This is some pretty surprising news. In a move that was claimed to be about "going in a different direction", the 'Constantine' showrunners have written the character of "Liv" out of the series. That also brings the departure of 'True Blood' actress Lucy Griffiths. I do not have much idea how much this plays into the show, seeing as how I do not know much about the comics and didn't watch the leaked pilot, but I figured she had a big role to play. A character named "Zed" will appear in place of "Liv". Zed was a lover of John's in the comic books and was brought back as a pagan sorceress. She will reportedly appear in an early episode, before the showrunners bring other Hellblazer characters and the occult DC universe onto the show later. Certainly some interesting stuff happening over at 'Constantine'.
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FOX seems to be taking a staggered approach with premiering their fall TV shows. We will get to see season 4 of 'New Girl' on Tuesday September 16 @ 9/8c. 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' will be the weekend after on Sunday September 28 @ 8:30/9:30c. We will have reviews up following the episodes. The third season of 'New Girl' was rough. If it stays on the same path, we will stop reviewing it. On the flip side, 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' was one of our favorite shows of the 2013-14 TV season. Hopefully they keep up their quality for season 2.
BONUS- One show we are keeping our eye on here is 'Mulaney'. We are fans of John Mulaney and his shows looks good enough. We will give it a couple of watches. 'Mulaney' will premiere Sunday October 5 at 9:30/8:30c. 'Gotham' will premiere on FOX on September 22 at 8/7c. Everyone knew it would be on Mondays during the fall, but now we have an official start date. Are you excited for Gotham? Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker. GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), GOTHAM follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
'Arrow' isn't set to premiere for a few months, but it has just started filming its third season. So obviously they have a story in place. Today they gave us our first taste of season 3 with the synopsis. In the aftermath of this victory, Season Three opens with Arrow now a hero to the citizens of Starling. Crime is down, people feel safer, and Captain Lance even calls off the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Basking in his success, Oliver believes he can finally have a private life and asks Felicity out on a date. But the second Oliver takes his eye off the ball, a deadly villain reappears in Starling, forcing Oliver to realize that he can never be Oliver Queen – not as long as the city needs The Arrow. There are a lot of cool bits in this synopsis. For one, they have confirmed that Officer Lance survived season 2 and got promoted to police captain. Also, the Arrow is now accepted in Starling City as a hero, instead of a vigilante or criminal. And it seems like the writers are going to take a shot at Olicity this year. I have no clue how well this will pan out or how long it will go on, but with the introduction of the Atom onto the show and Felicity's interest in Barry Allen, I think this has a quick expiration date. The return of a deadly villain also seemingly confirms Malcolm Merlyn will be the main baddie this season. Some pretty exciting stuff in just the synopsis, though. What do you think?
Let me preface this by saying I love 'The Walking Dead'. I will be there every Sunday watching it and loving every second. But honestly it feels like every half-season is similar to another. It is either we are comfortable in this safe zone, but there is an enemy on the horizon. Or we have the one where they are travelling to a new location. The reason a lot of people don't call the show out on this is because of the execution of it. Some half-seasons are better then others. The first season was fantastic. It was short, and it had enough time to tell one full part of the tale, but not too much to waste. None of it dragged, and it didn't feel like the writers were out of ideas. Season 2 was a mess. They shouldn't have dedicated the first half of the season trying to find Sophia. That was a waste of time and episodes. 3 or 4 episodes would've been enough. Then the second half of the season was also a bit of a bore. It seemed like every episode Rick was at odds with Lori, Shane, and Hershel. When it feels like that every episode, then you have a problem. The end started to make up for it, especially Shane's final scene and the barn burning. Season 3 was great in the first half, but fell flat at the end of the second half. That season was the most stable, because we were at the prison for the majority of it. I liked the prison. It was a nice location, and brought with it the Governor. These people fought for the prison. And when the show brought about the introduction of Woodbury, it added an element we haven't seen in the show. These were two towns that weren't going to leave each other alone in peace. Once Woodbury took Glenn and Maggie, there was no friendship between the two safe-zones. The war was overly extended, though. The Governor was kept on too long. The big war should have been at the end of season 3. Instead it drags all the way to the season 4 mid-season finale, and we get at least 2 boring episodes in the first half. The Governor focused episodes weren't that good in my opinion. They tried to do Granted the mid-season 4 finale was one of the better episodes of the series, the first half still dragged. The second half of season 4 was worse. Splitting the