Finale Rundown

So, I've got a few shows I seriously need to catch up with but before I do, here's a rundown of some of the recent genre finales I've watched.

Arrow: This season has been very hit and miss in parts but on the plus side, at least we're finally rid of Guggenheim and Mericle and with any luck, a sense of cohesion and back to basics will benefit the next season. Finale wise, it was nice to see Sara back briefly, Laurel continuing her potential to being redeeming and even the newbies stepping up a bit to help Oliver and company. Less pleasant was Oliver heading to jail, being outed as the Green Arrow and the ridiculous to keep Ricardo alive for next season. Kill him off early in Season Seven please.

Once Upon A Time: I don't think it's a controversial opinion to say that this show probably should've ended in 2017. Season Seven tried its best to breathe new life into it but the reboot was too little too late for most fans and the central romance with Henry and Jacinda ultimately left viewers cold. It's not surprising then in the last few episodes, the romance with Alice and Robyn generated more focus as both Gothel and Facilier's storylines came to middling conclusions while a Wish Realm Rumple was wheeled out one last time. The best moment though was seeing Emma, Hook, Snow, Charming and Zelena back in the series finale where Regina got her happy ending. Truthfully, it was a better series finale than I expected it to be.

Supergirl: Like Arrow, this season has been largely hit and miss and the last few episodes seem to have been slowly dragging out the Reign storyline where Sam rather predictably survived and left town with Ruby for good measure. Actually the finale really was a clearing of the decks with Winn, Mon El, J'onn, M'yrnn all exited while more conflict between Lena and Kara was being set up for next season along with a clear adaptation of the Red Son arc as well.  Alex's storyline about wanting to be a mother has been somewhat boring to watch and Alura's return while nice, should've felt bigger along with Argo's survival as well. Hopefully next season will be better focused.

The Flash: Somewhat a better season than either Arrow or Supergirl but not without it's problems as well. Still though, the Thinker turned out to be the most engaging main antagonist since Reverse Flash in the first season and his defeat with the team relying on Marlize for help was pretty satisfying. It was also nice to see Wally reappear for the finale and I even didn't mind Ralph being saved as well. As for Nora, well she's going to be an interesting addition next season. How are Barry and Iris going to deal with their grown up future daughter and how long will we have to wait before Caitlin becomes Killer Frost again?

- Despite FOX cancelling both shows, both Brooklyn Nine Nine and Lucifer will return for both sixth and fourth season respectively. The former being snapped up by NBC and the latter by Netflix.
- Jeremy Jordan will be recurring in Supergirl's fourth season as Winn while Chris Wood and Odette Annable will not be returning for the time being. Jesse Rath will be a regular as Brainiac 5 while new characters such as Nia Nal (the show's first trans character), Chester Green, Ben and Colonel Hadley are being added to the new season.
- Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer and Jessica Parker Kennedy will be returning as regulars for Season 5 of The Flash.
- Keiynan Lonsdale will not be a regular for either The Flash or Legends Of Tomorrow next season. The latter show will be introducing Nate's father and a new female character named Ali.
-  Richard Flood will be a regular for the ninth season of Shameless US.
- Andrew Lincoln will be departing The Walking Dead during it's ninth season.
- The Murder House/Coven crossover will be happening in this season of American Horror Story with some old favourites returning as well.
- Gotham's final season will begin filming next season, now rumoured to be 10 episodes, though FOX have yet to confirm that.
- Tyler Posey will be playing a love interest for Avan Jogia's character in upcoming Starz series, Now Apocalypse.
- While Star Trek: Discovery is going through another showrunner change, there are now rumours that more spin-offs are on the way.

Festivities In March

A brief rundown on some of the show I've caught in the last few weeks and yes, there's some I do need to catch up with as well.

Arrow: A mixed bag of events here. To get the negative out of the way, I really don't care a great deal for Dragon being the main antagonist for the remainder of the season as he's a (so far) pretty cardboard villain to watch and the less said about the newbies acting like spoiled brats and Diggle wanting to be the Green Arrow, the better to be honest. On the other hand, I am enjoying the possible redemption arc with Black Siren and the returns of both Roy and Nyssa in the last few episodes to tie in with Thea's departure. That character will be missed.

