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Year-End Round-Up: My Observations on 2013

Posted in Books, Convention/Event, Messages, Year End Round Up on December 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

For about the past 8 years (give or take) I have been compiling a year-end round-up of all things entertainment, focusing on the worlds of television, movies, music and books; and in a year where scandals including those surrounding Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, Lance Armstrong, Manti Te’o, Julianne Hough, Paula Deen and Amanda Bynes [among others] have been all over the headlines, it will be nice to focus on many of the good things that happened throughout 2013.

Before I start digging into the good things that happened this year in those four areas of the entertainment world, I want to take a short amount of time to focus on some of the goals for which I set for myself. Yeah, I’m being a little selfish for a quick moment.

Each year, it is my hope to read at least 20 books and most years I have been able to reach that goal; but this year I was little under that amount. But I have a very good reason for not reaching my goal. I was given a wonderful thank you gift by a friend of a friend for helping out with a much needed hotel room for Comic Con 2013. That gift was the beautiful leather-bound “Firefly: A Celebration” (which you can find here) that took me nearly three months to read (a little at a time every night).

In addition, I read quite a lot of sci-fi-based, young adult novels by Catherine Fisher, Cassandra Clare, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Maggie Stiefvater, Ally Condle, Veronica Roth, Sophie Jordan, Kiera Cass and Suzanne Collins. I also read a delightful novel called “While We Were Watching Downton Abbey” by Wendy Wax that focused on the wonderful international mini-series that took the world by storm back in 2010. I also continued with my Austen-esque yearly reading with books by Victoria Connelly and Shannon Hale.

And, as usual, I had the opportunity to attend numerous TV-related events, including PaleyFest, WonderCon and Comic-Con [much like I have done for many years now] as well as a handful of events at the Paley Center such as panels for Suits, Pretty Little Liars, China Beach’s 25th Anniversary and Castle. In addition, I visited the Warner Bros. Exhibit at the Paley Center, took a trip to Long Beach to visit the Princess Diana Exhibit on the Queen Mary and, for the 4th year in a year, went to the Pomona Fairgrounds for their annual Harvest Festival. Lastly, I took a trip back to Pittsburgh (my former hometown area) for the first time in five years, visiting family and friends.

But enough about all of that, tomorrow I will start rolling out my year-end round-up starting with the best (and worst) in television with much more as 2013 comes to an end.

NOTE: I apologize in advance for any omissions, spelling errors or oversights I may have made, but I don’t apologize for any of the choices I made.

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Paley Fest 2014: 1st Three Panels Announced (And NEW VENUE)

Posted in Convention/Event, News, Paley Center, Television on December 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Paley Center for Media has announced the first three panels for Paley Fest 2014 as well as the dates of the annual event AND a new venue!!

The first three panels are:

Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)

American Horror Story: Coven (FX)

Veronica Mars

The festival dates are March 13 through March 28 and the new venue is the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre) at the Hollywood and Highland Center, right in the heart of Hollywood.

The full list of panels will be announced on January 8.

You can learn more about Paley Fest 2014 here.

Mark your calendars!!

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Paley Preview Parties

Posted in Convention/Event, New Shows, Paley Center, Television on September 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Paley Center for Media will be holding its annual Paley Preview Parties from September 6 to September 11 this year, once again saluting what each of the major networks have to offer TV viewers this fall.

The first panel for this year’s preview parties will be held on September 6, spotlighting CBS. That night’s event will bring the cast and creative team behind the network’s new comedy We Are Men to the stage for a moderated panel with William Keck from TV Guide Magazine as moderator.

The cast members included in the panel will be Tony Shalhoub, Jerry O’Connell, Kal Penn, Chris Smith and Rebecca Breeds as well as creator and executive Rob Greenberg.

The evening will start at 6 PM with a reception followed by the debut screening of We Are Men at 7 PM. The moderated panel will happen at 7:30 with debut screenings of the CBS comedies Mom, The Millers and The Crazy Ones as well as the new drama Hostages.

For those who cannot attend that night’s preview party, the panel will be streamed lived starting at 7:30.

