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THE REMOTE OUTPOST LOOKS FORWARD, THEN BACK AT 2012

Posted in 2012, 2013, Alien Worlds, Based on Classic Films, Mark Onspaugh Columns, Prequels, Remote Outpost, Science Fiction, Television, TV Shows with tags Banshee, Battlestar, Breaking Bad, Defiance, Fringe, Remote Outpost, Television, Vikings on January 16, 2013 by knifefighter

You find yourself on a barren and desolate world, light years from anything or anyone you know… Without much food or water, your oxygen running low, you strike out for the distant hills… After days of torturous climbing, you see an oasis below. An installation of quonset huts bedecked with hundreds of television antennae. Congratulations, Traveler, you’ve reached… THE REMOTE OUTPOST.

THE REMOTE OUTPOST LOOKS FORWARD, THEN BACK
By Mark Onspaugh

Well, the holidays have come to an end at the old Remote Outpost. The freeze-dried Christmas tree has been vacu-packed, the electronic menorah has been powered down and reintegrated into the antenna array, and the powdered eggnog and dehydrated turkey are on order for next year.

Now that the snart herds have moved to the Seventh Crater and the triffids are dormant, it’s time to reflect on that most marvelous technological advancement, television. We’ll try to adopt a more positive air going into 2013, at least on this rainy afternoon. (Besides, a “Worst Of” list would take many times the word count I am allowed.)

5 SHOWS THAT MAKE ME DROOL WITH ANTICIPATION

New shows are on the horizon, and some of them sound just peachy. Here are the ones I am most excited about:

BANSHEE (Premieres January 11, Cinemax). Alan Ball has become one of those names you look for. He wrote the screenplay for the movie AMERICAN BEAUTY back in 1999, and has since been the creative force behind the television series SIX FEET UNDER (2001-2005) and TRUE BLOOD (2008 – Present). I am a big fan of TRUE BLOOD and recently came under the spell of SIX FEET UNDER (see below). So when I heard Ball was executive producing a new series, I got downright twitterpated. BANSHEE concerns an ex (or escaped) con who poses as the (murdered) sheriff in the Amish community of Banshee. As with other projects with Ball at the helm, the secrets our protagonist keeps are just the tip of the iceberg in Banshee. One of the characters is named Mr. Rabbit, who will be played by Ben Cross. Mr. Cross portrayed Sarek, Spock’s father, in the STAR TREK reboot of 2009. He also stars in the upcoming JACK THE GIANT KILLER (2013), which is NOT to be confused with JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (also 2013)—that stars Ewan McGregor. It looks like it’ll be Brits vs Scots in the land of the giants.

BATES MOTEL (Premieres March 18, A&E). A psychological thriller that will give background on Robert Bloch’s beloved psycho. Hitchcock’s 1960 film is the initial inspiration, but beyond that, the producers will not be a slave to it or its sequels. The show is not, as one critic suggested, “How I Stuffed My Mother.” Besides Norman’s mother and her lover, the townspeople will also play a role in Norman’s descent into madness, and producers promise it won’t all be black and white, connect the dots. Norman Bates will be played by Freddie Highmore, the young actor so wonderful in FINDING NEVERLAND (2004), CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005) and AUGUST RUSH (2007). Freddie has grown up, and actually looks like a young Tony Perkins. Norman’s mother will be portrayed by Vera Farmiga, who promises mother Norma Bates will be both sympathetic and layered. We all know Vera from such films as THE DEPARTED (2006), JOSHUA (2007), SOURCE CODE (2011) and the upcoming THE CONJURING (2013). BATES MOTEL is produced by Carlton Cuse of LOST (2004-2010) and Kerry Ehrin of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (2006-2011).

DEFIANCE (Premieres April 15, Syfy). A lush science fiction drama where Earth has been remade into an almost alien world by extraterrestrial visitors who were denied permission to settle. After a long and costly war with humanity, the two species now live in an uneasy peace and try to make the Earth habitable for both. Defiance is the name of the town in the ruins of St. Louis, and where our protagonist, Jeb Nolan becomes head sheriff. There he must contend with humans, aliens, military types and various dangerous characters. From the trailers I’ve seen, this will be no cheap-looking, terrible CGI suck-fest. It is tied in with a game, but what show isn’t multi-platforming these days? Hopefully the writing will give us another BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004-2009) or SGU STARGATE UNIVERSE (2009-2011).

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME (Premieres February 10, Syfy). I was around when Glen A. Larson first introduced us to Cylons and humans whose names were the same as some of our more ancient gods and goddesses. I didn’t much care for the show, but watched it because I was starved for SF on TV. When the (then Sci-Fi Channel’s) remake was announced for 2004, I just shook my head and chuckled. I ignored it, until a friend hit me over the head with the DVD’s. I quickly became an ardent fan, and was sad when the (regrettable) ending aired. Now we have a chance to visit that universe again, as we see young “Husker” Adama and his friends in the first war with the Cylons, before the skin jobs made the scene. Like the many incarnations of STAR TREK, I anxiously wait for the chance to geek out in a world that is interesting and well-formed. Here’s hoping it’s as good as its predecessor.

