The Business Of Selling Used Stuff

A catch up on recently watched shows.

Humans: This has been an excellent summer series and quite easily the best original drama that Channel 4 have commissioned this year. Five episodes in and things are progressing beautifully with Voss being revealed as a Synth (did not see that coming), Niska hiding out at George's and learning more about her origins and both Leo and Matilda trying to help Anita remember her past as Mia. I'm still not that invested in Joe and Laura's marital woes (or Pete's for that matter either) but other than that, this show deserves a second season.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Just like Empire, I did wonder what took so long for this show to get a UK home (Irish viewers, RTE2 from July 25th) and I also wonder if the show might not have lived up to the hype but watching the first episode, it more than did. Hayley Atwell is absolutely terrific as Peggy Carter once again and the partnership with her and James D'Arcy's Jarvis is going to be a blast to watch throughout the series. Some of the commentary on sexism in the work place was far from subtle and while there was a moment or two that riffed off Alias a little, this show already has me watching to keep with it.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 3 has not been the show's best season but some of the backstories have been great though. Both Norma and Leanne in particular got some surprising ones while Alex's current paranoia for her safety has done a lot to derail her relationship with Piper (along with Stella's growing influence on the latter too) but the flashbacks to Tiffany's past and her current situation with an abusive guard though was pretty shocking along with SoSo's increasing isolation. The rivalry with Gloria and Sophia though has been a source of tedium, even if it's finally given the latter more to do.

Selfie: I was a little harsh the last time I talked about this. This time, while I'm not particularly sad that this show was cancelled months, the last few episodes have been better. In fact I actually really enjoyed the fifth episode where Henry and Eliza were at their boss's home for a retreat and again, the chemistry that Karen Gillan and John Cho have is infectious. The writing still isn't great at times but has improved slightly since that awful pilot episode.

True Detective: Okay, I'm going to say it out loud - the main story is boring the crap out of me and I honestly am starting not to care who killed Casper or why. On the plus side, I am enjoying the dynamic between Ray and Ani a lot while Frank has mostly been an interesting gangster. Paul's story on the other hand is polarising. On one hand, Taylor Kitsch is doing an amazing job with the self loathing character but on the other hand, it feels massively dates. More importantly with four episodes left to go, the main story would want to pick pretty fast though.

- Fans of Kingdom will be pleased with the development for Nick Jonas's character in it's upcoming second season.
- Kelly Rowland will be playing the mother of Lucious in flashbacks for the Season 2 premiere of Empire. Marisa Tomei will also be appearing in the show and E4 will air the new season close to US transmission.
- Peter Krause has replaced Damon Dayoub in Shonda Rhimes's upcoming series, The Catch.
- Michelle Dockery has been cast in the lead for upcoming TNT drama, Good Behaviour.
- Both Aquarius and Hannibal's remaining episodes have been pushed to Saturdays by NBC.
- Isaac Hempstead Wright will reprise his role as Bran Stark for Season 6 of Game Of Thrones.
- The Vampire Diaries will be adding a lesbian vampire couple for it's upcoming seventh season.
- Amy Manson, Elliot Knight, Joann Metra, Luke Garrigan and Andrew Jenkins will be playing Merida, Merlin, Guinevere, King Arthur and Percival respectively in the fifth season of Once Upon A Time.
- MTV have renewed Scream for a second season and Teen Wolf for a sixth one.
- Cornelius Smith Jr will be a regular in the upcoming fifth season of Scandal.

The Selfie Culture

With some shows yet to return and others I'm doing more extensive reviews for, here's another look at some of the other series I'm watching at the moment.

Humans: For US viewers, they got the first episodes of this on AMC but on Channel 4 for UK and Irish viewers, we're nearing the halfway point and it's picking up rather nicely. While I still don't greatly like Laura or Matilda as characters, I do like that through their own methods, both are attempting to learn more about Anita and Synths going off script in general. I'm also liking the more volatile Niska, the continued partnership of Max and Leo as well as George doing his best to keep Odi while having to tolerate the rather strict Vera. Some things don't quite work though - mainly the sour faced detective and his personal life but overall, the series has continued to impress so far.

Orange Is The New Black: With the usual Netflix binging of sorts, I've now watched as far as episode six of the third season. At this point, I've seen Piper and Alex reconnect, Red use her charms on Healy to get her kitchen back, Nikki get transferred to another prison, an interesting aptitude test scene as well as backstories for Big Boo, Flaca and Chang and of course, the rather brief introduction of Stella. I'll admit this season isn't as great as the previous two have been but it's still making for some rather enjoyable television nonetheless.

Selfie: This show might have been dropped after thirteen episodes courtesy of ABC, but it found a home for Irish viewers on RTE2 this month. Now I love Karen Gillan as much as the next person and while her and John Cho have an excellent rapport in the series, it's not a surprise this show got cancelled. Not only was the premise somewhat restrictive for a long term sitcom but a lot of the writing in the first two episodes alone is genuinely horrible I'm afraid. No matter how good Gillan/Cho are with each other, neither of them can elevate the pure dreck of this show. I've heard from some people that the show gets better and there's at least one episode where Gillan gets to showcase her vocal talents but I'm not sure I want to continue to watch to find out really.

