Meeting Your Enemies Again

Yeah, it's been a few weeks since I've done one of these but here's a rundown of some of the programs I've watched since there. Finished up in a few cases too.

911: Since I last blogged about this show, I have finished up the first season and watched at least the first three episodes of the second season, due to SkyWitness being speedy with the latter. For a show that I initially thought was going to be tame by Ryan Murphy's standards, I've really grown to love this series. The Buck/Abby might have petered out but I've quite liked the Athena/Bobby one and so far, both Maddie and Eddie have turned out to be likeable new additions to the series. The earthquake two parter was also a series highlight as well.

Arrow: Four episodes into the show's seventh season and I am beyond bored of Oliver's prison storyline. It's been dull and cliched at every turn and Felicity has managed to become even more insufferable apart from Oliver than she was with him. The flash forwards with older versions of Roy, William, Dinah and Zoe have been thankfully good and the current splintered gang along with the new Green Arrow (totally a female character) have been better but what does it say when the weakest aspect of the show now revolves around the title character? On the other hand, props to the show for it's clear commitment in giving Black Siren an organic redemptive storyline and for her deadpan snarking as well.

Killing Eve: This has easily been the best UK show so far this year (sorry, Bodyguard fans) with both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer giving it their all as Eve and Villanelle respectively and the last three episodes certainly upped the cat and mouse ante between the two as the latter went off script and killed her Konstantin for good measure. With the show renewed for a second season and a new showrunner (Call The Midwife's Emerald Fennell replacing Phoebe Waller-Bridge), I really do hope the show avoids the pitfalls of difficult second album syndrome after this rather superlative first outing.

Krypton: With the second season currently filming, E4 blitzed through the remaining episodes with a spate of double bills and I have to admit, the latter half of the season was mostly good. I like the set up for Doomsday for next season, hoping that we don't have to wait too long to see Adam Strange and thought that Colin Salmon did a pretty good job as Zod while Seg El, Nyssa and Lyta made for a strong team as well. Prequel wise, I still feel like this isn't a show that we particularly need but it's been somewhat better than expected, so I probably will give the second season a watch.

Supergirl: Four episodes into the fourth season so far and I've not been greatly impressed with what we've got here. In terms of the newbies, so far both Nia Nal and Manchester Black have been good but Agent Liberty, Mercy and Otis Graves have been extremely dire to watch. The show has never been subtle with it's political commentary but even in it's second season the writing for it never felt as sloppy as it has been this season. So far, nothing is especially gripping me this season. Hopefully it picks up before so far, it's as poor as Arrow has been.

The Flash: Somewhat better than Arrow and Supergirl at the moment but at the same time, not doing anything too compelling outside of focusing on Nora's relationships with Barry and Iris and giving us a bit of a sympathetic-ish backstory for metahuman serial killer, Cicada. So far the latter seems like a decent enough antagonist and I've not minded Ralph and Caitlin working together to find the latter's father but Cisco hasn't had much to really do and I'm not too keen on Sherloque as of yet. Other than that, it's still pretty solid stuff so far.

- Andy Bean and Derek Mears have been cast as Alec Holland and the title character alike for DC Universe's upcoming Swamp Thing TV series.
- Charmed has been picked up for a full season of 22 episodes. UK viewers will be able to see the show on E4 in 2019.
- Gotham's final season will now be 12 episodes and premiere on January 3rd 2019 for US viewers. Shane West will also be playing Bane.
- A Discovery Of Witches has been renewed for a second and third season by Sky1.
- John Barrowman will be returning to Arrow's seventh season.
- Orange Is The New Black will end with it's seventh season but Netflix are in talks to do a sequel series.
- Jeremy Irons will play an older Ozymandias in the upcoming Watchmen series for HBO. Jean Smart will also be co-starring in the series as an FBI agent.
- Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina are being sued by a Satanic Temple over copyright on using one of their images.
- Veronica Mars will be adding Patton Oswalt in a recurring role for it's upcoming revival on Hulu.
- Both Loki and Scarlett Witch will be getting series on Disney's upcoming streaming service.

Wedded Behind Bars Before Release

A few finales in this pile up of programmes that I have recently been watching.