Black Lightning: I'm about two episodes behind (will catch up within the next week or two) but I'm slightly losing interest with the show. The most promising villain they had with Lady Eve (who genuinely exuded menace) was killed off a bit too abruptly along with Tori, a character who also had promised and Lala, who I don't care about is back for whatever reason. I'm still not really compelled by Tobias as a baddie and Lynn does nothing really interesting either. On the other hand, Gambi has had his moments, I've enjoyed the Jefferson/Anissa teaming up and Jennifer discovering her own powers has been neat.

Once Upon A Time: So far not really a spectacular return considering we're into the last ever batch of episodes. A few backstories for Facilier, Naveen, Alice and Robyn aside, there doesn't seem to be a huge amount that's really happening. Even Victoria dying, Gothel building her cult and a mystery killer bumping off witches hasn't done much to ignite excitement here. Henry and Jacinda are still a lifeless couple and it's hard to get too invested in Regina/Facilier either, even if the latter is a more engaging antagonist than Gothel. The show seriously needs to pick up in it's remaining episodes.

The Flash: I've been liking the Thinker storyline this season but credit given where it's due, even the episodes that haven't focused on the guy and his constant body jacking have been enjoyable as well. The emotionally charged Enter Flashtime was a series highlight along with the following episode where Iris had Barry's abilities and made for a pretty awesome hero herself. Of course there has been some niggling bits with there being no further explanation for Cecile's current mind reading and Ralph being somewhat annoying and brooding in parts.

Will & Grace: This revival so far has been a lot of fun to watch and each episode has certainly proved that the show can work yet again, which is a relief. In the last few episodes we've a Victorian Christmas themed special, the funeral for Rosario (who I do miss seeing on the show), the introduction of Jack's grandson, the revived rivalry with Karen and Leslie, Grace meeting Leo again and even Will changing careers and dating younger guys for a bit. No wonder NBC seem more than happy to keep renewing this show, despite Season 9 not finishing airing yet.

- Netflix have renewed Queer Eye For The Straight Guy for a second season, which will be released later in the year.
- Will & Grace has been renewed for both tenth and eleventh seasons by NBC. Following it's huge ratings, ABC have also renewed Roseanne for an eleventh season while it's tenth one has started airing.
- Gotham will be tackling the No Man's Land arc for it's finale. E4 have the rights to the fourth season, airing from April 10th.
- Caity Lotz will be appearing in the sixth season finale of Arrow. Colin Donnell will appear in the 21st episode of the season.
- Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Emilie De Ravin, Sean Maguire are among the many returns for Once Upon A Time's series finale.
- The Librarians has been cancelled after four seasons by TNT.
- Tobias Menzies will be succeeding Matt Smith as Prince Philip for the third and fourth seasons of The Crown.
- Humans third season will air on Channel 4 from May and on AMC from June 5th.

Reign Sort Of Supreme

My last TV jumble blog (probably) for the year and a look into some of the show I've been watching in the last few weeks.

Arrow: To be fair, this season has been mostly good and now that Cayden James has made himself known and seems to be assembling his own little gang of semi-baddies, it does look like he'll be a proper threat for the second half of the season. However there are still some problems with the show - the overt Olicity pandering (that reception scene was 10 minutes too long), the fact that Curtis, Dinah and Rene do not work as characters so them abandoning Team Arrow doesn't really work and the show not knowing what to do with Thea and even Diggle to a point. We could also do with a bit more of Black Siren too.

Once Upon A Time: This season still feels like it's lacking without most of the older cast but admittedly, things have taken a turn for the better. Having Gothel revealed as the Big Bad instead of Victoria along with Drizella's own scheming machinations has done wonders for the last few episodes along with a decent backstory for Rapunzel and introduction of Nick to add to the guy candy of the show as well as Zelena's welcomed return, not to mention a surprising love story between Alice and Robin. Other than that though, the show still can't make the Henry/Jacinda romance compelling while Tiana needs a better role than "supportive" best friend but at least more characters are waking up and Anastasia might be Gothel's downfall when the show returns in March.

