Why People Download TV …and other things that have to do with landing on the Moon

Extant - the new Steven Spielberg series is excellent, I love it, but it’s not the topic of this post, it’s merely a prime example or a casualty in a battle I am waging on the cable companies.  As someone who watches a lot of TV, It’s important to have a number of places where I can watch.  People often ask me: “do you really watch all the shows you review?” and “where do you find the time?”  Well I’ll tell you! And then we will get to the meat of what I want to address today.

I have a full time job and I have full time kids and a full time husband (is there a word for more than full time?) and yet I still find the time to keep up with watch my favorite shows as well as watching new shows and writing reviews. I do this for a couple of reasons.
1 – I love TV. Period. I would take TV over movies any day!
And …
2 – I try to watch and review so that those of you who can't make time for all the shows make time for the ones you think you will like. I am trying to maximize your enjoyment of TV too!

This is where I get back to Extant…In order to keep up with my busy life and keep up my TV viewing and blogging I need to have a system and the system needs to be reliable! I have some shows recording on the PVR in the bedroom and some on the PVR in the living room. Some shows are recording on time shift to catch them earlier or and some are recording on time shift to catch them later and some are recording simultaneously at times that I know I won't need to watch live TV…It’s a delicate grid people…very delicate. It’s in Excel and posted on my fridge with highlighter and colour codes…it’s a science…nay! An art!




So when I get into bed the other night and turn on Extant and I see “scenes from last week” that should be a recap but in fact I have not seen them before? I lose it!  Come on cable companies, we have put a man on the moon but when I select “record all new events” you can't figure out how to record a show if it is an unprecedented 2 hour episode? Come on! This makes me want to jump on the bandwagon with the conspiracy theorists that the moon landing never happened! How could it have if my PVR can't even figure out how to not skip the first hour of a 2 hour show that said “record ALL NEW EPISODES”? Impossible!




In adding insult to injury, today I see a post on TvLine.com with the Headline “Good Wife, Bad Time Slot: CBS Tweaks Alert System for Sunday Delays” http://tvline.com/2014/09/09/the-good-wife-football-delays-cbs-eye-lert-system/ and I am immediately in a bit of a rage.  To set the stage, I am one of the honest people that pays for music when I download it. I believe whole-heartedly that some artists create great music and I am more than happy to spend my money to purchase a good song that makes me do a little dance or puts a smile on my face.  I feel the same way about TV.  I want studios to make great shows! I want producers, directors, writers and actors to make money for providing me with such fabulous entertainment. Especially after dabbling in acting myself, I know I appreciate the paycheck after what can sometimes be long hours. BUT…and you knew one was coming…I get so frustrated with the networks and the way they move things around without giving it a second thought. I want to watch, I want your sponsors to get their money and have everyone get paid…but you have to deliver the goods on your end too!



So when I read that CBS wants me to download an app so that I get an alert that my show is running late because of Football so that I can update my PVR - I have to say why?  Why in this age of modern technology can we not just bump the show and have the PVR know that? If the Football game ran 32 minutes longer than it should have– BAM – a signal is sent to the digital box and all shows on that channel and their recordings are also bumped back by 32 minutes. Easy.  Done. When Bachelor Pad runs an episode on Monday night and ALSO one on Tuesday – BAM – a signal goes to my PVR to record it if I am already recording the one on Monday. It’s not rocket science people…but it is the reason people download.   

Extant - The Ratings Were Wrong...and Here's Why!

OK Mystery solved! I know why the numbers for Extant were low and it’s not what you think.   

I set up my PVR for the series premiere of Extant and was insanely excited for this new Steven Spielberg/Hale Berry work of genius.  The trailers were exciting and intriguing and based on those I can’t believe that it was not at the very top of the ratings chart this week.  However, it became clearer when I set up the PVR and the description for Extant said the following:

2 words come to mind after reading that description: Seriously Boring.

It looks as though this synopsis was stolen ALMOST word for word from the CBS page. The deletion of the word "thrilling" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thrilling) and the addition of the last sentence would have drastically altered who (and how many people) turned into this show.

CBS:  “In a thrilling drama, Berry will play an astronaut who returns home from a year-long solo mission in space and tries to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday life. Her experiences in space and home lead to events that ultimately will change the course of human history.”

What potential viewers need to know is that Extant:

• …is not a female "reconnecting" drama
• …is a sci-fi masterpiece like only Spielberg can achieve
• …has a cast of brilliant actors
• ....is reminiscent of “Encounters of the Third Kind”

Extant boasts a huge cast of mega stars:  HalleBerry, Goran Visnjic, Camryn Manheim and one of the most talented young actors currently on the TV screen Pierce Gagnon.  I urge you to share this review and undo the misconception the PVR guide may have created!