VIKINGS (Premieres March 3 on History). Cable has often found fertile ground in examining (often in lurid detail) historical events, places or infamous families. DEADWOOD (2004-2006), THE TUDORS (2007-2010) and THE BORGIAS (2011 – Present) gave us all the scandal, gore and sex we were never taught in history class but always suspected (or hoped) was there. While perhaps not wholly accurate, all these shows had/have sumptuous production values, good writing and acting. Now comes the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, who, legend has it, was descended from Odin himself. VIKINGS will be produced for the History Channel, who brought us that bang-up version of the feud of the HATFIELDS AND McCOYS (2012). VIKINGS was created by Michael Hirst, who created the aforementioned TUDORS, and one of its stars will be Gabriel Byrne, who has been in such movies as STIGMATA (1998), END OF DAYS (1999) SPIDER (2002) and GHOST SHIP (2002). By Odin’s eye I will be there!

WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL!

If I’m wrong, I am usually man enough to admit it. Two shows I came late to the party for are THE BIG BANG THEORY and SIX FEET UNDER (2001-2005).

BIG BANG is shown initially on CBS (on Thursdays at 8pm EST), and then rerun about a billion times a day on TBS and Fox. Even though I love science fiction, pop culture and DC comics (all of which BB has in buckets and bales), I thought the character of Sheldon Cooper (portrayed by Jim Parsons) was just too two-dimensional. A friend of mine is very devoted to the show, and kept tempting me with anecdotes about appearances by Wil Wheaton as an evil version of himself (Wil was the much-loved or despised character of Wesley Crusher on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, 1987-1994), and a Spock action figure voiced by Leonard Nimoy himself. I finally watched the show for more than one episode, and found that Parsons is quite brilliant. It’s not easy to portray such an unlikeable character and make him endearing. I have to admit, when he approached Penny (about her intending to break up with his roommate) and said, “Please don’t hurt my friend,” I actually teared up. The entire ensemble is terrific, and there are lots of references to physics, DC superheroes, Star Trek, Star Wars and sex —and who doesn’t love one or all of those things?

SIX FEET UNDER is no longer with us, but lives on in DVD form. Created by Alan Ball, it revolves around the Fishers, a family who owns a small but honest funeral home in L.A. Patriarch Nathaniel Fisher is killed in a bus crash while driving one of the family hearses. Though dead, Nathaniel often appears to council or annoy one of his family, and is played by the amazing Richard Jenkins (THE VISITOR 2001, CABIN IN THE WOODS 2011, JACK REACHER 2012). His family includes son Nate (Peter Krause of THE LOST ROOM, 2006 and currently on the NBC drama PARENTHOOD), son David (Michael C. Hall, now the star of DEXTER), daughter Claire (Lauren Ambrose of the recent remake of COMA 2012) and wife Ruth (Frances Conroy of AMERICAN HORROR STORY). Each episode begins with a death (not always the one you expect) and that corpse’s impact on one or more of the family and/or staff. At times, the deceased will interact with a character. In addition, a huge funeral home conglomerate is trying to put the Fishers out of business, and each member of the family has secrets that are coming to light.

IT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT

Two of my favorite shows are saying “adieu” this year (inarticulate sobbing here)…

One is FRINGE (Fox, Fridays 9pm EST), which began in 2008 as a sort of new take on THE X-FILES (1993-2002) but evolved more into a love story and a search for redemption. Though complex, I never felt lost in the mythology as I came to be with THE X-FILES. The central core of characters Agent Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop, Walter Bishop and Astrid Farnsworth are all wonderfully played by Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble and Jasika Nicole, and ably supported by Blair Brown as Nina Sharp, Lance Reddick as Philip Broyles and Leonard Nimoy as Dr. William Bell. Noble as Walter is one of the great characters of recent SF TV, a genius and mad scientist who had parts of his brain cut out so he would not become evil and callous, unlike his counterpart on a parallel Earth. The elective surgery has left a man with a taste for sweets, inappropriate sexual banter and a craving for LSD and music of the 60s and 70s. If you never gave this series a try, do so. I, for one, will sorely miss it.

BREAKING BAD took one episode to hook all of us here at the Outpost. It concerns a high school chemistry teacher who discovers he has cancer. Looking to make money to pay for his treatment (and to take care of his family once he is gone), Walter White (the just awesome Bryan Cranston, once the father on MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE 2000-2006) turns to making meth with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, portrayed by Aaron Paul. And he’s real good at it. His product is so good it’s soon drawing the attention of tweakers, dealers, cartel members and DEA agents. Complicating matters is the fact that his brother-in-law works for the DEA, and is not the lunkhead he seems to be. What is fascinating is how Cranston essays a good man who gets into a dirty business, and transforms over time from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde… This is not only someone who becomes evil, he enjoys it. BREAKING BAD airs on AMC (the last episodes of the final season will be airing soon), but you’ll want to watch it from the beginning.

I’ll close out this year-end wrap-up with a list of shows I think are well worth your time:

BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) —A bloody and dark series about Atlantic City in the 20s and the rise of organized crime, with Steve Buscemi at the center of it all.

GAME OF THRONES (HBO) —Warring kingdoms, sex, gore, dire wolves, dragons and things undead. What’s not to love?

THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) —A wonderful series where the living are just as important as the living dead, with brilliant makeup, effects and many WTF! moments.

JUSTIFIED (FX) —A Federal Marshall returns to rural Kentucky in this bitchin’ series from the mind of Elmore Leonard. Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins are lawman and outlaw who were boyhood pals. Brilliant.

