed much. The good stuff goes on premium channels and the networks spew out trash.
We didn't realize how well off we were up until about 2010.
For "Murphy Brown" fans, the wait is almost over.
Coming back after 20 years. By that standard, we still have 8 years to wait. I better start eating right.
Clearly, "The X-Files" is suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome this season. I prefer a show that rises above that sort of petty political bickering. It's not "The CNN-Files".
You could watch "Alias" or "Fringe" from wire to wire and have no idea who was in the White House during that period. Using a classic TV show to hitch a ride on the sore-loser-bandwagon is unbecoming.
Since this comment establishes a new LTA record for comments on a single blog post, I've been trying to decide on a fitting way to mark the occasion.
I opted for this unforgettable image of Francie, because it sort of reflects the harsh reality of LTA today.
And, hey, this comment ends with "47". Bonus.
It's getting crazy out there in Reboot Land: "Charmed", "Magnum P.I.", "Cagney & Lacey", "Roseanne".
But, no "Alias".
JJ's space show will air on HBO. Frankly, I would prefer if it was on FOX or ABC but those days are over, I'm afraid.
I want to go back and live in a world that has Sydney Bristow and Olivia Dunham. It's just not the same without either of them.
Check out Jen's latest Instagram video and you'll see someone we all remember: Nancy Wetzel aka Amy Tippin.
And, while you're at it, check out all of her "Books with Birdie" vidoes. You cannot watch those without falling in love with Jen AND Birdie. Can't be done.
Just one more week to wait for S7 of "Homeland". Carrie Mathison, my 2nd favourite CIA chick of all time.
Gugu returns to the Bad Robot fold with "The Cloverfield Paradox". I really did not like the first "Cloverfield" movie. The 2nd, with John Goodman was much more to my liking.
Great news for Anna Torv fans: "Secret City" is returning for a 2nd season. I enjoyed the first season, which admittedly I wouldn't have watched if not for AT being in it.
I haven't watched AT's "Mindhunter" and probably never will, just because the subject matter doesn't ring my chimes.
Okay, just shoot me in the head and get it over with. Jen waits 12 freaking years to return to TV and the best she can do is to hook up with Lena Dunham (of all the wasters in Hollywood to associate with) for a ridiculous HBO comedy. THIS, we waited a dozen years for?
Oh, the humanity.
More "Red Sparrow" footage.
Excellent news re: "Line of Duty". Sadly, we'll have to wait till 2019 apparently.
Lotta hype around "Black Panther", a superhero movie (is there any other kind now?) about a Marvel character I've never heard of.
Interesting video about how science is being used to determine what we see in movies and TV.
"Chuck" and "Alias", two spy shows that ended at the beach. Just took a trip down memory lane with Chuck and Sarah's final scene.
Some Dropkick Murphys for St. Patrick's Day.
This week's "Blindspot" featuring Ron Rifkin as a CIA bigshot. Go figure.
Just finished S2 of "Roswell". One season to go. Again, typical CW material, but I give them credit for producing original material as opposed to today's DC Comics epidemic.
Jen reuniting with "Alias" writers Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec for (yawn) an animated flick called "Amusement Park".
Prior to this, the last thing Applebaum and Nemec wrote for Jen was "The Horizon", which aired on December 14, 2005.
Pro Tip for all 3: this is a step in the wrong direction.
Oh, "Homeland", you rascal, you. A superb reminder of how little there is for the spy-obsessed among us on TV these days.
"The Americans" (arguably the best show on TV today) returns tonight (yayyyy!!!) with the 1st episode of its final season (boooooo!!!).
This article mentions the possible spinoff potential, although probably just wishful thinking.
How about a Stan Beeman spinoff? I could go for that.
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That was truly epic, Anna 1508.
Sarah Shahi's "Reverie" got a couple of luke-warm reviews after previewing at something called Wondercon.
Review #1
Review #2
If you're not entirely stoked after reading those 2 pieces, have no fear because apparently the show features a great deal of diversity, which we all know is the most important ingredient in a TV show in this era of sensitivity. It may not be any good, but ya know....diversity. So there's that.
The final frame of "Covert Affairs". Where have all the spy-girls gone?
Here's a more positive slant on "Reverie".
Of course, here's a thought. Why would a great show be pushed off to become a summer series?