On September 7, the folks from The CW will be spotlighted with a reception at 6 PM followed by the screening of the pilot episode of the new drama The Tomorrow People at 7 PM. A moderated panel led by Rob Moynihan from TV Guide Magazine will take place at 7:45 PM, featuring cast members Robbie Amell and Mark Pellegrino as well as executive producers Greg Berlanti, Julie Plec, Danny Cannon and Phil Klemmer. The night will finish off with screenings of the new dramas Reign and The Originals.

Again, for those who cannot attend the event, the preview party will stream live starting at 7:45 PM.

FOX will then get its chance to be spotlighted on September 9, starting at 5 PM with a reception followed by a screening of the pilot episode of the new comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine at 5:30 PM. The cast, including Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio and Chelsea Peretti, as well as the creative team, including Dan Goor and Michael Schur, will take part in a moderated panel led by Debra Birnbaum from TV Guide Magazine.

The evening will come to a close with the screening of the new comedies Dads and Enlisted as well as the new dramas Sleepy Hollow and Almost Human.

Just like the previous events, this night’s preview party will be streamed live starting at 6 PM.

On September 10, ABC will take the stage starting with a reception at 6 PM followed by the debut screening of the new comedy Trophy Wife at 7 PM. A moderated panel – with Mike Schneider from TV Guide as the moderator – will happen at 7:30 PM, featuring cast members Malin Akerman, Bradley Whitford, Marcia Gay Harden, Michaela Watkins, Bailee Madison, Ryan Scott Lee and Albert Tsai as well as executive producers Sarah Haskins, Emily Halpern and Lee Eisenberg.

The night continues at 8:15 PM with the debut screening of the new comedy Back in the Game followed by a moderator panel at 8:45 PM. The panel will include cast members James Caan and Maggie Lawson as well as executive producers Robb and Mark Cullen. Mike Schneider from TV Guide Magazine will, once again, be the panel moderator.

The night will finish off with the screenings of the new drama Lucky 7 and the new comedies Super Fun Night and The Goldbergs.

Live streaming of both panels will take place at 7:30 and 8:45 PM.

The last night of the preview parties will be focused on NBC on September 11, starting with a reception at 6 PM followed by the debut screening of the new drama Ironside at 7 PM.

A moderated panel will happen at 7:45 PM with cast members Blair Underwood, Spencer Grammer, Pablo Schreiber, Neal Bledsoe, Kenneth Choi and Brent Sexton as well as executive producers Ken Sanzel, Teri Weinberg, John Davis, John Fox and Ron West taking the stage with Rob Moynihan from TV Guide Magazine as the moderator.

The rest of the evening will feature screenings of the new comedies Sean Saves the World, Welcome to the Family and The Michael J. Fox Show as well as the new drama The Blacklist.

Like all of the other preview parties, live streaming will take place at 7:45 PM.

Please note that the programs and times for each night are subject to change and the line-ups for each moderated panel could be altered based on availability of the talent and crew.

The live streaming for each of the preview parties can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media at their website.

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The Paley Center for Media Announces PaleyFest Previews

Posted in Convention/Event, News, Paley Center, Recommendations, Television on August 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time of the year again. Time for the annual Paley Preview Parties at the Paley Center for Media!

This year the events are now under the umbrella of PaleyFest, starting off with the preview party for CBS on Friday, September 6. The reception will start at 6 PM followed by a 7 PM screening of the new CBS sitcom We Are Men. The cast and creative team of this comedy will then take to the stage at 7:30 PM for a moderated panel followed by screenings of the new comedies Mom, The Millers and The Crazy Ones. The night will then be capped off by a screening of the new drama Hostages.

The CW will take to the stage on Saturday, September 7 starting at 6 PM with the reception and then a screening of the new drama The Tomorrow People at 7 PM. The cast and creative team of this new drama will then participate in a moderated panel at 7:45 PM followed by the screenings of the networks other new dramas Reign and The Originals.

Moving over to Monday, September 9, the reception for the FOX party will begin at 5 PM (note the earlier start time) with the screening of the new sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine happening at 5:30 PM. The cast and creative team of this new comedy will then take the stage for a moderated panel at 6 PM followed by screenings of the new drama Sleepy Hollow, the new comedy Dads, the new drama Almost Human and the new comedy Enlisted.