SONS OF ANARCHY (FX) —Hamlet on Harleys. Also brilliant.

ARROW (CW) —Green Arrow without the Smallville soapiness.

THE NEIGHBORS (ABC) —A very human family moves to a cul-de-sac filled with aliens. The seemingly one-joke premise continues to be inventive, delightful and hilarious.

BOB’S BURGERS (FOX) —My favorite animated show. Unattractive characters (literally) and hilarious send-ups of family sitcom sweetness.

SHAMELESS (SHO) — The saga of the Gallaghers, who are grifters living by their wits in Chicago. Many of their efforts are often derailed by the worst of the lot, their patriarch, played by William H. Macy. A U.S. version of a Brit show, and hilarious.

LUTHER (BBC America) —Idris Elba is amazing as a British detective in this dark and inventive series.

FACE-OFF (Syfy) —The only reality show I watch—sure, some of the drama is manufactured through writing and editing, but the contestants come up with amazing effects makeup—without CGI!

Remote Outpost Looks at: THE FALL 2012 TV SEASON

Posted in 2012, Comedies, Horror, Mark Onspaugh Columns, Remote Outpost, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Television, TV Pilots, TV Shows with tags American Horror, Animal Practice, Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Last Resort, Mockingbird Lane, Remote Outpost, Revolution, Television on November 21, 2012 by knifefighter

REMOTE OUTPOST Takes a Look at
THE FALL 2012 TV SEASON
Written by Mark Onspaugh

You find yourself on a barren and desolate world, light years from anything or anyone you know… Without much food or water, your oxygen running low, you strike out for the distant hills… After days of torturous climbing, you see an oasis below. An installation of Quonset huts bedecked with hundreds of television antennae. Congratulations, Traveler, you’ve reached… the REMOTE OUTPOST.

****

OUTPOST UPDATE: By now you’ve probably seen the President’s address, the various news specials and viewed the onsite footage. Since it’s been declassified, I can tell you the Outpost had been infested with Tofugitives. As you know, this is a plague of giant, sentient slugs that target populations of carnivorous, T-bone eating humans; consuming them and producing soy-based replicants nearly indistinguishable from the original. Since many on my crew are often in a somnolent state or snorting Snart, it was impossible to determine there had been an outbreak until the Outpost was overrun. But everything’s… everything’s fine, now… send your research ships… and tourists… yes, lots of tourists… the more, the better. And some blocks of tofu would be… most appreciated, humans… er, friends.

And now, on to today’s exciting column.

WHAT’S NEW IN GENRE TV, ANYWAY?

Well, it was just like Christmas at the Space-Orphanage: a few gifts around the tree, some disappointing, a couple surprisingly wonderful, and the rest a pile of used astro-diapers, steeped in a puddle of tears and hair torn out in frustration.

****

REVOLUTION (NBC, Mondays at 10pm EST)

The network is touting this as a breakout hit, and probably think they’ve caught lightning in the LOST (2004-2010) bottle. The show was created by Eric Kripke, who also created SUPERNATURAL. The series concerns an inexplicable catastrophe that shuts down all electrical power. Nothing works, and the pilot had planes falling from the skies as cities went dark. We pick up some fifteen years later, when some have created small, rural communities and others are forming fascistic attempts at a new world order. And, certain people have a strange medallion which sometimes lights up and powers any machinery or devices in the immediate area. I have to admit I bailed on SUPERNATURAL in the first season, because I just never felt invested in the Brothers Winchester, much as I wanted to be. I found the same problem with REVOLUTION. I love science fiction, and desperately hope for something as engaging as the best of the STAR TREK universe, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004-2009) or STARGATE: UNIVERSE (2009-2011). I just found the villains on the show to be over-the-top mustache-twirlers, and the heroes tiresome and (frankly) boring. But, I have been wrong before. I gave up on STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE (2001-2005) early on because of the characters, then a good friend told me how terrific the story arcs were in later seasons. And you know what? He was right. If such a person tells me I missed the boat on REVOLUTION, I’ll rent the DVD’s.

****

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM (FX Channel, Wednesdays at 10pm EST)

I loved the first season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY – it was fresh and inventive, had engaging characters and some genuinely scary and creepy moments. I applauded the idea that each season would bring a different setting and story arc, though some of the actors would be the same. ASYLUM bounces back and forth between a couple visiting an abandoned asylum and running afoul of a serial killer called “Bloody Face,” and the same asylum in its heyday in the 60’s. Besides serial killers and a Nazi doctor a la Mengele (and H.G. Wells’s Moreau), the first two and a half episodes had an exorcism, alien abductions and a nun possessed by the devil. The cast has some terrific actors, including Jessica Lange as Sister Jude, James Cromwell as Dr. Arden and Zachary Quinto as Dr. Thredson. Maybe I am just tired of hospitals and asylums as a setting for horror stories… It could be the torture aspects, which I have never been crazy about (and were lacking in season one)… But… Watching the episodes I had TiVo’ed just felt like homework, which is a bad sign. It may be that there are just too many elements – Nazis, aliens, demons and nuns? I’d love to see creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk develop a series about alien abductions in the 60’s – that would probably be scary as hell… Or just nuns and demons… Or just Nazi experiments in creating animal-men… Again, if I find later I have given up prematurely, I will re-check it out.