Stranger Things: Last time, I mentioned this show, I had just watched the first episode of the second season. Since then, I've finished the entire season and I have to admit, it was just as great as the first year. It was nice to see Will get more screen time, even if the poor kid was playing host to a dangerous creature while Max and Bob turned out to be brilliant additions to the show (poor Bob). It was also nice to see Steve step up this season along with Dustin and Lucas getting bigger roles and Mike and Eleven's reunion at the end. Unlike some fans, I also enjoyed seeing the latter meet her sister for that one episode and I'm intrigued to see where the show will go when it comes back next season.

Supergirl: Outside of the crossover and angst, there hasn't been too much that's really advanced this season. We've had Kara having to deal with Mon El returning with new wife, Imra in tow along with Alex reeling from Maggie's departure but the Reign storyline itself has been more of a slow build until the character fully came into form for the mid-season finale to beat the crap out of Supergirl. Samantha's transition into Reign isn't that different from Smallville's depiction of Doomsday back in it's eighth season but it's been a decent enough trip. Saying that though, the show needs to give the likes of Wynn, Lena and Jimmy better material and Morgan Edge could do with being slightly less one dimensional as a secondary antagonist.

The Flash: Can I say that not having a speedster as the main villain has done this show the world of good? Clifford DeVoe and his wife have been the best and nuanced baddies we've had in a while and now that one of them has jumped bodies and framed Barry for murder, things really have spiced up for the second half of the season.Outside of that, Ralph has been a decent comedy character for the team, Amunet's been a fun antagonist for Caitlin and I've enjoyed Iris being the leader of the team as well though it does seem like the show seems to have no idea what to do with Wally this season.

- BBCAmerica have cancelled Dirk Gently after two seasons.
- Legends Of Tomorrow will air Mondays 8pm from February, Supergirl will return in April in it's old slot, though some episodes will air in January.
- UK/Irish viewers will be able to watch Black Lightning on Netflix next month.
- NBC are planning to revive The Office (why?) for the 2018-2019 TV season.
- James D'Arcy has a recurring role in the seventh season of Homeland.
- Jamie Murray will be playing a vampire with connections to Elijah in the final season of The Originals.
- Netflix will be doing the dark reboot of Sabrina.
- Krypton will air on SyFy from March. Full date to be confirmed though.

Upside Down Again

And here's a look at some of the shows I've been catching up with in the last few weeks.

Arrow: The first four episodes of the show have been a bit. Aside from the premiere delving into the fallout of the previous finale's explosive ending, I have not missed the flashbacks and cutting away from them has actually helped the show so far. Saying that, I'm not taken with either Rene or Dinah this season, am wary about the return of Olicity but on the other hand, Michael Emerson is already great as Cayden James, the Oliver/William scenes have been decent and Black Siren is far more entertaining to watch than Diggle posing as the Green Arrow or the not so newbies. Swings and roundabouts really.

Once Upon A Time: Five episodes into the latest season and it's clear to me the show ended back in May and what we've got is a very hit miss spin-off in it's place. Getting the negatives out of the way first: Henry/Jacinda's epic romance is a damp squib with neither being well written and Victoria is a pretty poor villain and I miss the gang who are gone, while the ones who've stayed seemed a little lost in this 'requel' to be honest. On the other hand though, the Witch is an interesting would be villain while Tiana, Alice and Drizella are better than expected character but this new curse and location is already losing momentum and we're not even half way into the season, which is a worrying sign. This season hasn't been terrible but it's undeniably lacking something though.

