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Archive for August, 2011

Entertainment Update for August 16

Posted in Daily/Weekly Updates on August 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Hey All,

Here is the news for today:

TELEVISION

The new MTV comedy Awkward has been picked up for a second season. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Morgan Fairchild, who was last seen as Captain Awesome’s mom on Chuck, will guest star on Bones this fall. She will appear in the third episode as Bianca, the intelligent, impeccably dressed CEO of Dillio Toys. Bones is back on November 3. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) will play the recurring role on the new drama The Playboy Club. She will play Frances Dunhill, a Chicago socialite with a secret who feigns a relationship with Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian) while he runs for public office and so she can please her father. The series will debut on September 19 at 9 PM on NBC. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Actor Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos) will guest star in six episodes of the upcoming new season of Boardwalk Empire. He will play Leander Whitlock, a contemporary of Dabney Coleman’s Commodore. The show will have its season premiere on September 25. (TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The Mexican drama called Terminales is being adapted by the ABC Family Channel as a possible new series for the cable network. The show chronicles the life of young and successful publicist April Marquez who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. In addition to Terminales, the company also has a Miranda Lambert PI series in development at ABC Family. (Deadline)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actor Bill Paxton has be tapped for the second lead opposite Kevin Costner in the History’ Channels mini-series The Hatfields and McCoys, which will chronicle America’s most infamous family feud. The saga centers on “Devil” Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton), who were close friends and comrades during the Civil War, but when they returned to their neighboring homes — Hatfield in West Virginia, McCoy just across the Tug River border in Kentucky – it was to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon exploded into all-out warfare between the families. As hostilities grew, friends, neighbors and outside forces joined the fight, bringing the two states to the brink of another Civil War. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Bradley Cooper has left the reboot of the box office movie The Crow. Two potential replacements – Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg – have emerged, but now decisions have been made yet. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actors Danny Glover and Taylor Handley (The O.C.) and actresses Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven) and Tiffany Hines (Nikita) [among others] have joined the cast of the sci-fi thriller called Mentryville, which is set at an off the grid pharmaceutical testing facility where renowned scientist (Glover) is hired to create a vaccine for a lethal airborne virus. Handley’s character and his friends cause complications when they help clean out the house of his hoarding grandmother and save her from eviction. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Reeve Carney (the star of the Broadway play Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark) has signed on to play Jeff Buckley in an untitled biopic about the late musician which should not be confused with the rival project called Greetings from Tim Buckley that stars Penn Badgley in the lead role. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Walton Goggins (Justified) has joined the cast of the upcoming film/sequel G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. He will play a character named Warden Nigel James, but little else is known about his role. It was also recently learned that Bruce Willis will play General Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe, in the film. The film is anticipated to open on June 29, 2012. (Variety and First Showing)

Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (2012) is set to star in the independent film called 12 Years a Slave, which tells the true story of Solomon Northrup, a New York citizen who was kidnapped in Washington in 1841 and rescued from a cotton plantation in Louisiana in 1853. (Showblitz)

Actor Nolan Gerald Funk (Warehouse 13) has joined the cast of the independent thriller called Evidence that revolves around a detective who hunts down a killer using video footage shot by the victims of a massacre at an abandoned gas station. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: @Katemadeleine: Caroline and Tyler are the best characters on TVD. I neeeeeeeed to know what that one second clip in the promo was about?

Kristin: Let’s just say a green little monster whose name rhymes with Melousy becomes Caroline’s (Candice Accola) friend when she sees Tyler (Michael Trevino) dancing with another girl at Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) party. Looking ahead, their Romeo and Juliet-esque relationship takes a truly Shakespearean turn when someone we know—and kind of trust—aims to hurt our favorite blonde.

Question:  Jody in Crown Point, Ind.: Anything TVD or about my favorite baddie, Klaus!

Kristin: Joseph Morgan told us that Klaus and Stefan are just having a splendid time together. “[They’re] out having fun, painting the town red,” he says. “Going dancing. Shopping. Going to garden centers. Picking out curtains. Trying out couches. Just trying to get to know each other.” Oh, how we wish he wasn’t kidding about all that. Best bromance ever. But seriously, Stefan and Klaus are up to absolutely no good. “They’ve been on a killing binge, quite frankly. Just wreaking havoc. I’ve been slowly trying to corrupt him and bring him back to the dark side,” he tells us. Since the season premiere takes place months after the season two finale, will viewers ever see what happened in the days we passed over? “I’m not sure if we’re going to flash back to that period, but [the killing] certainly hasn’t stopped,” Joseph assures us. “Things are only going to escalate from here, so we’re going to see how far these guys are willing to go. And Klaus is willing to go as far as it takes.”

Question: SalgronQuick: Will Glee be revisiting the Puck/Quinn storyline as Shelby is returning?

Kristin: Based on this bit of casting info, I’d say definitely! Glee is looking for twin blonde baby girls to be “very, very featured extras.” Who thinks baby Beth will finally be seen again? Um, we do! And if the love child of Puck (Mark Salling) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) is coming around, it’s pretty safe to say that that the couple formerly known as Quick might be having a “remember when we had a kid?” conversation.

