Doctor Who 3-D in theaters; more Suits, Dead, Strike, Homeland, Six; RIP Wallace, Needham, Davenport.

Here’s the latest entertainment news…

I have to say I’m once again hooked on American Horror Story. It took me quite a while to get into the first season but I stuck with it and in the end it paid off. The second season had lots of memorable moments but overall I enjoyed it. This latest one grabbed me from the opening. Of course I’ve always been a big fan of Kathy Bates. And seeing Jessica Lange suck the life out of a guy to the sounds of Inna-Godda-Diva (or however it’s spelled) was just way too cool. AHS isn’t for everyone. It is definitely an acquired taste but overall I love it.

 

Next week looking forward to Enders Game. I read the original short story in Analog Science Fiction Magazine and the normalized version later as well as numerous sequels which were of lesser quality. Seeing it in IMAX 3-D is going to be totally awesome. And what’s not to like about Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley?

 

However the biggest news is that the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special is going to be shown in theaters in 3-D with additional behind-the-scenes footage on November 25 which is 2 days after it will show on TV. It will be simulcast on Saturday in several major cities and then we’ll go nationwide to 300 theaters on Monday the 25th. Three Indianapolis theaters will show the event. The article is linked below. You can click on the links to find the theaters listed.

 

We are introducing a new recurring link this week. You’re already familiar with 2 recurring links from the site TV Line which are spoilers from Michael Aussiello and Matt’s Inside Line. The site now has a recurring feature called “Mixtape”. They link to music videos of songs which have appeared as background music in the past weeks TV shows. Especially liked Cyndi Lauper’s version of “At Last” during the Bones wedding. And while still not like about Stevie Nick’s “Edge of 17” which appeared in American Horror Story this week? While not every song is a winner and some of the shows I don’t even watch and neither do you, I’m going to include the link whenever available for those times when you just have to hear that cool song one more time.

 

Finally… I don’t usually post trailers on this blog but this one is worth sharing. Fox showed an extended trailer for its reboot of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos this time starring Neil Degrasse Tyson and written by Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan. The trailer was shown during the World Series but in case you missed it here is on YouTube.

 

In the links below read

Doctor Who 50th anniversary special to show in theaters in 3-D November 25

Mix Tape dated October 26

Interview with producers of Bones about the wedding

Spoilers from Michael Aussiello dated October 22

Inside Line spoilers dated October 24

Fox network reveals midseason schedule and start dates. Note Idol results show will only be 30 minutes.

Interview with Dylan McDermott about his role on Hostages and possible return to AHS

Cinemax has renewed Strike Back for a fourth and final season

Interview with Person of Interest Sarah Shahi

Spoilers from Michael Aussiello dated October 29

Interview with Elizabeth Mitchell about her role on Revolution

 

Not in the links below but also of interest

The Walking Dead has been renewed for season 5. Current Showrunner Scott Gimpel will return.

Showtime has renewed Homeland and Masters of Sex for an initial season each

ABC is considering resurrecting canceled series Body of Proof

Sherlock (British version) will premiere on PBS January 19

Whoopi Goldberg’s voice has been cast as the voice of the wife of the rabbit in Once upon a Time in Wonderland

NBC is considering rebooting Murder She Wrote this time to star Octavia Spencer

USA has renewed Suits for season 4

Fox’s new sitcom “Dads” has been picked up for a full season order bringing the total to 22

NBC says it hasn’t given up on Celebrity Apprentice even though it’s not on any current schedules

Gilles Marini and Mary Lynn Rajskub will guest star and possibly recur in upcoming episodes of 2 Broke Girls

RIP Marcia Wallace was a voice on The Simpsons and played Bob Newhart’s secretary on The Bob Newhart Show. She was 70.

RIP Hal Needham. The famous stuntman also directed the Smokey and the Bandit movies.

RIP Nigel Davenport. Veteran British actor whose film roles included A Man for All Seasons and Chariots of Fire

New Fox cyborg robot show Almost Human is adding John Larroquette to the cast as a robot scientist. That is a scientist who makes robots. Not a scientist who is a robot. At least I think so?

