Category Quality Cable Television

Feb 26 2016

Indulging in New Major Crimes Episodes?

For the first time ever the five winter episodes are one continuous story line, and after seeing the first two, it’s playing like an impeccably acted mini-series.

It begins with a young woman and her infant son getting killed while driving through LA in the wrong colored car threw rival gang territories. When Major Crimes shows up, they discover that some of the shots are so close to the car, there’s powder residue around the holes. They also find packaged heroin and lots of cash hidden in the car.

When the shell casings Amy Sykes takes to ballistics for analyzing uncovers 12-year old wounds from a missing uzi, Sykes is forced to make the acquaintance with a disgraced LAPD detective for some inside information (Mark Hickman).

In the meantime, Rusty catches Gary following him and discovers that his mom has rehabilitated herself right out of custody and into an apartment and a program. But he’s afraid if he goes to see her, Gary will just follow him there so he and Gus concoct a high tech way of communicating with her using Talk Chat on Gus’s cell phone.

MAJOR CRIMES

Jason Gedrick plays Mark Hickman. Credit: Doug Hyun

By the time the second episode has begun, they’ve discovered the missing uzi in the pulpit of a church that is run by one of the suspects of the 12-year old crime and Mark Hickman has been invited down to the squad for some face time.

Though he does keep his secret liaisons with Sykes quiet, he’s not so silent with his contempt for almost everyone else in the squad: Captain Raydor originally fired him; he asks Andy Flynn if he’s still cheating on his girlfriends, causing Capt. Raydor’s eyes to fly open; and of course he has a lot to say to Lt. Tao, because he was his (Hickman’s) old partner.

By the end of the second episode, their only witness, Emile Fisher is dead, and they still don’t know his connection to the girl who was killed in the car, even though she was calling his cell phone.

So either clear your Monday nights or set your DVRs, or learn how to use your OnDemand, because you won’t want to miss the winter episodes (3 to go) of Major Crimes, on TNT at 8pm CT.

If  you haven’t heard, TNT has cancelled Rizzoli & Isles. It will end after a shortened season this summer.

Mar 31 2015

‘Walking Dead’ Finale Devours 15.8 Million Viewers | Multichannel + iZombie (The CW)

‘Walking Dead’ Finale Devours 15.8 Million Viewers | Multichannel.

Still unsure why you should watch The Walking Dead on AMC. Yes, if you read the article attached to the link above, the stats mention the 18-49 age bracket. But “we” all know just how useless that’s become.

Just look at how our age bracket affected Longmire this past viewing season. A&E dumped it and Netflix picked it up. Very possibly due to pressure from our age bracket and because they realized a quality show when they saw one.

The fact is, The Walking Dead isn’t just about zombies, it’s about humans overcoming adversity. The zombies represent just another wall to climb, negative to overcome, or enemy to defeat.

Just when Season 5 of The Walking Dead began, it was announced there would be a Season 6. The first season only had 6 episodes. Season 5 had 16.

There are more “zombie” related shows on television than you count on one hand. The CW has one that is so unique, you should definitely set your DVR to catch it. iZombie, stars Malcolm Goodwin (you may know him from Breakout Kings) and Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones).

Rose McIver as Liv. The CW © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. Credit: Cate Cameron.

Rose McIver as Liv. The CW © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. Credit: Cate Cameron.

Goodwin plays a homicide detective who thinks McIver has psychic powers. The truth is, McIver is a zombie and when she devours the brains of the dead people in the morgue where she works she ends up “digesting” some of their “personality traits” and can “see” who killed them.

iZombie creators Diane Ruggiero and Rob Thomas are the same team behind Veronica Mars (2004 & 2014). iZombie is slated for 13 episodes at this time and I’ve devoured the first two episodes and can hardly wait for more.

iZombie is on the CW Network on Tuesdays at 8pm CST. Set those DVRs, you don’t want to miss this show.

BTW: There’s very little gore or violence in this show, and yes, she does eat brains, but it’s usually tastefully done in a pita pocket or disguised in other ways, so if you’ve avoided The Walking Dead because of the “zombie” element, you shouldn’t have any trouble watching iZombie and will thoroughly enjoy the cleverness of this show.

Mar 8 2015

Two New Dead Again Episodes – Why a DVR Is So Handy

Joe Schillaci, Kevin Gannon and Michele Wood are on new cases. © AETV 2014

Joe Schillaci, Kevin Gannon and Michele Wood are on new cases. © AETV 2014

If you own a DVR and really use it to it’s full potential, then you should be able to skip the first couple of paragraphs of this post. I left to go shopping this morning and was completely unaware that Dead Again, one of my new favorites on A&E was coming on with not one, but two new episodes.

Which is where my DVR comes in. Since I have it set to record all “new” episodes of Dead Again, I came again home several hours later, unpacked my groceries, walked my dog, and sat down wondering what I was going to watch on TV.