Question: Jennifer in N.J.: I love Mercedes! Is she graduating at the end of this season with the others?

Kristin: Officially, we don’t know if Mercedes (Amber Riley) is a senior or not. But don’t think she’s sweating the idea of graduating. While other cast members might be biting their nails in anxiety at the thought of leaving Glee, Riley is taking it all in stride. “I may not be coming back for the fourth season, so who knows? Whatever happens this season is just up in the air,” she tells us. “I am about to be 26 years old. I don’t want to play a high school student anymore. Glee was a good run. I think it’s smart to keep having new students come in and hear their stories. I think it’s good and I am really excited about the

Question: Glenn in Playa del Rey, Calif.: I did not like all the talk about roadblocks for Michael and Nikita in last week’s Spoiler Chat. Give me better news!

Kristin: Sorry, but even Maggie Q is admitting there will be tough times ahead for Nikita and Michael (Shane West.) “It’s going to be hard. They have no money!” she tells us. “They’re like a new married couple, just starting out. Except they’re trying to save the world, too.” Think they’ll survive to see their first anniversary?

Question: Emily in Pa.: Scoop on Nikita!

Kristin: The stars of Nikita want you to strap in, because the second season is going to be a wild ride. “Everything is different. It’s the same good characters, but everything has changed. I think the fans will be real into it,” Lyndsy Fonseca predicts to us. Shane West agrees with his costar, and even reveals how the first episode will be set up. “It’s basically going over what happened in the last episode of season one, and seeing where these characters might actually be now,” he says. “Obviously Michael and Nikita are on the run. Division is turned upside down. It’s nuts right now! It’s entertaining and all the actors are back, so that’s exciting, too. Knowing how Craig writes, so much will happen in four or five episodes.”

Question: Martucacomayuca: What can u get for us Castle fans?

Kristin: Penny Johnson Jerald, who’s joining the cast of Castle as the new Captain, tells us that in the season premiere (which takes place three months after the finale), she doesn’t know if she sees Beckett (Stana Katic) in the office…at all! She played it real coy, but it sounds like Beckett survives the shooting physically, but maybe not emotionally or mentally. Jerald also offered this tease on season four: “[Fans] are going to be like, ‘Wait a minute? That’s never happened on this show before!'”

Question:  Mperfectmistake: Any Fringe scoop not related to Peter? He’ll be back, that’s all I need to know for now.

Kristin: How about we check in with Walter? “He doesn’t function very well in the first couple of episodes,” John Noble tells us. “Without Peter, he’s insane. He won’t leave the lab. He hears voices and has hallucinations…he’s crazy! He still can solve problems, but he has to get Astrid (Jasika Nicole) to go out with a special [camera] so he can see the crime scenes because he won’t go out himself.” Geez, Walt. Pull yourself together!

Question: MafaldaNeto: Anything Fringe please!

Kristin: OK, now we’ll talk about Peter (Joshua Jackson). “What’s happening is we’re going to bring Josh back in as Peter, but not in the same way. Not as a person that’s been there with us all the time, but as a person that comes in our lives at this stage,” John reveals to us. “That’s very different, because the relationship that the audiences know won’t be there. Olivia (Anna Torv) won’t be in love with him, at least to start with. So we’ve started a whole possibility for relationship growth.” Sounds like season four of Fringe is going to be downright awesome, right?

Question: MrsDeWinter_2 Pam: SDCC was lacking Dean spoilers. Any word yet on an overdue storyline for Dean on Supernatural?

Kristin: We went straight to the source with your question—Supernatural star Jensen Ackles himself, during our set visit in Vancouver last week. Unfortunately, the two-time Alpha Male Madness champion said the spotlight won’t be shining specifically on the eldest Winchester brother: “Sam [Jared Padalecki] is dealing with more of a personal issue than Dean,” the dishy star dished. “Essentially the big topic [this season] is there’s a new evil in the world and the boys are going to have to combat it by pooling their [meager] resources…It’s going to be a difficult situation for both guys.” (Stay tuned for more scoop from the Supernatural set, including whether the Winchesters will get lucky in love—and life without Castiel (Misha Collins) Sniff.)

Question: @lanaya_salim: Any scoop on the Pretty Little Liars hottie Jason DiLaurentis? Is he really bad news bears?

Kristin: First of all, you get a gold star for using the phrase “bad news bears.” Well done. Your other prize? The scoop on Jason straight from the man who plays him: Drew Van Acker! We just got off the phone with Drew and he told us we’ll definitely get an explanation from Jason for all those creepy pictures of Aria (Lucy Hale) in tomorrow night’s episode. Check back with us tomorrow for more PLL intel courtesy of the show’s new bad boy.

Question: Ovaltine_Jenkins: Got any Psych scoop? I’m going through some serious withdrawal.