Stranger Things: Quick note - I have only watched the first episode of Season 2 so far and between the controversies the show is generating both on and off the camera and being swamped with other shows, I might take my time with this one. Anyways one episode in and things are off to an interesting enough start. We've got new characters like Max, Bob and Billy who seem intriguing enough, the show didn't waste time in reintroducing Eleven into the mix and Will's nightmare about his time in the Upside Down world are being dealt with well enough on screen. So far, a very good start to the new season.

Supergirl: I have to admit the first two episodes this season were okay while episodes 3 and 4, the former exploring J'onn and introducing his father with the latter dealing with a faith cult were stronger efforts. The plus side to this season so far has been the slow introduction of Samantha's Reign arc (though less Ruby would be nice) and Kara snapping out of her Mon El shaped funk for a bit while the imminent Alex/Maggie break up has been a bit more wearing to be honest. Slightly the weakest of the returning CW DC shows so far but yay to more of Lena though.

The Flash: So far, there are a few things really working in this season's favour. First of all, not having a speedster antagonist was really overdue and The Thinker is working out well, despite having yet to properly interact with Barry while the overall lighter tone has been a good thing along with Barry/Iris getting their own issues out of the way first. We've also had Wally exit and Ralph added into the mix as well as Jekyll & Hyde aspect to Caitlin's Killer Frost and more of Cisco/Gypsy in the mix with some decent guest baddies. I'm waiting for something really big to happen yet but other than that, this is an improvement on last season.

- Nathan Parson has been cast as a character named Nick for an arc in Once Upon A Time. We will also be meeting an older version of Robin in later episodes.
- Peyton List will be replacing Maggie Geha as Poison Ivy in the second half of Gotham's fourth season.
- Wentworth Miller is currently filming his final episodes for both Legends Of Tomorrow and The Flash.
- Jesse Rath has been cast as Brainiac 5 for Supergirl. Blake Ritson will also play Brainiac for Krypton.
- Grey's Anatomy's 300th episode will feature Izzie "in spirit".
- Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a second season. CBS All Access have also expressed interest in reviving The Twilight Zone for their streaming service.
- Tatiana Maslany, Evan Peters and James Van Der Beek have been cast for Ryan Murphy's 80's LGBT series, Pose, which is currently filming.
- A series adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings could be happening with Amazon.
- FOX have cancelled Wayward Pines after two seasons.
- FOX are also developing a female led 24 spin off series.

SDCC 2017 - Highlights Part 1

It was that time of year again. Last week, San Diego Comic Con was all over the press and here are some of the highlights of the events, spread out on two blog entries.

Doctor Who: In the past, this would've been given a blog to itself but I don't think I had enough to justify that this time around. The panel this year comprised of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss along with outgoing stars Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas and Michelle Gomez and it was certainly an emotional panel as the focus was rightly on the 12th Doctor's era, resulting in Peter himself getting a much deserved round of applause from the audience. While there was some brief discussion from various Whoverse people surrounding Jodie Whittaker's casting as the 13th Doctor, the focus was primarily on the current era. A minute long trailer was released for the Christmas special, now titled Twice Upon A Time, which sees both the 12th and 1st Doctors (latter played by David Bradley) dealing with time being wrecked once again. The special will also see the return of Pearl Mackie's Bill Potts for the last time on the show as well as Lily Travers taking on the role of 60's companion, Polly Wright (the role played by Anneke Wills) previous while Mark Gatiss will be playing a character named the Captain along with Toby Whithouse as a German soldier during the WW1 setting. Unlike last year's entry, this one does look a little more Christmassy by comparison. You can watch the trailer for it here ....

Christmas 2017 Promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCkDXegqjR0

American Horror Story: The show is back yet again, for a seventh season, which now has the subtitle of Cult and with it, at least two scary-ish promos involving sinister looking clowns to boot. Over the last few days, it was confirmed that the show would be moving to Tuesdays and airing from September 5th. On top of that, we also learned that this season will now have eleven episodes and that Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters characters are named Ally and Kai, who have "a love story for the ages" while both Mare Winningham and France Conroy will be back this season along with Lena Dunham guest starring in an episode. Oh and Twisty the Clown from Freak Show too.