When I pressed my Play List button, I was overjoyed to find at the very top of the list, a folder entitled Dead Again with two new episodes in it – the case of Margo Prade and the murder of millionaire William McLaughlin.

With these two particular episodes I was one-for-one. I remember the case of Margo Prade, vividly. I’ve seen at least three different television shows on this particular murder, but because Dead Again is so unique, is done so differently, and the real names of the people involved aren’t revealed until the very end, I wasn’t exactly sure it was the Prade case until the last 7 minutes or so.

The second episode, the murder of William McLaughlin, I wasn’t familiar with at all, but when I googled his name, I noticed there was extensive coverage of the murder trials of both suspects that are currently serving time in prison.

One of the biggest enjoyments I get from Dead Again is the affirmation of my own opinions on cases they’ve reexamined. Most recently the Prade case. Last season there were two cases they had a go at that reaffirmed my opinions.

So what’s my advice – if you don’t want to miss any of this season’s Dead Again, you should learn how to operate your DVR.

 

 

 

Feb 28 2015

From 1st Degree to 2nd Degree in 60 Minutes in the First 48 Hours

I’ve seen every episode of The First 48 Hours on A&E. Every once in a while I’ll catch one that I think I’ve never seen and then as it continues, I realize, nope, seen it.

So when a new season starts and they’re in a new city, I really get excited. This new season they’ve branched out into Atlanta (though they’ve been there before) and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The first few episodes they were … well … not that exciting. Actually, they’ve been boring up until now.

But this past episode, which aired Thursday, Feb. 26, has brought Tulsa into it’s own. First let me just say that I had no idea that Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) had a much younger brother working in law enforcement and living in Tulsa.

Corporal Nathan Schilling © AETV

Corporal Nathan Schilling © AETV

More on that later. When a car heist goes wrong and a “Stray Shot” kills the car owner, Corporal Nathan Schilling is up next in the rotation to solve the homicide.

On the scene to help is Det. John Brown and Sgt. Dave Walker. Solving a homicide is definitely team work and having a sense of humor must be an important asset, because I can’t ever remember hearing a man ask another man (much less a cop ask another cop) “do these pants make my ass look fat?”

Or maybe it’s just Det. Brown with the sense of humor. Upon leaving the parking garage it’s “exiting the bat cave.” And when he’s searching a 16-year old suspect he’s looking for “guns or bazookas.”

Detective John Brown © AETV

Detective John Brown © AETV

Even when he’s looking at the ammunition from the handgun to see if it’s the same type from the homicide he’s cracking wise about “he’s the oldest guy in here.” To which one of the other detectives brings him a magnifying glass 5 times the size of the one used by Sherlock Holmes.

With the 16-year old suspect in custody and the gun confirmed as the murder weapon the case is on track and now The Rock’s younger brother can go to work. Head of the Fugitive Warrant Squad, Sgt. Luke Sherman has a profile that would have any woman believing he’s Dwayne Johnson’s baby brother.

I’d show you ladies a picture but A&E doesn’t have one posted with the rest of the “Meet the Officers” photos.

Once they have a majority of the underage suspects in custody and interview them, they have a clearer picture of exactly how the homicide went down and exactly who the killer is. And after searching for him (who is not underage), but not finding him, he eventually turns himself in.

From the very start of the interview he denies involvement … “I was home that night.” I wanted to reach into the TV and smack him in the back of his head.

Sgt. Dave Walker ©AETV

Sgt. Dave Walker ©AETV

We’ve heard every one of the suspects say he was the one who had the gun and did the shooting. Sgt. Walker and Corporal Schilling tell him that as well. They tell him this is his opportunity to tell his side of the story.

Sgt. Walker gets frustrated … angry … pissed off … or is it just a ploy and exits the room and leaves Corporal Schilling in the room with the suspect. Which works and the suspect opens up and admits that the shooting was an accident. He didn’t mean to shoot anyone.

Which brings it from first degree murder to second degree murder, giving all of them some possibility of a life after serving their sentences.

Don’t take me for one of those bleeding hearts – they definitely deserve to go to jail. But as Corporal Schilling said, the victim lost his life and a bunch of families are going to lose their children. Their are a lot of victims of crime, on both sides of the table.

The officers who fight it see the devastation on all levels.

 

 

 

 

Jan 24 2015

A Wolf Films/44 Blue Show – Nightwatch – Is Worth a Watch on A&E!

An average of forty-two calls an hour; as many as 1,000 calls a night. No matter how you say it, New Orleans gets a helluva lot of police, fire and EMS calls in a 24-hour period. A&E has a new show on Thursday, following one of my favorites (The First 48) that comes on at 9pm CST entitled Nightwatch. It’s a Wolf Films (yes, follow along here, a Dick Wolf Production: Law & Orders) that follows the police, fire and EMS squads of New Orleans as they go about their nightly … business.