I used to think out loud about Jen's post-"Alias" career leading to adventure roles along the lines of Indiana Jen. Sounds like the door may be about to bust wide open to allow that possibility.
Well, it's about time. NBC has finally set a date for "Reverie" to debut. May 30th at 10:00 p.m. Now, how about a trailer???
After watching the pilot for ABC's "The Crossing" online a couple of weeks ago, it's time to pick up 1.02 tonight at 10:00 p.m.
Little bit of cuteness from "Francie" on Jen's birthday.
With tonight's 106th episode, MAOS eclipses "Alias" in terms of the number of episodes aired. So there's that.
Finally, a couple of short clips from Sarah Shahi's"Reverie".
Enough with the teency weency teaser clips, here's an actual trailer for "Reverie". This looks like the perfect setup for a case-o-the-week, which, in fairness, is how "Fringe" and "Person of Interest" both started out before becoming much more than that. The fact that this trailer material is already a year old and the show hasn't debuted yet is a little disconcerting.
With just 3 more eppies of "The Americans", it's clear that there will be no happy ending. Phillip is right where he was always going to end up since he was never a true believer. Elizabeth is drunk on the Commie Kool-Aid. Paige is Elizabeth's idiot daughter. Henry is soon going to realize he's the most out-of-the-loop kid in all of America. And Stan is going to have to find a new best friend.
It's gonna be uncomfortable yet delicious viewing. I just hope they don't make a mess of the ending.
Page,
I think I've missed the last 3 seasons of "The Americans." Even though the series is made so that you develop certain sympathies for the undercover Russian spies,I always really wanted them to get caught. I don't have a good site to watch it from. Let me know how it ends. My TV viewing seems to be restricted to dvds of old series.
On another note, we got back a couple of weeks ago from a 10 day trip to Disneyworld. Great fun with my wife and a few of her relatives. Caught a bad cold while there (should have expected that with as many people as there were all around us.) Came back with a few trinkets, one being a Monty Python tee shirt that says,"Nobody Escapes the Spanish Inquisition!"
Uncle, I don't think ANYONE escaped a bad cold this year. I spent one night literally gasping for air all night. Thought I would never breathe again.
I watch "The Americans" (and all my other hard to find series) at putlocker.io
I want Philip and Elizabeth to get caught, too. Especially Elizabeth, I have more sympathy for Philip, but she's just ruthless. With such great characters all around, I don't want to see a bloodbath at the end, though.
I was just reading about an upcoming spy-dramedy on ABC this fall. Stars Jen's first ex, Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan (remember Vivian Volkoff from "Chuck"?). Better known as Maggie from "The Walking Dead".
ABC has been swinging the proverbial axe in the last 24 hours, getting rid of "Designated Survivor" (or as I like to think of it, freeing up Maggie Q for something better), "Quantico", and a number of other series barely out of the gate. I really wish they would stumble onto something great again.....soon.
CBS finally gets around to cancelling "Scorpion". I had hopes for it when it first debuted, but it was just too ridiculous for words.
Ready for something bleak??? Sure you are. And tvbythenumber.com has it. This is a list of all the networks new shows for 2018 (so far), and if that's not bleak, I don't know what is. Have mercy!
Pretty good 2nd season of "Timeless" with the big cliffhanger last night. No word on whether that was the season finale or the series finale. "Time" will tell.
Looks like MAOS is coming back for 13 episodes next year, which one assumes will be the end of the line. "The Blacklist" is also back next year. "The Blacklist" could last for 15 years and not actually accomplish anything.
Trailer for the latest installment of "Mission: Impossible". "What's done is done when we say it's done".
And, while we're at it, how about a trailer for the 2nd installment of "The Equalizer"?
I'm currently watching a British spy thriller called "Deep State". Brits do spy-thrillers very well when they put their minds to it and this one's not bad. Of course, one has to find these shows using "back channels".
I was just watching some old "Alias" videos on Youtube. My goodness, I miss Sydney. Day after tomorrow will be the 12th anniversary of the 2-episode series finale. For that final night only, I was "47" years old. Yup, 47. I was born for "Alias".
Anna Espinosa spotted at Royal Wedding. No good can come of that.
Yes. I noticed Anna E at the wedding. I kept looking for Syd, but didn't see her. Nothing good can come from this.