ABC will have its party on Tuesday, September 10 starting with the reception at 6 PM followed by a screening of the new comedy Trophy Wife at 7 PM. The cast and creative team of this new sitcom will then participate in a moderated panel at 7:30 followed by screenings of the new comedies The Goldbergs and Super Fun Night as well as the new drama Lucky 7.

The last of the Paley Preview Parties will feature NBC on Wednesday, September 11the reception kicking off at 6 PM followed by a screening of the new drama Ironside at 7 PM. The cast and creative team of this new drama will then take to the stage for a moderated panel followed by the screenings of the new comedies Sean Saves the World, Welcome to the Family and The Michael J. Fox Show as well as the new drama The Blacklist.

The Paley Center for Media isn’t done there, though. They also have two September panels to present. The first being a Fall Farewell: Dexter Series Finale on Thursday, September 12 starting at 7 PM with the screening of the final episode followed by a panel with the creative team and cast of the Showtime series. And, the second being Fall Flashback: Reflections – China Beach 25 Years Later, which will be a reunion of the cast and creative team of the TV series China Beach. A screening will take place at 7 PM followed by a moderated panel with the cast and creative team.

All of the above panels will be live streamed as well; and panelists for all of the events will be announced at a later time.

Tickets for members of the Paley Center for Media will go on sale this Saturday, August 10 at 9 AM (Pacific Time) while tickets for the general public will go on sale on Monday, August 12 at 9 AM (Pacific Time). Visit the Paley Center for Media for more details.

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Comic-Con 2013: Witches and Fey, Monsters and Mortals

Posted in Books, Comic Con, Convention/Event, News, Writers on August 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

On the last day of Comic-Con 2013, some of the top sci-fi authors gathered for a panel entitled “Witches and Fey, Monsters and Mortals” about all those things that go bump in the night for which they have created for their books.

The panelists included the following:

• Rachel Caine, the author of The Weather Warden series, The Red Letter Days series, The Morganville Vampires series (which is actually being made into an online series), The Athena Force series, The Outcast Season series and The Revivalist series;

• Brom (aka Gerald Brom), the author of Metamorphosis, Offerings, Brom’s Little Black Book, Darwerks: The Art of Brom, The Plucker, The Devil’s Rose, The Child Thief and Krampus the Yule Lord;

• Leigh Bardugo, the author of The Witch of Duva and the books of the Grisha trilogy, including Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm.

• Seanan McGuire, the author of the InCryptid series and the October Daye series;

• Amber Benson, the author of the Calliope Reaper-Jones series and the Ghosts of Albion series (TV viewers will also recognize Amber for her recurring role on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer);

• C. Robert Cargill, the author of Queen of the Dark Things and Dreams and Shadows;

• Morgan Rhodes, the author of the Falling Kingdoms series; and,

• S.M. (Shannon) Wheeler, the author of Sea Change.

Some of the authors first talked about their backgrounds and how that differs greatly from what they are doing now; such as Rachel who shared that she studied accounting and music in college and Robert stated that he is a “history buff”, but that actually helped in his writing because what we know as fantasy “was someone else’s religion” at one point in time. And, Leigh shared that she was an English major (which obviously helped in her career path) and that she wanted to make the creatures from the dark ages into literal beings that would “scare the crap” out of her readers.

And some of the authors then talked about what drew them to their particular creations with Brom sharing that “monsters don’t know they are monsters” and “one person’s God is another person’s demon” so it was interesting for him to develop the creatures in his stories and in his artwork.

When the subject of whether they designed their own creatures or created them from research, Robert shared that he “did create a fairy based on mythology” while Seanan stated that she “does both”. Then Brom shared that “he feels like he is role-playing with his monsters”, making it easier to design them.

Of course the subject of what character in pop culture scares each of the authors most brought out quite different answers:

• Morgan – Pinhead from Hellraiser and the girl from The Ring
• Robert – Freddie Kreuger
• Rachel – The gentlemen from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
• Shannon – The creatures in the video game Silent Hill
• Seanan – Creep Show 2
• Brom proudly announced that “he loves monsters” and it is actually “his happy place” but he does not like parasites.

