TV and TV on DVD roundup
Kings: I adore Ian McShane. I have since Deadwood so I figured, hey why not check this show out if it means 13 weeks of him on my TV. I'd expected to watch the two hour premiere but unfortunately my NBC affiliate was completely wonky so no go there. I don't want to bother catching up online but I did catch the third hour. I'm not completely sold on it but I'll definitely let it prove its worth. However, if rating are any indication, it's not long for this world and will probably go the way of Crusoe. NBC does deserve credit for trying out series concepts that stray from the tradition cop, doc, lawyer or remake show. Too bad it isn't paying off.
Smallville: I've finally manged to figure out how to watch this show live once more. I either downloaded or watched off of YouTube before but this is much better. It's nice to have it back at the enjoyability level it was before the Lana returns arc. "Hex" goes on my top 5 Smallville episodes ever.
Friday Night Lights: Rumors had been circulating that DirectTV and NBC were negotiating a 2 season, 13 episode deal. Then I read this article in the Austin American Statesman about Kyle Chandler permanently moving his family to Austin. Hmm. It's not the Hollywood Reporter or Variety but I remember reading it in the Statesman the deal was a go. Oh well, I'm sure I'll see it somewhere else. There will cast changes due to the nature of several of cast members' characters graduating high school. They will be getting send off arcs like they did with Smash and Jason. This is absolutely phenomenal news and given Coach's job status at the end of the season, it'll be really interesting. Here's to hoping that the casting department can find actors as poised and confident as the crop that FNL had. But I am worried about showrunner Jason Katims splitting his time with the Parenthood pilot he's working on.
Being Erica: I'm finding this CBC show so delightful. It's pretty much finishing it's first season run but it's just begun on SoapNet. It's the story of Erica Strange, who's in her early 30s, has a masters in literature and who just got fired from her dead end cubicle job. Her magical and quote spouting therapist, Dr. Tom, sends her back in time to key moments in her life that she feels hindered her ability to function in the present and try to make them right. At first I thought, oh wow my beloved Quantum Leap wasn't this selfish. Heck, even in Journeyman's, Dan had to fix other people's lives and his own life suffered because of it. But Being Erica looked cute, so I checked it out and I'm glad I did. A recent episode had Erica go back to have fun at her disasterous Dirty Dancing themed bat mitzvah. It was 80stastic!
The Border: Cost cutting has hit the CBC and that means fewer episodes of their news and primetime shows. The Border is one of them, as is Being Erica. Instead of 13, it will get 12. Budget cuts are also likely.
Da Vinci's Inquest: Sleuth picked up the rights to this and Cold Squad, two long running Canadian series that have since ended. I really couldn't get into Cold Squad, although the female lead is the same actress who played the Doctor who performed the near death experiment on Nick in Forever Knight. However, I've really enjoyed Da Vinci. It's been interesting seeing the Canadian distinction between coroner (an investigator) and the medical examiner (the medical professional). In the States we tend to think of them as interchangable and unfortunately that sometimes reflects in my fic writing when I refer to Natalie from Forever Knight. Actress Gwynyth Walsh, who played the Hunter in Forever Knight's "Hunted" played Da Vinci's ex wife and head medical examiner. Because the show was shot in Vancouver there are plenty of X-Files and Smallville alum populating the screen. Now we know where Gabe Sullivan and Aunt Nell have been. Gabe is the head coroner and Aunt Nell is a police lieutenant. Every time regular Ian Tracey is on screen I keep thinking of his murderous quadraplegic Rappo from X-Files. Not good when he's a detective.
DVDs on TV.
Murdoch Mysteries is coming to DVD June 16th. Yay! It's such an enjoyable series and it's even gonna have extras like commentaries. Please, please, please let it be for one of GWD's two episodes.
And speaking of Canadian series on DVD, the cover art for Blood Ties, which will be out June 2, has been released. It's...ok. I'm bummed that they chose to use a shot of Henry in which he's all vamped out. It reminds of the ho hum Forever Knight DVD covers. Granted one would much rather have them than not but it annoys considering that there are plenty of nice publicity promos for Blood Ties, many of which were used as cover art for the reissues of the Tanya Huff novels.
X-Men (the 1992 animated series) is finally being released on DVD by Disney. The two volumes will be out April 28nd. I'm more of a DC person rather than Marvel but I remember watching this series on Fox Saturday mornings when I was a kid. I used to record them for my brother on Beta tapes. It and Batman: The Animated Series, which also aired on Fox around that time, are the definitive versions of each respective property for me. A funny coincidence is that Catherine Disher, Natalie on Forever Knight, voiced Jean Gray and I loved Jean when I was younger and that was several years before I even began watching FK.
***
On the recently canceled TV front:
Crusoe, which was MacGyver meets the 17th century, will be out on May 5th. I only saw a few episodes but I enjoyed it. It struck me as very syndicated television fare but with better production values. The leads were easy on the eyes too and hey flashbacks!