group up was a terrible idea to me. I understand wanting to give the characters more time to develop, which I am okay with, but a lot of the time it just dragged on and on and got really boring. The finale was also a bit of a snoozer. At least the first half of the episode was. When they got to Terminus in the season 4 finale, the episode really picked up and I got excited for season 5. If develop the stories like they did at the end of the season 4 finale, then I feel season 5 will be the best season, yet. Another problem with this show is the lack of knowledge in developing women. I only feel like they have one strong female character and that is Carol. Lori was instantly hated by everyone. That was likely due to her back and forth attitude and her lack of importance in the group. When her time was over, Andrea took over the role of most hated women instantly for the same reasons. Both of this women were stupid. They made stupid decisions and just took stupid stances. Beth is pretty worthless in the group, hence why she was kidnapped. The writers did themselves a bit of a favor there. Maggie has kinda turned into a MacGuffin for Glenn. I feel bad for her, because she could be so much more interesting. Michonne is back and forth. I feel she is at her best when she bonds with Rick and Carl. When she opens up, I feel like it falls flat. Carol is always consistently strong. She makes the decision that are best for the group, even when no one would agree. She doesn't take any crap anymore. She is just a strong female character on this show. I think what keeps people coming back to the show, though, besides the zombies, is because people are just interested in seeing where the story is going. They want to know where how close it stays to the comics, and where it goes down a different path. People want to see the gruesome zombie kills, their favorite characters, and the mystery of what's next. This show is about to enter its prime and I am excited to see where it goes.
SPOILERS AHEAD
It has been long enough to digest season 2 of 'Arrow'. I have to say that was one of the greatest things ever put on TV. Everything bad in season 1 (Laurel, Thea's attitude, CW crap) was mostly removed. That was step one in making this season truly epic. Laurel was just always back and forth in season 1. She was either really mad or Tommy or Ollie, or she loved one of them. She was always mad at something. She usually never had a reason to be mad, but she was. So in season 2, they cut down her time. Her story was still annoying. The whole abuse story was a miss for me. It didn't add much to the story, but to quote Batman "We fall so we can pick ourselves back up". Once Laurel fell, she really improved as a character. Her road back to normalcy made me like her more. She improved a lot. And it was nice to see her have an actual backbone. Thea was a bit of the same way in season 1. She was always mad for some reason. It was usually stupid and petty, but also annoying. This season she was given a positive outlet (Verdant) to express herself and a loving boyfriend in Roy. It led to some CW moments, but it wasn't I have to change the channel or barf type moments. When she was mad it also had merit. Later on in the season, she got mad for everyone lying. It led to tons of dysfunction in the Queen family, but it was also interesting. I loved the fact the Malcolm Merlyn wasn't dead, because 1. It implied there is a Lazarus Pit in this universe and 2. We got that awesome reveal that Malcolm is Thea's biological dad. This led to great acting moments with Stephen Amell. Before I go into those, I must say Stephen Amell really stepped up his acting game this season. He did great and gave me chills at times. Some of those times were when he told Laurel to get her crap together and that he is done caring for her and then when he tells Moira that he doesn't want anything to do with her following the reveal of Malcolm as Thea's dad. I actually didn't mind the romance, either. It wasn't overbearing. I thought the idea to bring Sarah back was great. It added a new aspect to the show. I was mad at the using of Felicity in the season finale, because I am now on the Olicity train. Seeing that fake moment actually made me believe in them. But there were threads left dangling for more. As for the comic book stuff, well that is what truly elevated this show. There were so many fangirl moments this season. Sebastian Blood was a bit of a miss for me, just because he would disappear for long periods of time. I didn't like that and I didn't feel they earned the changing of him from bad to good. Some of the smaller villains were bad too. Clock King was average, but would've been a miss if you couldn't relate to him. Shrapnel was a waste. Bronze Tiger was also pretty pointless. The return of Count Vertigo was fantastic for many reasons. It was another point for Olicity. It made him reconsider some things. And it didn't really focus on the drug aspect. The Suicide Squad episode was good, but not great. It was really Diggle and Deadshot team up again, but it did have the intro for Harley Quinn. So that was awesome. The introduction of Barry Allen was amazing. I wasn't sure of him the first episode, but the second episode was when I accepted him. That second Barry Allen episode was the best of the series for me. That was the episode that revealed Shado died. I had my jaw drop so many times that episode. Shado's death, the origin/creation of Solomon Grundy, the reveal of Slade Wilson in Starling City, and the creation of the Flash literally made me sit for the episode with my mouth hanging open for about 10 minutes afterwards. That