The Fox network American version of British detective series Broadchurch has been retitled Gracepoint. Both versions star David Tennant.

Morris Chestnut has joined the cast of the new TNT spy series Legends

Kerry Washington is expecting a baby. No word on how they will handle that issue for her character on Scandal

CBS is preparing a spinoff series for How I Met Your Mother since it is ending this season.

This week’s winner of the “Chris Young Sure Sign of the Coming Apocalypse Award” goes to CBS who’s going to air an I Love Lucy special with colorized footage.

Discovery channel and Science Channel will both air their first scripted film “Challenger Disaster” starring William Hurt as Dr. Richard Feynman who was the chairman of the committee investigating the Challenger shuttle explosion. 9 PM on November 16.

 

 


‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary show to be screened in more than 300 theaters


TVLine Mixtape: Your Favorite Songs From Grey’s, AHS: Coven, Reign, Bones and More


Bones Wedding Post Mortem: EPs Talk Christine’s Absence, Brennan’s Original (and ‘Unsuitable’) Vows — Plus: New Big Bad’s Moniker Revealed!


Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Grey’s, Bones, Coven, Sons, Psych, Carrie, Vampire Diaries and More


Matt’s Inside Line: Scoop on NCIS, The Mentalist, Bones, Grey’s, Castle, Criminal Minds and More


Fox Unveils Midseason Schedule, Sets Dates for Idol, The Following — Plus: Glee Takes a Breather


Dylan McDermott Confirms ‘Intimate’ Hostages Twist — Plus: Another Horror Story In His Future?


Person of Interest: Sarah Shahi Ponders Shaw’s Sex Life (Um, Knives?), Talks Love/Hate With Root


Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Once, Arrow, PLL, Dracula, Glee, Bones, Criminal Minds and More


Elizabeth Mitchell Dishes on Revolution’s Nixed Necking, Reuniting With ‘Terrifying’ Lost Hubby

 

Muppets Go Gaga; SHIELD Picked up; Ironside Inaccessible; More Face-Off; Family Unwelcome

A little bit overdue but here’s the latest installment of my entertainment news.

 

I went to see “Gravity” in IMAX 3-D. I know what awful lot about movie special-effects and I have absolutely no idea how they did some of those scenes. The whole thing was absolutely awesome. You must see it in the theater preferably 3-D and if possible IMAX 3-D. Really edge of your seat kind of thing from start to finish.

 

In other news… According to the overnight ratings of the Colts versus the Broncos last night, 71% of the televisions in the Indianapolis area were watching the game last night. Way to go Colts.

 

Apparently in this season of The Mentalist we’re finally going to find out who is the dreaded serial killer Red John who is responsible for killing Patrick Jane’s wife. I’ve got a suggestion for a show ending plot twist. I think Patrick Jane is Red John and doesn’t know it himself. I think he’s got a split personality survey fight club kind of thing. I’ve not heard any pundits or other TV writers suggest this. This is all on me. But it sure would be fun if it was true. I’m going to try not to be disappointed if it isn’t.

 

There comes a time when you can’t watch every TV show and you have to cull the herd as it were. Usually its new shows that just don’t make the cut such as Ironside but occasionally you have to let go of an old friend. For me it’s Boardwalk Empire. I love the first couple of seasons of the show but last season that seem to go downhill and I never could regain interest this season after three or four episodes. I’ve deleted the remaining episodes from my DVR and said farewell to Nukie and the boys.

 

In the links below read…

Interview with NCIS Showrunner about life after Ziva

Spoilers from Michael Ausiello dated October 8

Interview with producers of American Horror Story about opening episode

Matt’s Inside Line spoilers dated October 10

Interview with Andrew Lincoln of The Walking Dead about what’s coming up for his character

Interview with NCIS: LA executive producer about 100th episode

Spoilers from Michael Aussiello dated October 15

Interview with Theo Rossi about his character on Sons of Anarchy

Interview with producers of Covert Affairs about the second half of the season which recently premiered

Interview with Tim deKay about his character in this season of White-Collar

Link to a new teaser trailer for 50th anniversary Doctor Who special episode

Very funny video clip of the Alice in Wonderland bunny rabbit accidentally targeting Snow White’s crotch

 

Not in the links below

Lady Gaga and the Muppets will do a holiday special together. Good mix.