Kristin: So are we, Ovaltin, so are we. Although Psych doesn’t return until Oct. 12, we got some delicious deets on William Shatner’s guest gig as Juliet’s (Maggie Lawson) con-man father. “My relationship with my father has been estranged—we’re sort of reconnecting and it’s really rocky and uncomfortable, and Shawn (James Roday, Maggie’s real-life BF) gets in the middle,” Maggie told us on set. “That’s really uncomfortable for us, and we have to work through it. It’s a very a very complicated case—it involves theft—and a complicated episode.” When we suggested Juliet has daddy issues—after all, Shawn’s essentially a con man himself—she laughed and said, “It’s interesting and eyebrow raising that Juliet would choose somebody very similar, but she doesn’t know Shawn’s a con man. She believes [in him] through and through, so this could get interesting.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Take a Journey Into Dark Territory with Authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel (Conclusion)

Posted in Books, News, Spotlight on August 16, 2011| 2 Comments »

Charlene Keel

Here is Part 2 of my Q&A with “Dark Territory” Authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel:

Question: Do you have a favorite character?

Gates: I have a lot of love for every character I write. They all have their admirable qualities. I love Raphael for his heart and his determination, Zhai for his patience and his discipline, Aimee for her headstrong desire for freedom, Master Chin for the love he bears his students, Ignacio for his loyalty and his sense of humor, Dalton for her strength. That’s one great thing about this series; you really have a broad family of characters with whom you want to spend time.

Keel: I’m partial to the misfits and miscreants—the anti-hero heroes like Maggie, the popular cheerleader and resident bitch who’s dating Rick, the local football star, but she wants Raphael and would love to see him and Aimee break up. We get under her skin and explore the reasons for her behavior (like having to parent an agoraphobic mother for most of her life)…I also like Maggie’s mom, Violet, who’s not as crazy as one would first think, and Ignacio (Nass) is fun and full of surprises.

Question: Is there room for a sequel?

Gates: Absolutely! The Tracks Book 2 is called “Ghost Crown”. We’re putting the final touches on it now, and it comes out in January (of 2012). Char and I both think it’s even better than “Dark Territory”, so we’re excited for it to get out into the world.

Keel: The Tracks has always been envisioned as a series, both by myself and Jacob, and by HCI Books. With rave reviews coming in on almost a daily basis, we are more eager than ever to keep going with the series. (I should also mention that it took) about the same amount of time to write “Ghost Crown” (as it did “Dark Territory”).

Ghost Crown

Question: Can you share a little about “Ghost Crown”?

Keel: We introduce a new character, with whom I’m totally in love. Orias is the son of a fallen angel and a human woman. He goes to Middleburg with a plan to take Aimee away from Raphael for his own devious purposes. He is the ultimate bad boy, doomed to a living hell through no fault of his own—and he’s so supernaturally gorgeous it melts your heart just to look at him. That’s a pretty hot combination. As for Maggie, her character has the greatest developmental arc, going from resident bitch in (book one) to spiritual warrior in the second book.

Question: If a movie were adapted from the book, which actors/actresses would you like to see play the primary characters?

Gates: The characters in my books are such individuals in my mind that it’s difficult for me to imagine them in any other way. But I will say this: whoever plays Raphael and Zhai had better be genuinely good at Kung Fu, so you Hollywood teen actors had better get down to the nearest Kwoon and start practicing now!

Keel: For the younger characters, I’ve already consulted with my very own minion of teen readers (my granddaughter Allie and her friends) and they think Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) should play Aimee and Dakota Fanning (The Twilight Saga) should be Maggie. Thomas McDonnell (Prom) or Avan Jogia (Victorious) – both who have been compared to Johnny Depp – should play Raphael, and Channing Tatum (Dear John) should be Rick. I’d love to see sexy John Barrowman (Torchwood) as Oberon and either Gary Cole (Office Space) or Joel Gretsch (The 4400), both of them intense and compelling actors, as nasty Jack (Aimee’s father), and multi-talented Philece Sampler (Another World) as Violet, Maggie’s agoraphobic mom. Blair Redford (Switched at Birth and The Lying Game) should play Orias.

Question: Do you have a favorite story arc or favorite character?

Gates: There are lots of pieces of the story that I love, but I find Raphael’s back story particularly haunting. I’m a big fan of Dostoevsky; he was such a master of creating these terribly heartbreaking situations for his characters to rise above, and that’s what I think of when I think of Raphael’s life: he can either take his circumstances as an excuse to be a troublemaker, or he can buckle down and be a force for good. I think that’s a relatable situation for a lot of teens.

Keel: One of my favorite story arcs is the mystery of what Violet has locked down in her basement. How did it get there? What’s going to happen to Middleburg if it gets out? This thread runs through several books and is key to the mystery of Middleburg.

Question: Were any of the characters modeled after either of you or anyone you know?

Gates: Nope. They are all real individuals – they just happen to live in my (and Charlene’s) mind!

Keel: Probably. Specifically (and on purpose), Lily Rose, the housekeeper for a few of the wealthy Topper families. She is a magical creature and is modeled after the wonderful African American woman who took care of me for the first 12 years of my life. Her name was Lugene Lewis, and any goodness and compassion in me she, along with my Aunt Daisy, is responsible for. I’m a great fan of Stephen King and in some of his books (like “The Shining” and my favorite, The Talisman, which he wrote with Peter Straub); old black guys with humble occupations have magical qualities. So I guess that’s a nod to Stephen King. And Dalton is a compilation of a couple of my friends.