True Detective: I enjoyed the first season of this show quite a lot, though at times the Breaking Bad style hype it generated was a little tiresome. On the plus side, the complete cast/location/story change for the show's second season so far has worked. I've only seen the first episode but already I'm enjoying Rachel McAdams hard bitten Ani and Taylor Kitsch's sheriff, Paul while both Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn (especially the latter) have been a pleasant surprise too. Unlike the first season, I think there's going to be less supernatural/occult elements to it but with a striking new theme tune, great cast and a nice sense of California Noir, I'll be sticking with this.

- Charisma Carpenter and Roger Bart will be playing the parents of Ariana Grande's character in Scream Queens.
- Emma Roberts will be returning for the last few episodes of American Horror Story: Hotel.
- Hannibal has been cancelled by NBC after three seasons.
- John Barrowman will be back as Malcolm Merlyn for Arrow's fourth season.
- Contrary to recent rumours there won't be a Hawkgirl TV series. The character however will be a regular on Legends Of Tomorrow though.
- Aisha Tyler has joined Criminal Minds for it's 11th season.
- Penny Dreadful has been renewed for a third season of nine episodes.
- Sinqua Walls is returning as Lancelot for Once Upon A Time's fifth season.
- Aquarius has been renewed for a second season.
- Chris Rock will play an inmate as well as a person from Lucious' past in the second season of Empire.

ABC & CW Pick Ups/Cancellations

It's May and with certain shows ending with their current season finales, both ABC and the CW have announced which shows will be coming back, which ones won't and which ones will be joining them in the fall schedule.

Fans of Agents Of Shield can not only take comfort for knowing that the show will return for a second season but it will also be joined by Agent Carter, a show centering Hayley Atwell's popular character from the Marvel movies. Elsewhere stalwarts at ABC such as Once Upon A Time, Revenge, Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family etc have all been renewed for further seasons amongst a slew of new shows that will also be joining the roster as well.

Karen Gillan's Selfie has been one of the new series to be picked up along with the likes of American Crime, Forever, Manhattan Love Story, The Whispers and Galavant to name a few. However shows such as Mixology and Trophy Wif have been axed. Since writing this Nashville's current fate is that it's been renewed for a third season. I can't say that there's many new shows from ABC's schedule that intrigue me, except maybe two perhaps. The rest aren't exactly bowling me over.

As for the CW, the good news is that shows like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, The Originals and Arrow were all confirmed a while back for renewals and surprisingly enough the likes of Beauty And The Beast and The 100 have also been renewed as well. Pleasantly though, while Bloodlines was passed over, it seems The Flash will be making his return to television in the fall though.

In terms of axings, both The Carrie Diaries and The Tomorrow People will not be returning for further seasons and mid-season show, Star-Crossed was also dropped from the CW. There are some new shows on the horizons but with titles like Jane the Virgin, The Messengers and iZombie, can you really see any of them being good or going the distance?

Overall, something of a mixed bag really. I'm still surprised the likes of Grey's Anatomy and Supernatural are still on television as both of these shows have had their day but some of the axings are less surprising and not many of the newly commissioned shows are inspiring to be honest. Only Agent Carter and The Flash seem the most tempting and Selfie might be a laugh, despite it's dated sounding premise. At the same time though, it's nice to see some current favourites renewed though.

More Information: http://www.spoilertv.com/#

Karen Gillan To Appear In ABC's Selfie

With ABC releasing details about some of their upcoming comedies and dramas for the 2014-2015 TV season (many of which not sounding particularly exciting), it seems that former Doctor Who actress, Karen Gillan has bagged herself a TV series named Selfie.

The half hour comedy, which is supposed to be loosely based on My Fair Lady sees Gillan playing the role of Eliza Dooley (with wig for the time being too) as a woman obsessed with the amount of likes she can get on various social media platforms but comes to the realisation that being friended isn't the same as having friends and enlists her uptight co-worker Henry (Star Trek's John Cho) to help rebuild her reputation.

I've got to be blunt here - if this show wasn't starring Karen Gillan, I think I would avoid it like the plague. The premise doesn't seem like the most sustainable of ones over multiple seasons and the meta commentary in relation to people's obsessions with social media might seemed a bit dated too in years to come. It also doesn't help that Eliza might not sound like the most likeable of leading characters but on the other hand, it's nice to see Gillan (who undoubtedly will be excellent in this, regardless of premise/writing) on our TV screens again and I have written off certain shows in the past, only to be pleasantly surprised by them.

If this does get picked up a series, I'll at least give it a go. Can't say fairer than that.

ABC 2014-2015 Pilots: http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/03/abc-pilots-2014-full-descriptions.html
Filming Pictures: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2586984/Karen-Gillan-stuns-pink-frock-reveals-longer-locks-filming-wedding-scene-new-TV-Selfie.html

The pilot for Selfie is currently being filmed at the moment.