Uncle, sadly Syd wasn't there, but Anna E. wasn't the only Bad Robot alum at the wedding. Of course, the bride herself had this heated discussion with Peter Bishop almost 9 years ago in the 2nd season premiere of "Fringe". I can't believe I just said almost 9 years ago.
Among the things I miss on TV these days....."Nikita"
A week from Wednesday we get the debut of "Reverie". Let's hope it's good.
Jack Bristow to Sydney, over the phone: "Take surface streets, they're doing some work on the freeway"
Philip Jennings to Elizabeth, over the phone: “I was hoping to make it home for dinner but things are very topsy-turvy at the office”
When you've got family in the spy-biz, you've simply GOT to have a coded message that tells your partner that sh** is about to get real. And, it's about to get real on "The Americans" with only 1 episode left.
April Webster, casting director for every Bad Robot show you can shake a stick at, was also the original "Irina Derevko" of "Almost Thirty Years" fame. Her one and only acting bit, according to her IMDB page. If you're only gonna have one acting appearance, it might as well be as massive as that one.
Has The Americans finished? How did it wrap up?
Uncle, "The Americans" ends on May 30th. Right now, Stan Beeman is the only one suspicious of Philip and Elizabeth (good instincts, Stan, but what took you soooooo long?).
Philip just issued the coded phone warning I mentioned a couple of comments ago, and Elizabeth quickly packed a go-bag with cash and passports. I don't think they'll ever return to the house.
Elizabeth (finally) refused to assassinate someone (because he seemed like a decent guy??) and instead murdered the would-be assassin, so she is rapidly becoming an enemy of the Russian state as well as the American state. Their son is completely oblivious to what they do for a living (or in Philip's case, what he used to do, since he's mostly out of the game these days). The daughter's indoctrination into the Russian spy family is going off the rails now that she realizes what a remorseless psycho her mother is. And, oh yeah the travel agency is failing.
So, with just one episode to go, life is catching up with Philip and Elizabeth. And, there's still the matter of whether or not Stan's new honey is a patriotic American or another Soviet plant.
A couple of incidents during the series that strike me as out of character, not only for the players, but for the show: 1) Stan murdering a young Russian spy in S1 with a cowardly bullet to the back of his head (that just seems so out of character for such a seemingly good guy and 2) there was one episode this season in which Philip and Elizabeth each dropped an F-bomb at each other on a series that just doesn't use F-bombs (very bizarre choice, I thought).
Getting ready for Wednesday night's "Reverie" pilot, here's Sarah Shahi walking us through a scene. Don't forget to note that the article says Sarah Shahi (Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest, Alias). Not many articles would sneak "Alias" in there, so thumbs up for that one.
I deeply fear that this will be a disappointing procedural, though it could be argued that POI started out pretty case o' the week as well (as did "Fringe"). Obviously, another area of concern is the summer time slot, which is not where the big networks tend to roll out the shows they have a lot of faith in.
Tonight, the first eppie of "Reverie" and the last eppie of "The Americans".
Two reviews of "Reverie", one more or less positive, and the other, not so much. I've yet to read anything that was truly enthusiastic about this one.
Sarah Shani got a mere 23 episodes out of "Fairly Legal". Let's see if that record falls with "Reverie".
Current status: watching "Reverie" and trying, with limited success, to avoid keeping an eye on the Tweetstorm going on re: "The Americans". Thing being, I can't watch "The Americans" until it shows up on a shady server sometime tomorrow.
The end of "The Americans". So many great reviews to read. You could really just close your eyes and pick one, like maybe this one.
It was a very good series finale, and thankfully, not a bloodbath, but like I suggested a couple of weeks ago, there were no happy endings in this finale. It ends with Philip and Elizabeth standing on a bridge or an overpass, staring at the lights of Moscow.
Great actors, great characters, great spycraft. It's just a shame to lose another spy show. Of course Philip and Elizabeth are a couple in real life, so if you run into them on the street, don't panic, they're probably not going to kill you. Unless they have their orders.
Soooo, Jen promised us a trailer for "Peppermint" was coming soon. Well, soon has arrived. Jen, looking great, taking out the trash.
Oh, I LOVED that trailer!!!! Looks like a great one for Jen. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!
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