TV Review: "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Marvel, in their quest to dominate the superhero genre in all media, has launched the most anticipated new show of the season. ABC's "MAoS" is the second brand new show of the season and the second to become permanently scheduled on my DVR. Created by Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers; "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and directly tied to Marvel's ever-increasing role in popular culture and entertainment, "MAoS" may well do what "Heroes" and "No Ordinary Family" failed to do. If you haven't seen it, there are spoilers ahead.

As I am sure everyone expected and was delighted to find, "MAoS" was slick, smart, action-packed and an awful lot of fun. Having the most fun of all is Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson (and the only permanent cross-over character from the previous films). But... wait... didn't agent Coulson die in The Avengers? Well... Coulson explains that Nick Fury faked his death to rally the Avengers into a team. Coulson recovered from his wounds at a spa in Tahiti. Of course we find out... well, Coulson is either a clone with a memory implant or Coulson, actually raised from the dead. I'm guessing we won't find out this season. Cobie Smulders crossed over for the pilot, as well, recreating her role as Maria Hill. The rest of the team is made up of Agent Grant Ward (ridiculously handsome Brett Dalton - those names seem somehow easily interchangeable); Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); physicist Leo Fitz and biologist Jemma Simmons (Iain De Caestecker & Elizabeth Henstridge) are known collectively as "Fitzsimmons" while hacker/conspiracy blogger Skye (Chloe Bennet) who has skills they need.

Just about everything in the pilot, from the writing, casting, direction and special effects were simply top-notch. And they set a perfect mythology/mystery in motion with the need to find and stop the person and/or persons behind "Project Centipede," which (if the writers are smart) should be a recurring theme among stand-alone episodes, rather than the season's whole focus. But who the heck am I to tell Joss Whedon and company how to write their show, anyway?  Anyway, if you didn't watch it, you should. Geeky fanboy fun for the whole family. **** (Four Out of Four Stars)

Oh, and by the way... I want Lola!

More, anon.
Prospero

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Hope These Are Worth the Wait

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

I've already been surprised by the first new show of the season and have hope for quite a few others. I don't honestly have much to say about most of the new comedies coming up. "The Goldbergs" looks dreadful; "Dads" (oh, Seth... I'm not mad. I'm... disappointed...) and "The Millers" look even worse (poor Wil Arnet! He so deserves another good show...). Other comedies I'll likely avoid include "Super Fun Night;" "We Are Men;" "Welcome to the Family" (sorry Mary McCormack. I love you, but not enough  to sit through that) and "Enlisted." And I'll at least give "Trophy Wife;" "The Michael J. Fox Show;" "Brooklyn Nine Nine" and "Sean Saves the World" one or two episodes before deciding to continue, though I have very low expectations for all of them (and hope I'm wrong).

There are two new comedies that have caught my eye and hope won't suck. "Mom" features two amazing and talented favorites (Anna Farris and Alison Janey) as mother and daughter, both dealing with addiction recovery. Looks like the dark, hilarious kind of show I love. Which means it's got two seasons, tops. "The Crazy Ones" brings Robin Williams back to sitcom TV for the first time since "Mork and Mindy" and pairs him with Buffy as his daughter and partner in an advertising agency. I want to like it... I hope Williams is able to rein it in and let his costars have their moments. Plus, adorable James Wolk co-stars!

Among the new dramas, I won't bother with "Betrayal" or "Ironside," despite Blair Underwood being in it. The "Hawaii Five-Oh" reboot lightning isn't likely to strike a second time. Though I am looking forward to James Spader in "The Black List" and Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette (!!!!) in "Hostages," though with McDermott sadly less naked than he was in "American Horror Story."And I've already set the DVR for the pilot of "Lucky 7," a show about lottery winners that will either be brilliant or horribly cheesy or (if we're very lucky), both.

Of course, being the weirdo I am, Uncle P is most looking forward to the genre shows. I'm most likely to not bother seeing "Almost Human;" "The Originals" and "Witches of Eastend," But I will most certainly be adding ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - henceforth known on the Revenge as "MAoS" - to my DVR schedule with every hope that Joss Whedon can get enough cross-over appearances from the Marvel movies to make it all work. NBC adds a new title to their growing genre library just before Halloween. "Dracula," starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers looks like a very smart Steampunk-inspired adaptation of Stoker's characters. If it's as clever,cool and sexy as it looks, why not add another take on the archetype. And the CW joins the Mutant/Superhero sub-genre with "The Tomorrow People" which could be fun, if it's done as smartly as Chronicle and the first season of "Heroes."

