The Monsters Are Gone For Now

It's been over a month since my last TV Jumble Blog, so here's a look at some of the stuff I've been watching over the last while.

Catch-22: This miniseries came to a satisfying conclusion as Yossarian's repeated attempts to get out of service saw him hiding out briefly in an Italian village before he finally managed to get one over on his superiors. The show has been a good vehicle for actor Christopher Abbott, who definitely should land some bigger roles after this one and while George Clooney wasn't quite as utilised as the adverts would've implied, he had some decent moments as the somewhat antagonist of the piece.

Jessica Jones: The MCU Netflix has finally come to an end and the last few episodes of this show were certainly a mixed bag. I do think Foolkiller was a decent choice for a main baddie but he was mostly in the shadow of Trish, who felt like she was largely character assassinated for her main plot this season. A part of me would've loved a fourth season of this show (same with Daredevil) but given the sluggishness in parts, perhaps it's a good thing that the Netflix era of Marvel shows have now come to an end. At least Disney+ will have the sense not to have too many episodes for their upcoming shows.

Orange Is The New Black: Watching the seventh and final season, it feels right that the show is ending. The first seven episodes seems to be a good mixture of stories with Piper adjusting to the outside world, Taystee getting her fight back, a change in leadership in the prison, Alex and Daya running their own hustles in Litchfield Max, Aleida getting sent back to prison, the ICE storyline involving Blanca and Maritza and the dementia plotline with Red. There's certainly plenty of interesting plots at the moment and I can't wait to see what the remaining six episodes will do to conclude the series.

Pennyworth: If Krypton was a prequel idea too far, then this show will either be a frustration or an intrigue for you or very likely, both. The first five episodes have seen Alfred Pennyworth (lead actor Jack Bannon doing his best Michael Caine impression) working with both Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, a few shadowy agencies looming in the background, a love interest dead and the old guard somewhat discarded but not totally gone. Paloma Faith hams it up a bit as Bet Sykes but she's arguably the best thing about the show that's fine but far from remarkable, though like Gotham it's penchant for gory violence is something to behold at times.

Stranger Things: I have absolutely loved the third season of this show and the more I think on it, the more I think it might be the show's best one yet. The second half was brilliant with it's individual team and even better when said teams banded together to save Hawkins yet again. It also had a much welcomed departure for Billy (even though this season did humanise him a little more) and perhaps Hopper. Nope, I don't believe Hopper is properly gone at all but damn if that letter scene with Eleven wasn't a teary moment. Then there's Robin, who was the best new character of the season, had a fabulous rapport with Steve and one of the best coming out scenes seen on recent television.  I'm assuming it's be 2021 before we get the fourth season of the show at the earliest.

Swamp Thing: It's a shame that this show has come to an end because the last few episodes really did up the ante big time with the main characters. I was hoping that maybe HBO Max would step in to save the series but it seems like this really was a one and done kind of show and that's a big shame. The cast had great chemistry, the horror element was fantastic and I would've liked to have seen Alec Holland go up against the Rot in a big way and even seen a formation of Justice League Dark. Alas, these things won't happen now.

The Good Place: I've really enjoyed the second season and after the events of this finale, I'm hoping that yet again, E4 don't wait too long to air the third season of the show. Sending the characters back to Earth is certainly an interesting move, even if the focus has initially been on Eleanor and her failed attempts to better herself as a person. I have also enjoyed the evolution of Michael and Janet's characters, the introduction of Hydrogen, the Tahani/Jason/Janet triangle and even Chidi making the odd assertive move here and there.

- Both Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford will be departing Legends Of Tomorrow midway through it's fifth season. Ramona Young will also be leaving the series.
- Krypton has been cancelled after two seasons by SyFy and the station won't be going ahead with their plans for a Lobo spin-off.
- Disney+ will be doing shows for She Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight as well as the five shows they previously announced.
- Mitch Pileggi has joined the cast of American Horror Story: 1984
- The third season of American Crime Story, entitled Impeachment will air in September 2020 on FX and will focus on the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal with Sarah Paulson,  Beanie Feldstein, and Annaleigh Ashford announced as main cast members.
- The 100 will end with seven seasons on the CW.
- Now Apocalypse has been cancelled after one season on Starz.
- Viola Davis will play Michelle Obama for Showtime's First Ladies show.
- The L Word: Generation Q will premiere in December on Showtime while the NBC streaming service will air the reboot of Queer As Folk.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the pilot for FOX series, Other People's Houses.