Then the discussion turned to what each of the authors are currently working on:

• Shannon – Sea Change sequel
• Morgan – Fallen Kingdom book 3
• Robert – Dreams & Shadows sequel, a possible Sinister movie sequel as well as a possible adaptation of the movie in video game format
• Amber – A new series of books with the working title “Witches of Echo Park”
• Seanan – Working on six different, ongoing projects
• Leigh – Book three of her current series
• Brom – A collection of illustrations and a fifth novel
• Rachel – The Morganville Vampires online series and for the first time in 20 years, she is taking some much deserved time off

Much too soon, the panel had to come to an end with a short Q&A from the audience; and that brought to an end my last day at Comic Con 2013 as well.

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Comic-Con 2014 Pre-Registration Information

Posted in Comic Con, Convention/Event, Messages on August 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The following comes directly from the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog:

Comic-Con International has updated attendees with information on the SDCC 2014 badge pre-registration process.

Here is the information from the official site:

“Comic-Con is working hard to improve the online registration system and will launch Comic-Con 2014 badge preregistration sometime between November 1 and December 31, 2013. Only those that have purchased a Comic-Con 2013 4-Day attendee or 1-Day attendee badge and have a valid Comic-Con Member ID will be eligible to participate in 2014 badge preregistration.

If you attended Comic-Con 2013 as a child, but will be age 13 or older as of November 1, 2013, you must register for a Comic-Con Member ID to be eligible to participate in 2014 preregistration. Once you have registered for a Member ID, log in to your Member ID account after August 8, 2013 and follow the instructions to qualify for preregistration. You will need your Comic-Con 2013 badge to register as an eligible attendee.

Professionals, guests of professionals, exhibitors, exhibitor purchased attendee badges, volunteers, staff, and press will not be allowed to participate in badge preregistration. Open online registration for all categories listed above will occur at a later date”

Those eligible for 2014 badge pre-registration will receive an email with instructions and information “sometime in November 2013″.

Safe to say, it’s probably a good time to check your Member ID information to make sure it’s up to date, and that you’ve opted in for communications from CCI.

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Comic-Con 2013: Just Us Guys and the Independent Film Festival

Posted in Comic Con, Convention/Event, News, Online Series, Recommendations, Web Series on July 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

For the first time in all of the years I have been attending the San Diego Comic-Con (that would be 12 years in case you were wondering), I attended the independent film festival, which has been a juried event contained within the annual fete since 2005.

The four-day festival screens some of the very best in genre-related short and long films as part of Comic-Con. The festival’s categories include action/adventure, animation, comics-related, documentary (pop culture related), horror/suspense, humor, and science fiction/fantasy. The winners of each category are decided by a panel of judges made up of film and popular arts industry luminaries; this year that included actress Kathy Najimy, Entertainment Weekly columnist (and former LA Times writer) Geoff Boucher and filmmaker Alex DeMille.

Trophies and prizes are given to the films deemed by the judges to be the best in each category, and an overall “Judges’ Choice Award”, which is presented to the one film considered the best film in the festival.

I attended a portion of the festival in support of my friend Chris Lilly’s online series “Just Us Guys” that was selected to be part of the top 50 films selected from among the 300 plus films that were submitted for the festival. That is quite a feat, in and of itself,

After the initial screening of “Just Us Guys” during the festival, Chris took to the stage along with his film editor Clinton Steeds (That’s So Raven and Cory in the House) and writing consultant Mark Litton (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) to participate in a moderator Q&A.

Just Us Guys panelists at San Diego Comic-Con – photo by Marcilene St. John

Chris was first asked what the genesis of “Just Us Guys” was with his reveal being that he wrote a horror script similar to that of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer back in 2009; and then he ended up writing a pilot that was Gilmore Girls but with guys inspired, which is what eventually became “Just Us Guys”.

When talking about what viewers of the online series can expect next, Chris shared that he is working on how to tell the full 13 ten-minute episodes for season two of “Just Us Guys” that will be more comedic and more father-son-based. And, he also shared that Elsie (played by Phylicia Goings) – who is the dynamic new comic book store employee – is actually being prepped as a spin-off series.

Mark and Chris then shared how they came to know each other, and it was through the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which was the show that changed Chris’s life, making him want to work in the industry. In fact, Chris named his production company – 82893 Productions – after the date that changed his life.

When the awards ceremony was presented on the last day of the convention, “Just Us Guys” was – unfortunately – not among the winners of the categories listed above, but when asked how he felt about the results, Chris was positive, sharing that he was already a winner by having his online series selected as part of the festival, getting great exposure and having the opportunity to network with everyone who participated in the Independent Film Festival.