****

LAST RESORT (ABC, Thursdays at 8pm EST)

I had been looking forward to this series, because I am a big fan of Andre Braugher (HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, 1993-1998, THIEF,2006 and MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE, 2009-2011) and the series was created by Shawn Ryan, the man behind the awesome series THE SHIELD (2002-2008). If that ain’t enough cred, Robert Patrick is just terrific as Master Chief Prosser. Patrick was the living metal Terminator in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991) and Agent John Doggett on THE X-FILES (1993-2002). LAST RESORT concerns the USS Colorado, a nuclear sub commanded by Captain Marcus Chaplain (Braugher). The sub picks up a contingent of Navy Seals with a prisoner. Soon after, they are commanded to nuke Pakistan. Since the orders come from a secondary relay, Chaplain refuses. Then the U.S. fires on the Colorado, trying to destroy it. Chaplain commandeers a remote island and declares a 200 mile barrier around it until they can sort things out. To prove his point, he fires a nuke at Washington, its actual course taking it out to sea so no one is killed. The show is filled with conflict, both on the sub and the island and back home. Has there been a coup? Who can be trusted? Loyalties and alliances constantly shift and dangers come from within and from without (including the islanders themselves). I don’t know where the show is going, but it’s very, very engaging, and that’s what I want more than ever. Homework? Not this one.

Scott Speedman, Robert Patrick and Andre Braugher in LAST RESORT.

****

ARROW (The CW, Wednesdays at 8pm EST)

Another pleasant surprise, although the trailer had sold me. Many think this is a SMALLVILLE (2001-2011) version of the Green Arrow, and it’s easy to understand why. SMALLVILLE had its own version of the Green Arrow. He was also an incarnation of GA where Oliver Queen is shipwrecked and develops his archery skills to survive until he is rescued. But that Oliver was embroiled in SMALLVILLE’s brand of soap opera teen angst, which often took precedence over the action. This version of the Green Arrow is much grittier. Here, Oliver is a shallow playboy who convinces his girlfriend’s sister to go with him on a pleasure cruise on his father’s yacht. The yacht goes down, and only Oliver, his father and another man survive. Knowing they only have limited rations and Oliver is no fighter, his father gives him a journal outlining the corruption in Starling City before killing the other man and taking his own life. Oliver is helped on the island by a Chinese sort of Robinson Crusoe and undergoes a profound change. Upon returning, he pretends to be the shallow billionaire playboy, but by night he dons the Lincoln green and goes after the people on the list… And this Green Arrow kills! Finally, a superhero with lethal skills going the distance. (I’m lookin’ at you, Wolverine!) Mind you, I wouldn’t want to see Superman or Batman killing people, but Queen as a murderous vigilante brings a whole new level to the story. Stephen Amell is quite good as Oliver, and his girlfriend is an attorney named… Dinah Lance. Black Canary, anyone? Hmm, maybe – she already mentioned to Oliver that she regretted wearing fishnets to a Halloween party… Green Arrow and Black Canary? Yes, please!

****

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (The CW, Thursdays at 9pm EST)

I know as a galactic pilot and critic I should take one for the team (that being you Earthers), but I just couldn’t bring myself to watch this. I could barely make it through the promos, and this did seem like a SMALLVILLE-ified version of the series made famous in 1987-1990 with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. I guess partially because the “beauty” in this case is Kristin Kreuk, who played Lana Lang in SMALLVILLE. If you love the show, let me know. Otherwise, let’s pretend it’s not even on and move on…

****

MOCKINGBIRD LANE (Aired on NBC on October 26, 2012 – Unsold Pilot)

Another show I looked forward to because I loved THE MUNSTERS (1964-1966) as a kid and this was Bryan Fuller’s take… Fuller created DEAD LIKE ME (2003-2004), which is still one of my all-time favorite series. I knew this would be a grittier take on Herman and his family, because I had read that Eddie “wolfs out” and kills several members of his Scout troop. (Hmm, another show made attractive by murder… Paging Dr. Freud!) Anyway, I didn’t want to read anything else, and that was both a blessing and a curse. This is actually a version of the Munsters where they have been liberally mixed with THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1964-1966) – these Munsters look perfectly human, but also know they are special. There is a nice sight gag when we first meet Herman – standing in the shadows, a hanging lamp behind him alters his silhouette into the block-headed and bolted Monster we all know and love. Herman is played by Jerry O’Connell, who was a lot of fun in SLIDERS (1995-2000) and seemed more famous in later years for marrying Rebecca Romijn (“Mystique” in X-MEN 2000), but he is quite good here. His Herman only has one piece of “original” equipment, his heart, which is giving out. He is afraid a new heart will change him. Lily is played by the wonderful Portia de Rossi, so damn funny in BETTER OFF TED (2009-2010), and her first appearance is right out of Ray Bradbury, as spiders spin a gown on her shapely form. Grandpa? Eddie Izzard. Man, I’d tune in just to watch Izzard alone. His grandpa looks like Eddie, but can morph into a bat-winged demon (part gargoyle, part Nosferatu) to feed. The pilot was sly and well written, and underneath was the running thread of love and family unity… and people… people who feed on people, being the luckiest people in the world. I was ready to make MOCKINGBIRD LANE part of my week, but sadly, this is an unsold pilot, aired to recoup some network bucks… Sad, because the writing, acting and production values were all top-notch, including the cameo by Spot at the end, which was just killer. Oh, well…

****

The short-lived series ANIMAL PRACTICE

ANIMAL PRACTICE (NBC, Wednesdays at 8pm EST – Canceled)

A word about this show, which has already been cancelled while dreck like the NBC sitcom WHITNEY survives like some malignant virus. ANIMAL PRACTICE concerned a vet who didn’t like people and his best friend, Dr. Rizzo, a small capuchin monkey in her own lab coat. Tyler Labine was also in the show (if you haven’t seen him and Alan Tudyk in TUCKER AND DALE vs EVIL, 2010, you’re missing a true gem), and it was pretty off-the-wall. Not a show that would be deemed a classic (not yet), but damn, that monkey made me laugh – every… stinking… episode. TV needs more monkeyshines, less Whitney.