Let me be perfectly clear, it’s not Cops; it’s not even anything like Cops. It is a reality show but it will certainly keep your ass in your chair so I suggest you set your DVR so you don’t miss a single moment.

It’s no secret that New Orleans is one of the cities that The First 48 added to it’s roster in 2013. I was in New Orleans in December 2013 and was pleasantly surprised when I settled in my hotel room to watch my favorite show (The First 48) and that particular episode took place in New Orleans.

But I’m not writing this to tell you about my last vacation. This is a show you should definitely check out because you will be rewarded with an insight into modern police work, dedicated and knowledgeable EMS workers who you hope (or not) you meet one day, and firefighters who save a cat from an arson started burning house and actually have oxygen masks on board their truck that are meant for animals. (Yes, the cat makes it.)

Holly of the team Gavin & Holly, closes the door of the ambulance. © A&ETV.

Holly of the team Gavin & Holly, closes the door of the ambulance. © A&ETV.

EMSers Gavin and Holly and Titus and Dan start work at 8pm. Gavin is an iceberg. I have never seen anyone so cool; even when he’s dealing with a lying doper and delivers a dose of Narcan to a man in the back of his ambulance while his partner Holly drives.

Titus and Dan, the other well matched pair of EMSers, assist with some calls, but also answer their own. A man has congestive heart failure and can’t breathe. Of all the calls they’re sent to, one particular address gives Dan a deja vu and as they go in, he recalls the patient and talks to him like an old friend.

Victor and Cedric of the NOPD in the meantime are “wolfpackin'” in an attempt to find the shooters who gunned down Anthony, the first case the EMSers responded to in this episode.

Over at Firehouse SQURT 27, dinner is being made and Chief Terence is impatient. An alarm goes off and everything is dropped for a residential fire call.  An arson job.

Just as Gavin and Holly get ready to leave Tulane University Emergency they’re called back to the neighborhood where Anthony, their first call, was shot. Retaliation shots have been fired and members of the neighborhood have suffered. They bring an elderly lady in with three gunshot wounds.

NOPD continues their wolfpackin’ strategy in an attempt to catch the shooters. Driving in a pack, patrolling the streets in the area where the shooting took place, checking out foot traffic, hoping the shooters get nervous and make a mistake. Around 12:30pm that’s exactly what happens and they recover two guns, the magazines and some pills.

“Cousins” Titus and Dan stop off at SQURT 27 just in time for dinner. It’s way after 1am and Chef/Capt Kevin has finally put dinner on the table. As they laugh and eat and compliment the cook, Titus makes a joke about them being the kind of cousins “you let ’em on the porch but not in the house.” (I use to have a boyfriend like that.)

Yes, there is some humor, yes there is plenty of drama. At the end of this particular episode, there is a great deal of sadness, and a good deal of truth. Even when Gavin and Holly’s shift is finally over and they stop for a coffee, they still cannot let it go. A citizen tells them there’s someone over at Jackson Square having a seizure.

Turns out it’s just someone who’s overpartied. That happens a lot in New Orleans. I wonder if Nightwatch is going to have a Mardi Gras episode (or two).

Dec 14 2014

The Best & Worst of 2014! People Mags December 22 Issue

People Magazines Best & Worst of 2014 Dec. 22 Cover

People Magazines Best & Worst of 2014 Dec. 22 Cover

When this issue hits our mailbox at work, I always make sure to read it cover-to-cover. Most of the other People Magazines that arrive in the mail I just page through, but the Best & Worst is always interesting and since I don’t pay for the subscription, that’s even better.

This year-end issue they usually forecast who will be HOT in the coming year and they didn’t disappoint … They mention Kathy Griffith taking over for the late Joan Rivers on Fashion Police. I never watched that show, so I could give a rat’s ass who takes over. Up and comers versus backstabbers is the daughters of Melanie Griffin and Don Johnson, Dakota Johnson, who we’ll be seeing in the adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey. That girl has strong acting genes on both sides of the bloodline.

Katy Perry will be headlining the half time show at the Super Bowl in 2015 (Feb. 1), which is just a week before the Grammys (Feb. 8). I wonder if Taylor Swift feels snubbed.

On page 50 they list the Top 10 “Your Faves” Pop Culture’s Most Wanted, Streamed, Watched and Read of 2014. Under Prime-Time Cable, #8 was… yep, you guessed it … Longmire. The show A&E dumped and the show Netflix has now picked up and put into filming for Season 4. That was the only A&E show listed. The Walking Dead was #1 (of course) followed by Game of Thrones (HBO); American Horror Story (FX); Sons of Anarchy (FX); Rizzoli & Isles (TNT); Major Crimes (TNT); The Last Ship (TNT); Longmire (A&E); True Blood (HBO); The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo).