To learn more about 82893 Productions as well as “Just Us Guys”, make sure to visit their official website here, check them out on Facebook here, follow them at Twitter @justusguystv and @82893Prods and check them out on You Tube here.

ADDED: You can also follow Elsie The Series on Twitter @ElsieTV and on Facebook here.

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Comic-Con 2013: Geeks Get Published – and Paid

Posted in Books, Comic Con, Convention/Event, Writers on July 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

On the first day of Comic-Con 2013, one of the cool smaller panels that was held at the San Diego Convention Center was entitled “Geeks Get Published – and Paid”, featuring the following authors as panelists:

S. G. Browne – The author of dark comedy and social satire whose first book was a “rom-zom-com”, a romantic-zombie-comedy told from the point of view of a zombie. That was followed up by a black comedy about fate and destiny and his latest book about a man with the ability to steal other people’s luck with a simply handshake.

Bonnie Burton – The author of six books, primarily centered on Star Wars. She also writes comics and is a columnist for SFX, a British magazine that covers science fiction and fantasy.

Katrina Hill (aka Action Flick Chick) – The film critic, book author, reporter and web-comic star who loves action flicks and horror movies. She also writes for Crave Magazine and was rated by Twitter as one of the “ten most influential women” online.

Alex Langley – The author of “The Geek Handbook”, he also writes news, interviews and comics for the website Rocketllama.com.

Alan Kistler – The geek historian and consultant, who has three published books, is a frequent contributor to Comic Book Resources and a columnist for Agent of S.T.Y.L.E., which he created. He’s written several unofficial challenge books and is the author of Doctor Who: A History.

Dr. Travis Langley – The psychology professor at Henderson State University, makes regular presentations on the psychology of superheroes at conventions like Comic Con and his research includes studies of aggressive behavior and mass media, particularly the psychology of media fans.

With moderator Jenna Busch from Fanhattan at the helm, the authors first talked about how they got started with Bonnie sharing that she wrote anthologies about blogs before anyone took blogs seriously; S.G. got started in 2003 on his first book, but didn’t get published until 2006 with all three of his books actually starting out as short stories first; Katrina shared that she got started with her blog first and then a publisher came to her to write a book about her love of action flicks; Alex was approached to write the Geek Handbook and Alan was also offered to write a cookbook for Game of Thrones and Travis shared that his credentials helped him get into writing.

Each author then talked about whether they had an agent or not with the split being even between all of the panelists, each sharing their opinion on whether it was a help or a hindrance in having an agent. But one of the main pieces of advice that several of the authors agreed on was if you decide to get an agent, check out agentquery.com as they are the “internet’s most trusted database of literary agents:.

They then shared their tips on writing as follows:

• Bonnie simply saying “write, write, write” and “never turn down a writing job”;

• S.G. sharing that it’s best to “read like a writer…the broader (your) scope you have will enrich your life”;

• Katrina shared that its best to “write about what you love then it doesn’t feel like a job”;

• Alex shared that you should “read constantly, expose yourself to “stuff” that is really bad (so you won’t) be afraid to improve and acknowledge your weak points”;

• Alan shared to “make it personal, do what it is that you’ve got to do, but if you’re phoning it in, (anyone) can tell; and

• Travis shared its best “to listen to advice, get feedback and loving what you’re doing is important”.

Each author has also had different experiences with publishing – some going the self-publishing or e-book route while others have been published through the help of their agents, getting them publishing deals.

Needless to say, it was an interesting panel with authors who obviously love what they are doing and fellow geeks/nerds/pop culture enthusiasts who can dispense good advice to those of us who wish to follow in their footsteps.

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Comic Con 2013: Pilot Screenings

Posted in Comic Con, Convention/Event, New Shows, Television on July 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

One of my favorite parts of every Comic Con are the screenings of pilot episodes presented by the networks. Each year since my very first Comic Con attendance back in 2001, I have had the opportunity to see a lot of pilots.

This year’s event was no different. But while I didn’t get to see all of the pilot episodes screened at Comic Con 2013, I certainly did get to see a handful of the pilots for which I was hoping to see.