Damnit Janet

A look into some of the more recent shows I've been watching.

Catch-22: Two thirds into this enjoyable mini-series and the tension has certainly been ramped up as we've seen a few characters fall in love, while others have died and Yossarian's ever desperate attempts to go home have been usurped at every turn and that's in spite of his own attempts to play the system at it's own game. With two episodes left to go, I'm hoping this series can end on a high note and that we see Christopher Abbott in more high profile gigs as he's been great in this miniseries.

Jessica Jones: A few episodes of slightly plodding along and we're finally getting a little into the good stuff. While Sallinger isn't quite as effective as Kilgrave, he has managed to make himself into a credible enough threat with his attacks on Erik and Dorothy, resulting in the latter's death. The last few episodes have also ironed things out a little with Jessica and Trish, brought Malcolm and Hogarth a little into the main story as well as given us some snarky one liners from Gillian but I do wonder if this final season shouldn't have been a bit shortened as well, episode wise.

Stranger Things: It's 1985 and we're back in Hawkins for this show's third year and having watched the first four episodes, I am loving this season. Let's see - Robin is a great addition to the season and her scenes with Steve, Dustin and Erica are a delight, Billy is now a credible antagonist given that the Mind Flayer has possessed him, Eleven and Max's friendship is great, Will, Lucas and Mike work well together even if Will feels like he's being left behind, we've had some great scenes with Joyce and Hopper, the new locations are great and even the Nancy/Jonathan scenes are improving a little bit. The only thing the remaining episodes need to do is bring all the main characters and stories together and we're good.

Swamp Thing: It's still a massive shame that this show got cancelled, but at least the series is slacking off though. The last two episodes really have highlighted what an absolute bastard Avery truly is as a character that the team up of Maria and Lucilia should've been a bit more obvious in retrospect. I've also liked the brief reprise of Alec Holland and his battle to save Abby from the Rot while getting a pretty good origin story for the Blue Devil to boot. I'm really hoping this show might get a second chance somewhere else. Hint, hint, HBO.

The Good Place: An episode solely focused on Michael and Janet was always going to be a highlight for me and this one did not disappoint. It was nice to get an origin story on how Michael stole a Janet from the Good Place and the disastrous effects of her lying. I also quite liked that the show hasn't forgotten her relationship with Jason and how she really feels about him and Tahani while Chidi and Eleanor had amusing side roles in this episode. Overall, I'm enjoying the second season to the show quite a lot.

- Both Colin Donnell and Josh Segarra will return for Arrow's final season while Katherine McNamara has been upgraded to a regular.
- Olivia Swann will be a regular for Legends Of Tomorrow's fifth season, due to air in 2020 on the CW. Astra will serve as the main antagonist for the next season.
- Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Dynevor, Julie Andrews are some of the names attached to Shonda Rhimes Bridgerton adaptation for Netflix due in 2020.
- Euphoria has been renewed for a second season by HBO. UK viewers will be able to see the series on SkyAtlantic next month.
- The Walking Dead are casting a love interest from the comics that may also result in the return of Maggie.
- How To Get Away With Murder's sixth season will be it's last.
- Pose has been renewed for a third season.
- JA Bayona will direct the first two episodes of Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings series.
- Katherine Heigl will star in Netflix series Firefly Lane as well as appearing in the final season of Suits.
- Carrie Ann Moss has joined the second season of Tell Me A Story. Both Paul Wesley and Danielle Campbell will return to the show as different characters.

Into The Swamp We Go

Last blog of the month and a look at some of the other shows I've been watching.

Catch-22: The latest adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel had it's run on Hulu over a month ago but so far, Channel 4 have aired the first two episodes of this six part series and it's been rather enjoyable. Christopher Abbott has been a good take on Yossarian, a man desperate to get out of his missions while backed up with the likes of George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, Hugh Laurie and Lewis Pullman in various roles. The pacing has been decent enough with a few of the novel's more sexist material toned down a little bit for this current take. It'll be interesting to see how the remaining four episodes for this miniseries play out.