AHS: Cult Promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v0ISjTugh4

Star Trek: Discovery: Another show given quite the push over the weekend with Netflix and CBS releasing another trailer for the prequel series. I've seen a lot of debate surrounding the fact that this is a prequel (that and the new looking Klingons) and while I'll admit that it feels unnecessary after Enterprise, the second trailer sold me more to the series than the first one did (and I quite liked the first one). It's also come to my attention that Anthony Rapp's character, Lt Stamets will also be in a relationship with Wilson Cruz's Dr. Hugh Culber, the Starship Discovery's medical officer. US viewers will be able to see the show on Sundays from September 24th with UK viewers getting it the very next day on Netflix.

Star Trek: Discovery Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWnYtyNKPsA

- Once Upon A Time's seventh season will see Dania Ramirez playing a new version of Cinderella/the mother of Henry's daughter, Lucy. Also joining the cast this season are Gabrielle Anwar as Lady Tremaine, Adelaide Kane as Drizella, Rose Reynolds as Alice and Mekia Cox as Tiana. Emma, Henry and Belle will return for an episode each and there will be a gay character introduced this season as well.
- The Originals fifth season will be it's last season.
- Michelle Pfeiffer will play Janet van Dyne in Ant Man And The Wasp. Laurence Fishburne will also be a part of the movie.
- Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury will also be appearing in Captain Marvel.
- Iron Fist has been renewed for a second season and Misty Knight will be joining the series.
- Game Of Thrones released another trailer for the remaining episodes of it's seventh season and more chaos is come for all concerned.
- Supernatural's female led spin-off, Wayward Sisters has it's cast with Briana Buckmaster, Kathryn Newton and Katherine Ramdeen heading up the series.
- Vanessa Morgan will be joining the Riverdale cast for it's second season. The show will also introduce a bisexual character too.
- Charlize Theron will guest star in The Orville.
- Jonathan Tucker and Neil Jackson will guest star in Westworld's second season.
- Isaiah Washington will return for the fifth season of The 100.
- Wynonna Earp has been renewed for a third season.

That's it for Part 1. Part 2 will be up and it'll be a DC related one. 

Let's Blow Up The Island

I was meant to post this last week but things got in the way, so here's a look at some of the more recent finales I've watched.

Arrow: I have to say that overall, the fifth season of this show has been something of an improvement compared to previous ones and finale wise, I definitely think this was one of the strongest we've had. Featuring so many returning characters (Deathstroke, Malcolm, Nyssa, Black Siren etc) and a fantastic battle of wits between Oliver and Prometheus (who really did turn out to be a great villain this season), the episode ended on a rather explosive cliffhanger. I have a feeling there won't be that many casualties going into the next season, but it definitely a good way to keep viewers in suspense though.

Once Upon A Time: Solid flashback episodes for Zelena and Black Fairy/Fiona to one side, the last three episodes really seemed to serve as a series finale and had ABC been smart, they would've ended the show end here. I know we're getting an older Henry next season with his own kid and Regina/Rumple/Hook are remaining, but this show is going to suffer without Emma, Snow and Charming and I'll miss Zelena and Belle a bit too. As for the last three episodes, I loved the musical episode and thought it was one of the best episodes the show has ever done while the two Final Battle really should've served as the series finale with the amount of stuff it resolved.

Prison Break: I have to admit that this revival hasn't been half as exciting as it could've been. Despite only being nine episodes long, the show did suffer from a bit of a mid series lull and keeping the action in Yemen for the majority of the season wasn't actually that great an idea in retrospect. Michael's reunions with Lincoln and Sara were great but Jake/Poseidon lacked as a villain, Whip was a bit annoying (and super contrived that he happened to be T-Bag's son), Sucre was underused and none of the other newer characters really stood out. That said, the last episode did serve more as a series finale than the one we were given back in 2009 and unless there's a better thought out story to tell, here would be a good place to end the series again.