NBC is planning a reboot of the 80s detective series Remington Steele but this time it’s a half-hour sitcom

Despite the retirement of the Detective Munch from Law and Order: SVU, Richard Belzer may still be playing the role as a recurring character. That character has been on 10 different TV series.

Agents of SHIELD has been picked up for a full season of 22 episodes

CW network has ordered additional scripts for its new series The Originals, Tomorrow People, and Reign. Originals is a very unoriginal vampire show that I only watched about five minutes. Tomorrow People chose province as a bunch of people who have telekinetic powers. You might want to check it out. Reign is a medieval period drama. I thought it was going to be a ripoff of Once upon a Time but apparently it’s more like a toned down version of some of the cable series such as The Borges, The Tudors and White Queen.

ABC Family Channel has renewed The Fosters for season 2

NBC is developing a sitcom for actress Meg Ryan

Fox’s canceled midseason sitcom Us and Them. I never saw it.

Michael Cudlitz a.k.a. Southland’s officer John Cooper has been promoted to Sgt. on a different show. He will play Sgt. Abraham Ford in upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead

MTV has renewed Teen Wolf for season 4 and it will be followed by a half-hour talk show called Wolf Watch for fans to talk about the show.

WGN America cable channel is launching two scripted series Salem about the 17th-century Massachusetts witch trials and Manhattan about the project to build the first atomic bomb.

Lifetime network is developing the fifth announced Wizard Of Oz inspired show. This one titled Red Brick Road about a road that leads to the darkest and most dangerous parts of Oz.

ABC will live televised the wedding of the latest Bachelor contestant and his intended

I have seen network as renewed Comedy Bang Bang for a third season in 2014

The Walking Dead season premiere had a record-breaking 16.1 million viewers. Highest in series history.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the Golden Globe awards in both 2014 and 2015

Arrow will meet Black Canary in episode 4 this season

Kerry Washington will host SNL November 2. Musical guest Eminem

HBO series Gurgles will return for season 3 January 12

Despite starring in her own sitcom The Millers, Margo Martindale will return to The Americans on FX next season. She plays such a great bad guy I really thought it was a waste of her talent to stick her in a sitcom. I’m glad she’s coming back.

ABC has ordered additional scripts for The Goldbergs (which I didn’t care for) and Trophy Wife (which is turning out to be a guilty pleasure for me).

Glee creator confirms that next season will be the final season.

Fox has ordered a 13 episode adventure drama tiled Hieroglyph set in ancient Egypt.

TNT has renewed Franklin and Bash for season 4

Michael Aussiello reports a hit drama series is going to kill off a major character but he won’t say which one. That actor already has a new series but they cannot pronounce it until his character is killed off in the other series. I will keep you posted.

NBC has canceled new sitcom Welcome to the Family. I watched one episode and thought it had minor potential

NBC has canceled Ironside. Final episode will be October 27. Specials will occupy the timeslot through November and December and then it will be filled by Chicago Fire spin off aptly named Chicago PD. I watched one episode of Ironside and I’m disappointed to report it did not hold my interest.

New Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been picked up for a full season

Rock Star Marilyn Manson will play the voice of Shadow on Once upon a Time

Fox has canceled a new animated series starring the voice of Jane Lynch before it has even aired a single episode. The network didn’t like the first couple of episodes. Producers may try to shop it around.

As I predicted CBS’s “We Are Men” has been canceled. I gave up after one episode.