911: I really did think, going by the premise of this show that this was going to be tamer by Ryan Murphy's usual OTT standards but I've been proven wrong and rightfully so. I mean the characters are more grounded compared to some of his other shows but the zaniness certainly hasn't been. Between the explorations of Bobby's alcoholism, meeting Hen's wife, Athena's collapsed marriage and the blossoming Buck/Abby relationship, we've also had plane crashes and a Valentine Day's episode that would've also worked on another show very well. I know the second season has just started on US television but I am savouring this first one and enjoying the hell out of it.

Jessica Jones: Finished the second season, still not interested in catching up with Luke Cage and Iron Fist but eagerly awaiting the third run of Daredevil. Oh right, my thoughts on Miss Jones's second run - eh, not bad. It's second season finale ended the Alissa storyline in a rather messy way while separating Jessica from both Trish and Malcolm while Jeri managed to get some sweet revenge on Inez but other than that, it was a little lacking. Hopefully the third season will get the show's groove back.

Killing Eve: The urge not to go on BBCiplayer and binge the hell out of the show, well it's been hard but I've taken the slower path and with two episodes left to watch, I really am not looking forward to ending it. This series has been one of my favourites this year with both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh on sublime form as Villanelle and Eve. Both of them have been riveting to watch and now that both our main baddie and heroine are interacting more and more, the episodes have gotten more tense. I do worry that the show could be in danger of humanising Villanelle but then she goes and does something pretty evil and I'm oddly relieved by that. I guess she's just more fun to watch when she's evil.

Krypton: I'm still not gripped as such by this series but it's obviously doing something right because I'm still watching it. I mean, the female characters are certainly well drawn out and characterised - Nyssa being a particular favourite of mine and the hint of Adam being bisexual is a nice move away from comic canon (and odd, given Goyer's previous history with DaVinci's Demons and Constantine though). I guess though the uses of both Brainiac and Zod is probably the biggest draw - some great performances from Blake Ritson and Colin Salmon respectively but Seg El himself can sometimes lack a little. He's not bad but he needs to liven up a little more though.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 6 has not been the show's best season but nor has it been it's worse. There's no denying that it's taken a while to get used to the new set up and reduced roles of certain characters but the last few episodes certainly found it's groove. Carol and Barb turned out to be rather decent antagonists and their exits seemed fitting. A wise decision on the show's part not to overextend their storylines but at the same time, Badison needs to be the next departure as her character has been a massive drag on the new season along with the new guards and anything involving Aleida. Piper and Alex's prison wedding was rather sweet and I'm intrigued to see how the former (as well as Sophia) cope with being free. Taystee's storyline concluded the only way it could but I felt worse for poor Blanca and I liked that Maria wanted to atone for her past actions this season. Red and Gloria had their moments but not compared to previous seasons though and I liked the dynamic with Freda, Doggett and Suzanne. Overall, not a bad season. I will miss the series if next season is truly the last one.

- Shane West will be playing an old friend/upcoming enemy of Gordon's in Gotham's final season (rumoured March 2019). Rumoured that he might be this show's version of Bane.
- Brec Bassinger will be Stargirl for the upcoming DC Universe series of the same name.
- Crystal Reed will be Abby Arcane while Maria Sten will be Liz Tremayne for the upcoming Swamp Thing series.
- Wonder Woman movie writer, Allan Heinberg will be producing a female led Marvel TV series for ABC. Characters have yet to be revealed for the show.
- Marc Cherry will be doing a thriller series named Why Women Kill, focusing on three generations of women who don't react well to being cheated on by their spouses for CBS All Access.
- Robert Englund will be reprising his role as Freddy Krueger for the upcoming Halloween episode of The Goldbergs.
- Elizabeth Tulloch has been cast as Lois Lane for the upcoming Arrowverse crossover event, as well as Cassandra Jean Amell as Nora Fries and Jeremy Davies as Arkham doctor, John Deegan.
- Domhnall Gleeson will star in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's upcoming HBO series, Run.
- A major character will apparently die in Modern Family's tenth season.
- Melissa Joan Hart and Sean Astin have been cast in Netflix's multi cam family show, No Good Nick.

What's Your Emergency?

A round up of some of the more recent shows I've been watching.