Jessica Jones: We're into final season territory and this really does mark the end of Netflix's era with Marvel property but there's always Disney+ for your next Marvel streaming fix in the next couple of months. The first four episodes of this show's third season still suffers from slow pacing and the most frustrating character transition for Trish as well as Malcolm seeming a bit aimless in his new job but on the other hand, both Jessica and Hogarth are getting love interests, Erik is one of the better male additions to the show with his unique ability and I'm hoping the Foolkiller main baddie will be a lot better than what we got last season. Saying that though, pick up the pace, show.

Swamp Thing: Following the announcement of the show's cancellation after it's first episode, I did wonder if I should've bothered continuing with the show. Right now, I'm glad I have as the main cast have been great and along with our titular creature the show has managed to introduce the likes of Jason Woodrue, Madame Xanadu, Blue Devil and Phantom Stranger with relative ease while upping the main mystery, making the supporting characters interesting enough, using flashbacks wisely and building the connection between Abby and Alec rather well. It's just a shame that once the remaining five episodes have aired, that's our lot with this one.

The Good Place: Recently it was confirmed that this show's upcoming fourth season will be it's last one. I however, have only just begun to watch the second season on E4 and the game has certainly been changed up a bit with Michael forced to work with the four people he has enjoyed torturing in order to save himself from a worse fate than death. I do like that the show didn't waste too much in having Eleanor and company figure out again what was happening to them while Vicky managed to usurp Michael for power over the Bad Place. It'll be fun to see how this grudging alliance with Michael and Eleanor/Tahani/Chidi/Jason over the remaining episodes of the season.

- Lucifer has been renewed for a fifth and final season for Netflix.
- Pop have picked up One Day At A Time for a fourth season, following Netflix's cancellation of the show.
- Scream's third season, which has six episodes will air for three nights in double bills on VH1 from July 8th. It also has the title of Resurrection.
- Lena Headey will lead upcoming Showtime series, Rita, playing the title character.
- Current episode for CW DC show are Arrow with 10 episodes, The Flash with 22 episodes, Supergirl with 20 episodes, Legends Of Tomorrow with 15 episodes and Batwoman for 13 episodes for now.
- CBS All Access's The Stand reboot could feature Whoopi Goldberg, James Marsden and Amber Heard.
- Jennifer Morrison has a recurring role in This Is Us upcoming fourth season.
- The CW will be recasting The Lost Boys although Medalion Rahimi and Dakota Shapiro will remain on board.
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has signed up for upcoming FX pilot, Gone Hollywood.
- Michael Gladis, Lorenza Izzo, Adam Rodriguez, Thomas Kretschmann, Dominic Sherwood and Ethan Peck have all signed up for Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels.

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.

Mommy's Home Again

It's been several weeks since I've did and to give you guys a deserved break from DC related content, here's a catch up of some things I've been watching.

Jessica Jones: I know I'm several months behind here (and I'm still debating whether or not to bother with Luke Cage and Iron Fist's seconds seasons), but six episodes in, I have to admit that while this season isn't quite as gripping as the first season, it's not actually bad either. The reveal of this season's baddie being Jessica's mother might have been obvious but can we applaud the show for not clinging onto Kilgrave though? Other than that, both Trish and Jeri are getting darker arcs, Malcolm is still the best written male character on the show, Oscar makes for some decent guy candy and the IGH stuff is interesting enough. I just have another seven episodes to go.

Orange Is The New Black: Only started this last week, so I've got a bit to go here but so far, not too bad. The opening episode was a little too Suzanne focused for my liking (have slightly gone off the character a bit) and there are several characters that I know won't be appearing this season, which disappoints me but some of the newbies have promise like Badison and Daddy I guess. I also like the ginger officer, Alverez who seems like one of the nicer guards in Max but the first two episodes were very much treading water as some of our main characters adjust to their new surroundings. Like I'm going to have to with the remainder of this season to catch up.

