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.

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.

Stepping Out Of Retirement

This is mostly a superhero CW DC thread with one exception but two of the show I'm talking about do tie in with the title of this blog piece though.

Arrow: This season since it's return has been treading water a little bit. After a promising start, Michael Emerson's Cayden James has been something of a disappointing villain and the last episode just killed him off randomly to elevate Dragon guy as the Big Bad for the remainder of the season. Along with the newbies being on the outs with the original gang, not much has really stood these last few episodes. Black Siren's redemptive path on the other hand has been a bit of a highlight, even if it's largely wound up the obsessive Olicity fans but mainly it's been the only storyline that's really generated any good feeling for this season so far.

Black Lightning: The first five episodes of the CW's latest DC superhero drama series and while it's been doing it's best to distance itself from the Arrow universe (despite being as grounded as Arrow), it's still a worthy addition to this universe. Freeland feels every bit as alive a city as Star City, Central City or National City and Jefferson's journey to step out of retirement and resume his role as Black Lightning has been as compelling as Anissa's tentative journey towards becoming Thunder. Even Jennifer's own storylines have been worth watching while Gambi has made for an interesting if ambiguous ally for Jefferson. The weaker elements include Lynn, who needs better writing and Tobias, whom I don't find really that intimidating but at least characters like Tori and Lady Eve (who I do find genuinely menacing) add to his scenes.

Supergirl: Eh, the four episodes we've had before it's break to make way for the second half of Legends Of Tomorrow's third season have been a mixed bag in a way. Reign is still a decent villain with sympathy being shown for Samantha (unaware of her true identity) but the Worldkillers plot hasn't moved too much ahead even with the arrival of another in the shape of Purity/Julia. On top of that we've had more on the Kara/Mon El/Imra triangle, Alex brooding over Maggie while Wynn, Lena and Jimmy have been a little underused. Plus side, at least Brainiac has been fun to watch so far.

The Flash: Credit to the show where it's due. They did not drag out the trial of the Flash storyline too long and they certainly didn't go overboard with the angst either. They even found a clever way (via Ralph) to exonerate Barry while at the same time, maintaining that DeVoe is still around to hijack more meta bodies for his endgame plan. I did like all the sideplots with the Axel and his mother working together, Iris leading the team as best she could and Barry working with other rogues to escape getting auctioned to Amunet. Just a shame poor Becky came a cropper as she was getting a redemptive storyline though.

Will & Grace: I can't believe it's actually been eleven years since this show first ended and now it's back. I was a fan of the series back in the day but it also wasn't one of those shows I was clamouring to see return as I felt it had ended well enough and had ran long enough with eight seasons under it's belt. This first episode was a good return with the previous finale retconned as the title characters had a pillow fight in the White House along with Karen and Jack providing their own witty comments on things. Overall, a fun first episode for a series that didn't need reviving but at the same time, I'm kind of glad it's back nonetheless.

- Ben Platt will star in a musical series called The Politician for Netflix along with Barbara Streisland. The series is one of two created by Ryan Murphy, the other being Ratched, starring Sarah Paulson.
- Once Upon A Time will end after seven seasons. The remaining episodes will air from next month onwards.
- David W. Thompson will play Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow in another episode arc of Gotham. The show is certainly on a recast spree.
- DC's digital streaming service will be doing another prequel series - this time it's Metropolis which will focus on Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.
- Titans meanwhile will introduce the Doom Patrol in the fifth episode with Bruno Bicher playing the role of The Chief.
- Matt Ryan will reprise his role as John Constantine for the Legends Of Tomorrow third season finale if recent set pics are anything to go by.
- Jeanine Mason will star in the CW reboot pilot for Roswell.
- Keeping with reboots, the CW's reboot for Charmed will have the Pruitt sisters called Madison, Mel and Macy. Ser'Darius will play Galvin, the ideal boyfriend to one of the sisters in the pilot.
- Michelle Gomez, Lucy Davis and Chance Perdomo will play Mary Wardell/Madam Satan, Aunt Hilda and Ambrose Spellman in The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. Kiernan Shipka will play the title role.
- Alfre Woodard has been cast as Cookie for Empire's fourth season.

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.

