Not Quite Taking Sunday Off…

Status

Ha! I’m still alive, folks. I was glued to a few other projects today, so updates have been nonexistent. That and I was sort of saving up my strength for tonight’s penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, which thankfully is supposed to be 75 minutes long (as is the final episode). I figured a few of the final eight shows would be a tad longer thanks to so much that needed to be wrapped up, so I’m happy to see the end rushing up and having enough room to breathe as things come to a close (even though a bunch of characters won’t be breathing when that final episode ends). Speaking on endings… Poor Dexter is going out with a confusing whimper with a terrible final season packed with too many characters, silly plot twists and (I can’t believe I’m saying this), TOO many killers in a truly confusing mess that seems to be every idea tossed into a big bowl, stirred around and dumped in front of the cameras. Bleh.

I still have the new season of Boardwalk Empire to catch up on, but I’m holding out until Breaking Bad is all done with. Thank goodness for HBO on Demand and what’s hopefully going to be a slow Saturday night in about two weeks…

The Eighth Doctor Returns For Another One Night Stand…

Posted on August 18, 2013 by geelw

Sure, some of the more negative longtime fans of the show didn’t care for this one-shot TV movie that popped up on TV in 1999 with a new Doctor (played by Paul McGann) for the first time since the show was canceled ten years earlier, an American setting, main villain played by Eric Roberts (!) and a plot considered “lacking” by a few of those aforementioned followers of the series. On the other hand, the Doctor was BACK and like it or not, number eight is part of the long history of the character. Of course, as he only appeared in that ONE reboot, it’s going to be shown right after the special. Check it out if you’ve never seen it – it’s not bad for what it is, and hey – it also helped a little bit in getting the Doctor back on TV as a regular show, right?

Eastbound & Down Rises From The “Dead” One Last Time…

Posted on August 18, 2013 by geelw

Trying to explain Eastbound & Down to someone who’s never seen it is quite an interesting exercise. Granted, you don’t need to explain much before you have them plop down with all the previous seasons either on disc or HBO on Demand, but expect a few funny looks and perhaps the occasional query if your victim isn’t ready to be exposed to Kenny Powers and his rather… er, twisted take on things. I love that the show has no moral center at all, but Kenny tends to figure some things out as he torpedoes every ship in the port and then sets the docks on fire for good measure. The man’s a bridge burner SUPREME, but he still manages to be so dumb to the point you think he’s faking it. Fortunately, he’s not and similar to Larry David’s classic Curb Your Enthusiasm, the ensuing chaos is where the bulk of the so not PC laughs come from.

Anyway, Season 4 of Eastbound & Down premieres on September 29th, only on HBO (of course!).

TORCHWOOD: Miracle Day (Finally!) Makes it To BBC America

Posted on August 15, 2013 by geelw

For those of you who don’t have Starz! as part of your cable package and didn’t get around to buying the Blu-Ray/DVD yet, if you happen to have BBC America on your tube of choice and are planning to be alive say, around September, you’re going to get to gorge on TORCHWOOD until you keel over. On Friday, September 13 at 11pm/10c, BBC is presenting is presenting an all-day marathon of TORCHWOOD Season Two and TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH, then on the 14th, TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY gets a 9pm/8c premiere as part of the channel’s Supernatural Saturdays programming.

Sure, some cranky fans thought this series had a few too many episodes and tended to drag on a bit, but I say don’t invite them over to hang out on your couch and eat your food. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re new to the series and sure, you’ll probably like the older shows better (COTE is especially remarkable). On the other hand, you might find MD hits the right notes and like what you see as the series progresses. It’s got plenty of twists and turns in its wild plot and a few new characters you might get attached to. Which, by the way is a REALLY bad idea in this particular universe…

HBO’s Phil Spector Trailer: Earplugs For The Wall of Sound (With A Pair of Blinders Too)…

Posted on February 23, 2013 by geelw

Call me crazy, but I find this whole need to recapture every big media frenzy tale that really doesn’t need to be retold because someone actually died as a truncated TV or big deal high-budget movie presented once completed as “based on actual events”, “inspired by a true story” or however else any flick that mixes made up for extra oomph and actual things that happened to be kind of stupid. Granted, movies have been doing this for decades, but it’s getting so damn predictable that anyone committing a crime worthy of a few too many news cycles has practically got MADE FOR TEE-VEE tramp-stamped in big type (and misspelled exactly like that) just where you’d expect.

That said, I bet this will be a total hoot, between Mamet’s tendency to write his dialog all too well and Pacino’s tendency to be Pacino in crazy mode with some of his more out-there performances. On the other hand, this might actually be good… but I really don’t give a flying rat about the subject matter. So…. will I watch this? No. Or to be more truthful, Hell no (but if it’s reviewed as unintentionally hilarious, well… I lied and there goes two hours when it’s rebroadcast)…

Game of Thrones Season 3 Trailer: It’s The Little Things In Life…

Posted on February 23, 2013 by geelw

Case in point: It’s a good little thing this isn’t premiering THIS weekend, as I’d never get a darn little thing thing done. Hell, I’ll be shoving myself into the freezer with an extra blanket to hibernate so I’m fresh as a frozen daisy for that first episode of the new season, but I’ve got too much to do in March as it is. I’ll just pretend I didn’t see this little thing, “accidentally” flip to the show on the 31st and act like a surprised little thing that the show is on so early. It worked fine like that last season… (sings) “Little things mean a lot…”

Game of Thrones Season 3: Chaos Is Ready For Its Closeup…

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah… a bit late to posting this, but hey, I’m a busy one-man army here. Anyway, I’m tempted to go snap up the first two seasons on video, but HBO on Demand has been running them for a while, so I’ve more than gotten my fix of the series. I’ll probably wait until the entire run has ended and the inevitable box set drops to buy in, a I’m expecting a load of behind the scenes features we haven’t yet seen. Anyway, I’m not even going to speculate about what’s going to happen and who’s going to get it this season, as that sort of thinking always makes any show less enjoyable in my book. I like to just sit down, shut up and take it all in. No laptop, phone or other device going. Hell, I can’t see HOW people sit there in front of a TV and concentrate on any show while being “social” and yakking away on Facebook or Twitter or wherever while there’s more than enough onscreen to hold one’s attention…

Continue reading →