Fox has ordered six additional scripts for sitcom Dads

CBS has ordered additional scripts for The Crazy Ones, The Millers, and Mom

George Eads will return to CSI in November as criminalist Nick Stokes after a hiatus

Carol Burnett was awarded the Mark Twain prize for American humor by the Kennedy Center

NBC has put Parks And Recreation on hiatus while it sorts out schedule changes

Marvel Studios is producing four TV series and the miniseries (with total of 60 episodes) to be shopped around to cable networks, Netflix, Amazon and others. No word yet on what they will be producing.

Woody Allen is creating a new film called “Magic in the Moonlight”starring Emma Stone and Colin Firth

Ovation arts network is returning to Time Warner/Bright House after being dumped from the ratings. The network is going to add original programming so they’re giving it a second chance.

HBO series True Detectives starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will premiere January 12

Comedy Central had to air a rerun of South Park because a power outage kept the producer from finishing the episode on time.

Cinemax series Banshee season 2 premiere January 10

SyFy Channel’s makeup reality series Face-Off has been renewed for a sixth season. We are very happy.

Mira Sorvino will be a recurring character on TNT’s Falling Skies next season

Charlie Hunnman a.k.a. Jax on Sons of Anarchy has decided not to take the starring role in the movie version of 50 Shades of Gray after all. Cites his busy schedule. Search is on for a replacement.

 


NCIS Boss Talks Of Life After Ziva and Deflecting S.H.I.E.L.D. — Plus: Abby Gives McGee [Spoiler]


Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Glee, Nashville, Arrow, Bones, Castle, Walking Dead, HIMYM and More!


American Horror Story: Coven Premiere Post Mortem: 12 Burning Questions Answered!


Matt’s Inside Line: Scoop on Bones, Once, Castle, Scandal, Supernatural, Walking Dead and More!


Ominous Walking Dead Spoiler: Andrew Lincoln Warns of ‘Painful’ Midseason Finale


NCIS: LA Boss: Episode 100 Is ‘Chris O’Donnell’s Best Work’ — Watch a ‘Shocking’ Sneak Peek


Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Bones, Walking Dead, Nashville, NCIS: LA, Sleepy Hollow and More


Sons of Anarchy’s Theo Rossi Breaks Down New, ‘Animalistic’ Juice: He’s ‘Gone to a Different Place’


Covert Affairs EPs Preview Annie and Auggie’s Latest Struggle, Power Shake-Ups and More


White Collar’s Tim DeKay: In Season 5, Peter and Neal ‘Have Got to Address Their Relationship’


Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Video: Eleven Can’t Run From ‘The Day of the Doctor’


‘Once Upon’ promo blunder: Snow White’s magic crotch!

 

Walking Dead Library

I guess humans aren’t the only dead things come back to life in “The Walking Dead”. Apparently CompuServe lives again at least in the prison library.

I was watching the season premiere of The Walking Dead and as Carol was having her story time/knifing lesson in the prison library I did a double take and quickly hit the rewind button on the DVR asking myself “Did I see what I thought I saw?” Indeed I had seen the all-too-familiar type style and the word CompuServe. One of the books on library shelves behind her was “Using CompuServe”. I later managed to get a screen capture and by doing some searches on Amazon determined that this was the 1995 edition called “Using CompuServe Special Edition“. A variety of other vintage computer books can be seen on the bookshelf including “Delphi Unleashed” (two copies in case one is checked out), “OS/2 WARP”, and “Using Harvard Graphics”.

In another section of the bookshelf we can see books on JavaScript 1.1, JavaScript Unleashed, Using Excel 4, Using Turbo Pascal 6, and Visual C++ Unleashed. About the only book that I saw that might be useful was “Fire Officer’s Guide to Disaster Control“. I’d never heard of the book and I don’t know why it was filed in among a bunch of 1990s computer reference books but at least it might be remotely useful in the zombie apocalypse.

Here is a screen grab where Carol is reading the storybook. I’ve adjusted brightness and contrast on all of these images. You can click on the images for full resolution.

Screen Grab from "The Walking Dead" s04e01. Carol reading book.

Screen Grab from “The Walking Dead” s04e01. Carol reading book.