I was expecting Extant to be awesome …and it Extraordinary!

Leftover...but not lost

When I tuned into  ‘The Leftovers’  for its series premiere on HBO June 29^th I was expecting a remake/expansion of ‘LeftBehind’  (a series of 16 novels by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B Jenkins that was turned into TV movie starring KirkCameron) what I got was a pleasant surprise as a riveting and sometimes chilling dramatic series unfolded before me. Similarities run through both productions in that a mass spontaneous disappearance which some feel is biblical in origin has rocked the planet - leaving all those who remain behind searching for answers. 

** (Left Behind has since been adapted into three action/thriller films set for release in 2014 starring Nicolas Cage) 

Starring Justin Theroux (Mr. Jennifer Anniston), Michael Gaston (Inception, Body of Lies), Liv Tyler  (most famously for Armageddon) and one of my personal favourites Amy Brenneman  (Private Practice, Reign, Judging Amy) this intriguing and mysterious drama is not surprisingly from the mind of Damon Lindelof – the co-creator of Lost.

‘Leftovers’ provides the audience with enough information to not be lost (pun intended) and little enough information to be hungry for more.

Newcomer Margaret Qualley is captivating and authentic as Jill Garvey, the daughter of the Sheriff - played by Theroux - whose life has been capsized by the loss of her mother.

Theroux is nondescript and disappointing in a pivotal role and I would have preferred to see this character played by RonLivingston.   Their facial similarities leave me constantly awaiting Livingston’s likeability to appear and it never does…

Looking forward to seeing how this one unfolds and hoping that unlike Lindelof’s last creation after 6 years I am not lost…

Resurrection, The Returned or "Les Revenants" - Whatever You Call It - Its Wonderful, Amazing and "Magnifique"!

Directed by Daniel Attias (who has assisted in directing duties with such legends as Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola) and written by Aaron Zelman (of CSI and Law and Order Fame) comes Resurrection. 

Based on the book “The Returned” by Jason Mott which was brought to life the first time in the French movie and TV Series “Les Revenants”, Resurrection claims to flow from a different source.  However, when reviewing content and overall storyline there is barely a shade of grey of difference other than language.

Lovers of supernatural TV will be engrossed in this fantasy drama television show.  I found myself going through several rounds of goose bumps in Episode 1 alone.

A quick synopsis: (without spoilers)  The series follows the residents of Arcadia, Missouri, whose lives are upended when their loved ones return from the dead, un-aged since their deaths.

The well composed scenes allow the audience to feel what is happening and internalise the emotion by providing an excellent balance of dialogue and silence which allows the viewer to sink into Arcadia.

The seasoned cast delivers outstanding performances that further draw in the audience with believability that allows you to get lost in their stories. 

Omar Epps, Francis Fisher, and Kurtwood Smith are unforgettable.

Season 1 began on ABC in March 2014 and I urge you to watch it before season 2 starts in the Fall of this year.  I can’t get enough!

Justified – Season 1 – Episode 1 - My first requested review!

 Justified is a crime drama set in rural Kentucky. It stars Timothy Olyphant (still not completely clear on how to pronounce that but since I am writing, you can pronounce it any way you like!)

Having entered into its fifth season in January of 2014 on FX, the Network CEO John Landgraf has now confirmed that there will be a sixth and final season. 

Given the amount of time that someone just starting this show will have to invest, it’s wise to get a review first!  It’s what I am here for; and given that you will probably want to watch this show, I will make the review short – you have 13 episodes a season to watch (times 4.5 seasons), so you are already short on time!

Acting – Timothy Olyphant – he has been in everything - and is great in everything.  With over 50 credits to his name on IMDB, he even made “I Am Number Four” bearable. I loved him in The Crazies!

Story – to be honest, this is a bit been-there-done-that for me; small town guy returning to his old haunts and dealing with all his old buddies... but now as a US Marshall – we all know this has been done to death.  I think the redeeming thing here is the quality of the series, Justified is really well done and authentic.

My only complaint?  (you knew I would have one) is Walton Goggins – who plays Boyd Crowder – has a full set of gorgeous veneers when he flashes his evil grin.  In backwoods Kentucky where they all still use rotary phones he has managed to find a fantastic dentist? Really?

Overall – great show, great cast and worth investing the time.