Among those pilot episodes were the following new shows (featured in alphabetical order):

Intelligence (CBS) – The series follows Gabriel Black (Josh Holloway of Lost fame), a high-tech intelligence operative who is the first of his kind to have a microchip implanted in his brain. Endowed with this technology and ability, he is able to access and detect anything and anyone, but at the expense of taking risks or breaking protocol in order to protect national security, prompting his superior, Lilian Strand (Marg Helgenberger from CSI) to assign him a Secret Service agent, Riley Neal (Meghan Ory from Once Upon a Time) to make sure he doesn’t get out of line, or, for that matter, into enemy hands. The cast also includes Michael Rady (Emily Owens, M.D.) as Chris Jameson.

My Thoughts on Intelligence: The show is a combination of the Six Million Dollar Man, Jake 2.0 and Mission Impossible with Josh Holloway playing a great leading man in a procedural show that will fit perfectly into the world of CBS. It was also great to see Meghan Ory in such a different role from that of Ruby/Red Riding Hood on Once Upon a Time. There is plenty of action and intrigue with a dash of sci-fi tech and a good twist ending that should easily pull viewers into that world.

Intelligence will actually debut on CBS in February 2014.

Once Upon a Time In Wonderland (ABC) – This new drama is a spin-off to Once Upon a Time, focusing on young and beautiful Alice (newcomer Sophie Lowe), who tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole, landing her in a mental institution. Through an elaborate and colorful look at Wonderland thanks to flashbacks during Alice’s “interview” with her doctors, her travels through Wonderland with a handsome and mysterious genie named Cyrus (newcomer Peter Gadiot) and their encounter with the Red Queen (Emma Rigby from Australia’s Hollyoaks) are revealed. In the end, Alice and the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha from the UK’s Being Human) travel back to Wonderland attempting to discover what really happened to Cyrus. The cast will include Naveen Andrews from Lost fame as Jafar, John Lithgow as the voice of The White Rabbit and Jonny Coyne (Alcatraz) as Alice’s doctor.

My Thoughts on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Much like its predecessor, the world of Wonderland is gloriously colorful, the romance is heartfelt and the portrayal of Alice by Lowe is believable. And, Gadiot and Socha will be two of the hot new faces that will attract viewers in droves to the series. And, one of the best things about the show is that Alice isn’t a frightened young girl, but a tough, kick-ass kind of girl.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland will air its season premiere on ABC on October 10.

Sleepy Hollow (FOX) – This new series will be a modern-day retelling of the Washington Irving 1820 short story that focuses on Ichabod Crane (Brit actor Tom Mison), who is fatally injured during the American Revolution only to wake up in modern-day Sleepy Hollow. He quickly learns that the headless horseman, a soldier he beheaded on the day of his death, is also –somehow – back from the dead, wreaking havoc on the small town. Crane also learns a hidden secret about his long-dead wife that holds the key to why he and the headless horseman are back in Sleepy Hollow. The cast includes Nicole Beharie (the box office film 42) as police officer Abbie Mills, Orlando Jones (Mad TV) as Captain Frank Irving and Katia Winter (Dexter) as Ichabod’s wife Katrina.

My Thoughts on Sleepy Hollow: This was my favorite pilot of those I saw at Comic Con this year because it blended just the right amounts of thrills, humor and history all into one great show. FOX doesn’t necessarily have the greatest track record when it comes to show with a sci-fi element, but it is my hope they will embrace this show the same way they did The X-Files. It’s one of my top picks for the fall.

Sleepy Hollow will debut on FOX on September 16.

Star-Crossed (The CW) – The series follows a romance between Emery (Aimee Teegarden of Friday Night Lights fame), a human girl and Roman (Matt Lanter from 90210 fame), an alien boy when he and eight others of his kind are integrated into a suburban high school. The cast will include Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries) as Emery’s best friend Julia, Grey Damon (The Nine Lives of Chloe King and Twisted) as Grayson, Emery’s new friend from high school, Natalie Hall (Pretty Little Liars) as popular, mean girl Taylor and Greg Finley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) as Drake, one of the other eight aliens integrated into Emery’s high school.