Sharp Objects: This year's Big Little Lies if we're being honest. Or the one where Lois Lane ventured into something more grimdark than a Zack Snyder movie (kidding: I do like the guy). Yeah, everything about this mini-series, starring Amy Adams and spearheaded by Marti Noxon (who also has UnReal and Dietland on her roster) virtually screams "gimme a freaking Emmy" as the first five episodes have had alcoholic journalist Camille come back to her old stomping ground to help investigate the murders of several girls while dealing with her insufferable family (Patricia Clarkson being gold star levels of irritation as Camille's drippy mother Adora) while also battling personal demons and an attraction to a hot detective named Willis (Chris Messina). Most of the performances are good but a part of me can't shake the feeling that this would've worked with less episodes or as a two hour movie for HBO rather than an eight episode series.

Will & Grace: Yeah, it's been months since I've actually commented on this one and with Comedy Central actually airing Season 9 for UK viewers (and Season 10 back on NBC next month) but the last few episodes have been fun to watch. The show hasn't been as addictive as it was first time around but it has at least felt consistent to what it was before and it's been rather nice to dip back into that world. I did love the handling of Grace's mother's death and even Jack's relationship with Officer Drew was nice to see unfold. The Karen/Stan/Malcolm triangle didn't really do too much for me, though it was amusing in spades and we did have the Will/Michael thing along with a fun nod to Jennifer Lopez's now cancelled show, Shades Of Blue.

- Showtime are producing a miniseries on actress Hedy Lamarr with Gal Gadot earmarked for the leading role.
- David Schwimmer will be appearing as a love interest for Grace in the upcoming tenth season of Will & Grace.
- Homeland's upcoming eighth season will be it's final season.
- Rhona Mitra has been cast as Mercy Graves for Supergirl's fourth season along with Robert Glover as her brother, Otis.
- Star Trek fans will soon have a series focusing on Patrick Stewart's Jean Luc Picard to look forward to.
- Toby Onwumere has been cast as a love interest for Jamal for the upcoming fifth season of Empire.
- Kiana Madeira will recur in The Flash's fifth season as a female version of the character, Spin.
- Paul Rudd will star in clone comedy series, Living With Yourself for Netflix.
- Jovian Wade will star as Cyborg for the upcoming Doom Patrol series on DC Universe.
- Shameless's upcoming ninth season will be split in half and has an extended episode run.

How About A Smile?

It's been over a month since I've last done a TV jumble blog and for my last hit in this month, here's one for you.

Agent Carter: Season 2 of the not exactly a rating juggernaut but still good show has arrived and while UK viewers are only an episode or two behind, things have gotten off to a promising enough start. The action has moved to LA this time around with most of the first season cast back and the rapport between Peggy and Jarvis is as wonderful as ever (we even met the latter's wife). The main storyline in the first episode, surrounding a mystery mystery worked pretty well and it does seem like there's an interesting arc being set up for the rest of the season as well.

Beowulf: You wait ages for ITV to do some more genre television and then all of a sudden, you've got two of them in less than a few weeks from each other. Unfortunately, just like Jekyll & Hyde, it does look like this is going to be a one and done only series, given the lacklustre ratings for it. It's a shame in a way because while it did seem a little too heavily influenced by Game Of Thrones (the title sequence practically rips off the HBO hit), I found the opening episode enjoyable enough. I'll admit I haven't seen subsequent episodes so I don't know if things took an upturn, quality wise or the very opposite. I do hope that if this show does get axed (and I'll be surprised if it doesn't) that ITV aren't discouraged from trying more genre drama though.

Jessica Jones: Okay, I finished this show up a few weeks ago and I can honestly say that it is without a doubt, it's Marvel's best TV offering at the moment (or streaming offering, whatever). The second half of the first season gave some brilliant insight into all of the characters, truly upped the ante between Jessica and Kilgrave, alluded towards Luke Cage's inevitable solo show and even showed some great character growth for both Malcolm and Trish as Kilgrave caused a lot of carnage before being taken out of the question. If there was a weak point, it usually involved Simpson but even he couldn't deter the overall excellence of this show. Thank goodness it's coming back for seconds.