was a finale episode in the middle of a season. It was just a truly awesome episode for comic book fans. I will say after that the season dragged a bit. I think they just couldn't match the epicness of 'Three Ghosts'. The rest of the season was still great. You had Oliver put into a new situation (no money in the real world), struggling even more with being the Arrow, and taking on his biggest challenge yet, Deathstroke. Deathstroke was epic. He was a physical and mental match for Oliver. Always 2 steps ahead and thinking even further than that. Instead of Oliver beating him up, Oliver was the one getting beat-up. I loved the choice not to kill Slade, because it leaves the opportunity for more Slade, but also shows Ollie is still trying to honor Tommy. The only things I really didn't like this season were the flashbacks (because they never really added to the story, although there were some times that it did), and Roy getting injected with Mirakuru. That was a horrible choice. It didn't add anything to the story and he was just plain annoying all the time. Other then those two gripes, I had no big problems with the season except it losing steam a little during the midpoint. This season of 'Arrow' was still one of the best seasons of a TV show I have seen. I can't wait for season 3! I was a little late to this party, but I am glad I arrived. 'Hell on Wheels' is one of those shows that has been sitting on my Netflix queue for awhile. I had been looking for time and an excuse to watch any of the shows on my Netflix queue (Breaking Bad and Mad Men are some of the others). A couple of weeks ago I watched 'Blazing Saddles' (A great movie. I highly recommend it.) for the first time. This kicked off a whole binge of Western interest for me. I bought the 'Red Dead Redemption' video game. I bought the remake of '3:10 to Yuma'. I have at least 4 other Westerns lined up to watch, not to mention watching 'Django Unchained' again. 'Hell on Wheels' isn't straight up Western, but it is close enough. This show is more like an epic retelling of the railroad life and development. And it is led by Anson Mount playing Cullen Bohannon. This is a quiet, yet imposing protagonist. He is a man people fear, but also like. He is tough when he needs to be, but he doesn't like it. And most of all, he is a victim. This is how we relate to him. He is the most interesting character on the screen all the time. And the antagonist, The Swede and in season 3 Mr. Durant are also interesting. The Swede might just be the most insane person on TV. He is crazier then the Governor from 'The Waling Dead' just for comparison purposes. This man has had a problem with Bohannon ever since he first saw him. He has set his life on course to take down Bohannon, no matter the cost. That is what makes him so crazy. The Swede has never hid his disdain for Cullen. He is always up front with it. The Swede wants Bohannon to have no happiness. That was made very clear when he *SPOILER* choked the life out of Lily Bell at the end of season 2 *SPOILER OVER*. That action is really what showed the Swede unhinged and showed his hatred of Bohannon. I haven't seen all of season 3 yet (but it is on Netflix in two weeks!!), but I hear it gets worse. As for Mr. Durant, he is a man consumed by his addiction, money. He has said as much. Ever since he got his first dime, he has been on a mission to get as much money as possible. He is obtaining that through the railroad. He has corrupted senators, extorted politicians, bribed anyone, and lied flat out on progress just to get more money. His wickedness was shown when he was willing to have Lily Bell (an ambiguous lover, I wasn't clear on that) killed. He saw her as a threat, because his wife saw her as a threat. He was willing to have her killed to get her out of the way. That is pure evil when you consider the fact that he loved Lily. Common is an on again/off again character for me. Sometimes I like and sometimes I wish he wasn't around. I get tired of his disobedience, because it really comes off douchey. I get he wants to be respected, but he doesn't have to act like a Toole (pun intended). Sometimes he is the most interesting character. It is back and forth. I just really love this show, because of the character study aspect and the scale of it. I am surprised on how they can depict the town and do all the stunts they do on a TV budget. This show is really, to me, the best currently on AMC (I can't speak for Breaking Bad or Mad Men currently, but that will change in the future). It doesn't get many viewers, which is scary, but the ones that do watch it are as interested and amazed as I am. If you want a semi-Western character study on TV, then watch this show. It is definitely a good one.
Us 'Community' fans have to be some of the luckiest in the world. After getting cancelled following years of being a bubble show, 'Community' has been revived by an unlikely savior. Yahoo! That's right. The search engine. In an effort to boost the popularity of their new Yahoo Screen, Yahoo saved 'Community'. I am not entirely sure how the Yahoo streaming service works, but I do believe the episodes will be free. The budget is also reported to be around the same, so the show won't take a dip in production value. Dan Harmon will return. The original cast is set to return, sans Chevy Chase and Donald Glover for the time being. If this season is successful, Yahoo is also excited to bring more seasons of the show online if the production team is willing to do it. No word on when the season will premiere, but I would expect between February and July next year.
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