911: The latest Ryan Murphy series that I've been playing catch up with (I will catch up with Pose at some point) and it's a pretty madcap one as we see the likes of a 911 operator in Abby (with a nice backstory with an elderly mother), firefighters Buck and Bobby along with policewoman Athena (who has a gay husband). For a show, there's certainly some of Murphy's trademark moments and there's definitely a nice diversity too along with a subtle burning relationship with Abby and Buck as well.

Jessica Jones: I don't think this second season has been bad as such but it's certainly lacked the focus of the first season. Alisa is a different type of antagonist, what with her being Jessica's mother but unlike Kilgrave, she's too sympathetic to actually be a true baddie while IGH have been largely faceless, Karl also rather sympathetic (due to his love for Alisa) and Pryce being downright ineffectual to pose any real threat. I have liked the subplots with Malcolm, Trish and Jeri but again, there is a lack of focus here.

Killing Eve: This is due to air on both BBC3 and BBC1 next month but in an odd twist, RTE2 have managed to a) air it before both channels and b) given it a primetime slot as they started off with a double bill. While I could never get into Fleabag as a series, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has done wonders with adapting the Villanelle books for the small screen with Jodie Comer giving a bewitching performance as psychopath assassin Villanelle while Sandra Oh (who has bagged herself an Emmy nod) is similarly as captivating MI5/6 agent, Eve Polastri on the hunt for Villanelle. The first two episodes have set the cat and mouse antics with the two up well and there's an engaging bunch of supporting players to match. I can see why this show has generated quite the fanbase to be honest.

Krypton: Of all the prequel shows we could have had, I don't think there was a single Superman fan out there who was clamouring for a series centred on the Man of Steel's grandfather, Seg El but SyFy and David Goyer seemed to think there was an audience for it. Given that it's already gotten a second season, perhaps they were on to something but watching the first two episodes on E4, I'm still a little indifferent on the show. The acting is fine, the writing is somewhat average at best, there's an attempt to make the show a little Game Of Thrones lite and the reliance of characters such as Adam Strange and Brainiac does make me wonder if this show is actually necessary. It's nicely shot though I am lukewarm on the love story between Seg El and Lyta Zod.

Orange Is The New Black: I'm now eight episodes into this season and yet we need to see both Carol and Barb actually make moves and show why they're running the max everyone is in. I've had more than enough screen time for Badison and she still bores me as a character. I hate the new guards (except for the two ginger ones) and I'm neutral on the Daya/Daddy thing as well. Red's potential team up with Carol to get back at Freda should be interesting and it's amusing that Piper is now starting to think of a memoir. There's also been some good stuff with Black Cindy/Flaca being paired up for a radio station, Tiffany going to Florida with Suzanne and Freda but other than that, something big really needs to happen now.

- Tyler Hoechlin will reprise his Superman role for the upcoming Arrowverse crossover featuring both Batwoman and Lois Lane.
- The Big Bang Theory will end after it's upcoming twelfth season.
- True Detective's third season will premiere in January on HBO and SkyAtlantic.
- A second season for Sharp Objects isn't off the table it seems.
- Viewers can expect Bane to appear in the final season of Gotham.
- Roseanne will be killed in upcoming spin off series, The Connors.
- Courtney Cox and Katey Sagal will be in the ninth season of Shameless.
- Brendan Fraser will now play Robotman for the upcoming Doom Patrol series. Diane Guerrero will play Crazy Jane and Jovian Wade will be Cyborg.

DC TV Shows - Some Updates

My first blog of 2018 and it's a DC TV related one. Anyways, some news about the three newest DC shows that audiences can expect pretty soon.

First of all, Black Lightning is coming very soon. In fact, less than a fortnight away as it's first season will be paired with The Flash for Tuesday nights with Cress Williams playing the title role on the show. For now, there will be no connection to the Arrow universe but I wouldn't be too shocked if that changes sooner than later. The CW have now also released a photo of Nafessa Williams as Thunder/Anissa Pierce, the daughter of the show's title character, Jeff Pierce, showing that heroism will be a family trait on the show. The show's first season will run for 13 episodes and also stars  China Anne McClain, Christine Adams, James Remar, Damon Gupton, and Marvin "Krondon" Jones III. Also LGBT fans will be delighted to know that Anissa will have a love interest in fellow hero, Grace Choi, played by Chantal Thu while Jill Scott will guest star as Lady Eve in the series.