Supergirl: With the second half of this season yet to air on Sky1 (along with Arrow, The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow), the first three returning episodes were certainly excellent to watch. While I thought the show copped out a bit with Cat learning about Kara and Supergirl being the same person and then having her tricked into thinking she was wrong, I did like the introduction of her other son, Adam and the episode that focused on Winn's Toyman father was brilliant too. However the best bits were the focus on Martian Manhunter/Hank's harrowing backstory and Maxwell becoming more than aware of Supergirl's identity, making him into a bigger problem than he had been in previous episodes.

The X-Files: And it's back. Fourteen years since the last series (and eight since the second movie), the show has returned to TV screens and I have to admit, I didn't realise how much I had actually missed seeing Mulder and Scully. While I enjoyed the show when it was on the air, I wasn't as religious about watching it as I had been with other shows but The X-Files has always been a classic series and one that's heavily influenced so many modern shows and with 20 million viewers returning to catch up with the FBI's most infamous of agents, I bet FOX will be desperate to get Chris Carter, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson back for more episodes. The first two episodes themselves felt both like a reboot for the series and an actual continuation from where things had last left off with Mulder and Scully investigating more alien and government conspiracy, brooding about their son William and encountering talk show hosts like Tad O'Malley (Joel McHale) for starters. I know the episodes generated some mixed reviews but I honestly thought they were a return to form compared to some of the shakier seasons and hopefully the remaining four will also deliver as well as the opening two did.

- Jada Pinkett Smith will be reprising her role as Fish Mooney for multiple episodes in Gotham's second season. The second half of the season has title of Wrath Of The Villains.
- UK viewers can catch The X-Files, Mondays 9pm from February 8th on Channel 5.
- American Horror Story's sixth season will not be focusing on Slender Man despite recent rumours.
- Vixen will appear in episode 15 of Arrow's fourth season. Stephen Amell will play an older version of Green Arrow in an upcoming Legends Of Tomorrow episode.
- Gilmore Girls is officially coming back for an eighth season, courtesy of Netflix with the original cast.
- Mike Colter revealed that Iron Fist has been cast. A Punisher spin-off is also being considered by Netflix ahead of the character's appearance in the second season of Daredevil.
- Ricky Whittle has been cast in the lead role of Shadow for Starz's upcoming adaptation of American Gods.
- Corey Hawkins and Miranda Otto have been cast as the leads for 24: Legacy.

Festive Treats & Finales

With Christmas being something of a hit and miss period for new stuff, I thought I'd look at three highlights and some continued viewing of a certain Netflix series as well.

And Then There Were None: And when the BBC weren't finding a new way to add another variation of Dickens on their Christmas schedules, they also went for another adaptation of a certain Agatha Christie classic. Roping in the talents of former EastEnders scribe, Sarah Phelps and the likes of Aidan Turner, Sam O'Neill and Burn Gorman to name a few, this three part adaptation certainly went down a treat with Phelps sticking faithfully enough to the source material while differentiating it enough from previous versions. Definitely one of the highlights from the last week.

Downton Abbey: Six series, 52 episodes and five Christmas specials and it was finally time for ITV to say goodbye to their biggest hit in the last decade. While the writing for later series have had a hit and miss quality to them, this was a satisfying final episode for the long running show. Edith finally got her happy ending as did Thomas and the show signalled at a rather positive future for the majority of the characters at the same time. I have no doubt in the next few years that a prequel series or a big screen movie for the main show will happen but for now, this was a lovely farewell to the show.

Jessica Jones: In 2015, I watched seven out of thirteen episodes for this show with the intention of viewing the remaining six within the first half of January. Since the last time I blogged about the show, the episodes I've seen have truly delivered. Seeing flashbacks to Jessica's sort of superhero days and first meeting with Kilgrave were exciting along with Malcolm cleaning up his act, meeting Trish's mother and of course, Kilgrave getting his claws into Jessica and Luke finding out what really happened to his wife. This show is well and truly delivering on every level.

Mrs Brown's Boys: With this series contracted for Christmas and New Year specials until 2020, you'd kind of hope at some point another series (between movies and stage productions) would actually surface. The latest Christmas special introduced Mark's old flame Bubbles to be a thorn in Betty's side, mildly touched on sexual harassment with Cathy and her female boss as well as some funny moments involving Agnes and Winnie while this year's Christmas tree could literally pack a punch. Overall a fun episode but maybe it's time for another series instead just specials, yeah?