****

Final Note: My favorite shows currently are THE WALKING DEAD (AMC, Sunday nights at 10pm EST), SONS OF ANARCHY (FX Channel, Tuesdays at 10pm EST) and BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO, Sundays at 9pm EST ). All are just terrific, and each is well written, acted and produced – well worth your time. I also have high hopes for the SyFy series DEFIANCE, coming in the near future.

OUTPOST… out.

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REMOTE OUTPOST – 12 FOR 2012

Posted in 2011, Best Of Lists, Ghosts!, Mark Onspaugh Columns, Remote Outpost, Science Fiction, Television with tags Alcatraz, American Horror Story, Best of 2011, Boardwalk Empire, Grimm, Luck, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Remote Outpost, Television on January 11, 2012 by knifefighter

REMOTE OUTPOST… 12 FOR 2012
By Mark Onspaugh

Those who haven’t given up on me in disgust will remember I did a Fall preview back in September. Of the nine genre shows I previewed, I am only continuing to watch three… I guess 33.33% isn’t bad, but I am jonesing for some good science fiction on the order of STAR TREK, STARGATE: UNIVERSE or CAPRICA… I may get my wish on that one in January.

So here is a dozen faves that we all support here in the Remote Outpost:

TOP 3 GENRE SHOWS THAT PREMIERED THIS PAST FALL

PERSON OF INTEREST—the closest you will get to a live-action Batman series. The cast is amazing, especially the stars Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson. You’ll never find them, but if your number comes up, they will find you.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY—who gave up on GLEE? We did, just couldn’t take it any more (it’s become like the parody on COMMUNITY). I didn’t think a horror show by the creators of that singing infestation would work, but it is compelling, scary and thought-provoking. The season ender was really amazing, and I hope we spend a lot more time in “The Murder House” with the Harmons and their not-so-friendly ghosts.

GRIMM—I lost interest in ONCE UPON A TIME, but GRIMM is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer was—fun. It may not be as smartly written (not everyone is Joss Whedon), but it is inventive and has its own compelling mythology. And Silas Weir Mitchell as a reformed “blut bad” (“Big Bad Wolf”) is hilarious.

TOP 1 NON-GENRE SHOW THAT PREMIERED THIS FALL

PRIME SUSPECT—I read someone didn’t find Maria Bello convincing as a tough, Irish New York cop—she is. The men in her department think she slept her way up to detectives. They’ve learned to respect her toughness and her instincts, but there is still plenty of resentment and conflict. Good stuff

TOP SITCOM THAT PREMIERED THIS FALL

NEW GIRL—we just couldn’t stomach WHITNEY, but NEW GIRL often makes me laugh out loud. I know a lot of you will find Zooey Deschanel annoying, but the writing for her roommates and her boyfriend (Justin Long) is funny… Not MODERN FAMILY or COMMUNITY funny, but worth a half hour of our time.

TOP PILOT THAT PREVIEWED BEFORE THE SERIES PREMIERE

LUCK—the new series from David Milch, who created and wrote the awesome DEADWOOD and JOHN FROM CINCINNATI. This one is centered around horse racing and stars Dustin Hoffman (you heard me) and Nick Nolte (you heard me). The show looks to be another Milch masterwork of Shakespearean drama with complex characters in a complicated world. Yes.

MOST EAGERLY AWAITED PREMIERE

ALCATRAZ—less than a month away for the new JJ Abrams show that is produced by LOST alumni. Sam Neill is our guide to the prison where, forty years ago, all the inmates disappeared… Now they are returning and wreaking havoc. I would be tempted to dismiss this as another THE 4400, but Abrams always turns things on their ear. I want another LOST-type show, don’t you? Yeah, even if you didn’t like the way it ended, you enjoyed the ride.

SHOW WITH THE BIGGEST JAW-DROPPING FINALE

BOARDWALK EMPIRE—this show continues to amaze. The attention to period detail, the drama of Prohibition leading to organized crime and the heroin trade… It’s superb. Steve Buscemi and company can’t return fast enough… If you watched the season ender you are, like us, saying “Damn! Now what?”

MOST EAGERLY AWAITED WINTER RETURN

JUSTIFIED—if you aren’t watching this show with Timothy Olyphant as a U.S. Marshall in Kentucky dealing with various outlaws and criminal types, you should be. I have a feeling the new season is going to deal with the “Dixie Mafia,” and methinks they are not stupid, inbred trailer trash. Justified presents an honest portrayal of mountain folk, good and bad. Plus, an amazing cast including Walton Goggins as best frenemy Boyd Crowder. Watch it, ya hear?

