Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Can you guys believe that Labor Day is coming up in two weeks? Where in the world did the summer go? Maybe it’s me, but this year is flying by so fast.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today that I hope you will find interesting:

TELEVISION

The CW will be giving viewers a second chance to see the networks new dramas Hellcats and Nikita. Hellcats will debut on September 8 with Nikita premiering on September 9. Then the shows will be rebroadcast on September 10 (back to back). The network will do the same thing for both show’s second episodes, airing rebroadcasts on September 17. Don’t worry Smallville and Supernatural fans; both shows return on September 24. (The Futon Critic)

Jennifer Morrison (House) will make a guest appearance on the 6th episode of the new NBC drama Chase as Faith, a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow. Chase premieres September 20 at 10 PM. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Tia Texada (Third Watch and Huge) will guest star in the 4th episode of Chuck, starring as the exotic wife of Premier Alejandro Goya (Armand Assante). (William Keck at TV Guide)

Jennifer Aniston will reunite with Courteney Cox as a guest star on the season premiere of Cougar Town on September 22 at 9:30 PM. (The Futon Critic)

MORE GLEE NEWS

Glee Scoop: Britney “Lockdown,” a Romance Update and…John Stamos Is Getting His Own Show!

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah are to star in the upcoming box office movie Joyful Noise, which centers around two women who join forces to prevent a small-town gospel choir from shutting down. Latifah will play the mother of two teens who is put in charge of the Pacashau Gospel Choir after the death of its choir director. Parton will appear as the choir director’s widow who hopes to take over her late husband’s job. (Dark Horizons)

Carey Mulligan (An Education) will be joining Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in the action movie Drive, which is an adaptation of the novel by James Sallis that follows a nameless Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who moonlights as a freelance getaway driver during robberies. When a bank heist goes wrong, he ends up on the run with a contract on his head and an ex-con’s girlfriend (Mulligan) sitting in the passenger’s seat along for the ride. (First Showing)

Here are the top 10 box offices movies for this past weekend courtesy of E! Entertainment Online and Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Expendables, $16.5 million
2. Vampires Suck, $12.2 million
3. Eat Pray Love, $12 million
4. Lottery Ticket, $11.1 million
5. The Other Guys, $10.1 million
6. Piranha 3D, 10 million
7. Nanny McPhee Returns, $8.3 million
8. The Switch, $8.1 million
9. Inception, $7.7 million
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, $5 million

MORE X-MEN NEWS

Bryan Singer Talks “X-Men” Details

AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations are in order for the winners of the Creative Arts Emmys that were presented over the weekend (courtesy of E! Entertainment Online):

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: John Lithgow, Dexter
Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ann-Margret, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty White, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris, Glee
Voice-Over Performance: Anne Hathaway, The Simpsons
Animated Program: Disney Prep & Landing, ABC
Short-Form Animated Program: Robot Chicken, Cartoon Network
Reality Program: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, ABC
Children’s Program: Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Disney Channel
Variety, Music or Comedy Special: The Kennedy Center Honors, CBS
Special Class Program: 63rd Annual Tony Awards, CBS
Commercial: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (Old Spice Body Wash)
Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush from TV Guide)

Question: I am a long-time follower of your columns and reviews, and I just want to thank you for all the great series you have steered me toward over the years. The latest is Breaking Bad, which I never would have gone near if not for your raves. What an amazing show. Now I’m wondering if you have been watching The Glades and what you think of its development. Being from South Florida, I am always curious about shows located there. Most shows don’t get the feel of the place (we won’t even speak of that CSI show), but this one seems to be doing it right so far. And talk about someone coming out of left field: Where did this amazing guy Matt Passmore come from? Because I know he is Australian, I’ll forgive his lack of a Chicago accent, but he has developed such an interesting and believable character (thank you also, writers) and is such a charismatic lead. After Lost, I never thought I could appreciate Kiele Sanchez in anything, but I am enjoying her performance as well. Thanks again for all the enjoyable hours of TV and please keep writing your columns! — Susan

Matt Roush: Well, thanks for that encouraging feedback. With The Glades, I’ll fess up that I haven’t seen every episode (which is one of the blessings of a show like this; it doesn’t penalize the viewer who merely samples), but what I’ve seen I’ve liked. Especially Passmore, whose biggest previous credits include Australian standouts Underbelly (which has aired on DirectTV) and McLeod’s Daughters. I enjoy his character’s laid-back irreverence. It fits the funky swampy setting, which as you noted does feel more authentic than the Miami of you-know-what. It’s a fun show, perfect for summer, much like the various USA Network hits — and can I just say, while we’re plugging not-so-guilty summer pleasures, how much Covert Affairs is growing on me; fans won’t want to miss this week’s Christopher Gorham-“Auggie”-centric episode.