The ABC remake of the BBC's Life on Mars will be out on September 29th. I wanted to see it but held off and I've heard great things about the original. Apparently the remake does get closure, which is great for a canceled series.
Smallville: I've finally manged to figure out how to watch this show live once more. I either downloaded or watched off of YouTube before but this is much better. It's nice to have it back at the enjoyability level it was before the Lana returns arc. "Hex" goes on my top 5 Smallville episodes ever.
Friday Night Lights: Rumors had been circulating that DirectTV and NBC were negotiating a 2 season, 13 episode deal. Then I read this article in the Austin American Statesman about Kyle Chandler permanently moving his family to Austin. Hmm. It's not the Hollywood Reporter or Variety but I remember reading it in the Statesman the deal was a go. Oh well, I'm sure I'll see it somewhere else. There will cast changes due to the nature of several of cast members' characters graduating high school. They will be getting send off arcs like they did with Smash and Jason. This is absolutely phenomenal news and given Coach's job status at the end of the season, it'll be really interesting. Here's to hoping that the casting department can find actors as poised and confident as the crop that FNL had. But I am worried about showrunner Jason Katims splitting his time with the Parenthood pilot he's working on.
Being Erica: I'm finding this CBC show so delightful. It's pretty much finishing it's first season run but it's just begun on SoapNet. It's the story of Erica Strange, who's in her early 30s, has a masters in literature and who just got fired from her dead end cubicle job. Her magical and quote spouting therapist, Dr. Tom, sends her back in time to key moments in her life that she feels hindered her ability to function in the present and try to make them right. At first I thought, oh wow my beloved Quantum Leap wasn't this selfish. Heck, even in Journeyman's, Dan had to fix other people's lives and his own life suffered because of it. But Being Erica looked cute, so I checked it out and I'm glad I did. A recent episode had Erica go back to have fun at her disasterous Dirty Dancing themed bat mitzvah. It was 80stastic!
The Border: Cost cutting has hit the CBC and that means fewer episodes of their news and primetime shows. The Border is one of them, as is Being Erica. Instead of 13, it will get 12. Budget cuts are also likely.
Da Vinci's Inquest: Sleuth picked up the rights to this and Cold Squad, two long running Canadian series that have since ended. I really couldn't get into Cold Squad, although the female lead is the same actress who played the Doctor who performed the near death experiment on Nick in Forever Knight. However, I've really enjoyed Da Vinci. It's been interesting seeing the Canadian distinction between coroner (an investigator) and the medical examiner (the medical professional). In the States we tend to think of them as interchangable and unfortunately that sometimes reflects in my fic writing when I refer to Natalie from Forever Knight. Actress Gwynyth Walsh, who played the Hunter in Forever Knight's "Hunted" played Da Vinci's ex wife and head medical examiner. Because the show was shot in Vancouver there are plenty of X-Files and Smallville alum populating the screen. Now we know where Gabe Sullivan and Aunt Nell have been. Gabe is the head coroner and Aunt Nell is a police lieutenant. Every time regular Ian Tracey is on screen I keep thinking of his murderous quadraplegic Rappo from X-Files. Not good when he's a detective.
DVDs on TV.
Murdoch Mysteries is coming to DVD June 16th. Yay! It's such an enjoyable series and it's even gonna have extras like commentaries. Please, please, please let it be for one of GWD's two episodes.
And speaking of Canadian series on DVD, the cover art for Blood Ties, which will be out June 2, has been released. It's...ok. I'm bummed that they chose to use a shot of Henry in which he's all vamped out. It reminds of the ho hum Forever Knight DVD covers. Granted one would much rather have them than not but it annoys considering that there are plenty of nice publicity promos for Blood Ties, many of which were used as cover art for the reissues of the Tanya Huff novels.
X-Men (the 1992 animated series) is finally being released on DVD by Disney. The two volumes will be out April 28nd. I'm more of a DC person rather than Marvel but I remember watching this series on Fox Saturday mornings when I was a kid. I used to record them for my brother on Beta tapes. It and Batman: The Animated Series, which also aired on Fox around that time, are the definitive versions of each respective property for me. A funny coincidence is that Catherine Disher, Natalie on Forever Knight, voiced Jean Gray and I loved Jean when I was younger and that was several years before I even began watching FK.
***
On the recently canceled TV front:
Crusoe, which was MacGyver meets the 17th century, will be out on May 5th. I only saw a few episodes but I enjoyed it. It struck me as very syndicated television fare but with better production values. The leads were easy on the eyes too and hey flashbacks!
The ABC remake of the BBC's Life on Mars will be out on September 29th. I wanted to see it but held off and I've heard great things about the original. Apparently the remake does get closure, which is great for a canceled series.