Scream Queens: I reviewed this show for nine episodes before my patience got the better of me and I had to detach myself away from it. I did however catch up with the finale and it turns out that the killer was a fairly predictable choice but on the plus side, the Chanels got some appropriate comeuppances and they didn't kill off Jamie Lee Curtis. That being said, considering how much of a tonal mess the show was and that ratings weren't exciting glowing, will FOX either axe the show for good or give it a pity renewal? I know which one I'd do to be honest.

A Different Kind Of Hero

This will probably be my penultimate TV jumble blog for 2015 and it's a bit of a superhero themed one (minus one show possibly) so here goes ....

Arrow: Well, that episode certainly gave us a version of Little Drummer Boy we're unlikely to forget, right? Oh and Felicity might be dead thanks to Damien Darhk, except I get the distinct impression that she won't be but the show needs it's dosage of Oliver angst to keep things ticking over though. I did like the mid season finale and Damien has certainly been a much more interesting villain than Ras turned out to be. Then there was also the previous episode which crossed over with The Flash and served to set up Vandal Savage/Hawkman/Hawkgirl for Legends Of Tomorrow. That one I liked a little more to be honest.

Jessica Jones: It finally debuted after months of hype and I decided to watch most of this Marvel show quicker than I did with Daredevil. So far, I've seen four episodes but what I've seen, I've pretty much enjoyed to be honest. Krysten Ritter has been perfect as the caustic former superhero while David Tennant has provided an all too real sense of menace to Kilgrave. The detective noir vibe has certainly worked in the show's favour and the supporting characters with Trish, Luke Cage and Hogarth have also worked really well so far. Definitely a must see.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: UK viewers will be delighted to know this airs on E4 in January but in the US, it recently finished up and the last few episodes have been great. For fans of Fitz and Simmons, there's been plenty to admire and the escalating feud with both Coulson and Ward certainly took a more interesting than expected turn. It'll be interesting to see how the show moves forward following the note it ended on but it should make for a very watchable second half.

Once Upon A Time: Last few episodes have been a bit of a bust. The Emma/Hook centred Broken Hearts was one of the worst episodes the show has done but things did pick up slightly with the mid season finale finishing the Dark One plot (though not Camelot it seems) and bringing in the Underworld. There was also some entertainment with Regina finding a way to get Zelena out of the picture and hopefully when the show returns in March, the pacing will be a bit better.

Supergirl: Continuing to fly the flag for great superheroes, this show has gotten better and better to watch and the mid season finale was certainly an interesting note to end on. Astra's been a great antagonist all season long and this episode added some needed grey area to the character. Coupled with the arrival of Non, Hank's secret identity revealed to Alex and Cat working out that Kara's Supergirl, I can't wait for the show to return next year.

The Flash: First of all, that little nod to Batman: The Animated Series episode Christmas With The Joker was one of the best things ever. Then there was the team up of Captain Cold (before he got other ideas), the Trickster (minus junior this time) and Weather Wizard to give Barry something of a danger filled Christmas. This show continues to hit it out of the ballpark and between giving Patty more of an edge, having Harrison at ransom to Zoom and introducing Wally West, the ante on this show keeps getting upped and it's wonderful to watch. As for the Arrow/Legends Of Tomorrow episode, that was another gem too. Vandal Savage is a delightfully theatrical villain, isn't he?

- Megalyn Echikunwoke will be reprising her role as Vixen for the second half of Arrow's fourth season. She'll first appear in episode 14.
- Matt Nable will reprise his role as Ras Al Ghul for Legends Of Tomorrow. Sky1 have the rights for the upcoming series.
- Gotham will be adding Melinda Clarke, Michael Bowen and Lori Petty for the second half of Season 2.
- Teri Reeves will recur in the second half of Once Upon A Time an older, warrior version of Dorothy Gale.
- Sarah Paulson will reprise her role of Billie Dean Howard for the season finale of American Horror Story: Hotel.
- Channel 5 will air the new series of The X Files. 5* will air Heroes: Reborn.
- Homeland and The Affair have been renewed for further seasons by Showtime.
- Adam Stafford has been cast as Geomancer for the second half of The Flash's second season.