Here are a couple of 200% blowups of portions of the above image.

Close-up of part of the bookshelf

Close-up of part of the bookshelf


Close-up insert of some of the books.

Close-up insert of some of the books.

Here is another screen grab where Carol is holding a knife.

Another Screen Grab from "The Walking Dead" s04e04

Another Screen Grab from “The Walking Dead” s04e04


Close-up section of the second grab showing a book called “Owl Programming”
Close-up of the second grab.

Close-up of the second grab.

Voice not Blind; Lucky 7 unlucky; Blacklist and Sleepy extended; Tenant Remakes Broadchurch; Dos Equis trademark disputed

I’ve been so busy watching new TV shows I haven’t had time to read or write about them. This week’s installment is almost a full week late. I’ve not watched all of this newly premiering series that I had hoped to catch but I already have my first nominees for series most likely to be the first canceled. My nominees are “We Are Men” which I was kind of looking forward to seeing Mr. Monk back on TV. But I could barely get through one episode it was so bad. Also flashback 80s sitcom The Goldbergs was exceptionally lame. Michael Ausiello predicts Lucky 7 or Betrayed will be the first cancellation. I did not watch Lucky 7 and although I’ve recorded Betrayed by me delete it before I watch it based on his opinion. I was concerned that Blacklist was going to be a bust because it was so heavily promoted by NBC. Sometimes when they overhype something it’s a bad sign. In this case I was very pleasantly surprised that it is an awesome show. I again recommend it and Hostages. Breaking news “Lucky 7” wins as for show to be canceled. Blacklist gets full season order of 22 episodes.

 

I recently posted a message on Facebook saying that I was not that big a fan of The Voice because I thought too much of it was fake. The idea that you get up there and really don’t know who you want to be your mentor until you’ve actually seen who turns around is just totally bogus for me. If I was a singer I would have my first second third choices already made up and unless my first choice just totally yawned at my performance there would be no decision be made. Shortly after that I did hear one contestant say “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time” which was the first on his thing I’ve heard out of the contestants mouth. But in our first linked article below we have a video blog between a TV line website funded and former American Idol Melinda Doolittle as they break down their favorites on the first week of The Voice. I direct your attention to a section of that video about three force of the way in in which they present evidence for the idea that the blind auditions are not really 100% blind. Ceelo asked the question about a guy who “sounded like a soldier” and guess what… The guy was a soldier! Later Blake as the guy about the guitar he’s playing and guess what? The guy had a story about his guitar. I agree with Melinda this is ample evidence that the judges have some foreknowledge of at least the back story of particular contestants. And if they’re getting coached about back story then they might also be getting coached by producers about the relative merits of particular contestants.

 

In other singing competition news… I absolutely love the new Four Chairs middle round of X Factor. It’s got to be torture for the contestants themselves because obviously the first four contestants to perform are going to take a chair even though they haven’t got a snowballs chance in hell of keeping it. It’s good dramatic TV. But what I like about it most is I think it’s fair. It really gives you a sense of which contestants were the best along the way. One of my other pet peeves about The Voice is I don’t like the battle rounds because you get the opportunity for a pair of bad singers to go against one another and a pair of good singers going against one another. In the end you don’t get the best singers. The ability to steal a contestant has mitigated that problem a little bit but I still like Four Chairs much better than battle rounds.

 

In the links below read…

The video blog about The Voice that I spoke about earlier

Interview with Lisa Edelstein about her upcoming guest starring on Castle and her exit from House

Interview with Stana Katic about upcoming season of Castle

Interview with producers of The Good Wife about season premiere and other episodes

Spoilers from Michael Ausiello dated October 1

Interview with NCIS producer about Ziva’s final episode

Matt’s Inside Line spoilers dated October 4

 

Also of interest but not linked below…

John Barrowman will return to Arrow this season

CBS has renewed Unforgettable for a third season

Michael Rappaport will guest star as the bad guy in the upcoming season of Justified

CNN Films has scrapped its plans for a Hillary Clinton documentary

NBC has backed out of its plans for a Hillary Clinton miniseries

IFC is producing a 10 episode half-hour series, Garfunkel & Oates. They are female comedy/folksinger duo was seen on Tonight Show and other places. They are very funny.

