Posted in News, Recommendations, Reminder, Television on December 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Here is a list of the programming options to expect on TV this week:
On Christmas Day, the annual Christmas episode of Doctor Who will air on BBC America at 9 PM.
That same night the season finale of Rizzoli & Isles and the series finale of Leverage will air on TNT at 9 and 10 PM respectively.
On December 29, the original Lifetime movie She Made Them Do It will debt at 8 PM.
And, the holiday special of Call the Midwife will air on PBS on December 30 from 7:30 PM to 9 PM.
Mark your calendars!
Posted in Movies, Year End Round Up on December 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
For many years now, it was always my goal to see as many movies as possible throughout each calendar year; usually averaging out to about 40 or more movies a year. But as the years have gone by, the cost of seeing a movie has steadily increased, putting up with inconsiderate movie goers who simply cannot turn off their phones or stop talking, it’s almost not worth going to the movies anymore.
That being said – for the first time in years – I have only gone to the movies about a dozen times this year; and sadly, most of the movies I saw were less than pleasurable. But at least there were a few good films this year, including The Lucky One, The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man.
But while I was more than disappointed with the selection at the box office, movie goers did not agree with me especially when you look at the top 25 films according to tickets sales (through approximately December 15) which are as follows:
1. Marvel’s The Avengers – 623 million
2. The Dark Knight Rises – 448 million
3. The Hunger Games – 408 million
4. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 – 280 million
5. Skyfall – 276 million
6. The Amazing Spider-Man – 262 million
7. Brave – 237 million
8. Ted – 219 million
9. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – 216 million
10. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax – 214 million
11. Men In Black 3 – 179 million
12. Wreck-It-Ralph – 170 million
13. Ice Age: Continental Drift – 161 million
14. Snow White and the Huntsman – 155 million
15. Hotel Transylvania – 144 million
16. 21 Jump Street – 138.4 million
17. Taken 2 – 138.3 million
18. Prometheus – 126.5 million
19. Safe House – 126.2 million
20. The Vow – 125 million
21. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – 123 million
22. Magic Mike – 114 million
23. The Bourne Legacy – 113 million
24. Lincoln – 112.5 million
25. Argo – 106 million
NOTE: There are a few late-December releases that will not be fully referenced in the above list as the box office results for the last two weekends of the year could not be collected before this report needed to be posted.
It should also be noted that the big sleeper hit of the year is a little movie that would normally have been overlooked. Which movie is that, you ask: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The movie starred a multitude of legendary British actors and actresses, earning $134 million worldwide and capturing the hearts of moviegoers all across the world. There are also plans for a sequel and that should make the countless fans of this great little flick very happy.
This was also the year for animated films to perform very well with Brave, Paranorman, Hotel Transylvania, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Rise of the Guardians, Frankenweenie, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and Wreck-It Ralph all doing really well at the box office and attracting a very divergent audience.
Meanwhile, I compiled a list of the movies that were either a disappointment at the box office or simply had horrible-looking trailers (in alphabetical order):
A Cabin in the Woods
A Thousand Words
American Reunion
Casa de mi Padre
Dark Shadows
For A Good Time, Call…
Hit & Run
Killing Them Softly
LOL
Madea’s Witness Protection
Parental Guidance
Project X
Savages
Sinister
Ted
That’s My Boy
The Campaign
The Collection
The Dictator
The Five-Year Engagement
The Guilt Trip
The Three Stooges
The Watch
This is 40
Wanderlust
What to Expect When You’re Expecting
But, if you don’t believe my list, how about the top 10 worst films according to the folks over at Time Magazine:
1. Cloud Atlas
2. John Carter
3. Hyde Park on Hudson
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
5. This Means War
6. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
7. Alex Cross
8. What to Expect When You’re Expecting
9. The Odd Life of Timothy Green
10. One for the Money
What movies did you most enjoy seeing this year? Which movies were disappointments to you? Please share your thoughts and comments.
TOMORROW: Music
Posted in Recommendations, Television on December 24, 2012| 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:
NOTE: There will be a lengthy marathon of Firefly episodes on Science Channel. Check your local listings for airtimes.
6:45 PM:
Definitely, Maybe movie on Oxygen
Good Morning Vietnam movie on Sundance
7 PM:
A Star for Christmas movie on ION
Miracle on 34th Street (classic) movie on AMC
The Fugitive movie on TV Guide Network
7:15 PM:
Finding Nemo (animated) movie on Starz
7:30 PM:
A League of Their Own movie on Style
7:45 PM:
Love Actually movie on Cinemax
7:50 PM:
Real Steel movie on Showtime2
8 PM:
It’s a Wonderful Life (classic) movie on NBC
Sabrina movie on Flix
How to Train Your Dragon (animated) movie on FX
Lucky Christmas movie on Hallmark
We Bought a Zoo movie on HBO2
The March Sisters at Christmas movie on Lifetime
9 PM:
Shrek the Third (animated) movie on ABC
A Christmas Wedding Date movie on ION
Home Alone movie on ABC Family
The Help movie on Showtime
9:30 PM:
Miracle on 34th Street movie (classic) on AMC
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial movie on TV Guide Network
10 PM:
The Big C on Showtime2
How to Train Your Dragon (animated) movie on FX
It’s Christmas, Carol movie on Hallmark
Browncoats Special on Science
10:30 PM:
The Big C on Showtime2
Enjoy!
