Brownsville Joins Team Edward
I had to supress the urge to yell out “So say we all!” at least four times during a press conference I attended this week with Battlestar Galactica’s Edward James Olmos. (And yes, I left my “Frakkin’ Cylons” T-shirt at home.)
The Admiral flew in to my hometown of Brownsville, TX to talk up a documentary about the city’s young chess champs and to speak to students at UTB-TSC. You can read all about it in the Brownsville Herald’s report.
I managed to catch Olmos’ ear for a few minutes with some questions about BSG, Caprica, and Bryan Singer’s planned Battlestar movie. Our nutty mayor nabbed my reporter’s notebook during the press conference to get Olmos’ autograph! Luckily, the voice memo app on my iPhone did a good job of recording my short conversation with Olmos. Check out what he had to say about the legacy of BSG and the future of the franchise at AOL’s TV Squad.
I also asked him about his role in Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet movie, co-starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, and Jay Chou. Olmos said working with Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind, Rewind) was “incredible.” He also said The Green Hornet is a different kind of superhero flick because the Hornet is “a different kind of hero, a blue collar hero.” And what about his character, Michael Axford?
“He’s the editor of the newspaper,” he said. “He’s a news man.”
Sounds like this one is gonna be a throwback!
Reviewing 24, or The Jack Bauer Ass-Kickin’ Hour
Kiefer Sutherland lands in the hospital and shuts down production on 24 the very same week I start covering the show for TV Squad. Coincidence? Some sort of jumbled sign from the TV gods?
Whatever the case, I wish Mr. Sutherland a speedy recovery. Word is he’s returning to the set next week, crushing any hopes co-star Freddie Prinze Jr. had of becoming the show’s top badass this season.
I’m taking over 24 recap duties for TV Squad editor Jane Espenson. Despite the show’s reported dip in quality, I’m really looking forward to writing about Jack’s latest adventures in New York. 24 is a guilty pleasure of mine, but it’s a guilty pleasure that’s constantly surprising me with its great twists, solid action, and jarring scenes of intense violence.
So head over to TV Squad to read my first 24 review/recap post. And remember to head back there every Tuesday this season for a fresh review.
I Chat With Nestor Carbonell About Lost
I interviewed Nestor Carbonell recently about the sixth and final season of Lost. As you might have guessed, Carbonell was under strict orders not to reveal any spoilers for the show’s upcoming final act, which kicks off tonight on ABC. But he did offer some surprisingly candid comments about where his character, Richard “Eyeliner Man” Alpert, is headed and what we’ll learn about him as the season progresses.
I was a bit of a nervous wreck before the interview. I’ve chatted with plenty of celebs and TV stars before, but I am a Lost fanatic. Seriously, I’m obsessed. I draw Dharma logos all over my notebooks. (It’s quite sad, really.) Plus, I’ve been following Carbonell’s career since his days on Suddenly Susan and The Tick.
Thankfully, he turned out to be a very easy-going and funny guy. He didn’t even mind that I brought up the whole eyeliner issue:
I know you’ve spoken about this elsewhere, but we might have a few readers who don’t know the answer, so I’m obliged to ask: Do you wear eyeliner and has Maybeline approached you for an endorsement deal?
(Laughs) Uh, no and no! Suffice to say I’ve been dealing with that question, at least the first part of that question, since I was a little kid. But no, I’m just of Cuban heritage, and I guess I got a lot of eye lashes! I was just telling someone else that now my own kids have to deal with that because they’ve been plagued or cursed with the same issue.
You can read the interview at TV Squad, where Carbonell reveals what we can expect from Richard Alpert this season.
Counting The Days Until Treme Premieres
A few of my fellow TV journalists recently got a chance to screen the premiere of Treme, the new series from David Simon, creator of HBO’s The Wire. Sadly, I wasn’t one of the lucky few, but I was one of the first to write about the show’s premiere date and its initial teaser trailer that hit the Web last month.
Unlike The Wire, a brilliant drama with an epic scope, Treme reportedly sets its sights on a smaller canvas, a culturally-rich New Orleans neighborhood still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
I’m really looking forward to this show. I know next to nothing about New Orleans. (The place might as well be Mars.) And I can’t imagine the horrors faced by those affected by the hurricane. Judging by his previous TV work — NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street, Generation Kill, the previously mentioned The Wire — I trust that Simon and crew will offer an unflinchingly honest dramatic representation of the locals trying to rebuild their lives.
I’m also looking forward to the show’s music. Many of Treme’s story arcs will revolve around neighborhood musicians balancing their life with their art. The show also features real-life New Orleans musicians playing original songs, providing an authentic soundtrack to the story.
Treme is expected to premiere April 11. Check out HBO’s Web site to learn more about the show and watch the teaser trailer.
Action, Adventure and Insanity on Human Target
I recently started covering Fox’s new live-action cartoon Human Target for TV Squad. The show is about a dude (Mark Valley) who can do anything in any situation and look cool while he’s doing it. He face-punches bad guys to death without breaking a sweat, speaks a zillion languages, and blows buildings up for sport. He usually does all this while stuck on a runaway train or an upside down airplane. It’s awesome.
Human Target is ridiculous, but it’s fun, funny and it even offers a few smart and surprising moments now and then. Valley is a superstar, and co-stars Chi McBride and Jackie Earl Haley are pros.