Question: Are there any story arcs that you ended up not using in the book?

Gates: There’s a moment near the beginning when Raphael considers stealing a video camera. In an earlier draft, I wrote that he actually took it. It was the first big battle of our collaboration. I saw that act of theft as a mistake Raphael would have to rise above and learn from, but Char adamantly opposed it as a “non-heroic” action. Ultimately, I think it was a good cut. It would have been a violation of Raphael’s Wu-de (martial arts code of conduct) and anyway, it wasn’t necessary to the main story. Charlene was right.

Keel: Some will carry over to other books, like Violet’s “deal with the devil” and how she got to be agoraphobic. (And, of course), our creative conflict (over) whether or not to let Raphael steal (the camera). I just couldn’t believe that the character we created would go so totally against his philosophical beliefs. That’s why it’s so important for a writer to get to know his/her characters, to get inside their heads and live, eat, sleep, breathe, play, work and walk with them every day. When I’m writing, I even dream about my characters and become submerged in their world.

Question: Do you have any advice for new writers?

Gates: Write daily, read daily! Don’t start by writing a novel – start with short stories and make sure they have all the necessary dramatic elements: a beginning, a middle, an ending, rising action, conflict, character development, etc. Hone your craft on short projects then move to longer ones. Above all, be patient. There are no shortcuts. Getting good takes years, and once you’re good, getting published takes even longer. Ultimately, writing has to be a lifestyle. And what a wonderful lifestyle it can be!

Keel: Yes—write, write, write. Also read, read, read. When I’m asked for advice by aspiring writers who tell me they don’t have time to read, or that they don’t want any outside influences sneaking into their work, I wish them well and suggest they at least read Stephen King’s “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft“. You can’t write good fiction unless you read good fiction (and even bad fiction, since it shows you what not to do). Writing is a process and it’s long, tedious and usually lonely, so be willing to listen to successful writers and don’t think that (as one novice writer told me), “It’s perfect the way I first spew it out. I don’t believe in re-writing.”

If you would like to learn more about J. Gabriel Gates, please visit his website here.  And, if you would like to learn more about Charlene Keel, you may visit her website here. They would love to hear from readers about The Tracks series.

Again, the first book in The Tracks series – “Dark Territory” is now on bookshelves and the second book – “Ghost Crown” – will be released in January of next year. You can also visit HCI Books here for downloads of posters, wallpaper, ringtones or information on the book series.

Get out there and buy a copy of “Dark Territory” for yourself (and for your friends and family too) and mark your calendars for the release of its sequel “Ghost Crown” in the new year!

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TV Ratings: Summer TV (Monday, August 15)

Posted in Ratings, Television on August 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Here are the ratings for all of the repeat dramas that aired on Monday night on the major networks:

8 PM Show:
Gossip Girl (The CW) [repeat] – 590,000 viewers

9 PM Show:
One Tree Hill (The CW) [repeat] – 430,000 viewers

10 PM Shows:
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) [repeat] – 5.1 million
Castle (ABC) [repeat] – 3.9 million
Harry’s Law (NBC) [repeat] – 3.3 million

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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TV Recommendations: Tuesday, August 16

Posted in Television, TV Calendar on August 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

8 PM:
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (NEW)
Rizzoli & Isles on TNT (Reair)
NCIS on CBS (Reair)
A League of Their Own movie on AMC
The American President movie on Encore
XXX movie on FX

9 PM:
The Nine Lives of Chloe King on ABC Family (Season Finale)
NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (Reair)
The Losers movie on HBO2
The A-Team movie on More Max

9:30 PM:
The Big C on Showtime (Reair)

10 PM:
Combat Hospital on ABC (NEW)
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (Reair)
Apollo 13 movie on Encore
Adam movie on HBO Family
Something New movie on Oxygen

10:30 PM:
The Big C on Showtime (Reair)

Enjoy!

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Entertainment Update for August 15

Posted in Daily/Weekly Updates on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Breaking Bad has been picked up for a 16-episode fifth and final season by AMC. (E! Online)

Actress Jessy Schram (Falling Skies) will appear as Cinderella in an early episode of Once Upon a Time, the new ABC fairytale series that will debut on October 23 at 8 PM. Actor David Anders (The Vampire Diaries) will also appear as a doctor who dates Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin). (Zap2It)