Movies, Most Streamed Songs on Spotify, Kindle Bestsellers, Increase in Twitter Followers, and some other social media garbage is also listed.

I also use this issue to see if I missed anyone in my 2014 list of obituaries. People, of course lists the really big celebrities who died, but they also included some of the lesser known celebrities.

I’ll be putting up my list starting on Friday, December 19.

 

 

Nov 27 2014

TV Marathons – A Big Part of Turkey Day

Every Thanksgiving, the sound of the television has always been in the background. If not a football game, it’s the Macy’s Day Parade, a cooking show or a favorite series or holiday movie. Here’s a list of just a few of the marathons scheduled for this upcoming Thanksgiving weeked.

All times are Eastern. You can always check to see what’s on your favorite channels by Googling their schedule (for example: Cloo Schedule). Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

 

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen of IFC's "Portlandia". © Chris Hornbecker Photographer Credit: IFC

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen of IFC’s “Portlandia”. © Chris Hornbecker Photographer Credit: IFC

Thursday, Nov. 27

Adventure Time: 9am–2pm on Cartoon Network
Portlandia: 9am-2:30pm on IFC
Friends: 10am-5pm on TBS
Seinfeld: 5-8pm on TBS
Friday Night Lights: 10am–9pm on Pivot
Jurassic Park: 10am–2am Friday on AMC (I bet they air the trailer from the upcoming Jurassic Park movie coming to theaters this summer)
Modern Family: 10am-12am (Midnight) on USA
Transporter the Series: 11am-11:03pm on TNT
Alaska: The Last Frontier: 12pm-3am Friday on Discovery Channel
My Dirty Little Secret: 12pm-8pm on Investigation Discovery
The Millionaire Matchmaker: 3-10:30pm on Bravo
The Simpsons: 4-10pm followed by The Simpsons Movie on FXX
The Brady Bunch: 5:30-9pm on TV Land

Friday, Nov. 28

Helix: 6am–8pm on Syfy
Deadly Women: 6am–9pm on Investigation Discovery
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 9am–10pm on Pivot
Rambo: 11am–midnight on AMC
Star Trek: The Next Generation: 12pm–6am Saturday on BBC America
American Pickers: 1–11pm on History
Tanked: 2–9pm on Animal Planet
Gilligan’s Island: 3–9pm on TV Land
Gold Rush: 3–10pm on Discovery Channel
Mysteries: 3pm–4am Saturday on Travel Channel
Blue Bloods: 11am on Ion
Rookie Blue: 10pm on Ion

Saturday, Nov. 29


House: 6am–6am Sunday on Cloo
Manzo’d with Children: 6–10am on Bravo
The Leftovers: 8:45am–6:45pm on HBO Signature

Mark Harmon stars in NCIS. Photo: Jordin Althaus/CBS ©2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Mark Harmon stars in NCIS. Photo: Jordin Althaus/CBS ©2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

NCIS: 11am–midnight on USA
The Matrix: 11am–5am Sunday on AMC
Veronica Mars: 12pm–5pm on Pivot
Vikings: 3pm–4am Sunday on History
Homeland: 3pm–12am on Showtime
Z Nation: 11pm–5:30am Sunday on Syfy
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: 11am on Ion

 

Sunday, Nov. 30


NCIS: 6am-6am Monday on Cloo
Ax Men: 7am–1pm on History
Law & Order: SVU: 9am–11pm on USA
Roseanne: 10am–4pm on weTV (also on TV Land from 12–6pm)
Man v. Food Nation: 2–8pm on Travel Channel

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes - The Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The Walking Dead (Season 5): 1–10pm on AMC
The Real Housewives of Atlanta: 3–11:30pm on Bravo
The Affair: 4–11pm on Showtime

 

Nov 27 2014

‘Longmire’ Renewed On Netflix For Season 4

‘Longmire’ Renewed On Netflix For Season 4; Deadly Season 3 Cliffhanger To Be Resolved.

Yes, it’s official, Netflix has saved Longmire, just like they saved other shows like Arrested Development and The Killing. Why … because Netflix could give a rat’s ass about advertising dollars like A&E and other networks.

In case you need a refresher, Longmire was The most watched “original scripted show on A&E” with an average of 5.6 million viewers. A&E felt that those 5.6 million viewers were more of the over 50 crowd, which wasn’t what they were looking for.

They wanted more viewers in the 18-49 age bracket, hence, Longmire wasn’t renewed for a fourth season.

The good news, the entire cast is returning … but what about the Season 3 cliff hanger? Apparently Season 4 will pick up right where Season 3 ended. So maybe the entire cast may not be returning. I guess you will just have to wait and see.

Right now, Netflix says March is the month new episodes of Longmire will begin to stream.