Elsewhere Krypton will ensure that along with Supergirl, that the Superman universe will have a television medium in the run up to the character's 80th anniversary. The series, due to air on SyFy in the Spring sees Cameron Cuffe as Seg El, the grandfather of Superman with Georgina Campbell as Lyta Zod. The series will have versions of Adam Strange and Brainiac/Vril as portrayed by Shaun Sipos and Blake Ritson respectively along with Seg's father Ter-El, Doomsday and Hawkgirl also appearing in the series. The pilot episode is written by David S. Goyer and Ian Goldberg and directed by Colm McCarthy.

Meanwhile Titans have also released their first official image of Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly's Hawk and Dove last month. The costumes seem faithful enough to the comics and with the previous release of Brenton Thwaites as Robin, it's nice that we're getting more on the upcoming series from DC's streaming service. A release date has yet to be confirmed as the series is still currently filming but hopefully it won't be long before cast shots for Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Amy Rohrbach are released.

Black Lightning Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65EdJntX1U
Krypton Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE5prsMJAWc

Black Lightning will premiere on the CW from January 16th, with UK/Irish viewers getting to see the show on Netflix. Krypton will air on SyFy from March 21st and Titans release has yet to be confirmed.

2017-2018 TV Season: Shows To Watch

It's that time of year again. Amid the news of shows being cancelled and renewed, we also have a current selection of TV series waiting in the wings for the upcoming 2017-2018 television season.

1: 9-1-1 (FOX, mid-season)

Following the expected cancellation of Scream Queens, Ryan Murphy hasn't let go his association with FOX as both himself and Angela Bassett have teamed up for a mid-season show on the channel. The series will be a fast-paced exploration into the lives and careers of first responders – cops, paramedics, firefighters – the people who put their lives on the line to save others with Bassett herself taking on a leading role in the series. Whether or not this series will rule her out for the upcoming seventh season of American Horror Story, I'm not sure but here's hoping we'll see Angela in both shows.

Press Release: http://www.spoilertv.com/2017/05/fox-announces-2017-18-primetime-schedule.html

2: Black Lightning (CW, mid-season)

Adding to the CW's already packed DC TV roster, Black Lightning will also be making it's debut in early 2018. Starring Cress Williams in the title role, the series will focus on Jefferson Pierce, who retired from his superhero persona Black Lightning nine years ago, is forced to return when his daughter Jennifer (China Anne McClain), who is hellbent on justice and a star student, gets recruited by a local gang. Despite having the same producers and showrunners, the series will not be connected to the current Arrow universe, which is a pity as the trailer certainly impressed.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZpJeuXo2CY

3: Dynasty (CW, Wednesdays 9pm)

Another year, another reboot and following the likes of 90210 and Melrose Place, the CW are probably hoping their version of popular 80's soap Dynasty will be as successful as the former rather than the one and done of the latter (which I suspect is a fate that will befall this show). The trailer was a little better than expected, mainly due to wayward brother Steven Carrington (James Mackay) copping up with Sam Flores (Rafael De La Fuente) - a gay male version of the character Sammy Jo from the original series. The rest of the trailer sees a marriage between patriarch Blake Carrington (Grant Snow) and the scheming Cristal Flores (Nathalie Kelley) as well as a rivalry between the latter and daughter,  Fallon Carrington (Elizabeth Gillies). It looks okay but it feels like it should be on something like ABC rather than the CW if I'm being honest.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxacuu_vg8Y

4: Inhumans (ABC, Fridays 9pm)

Oh dear. This one really could be a non starter, couldn't it? First of all, like Once Upon A Time and Quantico, it's being dumped in the Friday night death slot as a precursor to Agent Of Shield's fifth season and there are only eight episodes. The trailer so far has only been a cryptic voice over of doom but at least the cast look with Anson Mount as Bolt, Iwan Rheon as Maximus, Serinda Swan as Medusa and Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon: to name a few. The first two episodes will get an IMAX cinema airing before their television debut in September.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEVDBBaH6wM

5: Krypton (Syfy, mid-season)

Um, is this really a prequel anyone wanted? I know both Gotham and Smallville have shown that prequels can work for a good amount seasons and be pretty compelling in their own right but seeing as both shows had characters we generally knew and cared about, it made watching them a little easier at times. Krypton on the other will mainly focus on Superman's grandfather, Seg El (Cameron Cuffe) and Lyta Zod (Georgina Campbell) in the early days of the planet's life. Produced by David S. Goyer, there was rumours that the series was meant to have a link to the current DCEU but it seems that this will be a standalone series. It looks decent from the trailer but I kind of feel that Supergirl has us covered at the moment.