Actress Nathalie Kelley (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) will have a recurring role on Body of Proof when it returns to ABC on September 20. She will play Dani, the confident, street smart driver of the M.E. van who has a real interest in forensics and ultimately wants to be a part of the team. (The Futon Critic)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager will complete its summer run on ABC Family on September 5 at 8 PM with the new ABC Family series The Lying Game taking over that time slot starting on September 12 and continuing through October. Meanwhile, Pretty Little Liars will air its mid-season finale on August 30. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Josh Duhamel has joined the cast of the Disney Jr.’s flagship animated series called Jake and the Never Land Pirates. He will voice the recurring role of Captain Flynn, a dashing young pirate who is well-known for his legendary adventures on the Never Sea with his boat The Barracuda. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor William Sadler (Roswell) will return to Fringe as Dr. Sumner in the third episode of the fourth season. (Give Me My Remote)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Julianna Moore is considering to appear in the potential HBO mini-series based on the Sara Gran novel called Dope. The story takes place in New York around 1950, centering on a woman who re-enters her life after being away at the farm to treat her heroin addiction and becomes a private eye. (Deadline)

The show-runners behind the short-lived ABC series Detroit 1-8-7 are working on a pilot project for ABC Studios called Two Roads, which centers on a young woman who struggles with doubt on her wedding day whether to go through with it or not. (Deadline)

A script written by Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva) and Peter Tolan has been picked up by ABC Studios. The story is about a female FBI profiler who teams up with a homicide detective for the first time since he left her at the altar after coming out of the closet. Tolan also has a script in play at FOX for an ensemble comedy with producing partner Michael Wimer and DJ Nash. (Andrew Wallenstein at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

British singer Cheryl Cole has landed a role in the upcoming film What to Expect When You’re Expecting starring alongside the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz. There is no word what character she will be playing, though. (E! Online)

Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back) has joined the cast of the upcoming film Gangster Squad where he will play a mob enforcer-turned-police informant who is the childhood friend of the character to be played by Ryan Gosling. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

It looks like Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, which was set to star Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. It seems the remake was dumped due to the film’s $250 million budget. (Deadline and TV Guide)

Here are the top 10 movies for this past weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $27.5 million
2. The Help, $25.5 million
3. Final Destination 5, $18.4 million
4. The Smurfs, $13.5 million
5. 30 Minutes or Less, $13 million
6. Cowboys & Aliens, $7.6 million
7. Captain America: The First Avenger, $7.1 million
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $6.9 million
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, $6.88 million
10. The Change-Up, $6.2 million

NOTE: The Glee movie placed in 11th place on its opening weekend, earning only 5.7 million in the box office receipts.

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

Question: I just finished watching the season finale of Falling Skies and I am very happy the show got renewed for another season. I just hate that we have to wait until next summer before the show comes back on again. I have seen where people have described the show as boring. Did you think it was boring? I found it interesting and suspenseful that the audience did not know any more than the characters did about what was going on in their world. When we saw the bipedal aliens for the first time, it was a shock. We thought the Skitters were in charge, but it appears they were just drones. That was shocking to me. What did you think? The cast is great! Noah Wyle did an excellent job as Tom Mason. Colin Cunningham was perfectly cast as Pope, who’s such is an interesting character. I was so happy to see Fringe’s Blair Brown on the show. I hope Falling Skies continues for a long time. The summer shows are so good. I am not nearly as excited as I once was about the fall shows coming back. Which shows do you look forward to more, summer or fall? — Susan

Matt Roush: Let’s start with Falling Skies, which I never found boring. Overly earnest and preachy at times, yes, but there was always a tension afoot given the way the series was set up, thrusting us directly into the resistance movement against the aliens, and not stalling in the build-up to the attack the way V did. I agree that the reveal late in the season of the new aliens (presumably in charge) and the harnessed nature of the Skitters were good surprises. I was even OK with the Close Encounters nature of the season cliffhanger, though I gather some were put off by it. And you called out my favorite characters. This is by far Noah Wyle’s best TV role since the glory days of ER, and Pope is a great foil. Hoping in Season 2 for there to be more unsettling cameos like the one Blair Brown performed so memorably. As for summer-vs-fall, it’s not really an issue for me, because TV pretty much goes year-round anymore with barely a pause (except around the holidays), and there are high and low points in each period of the year. Summer is especially critical for cable networks to present many of their best signature shows while attempting to launch new ones, and there was a glut of them this year, while network TV takes a step back with very little to recommend. But soon, network TV will be back in full force, and as much as I enjoy many summer series, I’ll be happy to welcome back the shows (from Modern Family to The Good Wife) that take us through much of the rest of the year. But back to Falling Skies, which has been especially prominent in my mailbag lately.

Question: The more I watch Falling Skies, the more excited I get about its future. The way the first season ended opens a tremendous amount of potential directions for this show to move towards. I still believe that, at its heart, it’s a mediocre show that is elevated by some wonderful performances and a creative over-arching storyline. Most of the supporting characters are one-dimensional archetypes: the empathetic doctor, the motorcycle chick, the hardened criminal who’s never at a loss for clichéd wisecracks, etc. But at the same time, I can’t imagine a better pick for the heart of the show than Noah Wyle. His character and performance are the highlights of the series. And surprisingly, I find myself enjoying Will Patton’s Capt. Weaver, who at the outset looked like he was going to fall into a typical gruff commander stereotype, but was given some great development in the last few episodes. Nothing about the first season excited me enough to think that I needed to watch the entire series, but every episode made me want to watch the next one (if that makes any sense). What has been your opinion of the first season, and what is your outlook for the second? — Chris

Matt Roush: What you’re expressing here is ambivalence that accentuates the positive, and I get that. It’s pretty much how I felt about the show through most of the season. Completely agree about the wooden acting in many of the stock supporting roles, which only accentuated the hokeyness at times. This never actually became appointment TV for me — in part because I moved around a lot this summer, and there are very few shows I’ve been able to keep up with regularly — which meant I tended to watch Skies in multiple-hour blocks, like a miniseries, and in that regard, it played well for me. I’m very curious where the show will go in its second season in the aftermath of Tom’s Close Encounters experience, which I hope won’t defuse the tension in the story’s next act.