My Thoughts on Star-Crossed: This show is reminiscent of the standard Romeo and Juliet love-story combined with elements of the WB/UPN series Roswell. It will fit in with the other shows on The CW, but is a bit predictable and trite. But if the story develops more around the abilities of the aliens as revealed in the final scene of the pilot and the city where the aliens have been confined and less around the angst of the teenagers, the show just might break the mold.

Star-Crossed has not been given an official airdate yet, but it will show up on the mid-season schedule of The CW, which means it will air sometime between January and March of 2014.

The 100 (The CW) – This series is based on the book by Kass Morgan that focuses on a post-apocalyptic world where the surviving members of the human race live on a spaceship just beyond an Earth that has been contaminated by radiation for decades. But, a group of 100 teenagers are sent back down nearly100 years ahead of schedule to determine if the Earth is habitable. Among the teenagers sent down to Earth are Clarke Walters (Eliza Taylor of Australia’s Neighbours), Finn Collins (Thomas McDonnell from Prom) and Octavia Blake (Marie Avgeropoulos from Cult) as well as the adults on the spaceship, including Clarke’s mother Dr. Abigail Walter (Paige Turco from Person of Interest), Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington from Grey’s Anatomy), Councilman Kane (Henry Ian Cusick from Lost) and Callie “Cece” Cartwig (Kelly Hu from Arrow and Warehouse 13).

My Thoughts on The 100: Despite some questionable storylines that are obviously copied from not only the box office film Avatar and the classic story Lord of the Flies but also the acclaimed remake of Battlestar Galactica, this futuristic series has an interesting take on what the world just might look like and how

The CW has not yet given The 100 a debut date, as yet, but it is expected to air during mid-season of 2014.

The Blacklist (NBC) – This NBC action-drama will center on Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader from Boston Legal), one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. Reddington will cooperate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen (newcomer Megan Boone), a rookie FBI profiler. Keen questions Reddington’s sudden interest in her, though he claims that Keen is very special. After the FBI brings down a terrorist he provided information on, Reddington reveals that the terrorist is only just the first of many. In the last two decades, he made a list of criminals and terrorists, which called “The Blacklist” that he believes the FBI cannot find because they did not know they exist and that they matter the most. The cast includes Harry Lennix (Dollhouse) as FBI Assistant Director Harold Cooper, Diego Klattnehoff (Homeland) as FBI agent Donald Ressler, Parminder Nagra (ER and Alcatraz) as FBI agent Margot Malik and Ryan Eggold (90210) as Tom Keen, Elizabeth’s husband.

My Thoughts on The Blacklist: Next to Sleepy Hollow, this was my favorite pilot coming out of Comic Con; namely, because of the charismatic performance by Spader in the lead role and the great twist revealed about Elizabeth’s husband, which I will not spoil, because it’s just too good to spoil. There is plenty of action and a thrilling cat-and-mouse race between Red and Elizabeth; and the series will surely interject a much needed boast to the one network that really needs it most.

The Blacklist will debut on NBC on September 23.

As usual, there will be plenty of new dramas set to debut this fall and during mid-season on all of the major networks.

Here is a simple run-down on all of them:

SUNDAY:

Betrayal on ABC (September 29)
Believe and Crisis on NBC (Mid-Season)

MONDAY:

Almost Human on FOX (November 4)
Hostages on CBS (September 23)
Intelligence on CBS (February 2014)
The Blacklist on NBC (September 23)

TUESDAY:

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC (September 24)
The Originals on The CW (October 15)
Lucky 7 on ABC (September 24)

WEDNESDAY:

The Tomorrow People on The CW (October 9)
Ironside on NBC (October 2)

THURSDAY:

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland on ABC (October 10)
Reign on The CW (October 10)
Rake on FOX (Mid-Season)

FRIDAY:

Dracula on NBC (October 25)
Crossbones on NBC (Mid-Season)

MID-SEASON (airdate yet to be determined):

Star-Crossed on The CW
The 100 on The CW
Reckless on CBS
Killer Women on ABC
Mind Games on ABC
Resurrection on ABC
The Night Shift on NBC
Chicago PD on NBC

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Comic Con 2013: Pictures from Sunday

Posted in Comic Con, Convention/Event, Pictures on July 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Here are the pictures from Sunday during my excursions in and around the San Diego Convention Center for Comic Con 2013. This is the final batch of pictures, by the way.