TOP SHOWS WE WANT TO RETURN

TRUE BLOOD—Alan Ball’s twisted and amazing version of Charlaine Harris’s “Sookie Stackhouse” novels. Great characters and tremendous mythology… And no twinkly vampires!

FRINGE—not many of you are watching this, but it fills that void left when THE X-FILES went south. Compelling and weird, and a hell of a lot of fun. If you haven’t ever watched, try the first season on DVD.

SONS OF ANARCHY—Hamlet on motorcycles. Kurt Sutter is another man who brings compelling drama to a world we may not be familiar with, but surely exists.

BONUS BAKER’S DOZEN ENTRY

BREAKING BAD—amazing. One season left to go in the disastrous decline of a chemisty teacher turned meth cook turned criminal mastermind… Lots of tension in this one, folks.

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Remote Outpost: IT’S OVA, TERRA NOVA!

Posted in 2011, Dinosaurs, Mark Onspaugh Columns, Remote Outpost, TV Shows, Zombies with tags Dead Set, Remote Outpost, Television, Terra Nova, Walking Dead on December 13, 2011 by knifefighter

REMOTE OUTPOST written by Mark Onspaugh
“IT’S OVA, TERRA NOVA
(Or Why I Decided to Forsake Living Dinosaurs for the Undead of THE WALKING DEAD)”

Dear TERRA NOVA,

I’ve already packed my stuff (thanks for the raptor egg!) and will be shutting down my home portal to you immediately. It’s not that you were less than congenial or nice to look at. You were just… too safe.

Don’t get me wrong, I love stories about scrappy humans against hostile worlds filled with strange customs and/or vicious beasts. Robert A. Heinlein’s book, “Tunnel in the Sky,” was a childhood favorite, and many of the stories of Robert Sheckley took a satirical look at those tropes.

But you were just too bland, TERRA NOVA. Your city looked like something out of the original Star Trek. You had clean, well-lighted homes, big electrified fences and plenty to eat, good doctors with holo-imagers and lots of smiles, smiles, smiles.

Oh sure, there were vicious beasties and a group of rebels, but they were usually repelled without the loss of someone important. That’s the trouble with TV, isn’t it? You usually don’t want to kill off your core characters, and the audience knows this… So your perils better be really perilous or your characters better be very interesting.

But despite talented actors like Jason O’Mara (the American version of the show LIFE ON MARS, from 2008) and Stephen Lang (AVATAR, 2009), your characters were pretty bland, their problems very Disney-esque: plagues and murders overshadowed by little girls adopting baby dino pets and awkward teens with their awkward first dates or slow dances, while Mom and Dad smile and shake their heads knowingly.

I know, I know, this is a family show, and you’re on a network and must shy away from content that is too gory or profane or sexy.

But you should have been more SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1960) and less FATHER KNOWS BEST (1954-1960).

Remember Ray Bradbury’s classic tale “A Sound of Thunder”? It became a terrible movie in 2005, remember? In Bradbury‘s story, wannabe hunters go back to the past and kill T-Rexes, but only ones that were fated to die, anyway. The hunters and their guides walk along an elevated path, and the big rule is NEVER STEP OFF THE PATH, because the (premature) death of a single organism could alter the future (our present) irreparably. Guy in the story (SPOILER!) steps on a butterfly and puts a dictator in power…

TERRA NOVA, your not people are not only stepping off the path, they’ve ripped it up and are killing everything in sight… not to mention creating a whole human civilization some 65 million years before the first humans will exist… Yet the timeline seems unaffected… How? Are your descendants going to compete with those proto-humans, thereby preventing their rise to dominance? Won’t you, in effect, undo the human race, and the time portal, and yourselves?

What the hell, TERRA NOVA?

Ummmm… maybe it’s a pocket reality? A little girl’s dream? Oz with dinosaurs?

You seemed to hint that you would examine some of these questions, but you’re very slow in getting to it… Unlike LOST, your mysteries and your characters just aren’t compelling.

Wouldn’t it have been interesting if some things started to alter around your people because the timeline was being affected, and their reality became slippery and uncertain?

How cool would it have been if there was some microorganism in the primordial past that attacked synthetic materials – if your people suddenly found their homes and vehicles and holo-imagers and sonic toothbrushes crumbling to dust? If they had to build forts like early settlers, and tan hides for clothes and invent weapons with natural materials, all the time fending off the beasties and the rebels?

Or how about a saboteur who believes we have no business in the past?

Even LOST IN SPACE (the 60’s adventures of the “Space Family Robinson”) had Dr. Smith, and he was funny (unlike anyone in your group.)

You don’t offer anything like this, TERRA NOVA, and I don’t have the time or patience to wait until you finally bring out your big box of surprises. I have a feeling its contents will be bland and smiley and safe, like a stegosaurus who becomes a grumbling but harmless family pet.

But if I’m wrong (as I was about ENTERPRISE, 2001-2005), we’ll meet again on DVD… but I doubt it.

Sincerely,

Mark Onspaugh
from The Remote Outpost

# #

Everything wrong about TERRA NOVA is right in THE WALKING DEAD.

The series, based on the brilliant graphic novels of Robert Kirkman (art by Tony Moore, then Charlie Adlard) and shepherded to TV by director Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, 1994, THE GREEN MILE, 1999, THE MIST, 2007). (A number of the actors in DEAD have appeared in films Darabont directed, but I have yet to see any regular or guest star strike a false note.)