Question: I just saw the promo for ABC Family’s The Lying Game and it looks an awful lot like the storyline for the CW’s Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Are they THAT similar? And which do you recommend? Thanks! — Diane

Matt Roush: There’s no explaining it, but yes, within the space of a few weeks, two shows will premiere (The Lying Game this week, Ringer in mid-September) involving identical twins from wildly different backgrounds: one rich, one poor, and the poor one takes over the rich twin’s life, with ensuing complications. The circumstances are different — in The Lying Game, the twins were separated at birth (one adopted, one in foster care) and only just learned of each other’s existence, while Ringer’s twins are merely estranged — and Ringer is more of a mystery/suspense thriller while I haven’t quite figured out the tone or direction of The Lying Game from the pilot. They’re not carbon copies, but it’s weird for two such similar shows to arrive at the same time. Still, these things do happen. In terms of preference, both seem like solid enough melodramas, but I’m a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan and enjoy Ringer’s more deluxe and sinister tone, while Lying Game saddles its main character (well played by Alexandra Chando, a dead ringer, so to speak, for The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev) with generic clique-ish rich brats who feel interchangeable with any number of ABC Family or CW dramas. Not exactly my thing.

Question: I’ve been a fan of Eureka since the beginning. It got off to a great start, but I’m confused about the number of episodes in each season. For the last two seasons, Syfy has had 8-10 episodes in the summer and then the 2nd half of the season the next summer. Instead of calling it season 4.0 and 4.5, wouldn’t that be seasons 4 and 5 since there are around nine months between each half-season? Will they get back to a normal summer season of 13 episodes, like Warehouse 13, or 10 episodes in the summer and then 10 episodes in the winter, like the Stargate shows? — Ryan

Matt Roush: This question came in before it was confirmed that Eureka’s fifth season, currently in production, will be its last — with an extra episode tacked on to the original order to allow the writers to bring the show to a close. It isn’t yet clear when and how Syfy will present the final episodes of Eureka, but it would be nice if the network didn’t try so hard to confuse the audience with its bizarre scheduling. Syfy has done Eureka no favors in the way its last few seasons were split over such a long period of time. Ryan is absolutely correct that to run one half of a season in July of one year, and then to finish the run the following July, it’s basically two separate seasons. Which may take some of the sting out of the recent news, if we pretend that seasons 3 and 4 were actually two seasons each, that would mean next season will be in some ways its seventh. (Got that?) Either way, it has been a nice run for what is currently my favorite Syfy series.

Question: With the news of the cancellation of Eureka, it seems like Syfy is sliding even further out of its SF niche. While Eureka has had a good run and I don’t think Syfy is making a mistake with canceling it (besides not deciding a little earlier to give them enough time to wrap it all up), the lack of any news about a replacement show is concerning. For a die-hard SF geek like myself, the fact that there are only 2-3 shows on Syfy that I watch is indicative of the lack of focus from that network. I compare that to USA, which is under the same corporate umbrella, where they have put together a great track record of solid shows from Psych to Suits, and I realize I spend more time watching USA than Syfy these days. Is there any reason why one branch of the NBC (now Comcast) umbrella is doing so well with their series and another is doing so poorly? — Jason

Matt Roush: In this case, it does seem an apples-and-oranges type of comparison. USA Network is doing very well at programming for the broadest possible audience, hewing to an escapist formula popularly described as “blue sky” while working just enough tweaks in most series so it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting through the same show hour after hour (some more successfully than others). Whereas Syfy is trying to find variations within an expansive genre, with a mix of scripted and non-scripted (quasi-reality) shows that, in the scripted arena, have tended to veer toward the whimsical light-fantasy side of late, because that’s what’s been working best for them. And while the purist may be disappointed by Syfy’s current slate, from a business point of view they’re doing pretty well, all things considered. And don’t be surprised when USA broadens out to include comedy and reality in its portfolio, which will surely earn it some critics. Personally, I’m putting almost an absurd amount of hope on the Battlestar Galactica prequel (Blood and Chrome) to return Syfy to classic form and improve upon the disappointing Caprica, because I’ve also missed the weightier (read: risky), more allegorical and less earthbound dramas that some of us tend to associate with sci-fi.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Tyler Blackburn from Pretty Little Liars In New Web Series Called Wendy with Meaghan Martin

Posted in Breaking News, Music, News, Online Series, Television, Video, Web Series on August 15, 2011| 2 Comments »

Attention Pretty Little Liars fans!!