Supergirl: The final few episodes of the show's sophomore season were pretty enjoyable to watch. As a villain, Rhea certainly upped the ante with her Daxamite on Earth antics and the returns of both Superman, M'Gann and Cat Grant added some momentum into the mix as well. While the show seems to have put both Kara and Mon El's relationship on hold (where did he end up?), it did give us a proposal for Alex and Maggie, gave Lena something interesting to do while Lillian made for a fun grudging ally for about five seconds. Oh and there's another pod to mull over for next season as well.

The Flash: Not going to lie - Savitar has been the weakest villain we've had in the show's three years on air and I beyond glad that next season's Big Bad won't be a speedster. On the other hand, I loved how the finale subverted things. While it was sad to lose HR (but not Tom Cavanagh, he's not going anywhere), it was better that we didn't lose Iris instead and the fact that she was the one to end Savitar's reign of destruction was also a nice twist along with Caitlin mapping out another destiny for herself as Killer Frost. Barry being trapped in the Speed Force provides a little obstacle for the start of next season but I imagine he won't be stuck there for too long though.

- Odette Annable has been cast as a series regular for Supergirl's third season. She will be playing the main antagonist, Reign while Floriana Lima will be recurring next season.
- Tala Ashe will be playing Muslim-American activist superhero Zari Adrianna Tomaz as a regular for the third season of Legends Of Tomorrow. The character will be from the year 2030.
- Gotham's fourth season premiere has the current title of Pax Penguina.
- UK viewers will be able to see Outlander once again as More4 have acquired the rights to the series and will be airing it soon.
- BBC1/BBCAmerica have announced that Luther will be coming back for four new episodes for 2018.
- Fargo's currently airing third season may be it's last.
- Midnight, Texas will air on SyFy for UK viewers shortly after it's US transmission on NBC.
- 24: Legacy has been cancelled by FOX.
- Freeform have ordered a pilot for a US version for Misfits. Casting has yet to be announced.
- Game Of Thrones eighth season will be six episodes (now confirmed by HBO) but it might not air until 2019.

Back In Jail Again

A look into some of the shows I've been watching over the last few weeks.

Arrow: With the show set to return for it's final batch of episodes next week, the previous two were rather good offerings. Not only did we have Oliver temporarily broken down by Prometheus but we also had the latter's identity publicly exposed when the gang finally realised that having Bratva around to solve the problem wasn't such a bright idea. As well as that there was also Felicity sinking deeper into the whole Helix subplot and that looks set to take more focus in the next two episodes. We still could do with more of Thea though.

Once Upon A Time: I've seen five more episodes since the last blog and things have certainly heated up a bit. The show finally cured the ongoing Snow/Charming sleeping curse problem, wrote out both the other Evil Queen and Robin, temporary got rid of Hook, brought back Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar, Ariel, Tinkerbell, Blackbeard etc. It also delved more into the lingering threat for the remainder of the season and thankfully, it's the Black Fairy because Gideon is too mopey and boring to really work as a threat. The scenery chewing Black Fairy on the other hand is something of a better adversary for Emma as the last few episodes have been hammering home the final battle thing for a bit now.

Prison Break: And it's back. As the TV revivals continue apace (Twin Peaks next month too), FOX decided to serve a fifth helping of this prison drama and the issue of Michael Scofield actually being dead doesn't factor because he's alive and stuck in a prison in Yemen and when Lincoln and other past characters aren't trying to break him out, Michael is also making friends (a gay character, another guy called Whip, etc) to do the same thing along with some other political prisoner type. I have to admit that while it's nice to see the gang nearly all back, the main plot is feeling a bit too reminiscent of 24 for my liking so far. On the other hand, I'm also intrigued by the grudging alliance between Sara and Kellermen though and T-Bag's new hand.

Santa Clarita Diet: I somewhat put off watching the final two episodes of this show for a bit but last week, I got round to watching them and I have to say, it was a solid way to end the first season. I liked the introduction of Portia deRossi's scientist character and I definitely liked the consequences of Sheila becoming more feral as well while poor Joel ended up getting locked up by the end of the last episode. Story wise, I think the show has covered itself well for it's second season in that regard.