I encourage any action fan, especially fans of the Die Hard series, to check it out. It’s not award-winning TV, that’s for damn sure, but its a fine show full of wit, thrilling action, and some wonderfully over-the-top moments (did I mention the upside down plane?) Check it out Wednesdays on Fox. And don’t forget to read my reviews at TVS the day after.
Band of Brothers
I rarely seek out new music anymore. It’s sad, but it’s true. Lately I’ve found myself existing on a steady diet of tried and true rock ‘n’ roll classics — Guided by Voices, Rush, Wilco, Pavement, David Bowie. (They’re classics to me anyway.) But last night I discovered a band that reminded me of how great it feels to discover new music. They’re called The Avett Brothers.
Some of you might have heard about these good ol’ boys by now, or maybe you saw them on last night’s ep of Austin City Limits (like I did). I won’t get into their background here, I’ll just say that they’re a young band outta North Carolina, and they play a lovely, rousing and heartbreaking blend of sad songs, twangy tunes and folksy heartfelt barnburners. I’m not ready to follow them across the country just yet, but after watching their ACL performance I didn’t hesitate to fork over a few bucks for a copy of their latest, I and Love and You.
Check out a clip from Saturday’s set:
Let’s talk about the last decade and the new year
I’ve been taking it easy during the holidays, but I’m still posting reviews and opinion pieces here and there. I wrote two Better Off Ted reviews this week over at TV Squad, and I also contributed to the Squad’s Best of the Decade coverage.
We did things a little differently at TV Squad this time. Instead of compiling definitive lists of the best shows and actors of the Aughts, we wrote about our own personal favorites. That’s how I was able to list Craig Ferguson’s “MMMbop” boogie as my top Late Night Moment of the Decade and Portia di Rossi as Best Comedic Actress. Lost fans (hello Rob and Sarah!) will be happy to learn that I picked John Locke himself, Terry O’Quinn, as my favorite dramatic actor of the decade. Sadly, my editor didn’t run the famous Orange Smile image, so I’m posting it here.
And speaking of Lost, I’m thinking about doing something special for the final season. More on that later.
Happy New Year, everybody!
Alright Drones, Listen Up! It’s Time To Read My Better Off Ted Reviews!
Rejoice, comedy nerds! Better Off Ted is back, and the folks over at TV Squad have asked me to cover it this season. Let’s hope I can do a good job, because I really love this show, and I want to get more people to tune in every week.
Tonight’s season premiere wasn’t perfect — the show seemed to be missing its usual confident comic verve here and there — but it still delivered some decent laughs and a few wonderfully bizarre plotlines.
Sadly, tonight’s ep didn’t offer one of those hilarious Veridian Dynamics commercials, but the Internets tells me they’ll be back starting next week.
So head on over to TV Squad and read my recap/review. And remember to read my scribbles about the show every week this season (or at least until ABC eventually cancels the show and replaces it with a reality competition series starring acrobatic singing “celebrities” and hosted by Lance Bass, of course).
Here’s an excerpt from the review:
Great. Now I’m gonna be picturing Ted as “Aquated” for the next few days. (Surprise! He looks good in aquatights!)
Phil and Lem’s hilarious superhero fantasy was only a tiny throwaway gag in a premiere full of wonderfully weird moments and plotlines. There was Ted’s fake obsession with Utah, Veronica’s real obsession with Utah, and Taye Diggs’ obsession with dressing up like a bear and terrorizing innocent park dwellers. What’s say we start off by discussing that last one? Read the rest at TV Squad.
Alice Review
Here’s an excerpt of my advance review of Alice for TV Squad:
It’s hard for me to get excited about something like Alice, Syfy’s twisted new take on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. NBC and Syfy seemingly produce these modern versions of classic tales for the same reason Hollywood studios push out stale remakes and sequels – because they already have a built in audience. And the producers don’t have to worry about coming up with an original story. All they have to do is force some contempo quirkiness into the age-old text and be done with it. (Make the flamingos flying machines! Turn the caterpillar into a hookah-smoking Harry Dean Stanton!)
Similar to Syfy’s Tin Man, its dark and tedious Wizard of Oz redo, Alice offers a bizarre retread of its classic source material. But writer-director Nick Willing (the brains behind Tin Man) smartly sets his tale in a futuristic version of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. And he’s created a brand new Alice too. She’s a tough twentysomething brunette who teaches martial arts and high-kicks bad guys in the face … Read the rest at TV Squad.
The Week’s SciFi Squad Insanity So Far …
I’ve been pretty busy this week preparing for finals (and watching the entire first season of Better of Ted on Hulu), so I haven’t had much time to write. Still, I managed to scribble a few things for SciFi Squad.
Thankfully, the Internets is full of insane content created by obsessive Star Trek fans. This gives people like me, a lazy Star Trek fan, lots of cool stuff to blog about. Which I did. Twice this week.
I also got to write about how much I hate hate hate Terminator Salvation for my DVD column.
Check out the links below. Feel free to click on them even …
Watch: Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ … in the Original Klingon!
Fantastic Fan Art From the Will Riker Lovers Web Site
New on DVD & Blu-ray: ‘MST,’ ‘Terminator Salvation’ and More