Will & Grace - NBC Order 10 Episode Series

And the revivals keep on coming. Earlier this month, the CW announced a reboot for popular supernatural series, Charmed and now NBC are following suit with bringing back Will & Grace.

Announcing earlier in the week, the station will be bringing back the popular sitcom for 10 episodes with all of the original cast - Eric McCormack as Will Truman, Debra Messing as Grace Adler, Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland and Megan Mullally as Karen Walker. The series ran for eight seasons between 1998 and 2006 and will return to NBC for the 2017-2018 television season. Creators and executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan along with veteran director James Burrows will also be returning for the upcoming series.

Of course, we did get a return of sorts last year with a ten minute scene that had the four regulars discussing their thoughts on the Clinton vs. Trump Election (and we all know how that panned out, given yesterday's stark reminder of things) and while the scene wasn't perfect, it did feel like the show had never gone away, which should bode well for the show.

Election Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzae4DKexko
Press Release: http://deadline.com/2017/01/will-grace-return-nbc-season-9-1201888523/

The Complete Series of Will & Grace is available on DVD. Season 9 will air on NBC for the 2017-2018 television season.

Honourable Mentions Part 2

And here's the second and final part of my Honourable Mentions lists.

Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs) - Charmed

Yeah, this was one of my guilty pleasure shows. There were times when I found Charmed extremely naff beyond belief but for eight seasons, even in all of it's naffness, it had some wonderful moments and the excellent, level-headed Piper was easily the best of the Halliwell sisters and the one who seemed to show the most growth as well as the show progressed.

Max Blum (Adam Pally) - Happy Endings

It's been one of these shows I've been watching on E4 and damn it, it's a bloody funny one. Max certainly seems to fall into my favourite type of gay character on TV - snarky, well rounded and a good mate all around and Adam Pally's performances have certainly gotten better over the two seasons of the popular ABC comedy.

Sarah Lund (Sofie Grabol) - The Killing

Is it a cliche to feature Sarah on my list? I know I don't talk about The Killing a lot but I have seen a fair amount of it and Sarah Lund is definitely one of the better and more original compared to the majority of our leading cops and way better than her American counterpart as well, though interestingly enough Grabol recently did pop up in the US version of the show that's made her a household name.

Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) - The X Files

Sometimes being the sceptic is actually better than being the believer. I loved Mulder as a character but between him and Scully, the fiery sceptic certainly edges him out though. Scully also seemed to work reasonably enough with Mulder at times and even with Doggett and Reyes too and she's a more deserving iconic female character than the Carrie Bradshaws of the world.

Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) - Will & Grace

In an ideal world, no-one would really want an employer, spouse or mate like Karen Walker, a woman who literally insults all and sundry without batting an eyelid with a helium sounding voice. That being said, she was a relentlessly entertaining character nonetheless and for that, I'll salute the madwoman. 

Well, that was fun. Any other characters anyone thinks I should've recommended?

Top TV Pairings Part 2

I've decided to extend this a little bit to include 10 other shows before going into the other 25 I have as my favourites.

Dollhouse - Victor/Sierra

The show might have lasted two seasons but Joss Whedon managed to give us at least one couple worthy of rooting for. Both Victor and Sierra had the best chemistry with each other and definitely were the couple to watch on this shortlived series.

Will And Grace - Will Trueman/Vince D'Angelo

After spending the first five seasons flitting between boyfriends, the writers finally gave Will someone who complimented him and while him and Vince had their ups and downs, it's a credit to the series for this great relationship.

The L Word - Bette Porter/Tina Kennard

Relationships in this series were ten a penny but Bette and Tina were definitely the long haul relationship of the series, both with it's good and with it's bad moments. Still, they were definitely the best of a mixed bunch of couples on this series.

Alias - Sydney Bristow/Michael Vaughn

Bucking something of a trend here, Sydney and Vaughn for me were actually a pretty good couple. Sure we could've done without Lauren during S3 or Vaughn's fakeout death for most of S5 but other than that, I liked these two.

Shameless - Kev Ball/Veronica Fisher

The not so married but chaotic couple were a joy during the first three years of the series and while both Dean Lennox Kelly and Maxine Peake seem to be constantly getting decent roles after leaving the series, I do sometimes miss the pair.