Do you like actor Tyler Blackburn in the role of bad boy with a good heart Caleb Rivers? Did you know this guy can sing?! Well, he CAN and fans need to check out the new project for which Tyler is involved in along with actress Meaghan Martin (the TV version of 10 Things I Hate About You and Camp Rock).

Wendy

The new web series Wendy from Alloy Entertainment (the people behind Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries) is an updated version of the classic Peter Pan tale. Wendy tells the story a girl (Martin) who must choose between the boy she loves and the boy of her dreams. The web series will premiere on September 15 with new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday for 5 weeks.

Not only does Blackburn sing the theme song “Save Me,” but he is either the boy Wendy loves or the boy of her dreams (or maybe both)? You will have to tune in to find out more.

You can see the video to the theme song “Save Me” here. The sneak peek commercial for Wendy is also up at that page. The Facebook page for Wendy can be found here.

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New Zealand Band Goldenhorse To Make US Debut on The Lying Game on ABC Family

Posted in Breaking News, Music, News, Television on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Goldenhorse

The New Zealand pop band Goldenhorse will have their single “Jump Into The Sun” featured in the series premiere of The Lying Game tonight on the ABC Family Channel at 9 PM. The band is well known Down Under, but are an emerging act here in the States. The band scored huge success in New Zealand with their first two albums, Riverhead and Out of the Moon, both going platinum.

For those who have a Smartphone, you can go to ABC Family and get the song for free between today at 2 PM (Pacific Time) and tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16 at 2 PM (Pacific Time).

For more information about the band, including music videos for their popular hit songs “Run Run Run,” “Golden Dawn” and “Maybe Tomorrow,” go to The Lying Game.

The Lying Game Cast

The Lying Game tells the story of identical twins Emma Becker and Sutton Mercer, who having been separated at birth have led very different lives, each oblivious to the other’s existence until circumstances bring them back together. Yearning for the family she never had, Emma agrees to help Sutton with her plan to find their birth parents, setting in motion a web of secrecy and lies.

Based on the novel series, the 10 all-new scripted hour long episodes star Alexandra Chando (As The World Turns), Andy Buckley (The Office), Blair Redford (Switched at Birth), Sharon Pierre-Louis (Lincoln Heights), Kirsten Prout (Kyle XY), Alice Greczyn (Lincoln Heights), Allie Gonino (10 Things I Hate About You) and Helen Slater (Supergirl).

You can also become a fan of the show on Facebook and Twitter.

You can learn more about the band Goldenhorse here.

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Take a Journey Into “Dark Territory” with Authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel (Part 1 of 2)

Posted in Books, News, Spotlight on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Since the novels of Harry Potter and the Twilight franchise have made young adult fiction the hot “it” brand in the world of the written word, countless books centered on teens and young adults have been published or, in some cases, been rediscovered by readers of every age.

J. Gabriel Gates

One such new series of novels that readers should be on the look-out for is The Tracks series of books by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, the co-authors of the recently released book entitled “Dark Territory,” published by the Teen division of HCI Books – best known for the life-changing “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of novels. “Dark Territory” was released nationwide on July 1 of this year.

“Dark Territory” has been described as ‘West Side Story meets Twilight’ and author Gates has been hailed as the ‘best new supernatural fiction writer on Earth’. It has also been said that his latest book ‘combines the perfect blend of star-crossed love, kung fu and magic in a story that has all the makings of becoming a box-office smash hit.‘

The story contained inside the cover of this exciting new book series is about a young man from the back streets of Los Angeles who never expected to find himself in the middle of a gang war when he moved to a small, quiet town. But these are no ordinary gangs nor is this an ordinary town. When an awesome power is discovered at work in the tunnels under the railroad tracks, the two gangs set out on a terrifying mystical quest to fight a force that not only threatens their town, but possibly the whole world.

Dark Territory

To delve more into “Dark Territory” let’s take a look at a more in-depth explanation about the story:

In the quaint town of Middleburg, an abandoned train yard and old railroad tracks form the dividing line between two rival gangs – the wealthy, preppy Toppers and the working-class Flatliners. When Raphael, the leader of the Flatliners, falls in love with Aimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare to do battle . . . but not with guns and knives. Their martial arts’ training dictates a strict code of honor, which all of the gang members adhere to. The only hope for peace between the rival gangs lies within the giant X formed where the railroad tracks cross. The awesome power contained in the X sends the Flatliners and the Toppers on a mystical quest to fight against malevolent forces that threaten the existence of Middleburg—and maybe the world.

I recently had the opportunity to interview the co-authors on what inspired them to create the unique world of The Tracks series among many other subjects. Here is what these talented writers had to share with me:

Question: What inspired you to write this story?

Gates: The initial inspiration came when I was taking a Wing Chun kung fu class and my girlfriend at the time and her friends were watching teen dramas and I thought: “wouldn’t it be cool to make a teen drama with kung fu?” The initial idea was for The Tracks to be a TV show, but Char had the idea to make a book series out of it. Aside from that, though, it has a lot of themes that are interesting and important to me: class relations, conflict resolution, spiritual growth and meditation.