Also crucial is the participation of makeup genius Greg Nicotero, who individually and collectively with KNB Effects Group has been involved with a myriad of cool horror and special makeup effects since the 80’s, from Evil Dead 2 (1987) to DEADWOOD (2004-2006) to THE PACIFIC (2010) and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2012).

The series begins with Sheriff Rick Grimes waking from a coma in a hospital. He’s thirsty, confused… No one comes to his aid. He finally gets out of bed and shambles down the halls in his gown and bandages… the hospital is empty, litter and signs of struggle everywhere he looks. He finds a set of double doors that are chained up, and a spray painted message reads DON’T OPEN – DEAD INSIDE. Then one of the doors is forced open just enough for a pale, grasping hand to reach through… The opening is subtle but chilling, and we know we are in for a hell of a ride.

Rick is played by Andrew Lincoln, a Brit who starred in the BBC supernatural series AFTERLIFE (2005-2006) and was in LOVE ACTUALLY (2003). Lincoln is perfect as Rick, an idealistic and moral soul who is cast into a world that is literally Hell on Earth.

Rick soon learns that the his county (perhaps the world) is overrun with the living dead. If that first zombie (a pale hand) led you to believe the makeup was going to be “on the cheap,” have no fear—one of the next zombies Rick meets up with is half a zombie, trailing its intestines as it crawls slowly across a field. Once Rick discovers this unfortunate is still alive, he kills it out of mercy rather than fear. Rick is our moral compass in this world gone mad, and he finds his ethics and his values completely at odds in a place where both the dead and the living have turned dangerous, even monstrous.

Returning home, Rick finds his wife and young son gone, and goes in search of them. He learns through trial and error what kills a zombie, and has some hair-raising close calls. The zombies here are the Romero shambling, lurching type, capable of speed when motivated. They don’t run but they are persistent and strong, and their appearance (as well as their smell) can be overwhelming to even the toughest survivor.

Rick finds his wife and son with a ragtag group of survivors being led by Shane (Jon Bernthal: EASTWICK, 2009-2010), his former deputy. Shane left Rick in the hospital, figuring he was as good as dead. He even told Rick’s wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies : PRISON BREAK, 2005-2009) that Rick was dead. This gave Shane the opportunity to step in as surrogate husband and father, something he has secretly desired for some time.

Now Rick is back, and Lori holds Shane in contempt for lying to her. Shane, for his part, feels he is the better leader, that he is brutal enough to make the hard choices Rick will not. Shane’s envy and resentment toward his best friend are now taking their toll, and we have already seen one instance where Shane sacrificed someone else so he would survive.

The characters here are wonderfully realized by the writing, acting and directing. When Lori confesses to Rick that she had slept with Shane, he takes it in stride, acknowledging that she thought he was dead. Whether or not Rick becomes jealous of Shane in later episodes, it was refreshing to see this scene play out without Rick beating the crap out of Shane (or vice versa).

Among the survivors in Rick’s group are Glenn (Steven Yeun), the group’s daredevil and “wheel man”; T-Dog (IronE Singleton), a somber and troubled African American; Dale Horvath (Jeffrey DeMunn, from THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE and THE MIST), the cranky and eminent sage and RV driver; Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride: AMERICAN GOTHIC, 1995 and THE MIST) an abused wife and mother; Andrea (Laurie Holden: THE MIST, FANTASTIC FOUR, 2005), a former attorney who will become the group’s best sharpshooter (if they follow the graphic novels); and Daryl and Merle Dixon, a pair of redneck brothers, played by Norman Reedus (BOONDOCK SAINTS, 1999, PANDORUM, 2009 and the as-yet-unreleased NIGHT OF THE TEMPLAR 2011) and Michael Rooker (HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, 1986, THE 6^TH DAY, 2000, and SLITHER, 2006).

Both Daryl and Merle are good hunters, and their knives and proficiency with bow and arrows allow them to dispatch zombies in almost complete silence (gunfire and loud noises alert all zombies in the area that there is food to be had). Trouble is, they’re racist assholes, especially older brother Merle. Rick ends up handcuffing Merle to a rooftop when Merle beats T-Dog. He gives T-Dog the handcuff key to punish Merle. When zombies come a-callin’ T-Dog fumbles the key and it goes down a drain. They have a hacksaw, but there is no time to saw through the cuff and T-Dog cannot bring himself to cut off Merle’s hand. The scene where Merle is struggling to free himself as the undead are breaking through chained doors was a bravura performance for Rooker. When Rick and Daryl later come back for Merle, all they find is Merle’s hand and wrist, still hanging in the cuff.

With his older, bullying brother out of the picture, Daryl finds himself increasingly drawn to join the small community, especially when Carol’s young daughter Sophia goes missing.

The series continually gives its characters room to grow and develop, and there are conflicts that have nothing to do with living in a zombie apocalypse, but are exacerbated by it. Moments of humor are often set off by moments of white-knuckle suspense. In the episode “Guts” (where Merle gets handcuffed to the roof), Rick and Glenn must get to a box truck so that the survivors can get away. Trouble is, there are dozens of “Walkers” (the show’s name for zombies) between them and the vehicle. They cover their clothing in the literal guts and remains of a captured zombie, then must lurch and shamble through the crowd. It is one of the most agonizing moments your old pal at the Remote Outpost has ever seen – and there are a lot of those on THE WALKING DEAD. In addition, characters you might think would survive don’t, and this adds to the tension. Hell, even a pastoral and lovely farm has its own deadly secrets.