Question: I loved Alex O’Loughlin in Moonlight, and I loved the show’s blend of crime, mystery and romance. Have you seen any of the new Hawaii Five-0? I’m trying to decide if I should try it out, but I worry that it will be too much of just a cop show, which I don’t think I’d like. Does it have a fun side? Any romance? — Amanda

Matt Roush: More like “bromance,” at least in the pilot, which is all anyone has seen at this point. The new Hawaii Five-0 is more of an action than “cop” show — the heroes form an anything-goes task force that operates almost outside the law — and takes full advantage of the island’s native beauty, both natural and human. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before O’Loughlin gets a love interest if they haven’t developed one for him already, but the real relationship that matters in the early going is the fractious bantering between his character of Steve McGarrett and Scott Caan’s scene-stealing sidekick, “Danno.” That’s where the fun and humor come in during a pilot that otherwise is pretty violent and is fueled by tragedy and revenge.

Question: I’ve finally finished the first season of Stargate: Universe, and I’m curious about your thoughts on it (and whether you thought it was worth watching, as I don’t remember reading anything about your opinion of it). Stargate: SG-1 was much lighter and had a sense of humor that was usually near the surface, and we’ll just pretend Atlantis was a bad dream. However, SG:U seems like an attempt to shoehorn the Stargate mythology into the dark style and brutal sensibilities of Battlestar Galactica. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by the first season and will keep watching, but it’s a departure from what the franchise was, and the melding of the SG mythos with the BSG style results in the proverbial machine that knows all the words but can’t quite get the music right (if that makes any sense). However, I can’t fault it for providing an unexpected reboot of the franchise, and if I only watched shows as good as BSG, then I wouldn’t be watching much. Also, I said I’d watch when it comes back, but I guess that’s making a pretty big assumption: Has it been renewed? — Mike

Matt Roush: Yes, it will be back, with the second season starting Sept. 28 — in a new Tuesday time slot, now that Fridays on Syfy have been turned over to wrestling this fall. (Don’t get me started.) It’s one of my so-far-fruitless goals to catch up with the second half of the Universe season before the new episodes begin. Your reaction of the show feels pretty spot-on to me. There’s no question its tone is darker and harsher than the Stargate norm, and I got the sense many franchise fans were turned off by its relentlessly downbeat nature. I’m certainly intrigued by it, but the fact that so many episodes remain unwatched on my DVR tells me that either my priorities are out of whack or it’s not a world I’m particularly eager to keep exploring. For now, though, keeping an open mind, and even if I end up jumping into the second season without completely finishing the first, I’ll try to give it a shot.

Question: I’ve been getting a bit concerned about Being Human lately. It’s gotten very dark this season as Mitchell has headed down a very scary path in the power vacuum after Harrick’s death. It’s bothered me that we’ve lost some of the whimsy that made me love the first season so much. I hope they lighten things up a bit as we go. I did thoroughly love the scene where Mitchell, stressed out by a long day of vampire taming and a really bad date, goes ape nuts because his favorite TV show has been moved. There’s a vampire after my own heart. — Ann Marie

Matt Roush: Yes, the show is darker and (with those mad experimenting scientists) scarier this season, but I’m OK with that. The characters themselves remain so engaging and amusing, when they aren’t being beaten down by their inner and sometimes outer demons, that I find the new conflicts in their lives (and afterlives) quite gripping. This is still among my favorite supernatural shows of the moment, and I hope Syfy’s Americanized version doesn’t diminish my appetite for this very original piece of dark brilliance.

That’s it. Enjoy!