Posted in Television, Year End Round Up on December 23, 2012| 2 Comments »
As an avid TV viewer, it is always exciting to see what the writers and creators of my favorite shows come up with to entertain and thrill their viewers each week.
The following is a list of the highlights of the past year (in no particular order):
Nikita
Best Show Viewers Simply Aren’t Watching But They Should Be – Nikita
Best Team to Have in Your Corner – Nathan, Hardison, Parker, Eliot and Sophie on Leverage
Best New Bad Guy – Captain Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) on Revolution
She Could Give Victoria Grayson (from Revenge) a Run for Her Money – Melanie “Mellie” Grant (Bellamy Young) on Scandal
Melanie “Melly” Grant (Played by Bellamy Young)
What a Milestone (But Maybe It’s Time to Hang It Up) – NCIS reaching its 200th episode during the 2011-2012 season; but the show has been slowly waning enough during the 2012-2013 TV season that maybe it’s time to let the show end on a high note
The Show That’s Having a Bit of a Sophomore Slump – Revenge
Juliette Barnes (Played by Hayden Panettiere)
Best New TV Bitch – Juliette Barnes on Nashville
We Will Miss These Characters Greatly – Amy and Rory on Doctor Who
The New Queen of Comedy (Sort Of) – Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project
So Very Glad This Show Has Ended – Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Most Welcome Return to TV – Scott Speedman on Last Resort [while the show has lasted that is] and Kristin Kreuk on Beauty And the Beast
New Drama that Deserved More Than a Cancellation [TIE] – Emily Owens, M.D. and Last Resort
The Mob Doctor
It’s About Time – The cancellation of The Mob Doctor (which should have happened after the first two episodes aired because it was THAT bad)
They Give Him the Best Lines [TIE] – Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) on Revenge and JT Forbes (Austin Basis) on Beauty And the Beast
I Laughed So Hard I Cried – Eureka episode where Jack keeps swapping bodies with Fargo, Zane and Allison
Best Recurring Character – Kevin (played by Osric Chau) on Supernatural
Kevin (Played by Osric Chau)
Makes This Show Just Go Away, Please! – 90210
Best Meta Episode – “The Final Frontier” of Castle
Best New Summer Cable Series – Longmire
Longmire
Best Guilty Pleasure Show – Bunheads
Can’t Wait To See What Happens Next – Falling Skies (especially after the insane season finale)
Best Mini-Series (Without Question) and Most Anticipated Return by the International Viewing Audience – Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey
Best TV Couple (Four-Way Split) – Mary and Matthew on Downton Abbey, Castle and Beckett on Castle, Michael and Nikita on Nikita and Snow and Charming on Once Upon a Time
The One Legal Show You Should Be Watching – Suits
Best New Mini-Series – Call the Midwife
Call the Midwife
Even With the New Faces and Locations This Show Just Isn’t Any Better – Glee
Young Rising Star – Kiara Glasco (Regular on Copper, guest starred on Haven and appeared in last winter’s Hallmark Channel movie Christmas Magic)
Duke-Audry-Nathan (from Haven)
Best Love Triangle – Nathan, Audrey and Duke on Haven
Most Disappointing Mini-Series – Political Animals
Best Flashback Episode of the Year – “Blue Butterfly” (1947 based episode) on Castle
Funniest Duo on Cable – Shawn and Gus on Psych
Gus and Shawn (from Psych)
Best Male Newcomer (Four-Way Split) – Stephen Amell on Arrow, Jay Ryan on Beauty And the Beast; Tom Weston-Jones on Copper and Colin O’Donoghue on Once Upon a Time
What a Great Job of Casting – The casting department at Once Upon a Time when they cast youngster Bailee Madison as the younger version of Snow White; she and Ginnifer Goodwin (who plays the grown up version of Snow White) look SO much alike
Leverage
Most Overlooked Cable Series – Leverage on TNT
Best New “Cast” Addition – Bear (the dog) on Person of Interest
Best New Drama for 2012-2013 TV Season – Arrow
Arrow
The OMG Moments of the 2011-2012 Season (Five-Way Split) – Learning that it was Tyler, not Daniel, who was shot on the beach on Revenge; Damon and Elena finally kiss and the car accident that results in Elena’s death and resurrection as a vampire on The Vampire Diaries; Mona is revealed as being on the “A” team on Pretty Little Liars; Zoe and Wade have sex while George leaves Lemon at the altar on Hart of Dixie and the explosion at the NCIS building and Ducky’s heart attack on the season finale of NCIS