Keel: For me, I guess the short answer is ambition, possible financial reward, and the creative urge to spin a great yarn.

Question: How long was the story in development and how long did it take you to write “Dark Territory”?

Gates: This one spent a long time in the hopper! I came up with the TV show idea and Char and I wrote a treatment for it back in 2005 or so. It was in about 2010 that she came to me and suggested that we pitch it to publishers as a teen series. But sometimes ideas are like fine wine – the longer they sit on the shelf, they more they mature. I think this story benefitted from its long gestation period.

Keel: Jacob came to me with a great premise…it grabbed me right away but I thought it needed something else. When I ran it by my best friend and spiritual brother, Christian Osborne, he listened quietly and said one thing: ‘Make it magic.’…Jake liked the idea, and we went to work on a treatment for a TV series, which took maybe two weeks to write. (Unfortunately), circumstances took me back to Florida and it (wasn’t until) six years later, thanks to my friend Herman Rush introducing me to Peter Vegso, that we pitched it to HCI Books. All we had at that point was the TV treatment, which we had turned into a book proposal. It took us about 5 months to write “Dark Territory”.

Question: How did you come together to work on this book?

Gates: Back in 2005, I was living in LA. I had just finished writing my second novel and was trying to figure out how to get a literary agent. Like all young writers, I was getting nothing but rejections from the loads of query letters I sent out, so I put an ad on Craigslist titled: “Young Author Seeks Mentor” (and) Char answered. It was her idea that we should come up with TV show ideas and pitch them to the studios together. (But then she) moved back to Florida before we ever got around to pitching any of our TV ideas. Years later, she called me up about pitching The Tracks as a book series that we would write together. I agreed, she pitched the idea to HCI, and here we are.

Keel: (Yes), we met through (the ad) on Craigslist. I already had many TV credits (under my belt, but) I’d reached that certain age where women start to become sort of invisible in Tinseltown. I had no problem getting pitch meetings…but more and more I was pitching to very young studio executives. I was getting really annoyed with the stunned looks on their faces when someone their mother’s age walked in…(ironically) I was about to place a notice on Craigslist…when I saw Jake’s ad, looking for a mentor. I got in touch, we met for lunch and hit it off—and I was delighted to find that his writing talent is awesome.

Question:  What was the most difficult scene to write?

Gates: I wouldn’t say that any of it was too difficult – when you have a story and characters this great, it really just flows. But Char was definitely the expert on writing the romantic sections, especially from the female point of view. It’s hard for a guy author to get excited about how alluring his hero’s cologne smells! I think the story really benefitted from having both our perspectives, the Yin and the Yang.

Keel: For me, the battle scenes, so Jake took those on and I did very little tweaking on them. I have absolutely no training in martial arts, so I happily bow to his expertise.

Question: Can you provide a general premise for the book beyond the (general) description?

Gates: It truly is something new: a modern literary soap opera. It has something for everyone. You have a gang war, forbidden love, magic, Eastern mysticism, humor, teen shenanigans, popularity anxiety, looming catastrophic evil, and lots and lots of action. I loved the idea all along, but the more great feedback I get from readers, the more excited I am about “Dark Territory”.

Keel: Jake pretty much nailed it with his answer. I also like the way one reviewer describes it: “When Ignacio Torrez moves from the rough streets of Los Angeles to a small town dead smack in the middle of nowhere, he never expects to find himself in the midst of a gang war.” I think that kind of grabs a reader.

(Part 2 of this article will be posted tomorrow at 12 Noon.)

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TV Ratings: Summer TV (Sunday, August 14)

Posted in Ratings, Television on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Last night was filled with lots of reality, sports, music festivals and concerts, animation and news.

The downside to all of that is there were no dramas airing at all, which means there are no ratings for which to report on for last night.

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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TV Recommendations: Monday, August 15

Posted in Television, TV Calendar on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

7:45 PM:
The Ghost Writer movie on Showtime

8 PM:
Eureka on Syfy (NEW)
NCIS on USA Network
The Closer on TNT (Reair)
Teen Wolf on MTV (Reair)
Father of the Bride movie on Flix
Circle of Friends movie on TV Guide Network

9 PM:
The Lying Game on ABC Family (DEBUT)
The Closer on TNT (NEW)
Warehouse 13 on Syfy (NEW)
Teen Wolf on MTV (Reair)
True Blood on HBO2 (Reair)

9:30 PM:
The Big C on Showtime 2 (Reair)

10 PM:
Teen Wolf on MTV (Part 2 of Season Finale)
The Protector on Lifetime (NEW)
Rizzoli & Isles on TNT (NEW)
Alphas on Syfy (NEW)
The Lying Game on ABC Family (Reair of DEBUT)
Castle on ABC (Reair)
Harry’s Law on NBC (Reair)
The A-Team movie on Cinemax
Waitress movie on Lifetime Movie Network
Circle of Friends movie on TV Guide Network

10:30 PM:
The Big C on Showtime (NEW)

Enjoy!

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