The other great thing is that the series does not slavishly follow the graphic novels. However, with creator Kirkman as one of the execs, the series hews true to the high quality of the comic.

Sadly, Frank Darabont was fired by AMC, and the mid-season finale was the last episode he had a hand in. How the series will fare in his absence will be seen in February when it resumes.

(By the way, I won’t spoil how the second season’s mid-season finale ended, but I will say this: if you saw it and didn’t weep or at least tear up, then you may be dead already.)

Again, it may just be me, but I’d rather bite my nails watching zombies than nod off watching happy hijinks in the Cretaceous.

# #

SUPPLEMENTAL TRANSMISSION: DEAD SET (2008) is a five-episode zombie mini-series from Britain that I highly recommend. During filming of the reality show BIG BROTHER, a zombie apocalypse strands both the housemates and the crew in a TV station. The series has lots of gore, some outrageous humor and a final shot that is simply heartbreaking. Well worth checking out.

REMOTE OUTPOST… out.

4 Comments »

THE GATES

Posted in 2010, LL Soares Reviews, TV Shows, Vampires with tags ABC, frank grillo, horror TV, rhona mitra, Television, the gates, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches on June 29, 2010 by knifefighter

THE GATES (TV SERIES REVIEW)
by L.L. Soares

Actress Rhona Mitra, as a sexy vampire, might be reason enough to
watch ABC’s THE GATES, airing Sundays at 10pm EST

I’m always hoping that good new horror TV shows will turn up. It’s not impossible. Sure, there have been a lot of clunkers lately, but then there’s also been TRUE BLOOD, the excellent HBO vampire series, based on the “Sookie Stackhouse” books by Charlane Harris, which has just started its third season by introducing us to a few hard-as-nails werewolf characters. TRUE BLOOD proves that horror can still be done well in series television. Hell, it’s more than a well-done show. It’s downright addictive.

Network television isn’t immune to a good horror show, either. It’s just harder to come by. A few months back, ABC debuted a new ongoing drama called HAPPY TOWN, about a strange little town where people occasionally disappear. The disappearances are attributed to a mysterious figure known as The Magic Man. I’ve already reviewed that show for this site, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. While it does play up the “quirkiness in a small town” factor, reminiscent of David Lynch’s groundbreaking 1980s ABC television show, TWIN PEAKS, I thought the show was a quality series and deserved a chance. However, ABC canceled it after only two episodes. But it’s not all bad news for HAPPY TOWN. The rest of the episodes that were already in the can have been playing throughout the summer. While I’m enjoying it, and I think the show continues to be very good, there is no chance it will receive a reprieve.

In the meantime, ABC has introduced a few new shows during the summer months. One of these is THE GATES, which premeired on Sunday, June 20^th at 10pm. This one is about Nick Monohan (Frank Grillo), a Chicago cop who was involved in some kind of scandal (about shooting a possible unarmed man). While he was cleared, he’s looking for a change of location and accepts a position as the police chief of a gated community. As the show begins, he’s just moved his family to this place, which is like a complete town (even has a shopping center) inside the confines of gates, to keep undesirable elements out. This sounds like an easy job after policing the streets of Chicago, but right off the bat Nick finds that there’s something a little “off” about this place.

But this is not your typical gated community. This one has strange secrets. Residents include a couple of vampires, one of whom (Rhona Mitra) has trouble resisting any kind of temptation; competing witches, one of whom appears to be trying to blackmail as many members of the community as she can (foreshadowing her demise, perhaps, later in the season?); and a star football player who happens to be a werewolf with anger management issues.

And the more I see of the Monohan family, the more I wonder if they have some supernatural secrets of their own that we just aren’t privy to yet.

Aside from the personal lives of The Gates’ residents, there are also some crimes for Nick to solve, including the murder of the previous police chief, who is found shot to death outside the perimeter of the gates. Even though it’s technically outside his jurisdiction, Nick takes charge of the investigation, uncovering lots of strange things the former chief was trying to cover up about himself and several of the community’s residents.

While the show does not break any new ground, and I don’t think it is as smart or anywhere near as good as the much-maligned HAPPY TOWN, I think THE GATES is entertaining enough to keep people watching. It is also on at the perfect time, since TRUE BLOOD airs on Sundays on HBO from 9 to 10pm. Those looking for a vampire fix after TRUE BLOOD can simply change the channel to ABC for THE GATES.

I’ll continue to tune in and see if the show gets any better. But so far, the very striking Rhona Mitra (veteran of such television series as THE PRACTICE, BOSTON LEGAL, NIP/TUCK and SGU STARGATE UNIVERSE – not to mention having been the love interest in the movie ALI G INDAHOUSE (2002)), playing a very sexy vampire, is reason enough to watch.

Archive for Television

THE REMOTE OUTPOST LOOKS FORWARD, THEN BACK AT 2012

Remote Outpost Looks at: THE FALL 2012 TV SEASON

REMOTE OUTPOST – 12 FOR 2012

Remote Outpost: IT’S OVA, TERRA NOVA!

THE GATES

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