So, what new shows are you looking forward to seeing? I'd love to know.

More, anon.
Prospero

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I. Can't. Wait.

Click Image to Enlarge

FOX's "Sleepy Hollow" was a happy surprise for both myself and many people I know, and while I am looking forward to several other new shows this season there are a few returning favorites that have me absolutely chomping at the bit to see. 

First up is Ryan Murphy's amazingly-creative-and-creepy television experiment's third season which starts on October 9th. "American Horror Story: Coven." is set in both contemporary New Orleans and Historical Salem, exploring yet another Horror trope with what looks like another season of amazing; puzzling; creepy; original and arresting visuals, story lines, characters and performances from a cast that makes me just a little more excited than a man my age should ever get over a TV show. Returning are the astonishing Jessica Lange; Lily Rabe; Francis Conroy; Taissa Farmiga; Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters. And joining them are some powerhouse talents: Angela Bassett; Kathy Bates (!!); Christine Ebersole (!!) Emma Roberts; Danny Houston (!!) and Pattie effng Lupone (!!!!!). Add a war between Good & Evil Witches to the potential for exponential insanity and you have yourself what has so far been one of the best and most provocative genre series, ever.

Here are all seven Season 3 teasers:



And the first Season 3 promo with dialog, "School:"

And I don't think I need to say how much I am anticipating the Season Four premiere of AMC's "The Walking Dead" (the producers of which just announced a spin-off - oh, excuse me: "Companion" series - for 2014). While I will happily admit that Season Three was better than Season Two, neither was as good as the amazing Season One.It seems like the producers are listening to the fans and upped the ante this season. My mother is actually antsy for it's return.

NBC's dark-humored fantasy "Grimm" ended with our beautiful intrepid hero zombified while in the clutches of a voodoo priest. A co-worker whom I truly adore watches because her husband watches and calls it "The Grimm." It's another show Mom surprisingly loves - and I love that she's finally come to appreciate quality genre works. She was a huge "Fringe" and "Lost" fan and I'm so glad she's expanded her horizons. We know Nick is going to escape and recover from whatever Baron Samedi has done to him, but that's hardly the point. It's clever and campy and imaginative with a terrific ensemble cast and usually well-executed (and often hilarious) CGI transformation FX. But like any good show, story is king and the mythology is both well-constructed and unfolding in a way that makes complete sense. But most importantly, "Grimm" never takes itself too seriously, which helps to make it both endearing and interesting.

Outside of Genre shows, I am also looking forward to the return of CBS's Law and Politics drama, "The Good Wife." Another dream cast of exceptionally talented actors and a brilliant writing team make "The Good Wife" so worth DVR'ing. 

There are a few others I'm looking forward to seeing return and at least one or three I don't understand why they are returning at all. There are also lots of new shows this season that I'll write about the next time I write about TV (which will probably be soon).

In the meantime, what shows are you excited to see returning this fall?

More, anon.

Prospero

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Oscar Bait or Tragic Mistake?

Cameron Diaz and Still Creepy Penelope Cruz in The Counselor

Director Ridley Scott has made some of Turn of the Century's best films, including Alien; Blade Runner; Thelma and Louise and Gladiator. His most recent 'non-prequel' (which was totally a prequel) to Alien, Prometheus, had some issues, but was entertaining as hell (yes, Charlize should have run off to the side - we get it).  

Scott's latest thriller The Counselor - about a lawyer (Michael Fassbender) involved with some rather unsavory drug dealers - is currently listed as 'In Post-Production' on IMDb, with a scheduled release date of October 25th. Fassbender co-stars with Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz (it's like she has a puppet mouth, or something... she just skeves me out... ugh!... )* and Cameron Diaz in a role some people are already supposedly whispering rumors that she just may give the performance of her career, which could lead to the possibility of an Academy Award... (Yes, I am fully aware that this is a dreadful run-on sentence with a superfluous parenthetical, thank you very much fellow Grammar Nazis).