Trailer Description: http://tvline.com/2017/04/18/krypton-trailer-superman-prequel-series-syfy/

6: Roseanne (ABC, mid-season)

You didn't think Will & Grace was going to be the only sitcom to get revived this season, right? Well, there's also Arrested Development getting a fifth season on Netflix but it seems that ABC will also be bringing back 90's sitcom Roseanne in 2018 with nearly all of the original cast returning to the series. Sarah Chalke will play a different character and Johnny Galecki hasn't been confirmed yet.

Press Release: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/roseanne-barr-reviving-roseanne-for-new-season-in-2018-w482626

7: Star Trek: Discovery (CBS/CBS All Access, tbc)

I know I highlighted this one last year when there were no cast members announced but with all the main players announced, Bryan Fuller stepping down and an increase from thirteen to fifteen episodes, it finally seems like we're on track here. Former The Walking Dead actress Sonequa Martin-Green takes on the role of USS Discovery officer Michael Burnham, the protagonist of the series along with Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs and Rainn Wilson to name a few. It seems now that the series will be set ten years prior to Star Trek: The Original Series. The trailer certainly impressed and here's hoping it fares a lot better than Enterprise did at times. UK viewers will be able to see the show courtesy of Netflix.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rj4inzcAKk

8: The Gifted (FOX, Mondays 9pm)

And now we've got another X-Men linked series here. Following Legion on FX, Fox will be airing The Gifted, starring Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker as a couple - Reed and Caitlin Strucker with two mutant children, Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lynd) and Andy (Percy Hynes White) whom they will do anything to protect from the government. The pilot episode is also directed by Bryan Singer, who serves as an executive producer to the series.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTzW9rMcbzk

9: The Orville (FOX, Thursdays 9pm)

When he's not lagging with both Family Guy and American Dad, Seth Mcfarlane is back on the live action front with this Star Trek (more like Galaxy Quest) inspired space series, this is a one-hour science fiction series set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel. Its crew, both human and alien, faces the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace…even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship. I have to admit it looks funny enough.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9sKeCE8V0

10: The X Files (FOX, mid-season)

Let's be honest - this one wasn't a shocker. While the tenth season wasn't the best (albeit an improvement on previous seasons) and a little too short for it's own good, it was however a success and proof that audiences still hungered for the truth and in particular, Mulder and Scully. With the 25th anniversary of the show looming in 2018, the show will return for an eleventh season of ten episodes and hopefully a strong resolution for that dicey cliffhanger we were left with last season.

Press Release: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-x-files/257640/x-files-season-11-set-for-midseason

11: Will & Grace (NBC, Thursdays 8pm)

Following it's successful Election special scene from last year, the show is back once again for twelve new episodes and even in it's own original-ish timeslot as well. To really get things into motion, NBC have released a musical themed trailer as Will, Jack and Karen all do their best to persuade Grace to embrace the return. While I felt the show had ended well enough back in 2006, I am actually looking forward to seeing the gang once again.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaZS9_69KF0

12: Young Sheldon (CBS, Mondays 8.30pm)

Did we really need a spin-off on a younger Sheldon Cooper of all characters? I mean, I like the character enough on The Big Bang Theory but I wasn't clamouring for a spin-off with him and I imagine others weren't either. The trailer for this prequel series sees the young genius, played by Iain Armitage as a nine year old in Texas dealing with his religious family and the pressures of school as well. The trailer was a little better than expected but again, it feels a little unnecessary as a series though. The show along with it's parent show will move to Thursdays during November though. Jim Parsons will also be involved with the series.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11zpOOYAXD4

There's a list of the potential big hitters for the next television season. Now we just have to wait for some UK transmissions and see how they fare.