Why Did These Characters Have to Die? (Six-Way Split)- Nate on Burn Notice; Simon on Covert Affairs; Lena on Warehouse 13; Mark on Grey’s Anatomy; Lori on The Walking Dead and Brenda’s mom on The Closer
Munroe (played by Silas Weir Mitchell)
Best Sidekick (Tie) – Munroe on Grimm and Birkhoff on Nikita
Birkhoff (played by Aaron Standford)
The OMG Moments of the Summer 2012 TV Season (Three-Way Split) – Jinks brought back to life by Claudia on Warehouse 13; Tobey is part of the “A” team on Pretty Little Liars and Annie killing Lena on Covert Affairs
Very Happy This Finally Happened – Emma broke the curse on Once Upon a Time
Warehouse 13
What the Hell Just Happened – Everything that took place during the mid-season finale of Warehouse 13
The OMG Moments of the 2012-2013 Season – Damon and Elena have sex in The Vampire Diaries (and learning that she is sired to him); Fitz is shot by Huck’s girlfriend Becky on Scandal; Cora and Hook making it to Storybrooke after Emma and Snow finally make it home on Once Upon a Time; Tommy’s dad (John Barrowman) is the “The Hood” copycat on Arrow
Did You Know They Aren’t Americans – Daniel Lissing and Daisy Betts on Last Resort, Jay Ryan from Beauty And the Beast and Clare Bowen from Nashville (all Australian) and Sam Palladio from Nashville and Damian Lewis and David Harewood from Homeland (all British)
The Best Damn Looking Cast (and Group of Guest Stars) on Network TV – Everyone on The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
Most Heart-wrenching Moment of Summer Cable TV – Henry (Corbin Bernson) being shot at point blank range by one of his former cop buddies in the season finale of Psych
Best Supporting Actor (TIE) – Columbus Short on Scandal and Austin Basis on Beauty And the Beast
Sarah Rafferty
Best Supporting Actress (TIE) – Sarah Rafferty on Suits and Candice Accola on The Vampire Diaries
Candice Accola
Best Recurring Characters/Actors (TIE) – Annabeth Nass (Kaitlyn Black) on Hart of Dixie and Adalind Schade (Claire Coffee) on Grimm
They Have One of THE Most Complicated Relationships on TV – Fitz and Olivia on Scandal
Olivia and Fitz on Scandal
Most Impressive Season Premiere Ratings for a Cable Series (AGAIN) – The Walking Dead earning 10.9 million
Character That Viewers Really Seem to Dislike With a Passion – Charlie Matheson on Revolution
Sebastian Stan
Best Guest Star, Actor – Sebastian Stan on Once Upon a Time
Best Guest Star, Actress – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio on Grimm
It’s About Damn Time That Happened (Three-Way Split) – Auggie kisses Annie in season finale of Covert Affairs; Castle and Beckett finally have sex on Castle; Jim proposes to Callie in the season finale of The Glades
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Most Anticipated Upcoming Pilot – S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers pilot to be executive produced by Joss Whedon (let’s hope the show is picked up)
Best Partners (Four-Way Split) – Neal and Peter on White Collar; Harvey and Mike on Suits; Emily and Nolan on Revenge and Finch and Reese on Person of Interest
Great Twists in a New Series – Putting Oliver (aka Arrow) together with Helena (aka The Huntress) while Oliver’s best friend Tommy and Oliver’s former girlfriend Laurel get closer and the character played by John Barrowman is revealed to be Tommy’s dad, who cuts him off completely from his trust fund and is working with Oliver’s mom Moira for what appears to be nefarious reasons
Tracy Spiridakos
Prettiest Newcomer (TIE) – Tracy Spiridakos on Revolution and Jamie Chung on Once Upon a Time
Jamie Chung
Best Actress and Best Actor (Again) – Claire Danes and Damian Lewis on Homeland
Most Anticipated Shows for the Upcoming Mid-Season TV Season (Four-Way Tie) – Deception on NBC; the debut of Canadian series Continuum and the brand new series Defiance both on Syfy and The Following on FOX
The Cable Network That Provides the Most Entertaining Programs – ABC Family
ABC Family
We Will Really Miss These Shows (Three-Way Tie) – Eureka which ended on Syfy, In Plain Sight which ended on USA Network and Chuck which ended on NBC
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what you liked the most and the least of the past year. Please share.