Really? The girl from The Mask and There's Something About Mary? The foul-mouthed, pot-smoking, money-scamming Bad Teacher (a movie I only just saw - and sort-of enjoyed - on cable one night in Chicago last month). I saw a teaser for this movie when Dear D and I went to see The Conjuring last month and Diaz was in it, but had nothing to really say. A new trailer has surfaced (via) and we see quite a bit more of her character and I must admit, I am intrigued. With a script from novelist Cormac McCarthy (The Road; No Country for Old Men), The Counselor has all the pedigrees and earmarks that catch the Academy members' attentions. What do you think?

Let the campaigning begin!

More, anon.

Prospero

*Don't start with me. Just because I'm gay does NOT meant I don't know how to appreciate a beautiful woman when I see one. I also know that I am in the minority when it comes to my opinion of Ms Cruz's physiognomy. It's all well and good until she opens that slash in her jaw... Seriously. It's like female Spanish Guy Smiley in the flesh! Bllllllllllluuuuurrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhh!

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Summer of Suck Part Deux?

Okay, is it me, or have there been very few summer tentpole movies to actually live up to their potential once again this summer? And yes, I missed a lot of them, though only one by accident. And it seems as though I really didn't miss much...

This past weekend saw the opening of South African director Neil Blomkamp's big-budget debut Elysium. It took the number one spot for its opening weekend but performed far below expectations, beating out stoner comedy We're the Millers by just $3M. As a fan of Blomkamp's debut District 9, Uncle P was excited for this big-budget thriller starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. And then I started reading the reviews and had to take pause when Colin Berry, one of the Happy Mutants at the insane Science/Art/Maker/Literature/Politics blog BoingBoing posted his review, calling it "...everything that sucks about movies these days." (Read it here).

And lots of big-budget blockbusters saw similar fates. R.I.P.D.; The Lone Ranger; World War Z; and After Earth (even though it never advertised that it was directed by one-hit wonder M. Night Shyamalan) all failed, miserably. Guillermo del Toro's much-anticipated Kaiju Vs. Giant Robots movie Pacific Rim underperformed, as did White House Down with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. 

The top performers so far this summer? Despicable Me 2; The Conjuring (a movie I wanted more from); Monsters University; Man of Steel and Iron Man 3. I've seen only one movie on this list and liked it, but not nearly as much as some people.

No one is quite sure why some of these movies failed, though I suspect that audiences have finally caught on and want more than just CGI FX and deafening sound to carry a movie. To which I say: Hurray!

But summer's not over and I have high hopes for a few late summer/early fall releases:

Kick-Ass 2 (NSFW):



The World's End:



Riddick:



Insidious: Chapter 2:



Gravity:



That last clip is absolutely terrifying! I can't wait!

More, anon.
Prospero

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NBC Will Suck This Fall

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula

Unlike Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi movies, which by many are considered the 'bastards' of the film industry (despite often being the most profitable), Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi has always had a place on TV. And it seems like those genres are enjoying a renaissance of late, with the success of "The Walking Dead;" "Grimm;" "American Horror Story;" "The Vampire Diaries;" "True Blood;" "Dexter;" "Hannibal;" "Bates Motel" and "Game of Thrones" (to name a few).

As a child, the first Horror movie I can remember seeing was Tod Browning's 1931 classic Dracula, starring Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi. According to Answers.com. the story has been adapted 28 times on film, though their list doesn't include either version of Nosferatu, among others. And it doesn't touch on stage versions. Indeed, I've penned my own (as yet un-scored) musical adaptation, Children of the Night. Bram Stoker's classic novel wasn't the first vampire story committed to the page, it is certainly the most well-known.

This coming fall, NBC jumps on the Horror bandwagon with their own version of Dracula, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") as the Carpathian bloodsucker in a 13-episode series which has the iconic Count posing as an American entrepreneur intent on bringing science to naive Victorians while searching for revenge against the ancestors of those who cursed him in the first place (via). While an interesting take on the character, I hope the creators (whose credits include the phenomenal "Downton Abbey" and my beloved "Torchwood") are able to sustain their vision beyond a single season. It's somehow comforting to know we'll have the Count around again. A true classic never goes out of style.

Is it any surprise this story has endured for over 115 years? I think not. Who wouldn't want to be young, beautiful and powerful forever?

More, anon.
Prospero

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