Supergirl: Kara/Mon El - this series Olicity? Nope, not really but since becoming a couple not so long ago, they've generated some controversy as a pairing, especially as the last two episodes introduced Mon El's parents and let's just say that Rhea isn't someone you'd want as a mother in law. As a villain though, you can tell that Teri Hatcher is having fun in the role and it's great that she's going to be around at least for the final few episodes as well. Other than that, we've had subplots with Winn's girlfriend and Alex/Maggie meeting the latter's ex for good measure too.

The Flash: After the delightful musical crossover with Supergirl, things took another magical twist with Abra Kadabra popping up on the show. Aside from being one of the best guest villains going and more doom surrounding Iris's impending death, the episode's biggest highlight was the arrival of Killer Frost at the very end. It's been a while coming and the season has teased it for the longest while but at long last we're finally going to see what the show will do now that Caitlin has succumbed to the dark side.

- Ricky Martin has been cast as Antonio D'Amico, the long term lover of Edgar Ramirez's Gianni Versace for the third season of American Crime Story.
- Billie Lourd, Alison Wright and Billy Eichner will be appearing in the seventh season of American Horror Story.
- Katie Cassidy, Juliana Harkavy and Rick Gonzalez will be regulars for the sixth season of Arrow.
- A trailer for the Krypton prequel series has emerged online.
- Both Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are leaving Once Upon A Time.
- Marvel have a series focusing on Squirrel Girl called New Warriors in the works.
- The Big Bang Theory has been picked up for a further two seasons and a Sheldon prequel spin-off will also be in the works.
- Freeform also have commissioned a mermaid series named Siren.

Prometheus Unveiled

Yup, it's been an interesting few episodes of some of the shows I've watched over the last few weeks.

Arrow: I have to say the last few episodes have been rather enjoyable. I quite liked the bad girl trinity of China White, Cupid and Lady Cop for one episode while at the same time, the show actually revealing to us that Adrian is Prometheus after all and that Talia is backing him to make Oliver suffer. Predictable as the outcome might have been, it does make sense and it's played out rather well with some nice scene chewing menace from Josh Segarra as Chase too. On the other hand, the Helix storyline remains dull as ditch water and there's too much Rene and not enough Thea for the show's good.

Once Upon A Time: It's been over three months since the mid-season finale but the show is now back and the first two episodes were decent enough. Revelation wise, we now know that Hook killed David's father and Rumple/Belle are somewhat conflicted about their grown up son wanting to kill Emma while Regina has figured out that she might not love the Robin she yanked away from another world. Aside from one of those bits, nothing too earth shattering so far but there are ten episodes left to go and it's been nice to see a little more of August too.

Santa Clarita Diet: I've blitzed through more episodes of this delightfully offbeat show and with two more to go, I've certainly been enjoying it so far. Sheila and Joel working together to maintain the former's diet and learn more about her status has been fun to watch along with Loki also resurfacing as one of the undead. Another plus side was the show bumping off Dan, who had just become too annoying to be kept on for much longer as well as the teenagers on the series getting some decent B-plot material to work with.

Supergirl: A bit of a lull in the show with an arc centred on a returned Jeremiah working for Cadmus. I have to admit, it's not been the strongest arc and much as I love Alex, the show might want to dial the angst factor with her a tiny bit. As for Kara and Mon El's relationship, it's not super compelling but not objectionable either though the Winn/Lyra hook up has been slightly more effective. The show though is struggling to give Jimmy anything meaningful to do and with Kara being fired by Snapper, I do wonder if CatCo is slowly being phased out of the show. On the other hand, Lena lights up the screen every time she appears and the show could do with more appearances from her to be honest.

The Flash: Also suffering a little bit of a lull has been this show. The Grodd two parter was excellent, if a little rushed in it's resolution to Grodd's general attack but the last two episodes have seen both Barry and Wally becoming increasingly reckless and giving the returning Savitar too many advantages.. I did like seeing a few familiar faces (Eddie, Ronnie, Snart, Jay etc) via the Speed Force episode but the way Barry/Iris have been written in the last few episodes hasn't been good. Thankfully though there's an upcoming musical episode to look forward to and not too long before Savitar can finally be taken out for good.

- Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez will be appearing in the finale in mysterious roles for Once Upon A Time. Both characters will appear in the seventh season if the show is renewed.
- Ryan Murphy will be doing a series focusing on 80's LGBT and ball culture called Pose for FX, due to air in 2018. Does the guy ever sleep?
- Feud's second season will focus on Charles and Diana's estrangement.
- Alexander Siddig has been cast as Ras Al Ghul for the third season finale of Gotham.
- Game Of Thrones eighth and final season will be six episodes. Season 7 will air on HBO from July 16th.
- Riverdale has been renewed for a second season by the CW.
- The CW will also be air Black Lightning instead of FOX. Cress Williams will be playing the title role.
- MTV will rebooting Scream after it's six episode third season airs.
- Midnight Texas will now air during the summer for NBC.
- Jason Isaacs has joined Star Trek: Discovery in the captain's role.

Last Rounds

My last blog of the year and appropriately a look into some of the final episodes that aired for various shows as well.

Arrow: I have to be honest, aside from the flashbacks still not working for me (and even they are a step up from last season), the fifth season has been something of a marked improvement for the show. The dynamics with the team - old and new has given the show some renewed energy, the Olicity stuff has been kept to a bare minimum, there's been some interesting guest allies like Human Target and Prometheus has shaped up to become one of the toughest villains that Oliver has gone up against. Oh, and there was that appearance of Laurel at the end too to spice things up in the New Year.

Once Upon A Time: Keeping with the improvements, this season has also shaped up rather nicely. While it was disappointing that Jekyll & Hyde were abruptly done with too quickly and the Evil Queen has outstayed her welcome, I did like the arrival of grown up and clearly evil Gideon and the reveal of the Black Fairy being Gold's mother was a nice twist along with the latest curse to affect Snow and Charming. Then there's Emma and Regina stuck in a different world which should generate a few more episodes in the Spring before the former faces off Gideon.

Scream Queens: I kind of binged through this divisive show's second season and with E4 even giving up on it and relegating it to a midnight slot (along with the abysmal ratings it actually got on FOX), can we assume that this show won't be coming back for a third season? The Green Meanie plot had it's moments with more characters being bumped, the reintroduction of a character from the last season before the killers were unmasked and subsequently killed off. I did like the coda of Brock/Hester going on their own killing spree, Cathy setting up her own sex clinic, Zayday/No5 still working at the hospital and No 3 assisting Chanel on the latter's TV series. If the show doesn't come back, then the final episode wrapped up things better than expected for the series.

Supergirl: It seems a little weird talking about this show as I've actually discussed the mid-series finale when I reviewed the crossover event earlier in the month. Anyways, the episodes before that though saw the series going strength to strength. While I haven't been keen on Jimmy's Guardian storyline, I have liked Mon El as a character and Alex and Maggie's growing relationship has been fantastic to watch unfold this season. Along with the dynamic between J'onn and M'gann, the uses of Parasite and Cyborg Superman and a genuinely interesting baddie in Lillian Luther and the nice ambiguity felt with Lena, the show's new characters have certainly added brilliantly to the series.

The Flash: Season 3 hasn't been always the strongest we've had with the show but it certainly continues to deliver and the mid-season finale left us and Barry with one hell of a dilemma concerning both Savitar and Iris. I did like that we found out the Julian/Alchemy connection and that he's becoming a grudge friend of sorts with the gang. Caitlin's Killer Frost arc has also been pretty satisfying to watch (more so than Wally's reckless abandon with his newfound powers). Overall though, we've got some exciting stuff ahead of us when the show returns.

Final Note: I just want to say to everyone who reads this blog a) thank you and b) have a Happy New Year. Let's hope 2017 continues to be brilliant in television but also better for us all in our day to day lives.