TOMORROW: Movies
Posted in Recommendations, Television on December 23, 2012| 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:
5:45 PM:
Miracle on 34th Street (classic) movie on AMC
6 PM:
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial movie on TV Guide Network
7 PM:
A Golden Christmas 3 movie on ION (Reair)
Fireproof movie on CMT
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie on HBO Family
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie on TNT
7:10 PM:
Columbiana movie on Starz
7:30 PM:
Eagle Eye movie on Fox Movie Channel
8 PM:
Homeland on Showtime (Reair)
Miracle on 34th Street (classic) movie on AMC
Casino Royale movie BBC America
8:30 PM:
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial movie on TV Guide Network
9 PM:
Anything But Christmas movie on ION (Reair)
Downton Abbey on PBS
10 PM:
The Help movie on Showtime 2
Enjoy!
Posted in Ratings, Television on December 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »
With Christmas only a few days away, there were a lot of repeats and reruns of Christmas specials on the major networks last night.
Here is how the one, lone new drama fared in the overall ratings:
9 PM Show:
Fringe (FOX) [NEW] – 3 million
What did you watch last night? Please share.
Posted in Recommendations, Television on December 22, 2012| 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:
5:40 PM:
Titanic movie on HBO Signature
7 PM:
We Bought a Zoo movie on HBO Family
The Wizard of Oz (classic) movie on TNT
7:30 PM:
The School of Rock movie on Showtime 2
8 PM:
Strike Back on More Max (Reair)
Miracle on 34th Street (classic) movie on AMC
The Christmas Card movie on Hallmark
Merry In-Laws movie on Lifetime (Reair)
9 PM:
CMA Country Christmas Special on CBS (Reair)
10 PM:
Game of Thrones on HBO 2 (Reair)
Men in Black movie on Encore
A Smile As Big As the Moon movie on Hallmark
Finding Mrs. Claus movie on Lifetime
Enjoy!
Posted in Daily/Weekly Updates on December 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Hey All,
Here are the news items, few though they are, for today:
TELEVISION
Actor Ron Rifkin (Alias and Brothers & Sisters) will appear in the season finale of the FOX drama Touch, playing Isaac, an imposing rabbi and true believer in destiny. Touch finally returns to FOX for the start of its second season on February 8. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
The CW is developing a new potential drama tentatively titled Sherwood (based on the Robin Hood story) but with a slight twist. It will take place in 1072 England, following the tale of a young noblewoman who seeks help from the long-vanished Robin of Locksley to free her serf boyfriend from ruthless Norman occupiers. In doing so, she inadvertently joins up with the fabled Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Together, the group looks to inspire new hope for Nottingham and its oppressed people. (Michael Schneider at TV Guide)
Showtime has ordered its first pilot for 2013, greenlighting the project from Oscar nominees Paul Attanasio and Ridley Scott called The Vatican, which is being described as a provocative contemporary genre thriller about spirituality, power and politics set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic Church. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
The back-door pilot The Saint (based on the original TV shows) has cast the original actors who played the lead role in the former incarnations: Roger Moore and Ian Ogilvy. This reboot stars Adam Rayner (Hunted) and Eliza Dushku (Buffy and Dollhouse) in the lead roles as well as the following: James Remar (Dexter), Enrique Murciano (CSI), Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted), Beatrice Rosen (The Dark Knight), Yani Gellman (Pretty Little Liars), Greg Grunberg (Heroes) and Sammi Hanratty (Pushing Daisies) [among others]. The pilot follows the exploits of Simon Templar (Rayner), a brilliant criminal who uses his considerable illicit skills as a modern-day Robin Hood as he infuriates local law enforcement and woos Patricia Holm (Dushku), his on-again, off-again romance. Moore will play a character named Jasper while Ogilvy will play The Banker. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
That’s it. Enjoy!
Have a terrific, long holiday weekend.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!
Posted in Recommendations, Television on December 21, 2012| 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:
7:30 PM:
War Horse movie on Showtime
7:45 PM:
X-Men: First Class movie on Cinemax
8 PM:
Doctor Who on BBC America
Michael Buble: Home for the Holidays Special on NBC (Reair)
Come Dance with Me movie on Hallmark (Reair)
Holiday Spin movie on Lifetime (Reair)
Blue Lagoon: The Awakening movie on Lifetime Movie Network (Reair)
Mrs. Doubtfire movie on WE TV
9 PM:
Fringe on FOX (NEW)
Doctor Who on BBC America
10 PM:
Haven on Syfy (NEW – Season Finale) [Check local listings to determine if finale episode is set to air]
Brit List: The Doctor Who Ultimate List of Lists Special on BBC America (NEW)
Baby’s First Christmas movie on Hallmark (Reair)
Under the Mistletoe movie on Lifetime
Real Steel movie on Showtime
Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 