James Spader may have some scheduling conflicts if The Blacklist gets picked up for a full season. He’s the bad guy in the upcoming Avengers movie

Paget Brewster will return to Criminal Minds for their 200th episode

MythBusters will have a special zombie episode October 17 featuring characters from The Walking Dead

NBC will not renew its summer series Camp for a second season. I never watched it.

David Tennant will start in the American version of Broadchurch playing the same role he did in the British version only he will use an American accent. The British version will go into production of season 2 soon. American version starts shooting early 2014. I just finished watching BBC version and it was awesome.

Amber Tamlyn is now officially a series regular on 2 1/2 men

ABC has renewed summer replacement drama Motive for season 2. I liked it as a summer show that it would probably not make the cut in a regular-season. The premise is they show you the victim and the killer in the first few seconds and you have to figure out why.

Former ER doc Sherry Stringfield will guest star multiple episodes on CSI

Wilfred has been renewed for fourth and final season. Moves from FX to FXX. Never watched. Look too stupid to me.

Covert Affairs has been renewed for season 5 and we are very happy.

Fox renews Sleepy Hollow for second season. The first renewal of any new show on any network this season.

Dennis Haysbert will guest star on Trophy Wife. Jury still out on this show but it may become one of my guilty pleasures. Or it may just be too kooky.

Nathan Filion will guest star on an episode of Community

Kim Raver has signed on to appear in the new 24 series as well as William Devane who played her father

The six episode final season of Nikita will premiere November 22

And the loser is “Lucky 7”. ABC canceled it after just two episodes. Reruns of Scandals will fill the slot

Halley Berry will star in new CBS sci-fi drama “Extant” scheduled for summer 2014

Fox has renewed The Simpsons for season 26

Blacklist has earned a full season pickup of 22 episodes

Sting will appear in an episode of Michael J Fox show

David Letterman has renewed his contract through 2015

Bob Newhart will reprise his Emmy-winning guest starring role on Big Bang Theory along with recent DWTS contestant Bill Nye the Science Guy

Sadly Ironside debuted to the lowest rated follow drama ever for NBC

Mark Burnett is creating a reality show for NBC which will launch contestants into space on Virgin Galactic

AMC will have a mega marathon of Walking Dead leading up to the season premiere later this month

Colin Hanks is joining the cast of the FX series Fargo

Seth McFarland and Mark Wahlberg will star in Ted 2 to hit theaters June 2015

ExxonMobil is suing FXX network because the way the two X’s overlap in the logo resembles Exxon’s logo. Can Dos Equis be far behind?

Daytime show Rachel Ray has been renewed through 2016

As if being Capt. Kirk wasn’t enough, Chris Pine will play Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan in an upcoming movie directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Rest in Peace Tom Clancy whose books The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and others have been made into blockbuster movies.

Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney said in October premiere record of $55 million. I plan to see it this week.

 

 


Reality Check: Week 1 Standouts on The Voice! Plus: Are the Coaches Really Flying ‘Blind’?


Lisa Edelstein Talks Castle Making Nice With McCord (and Her Unimaginable House Exit)


Castle: Stana Katic Surveys Kate and Rick’s New Hurdles, Their Destiny and… Wedding Plans?


The Good Wife Scoop: EP Robert King Answers Burning Premiere Qs (Where’s Kalinda?), Sheds New Light on Upcoming Will-Alicia Throwdown


Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Grey’s Anatomy, Nikita, Scandal, Once, Revenge, Good Wife and More


NCIS Boss Spills Secrets Behind Ziva’s Exit: What Changed? Was a Kiss Cut? Could She Return?


Matt’s
Inside Line: Scoop on Once, Glee, Scandal, Hell on Wheels, H50, Castle, Trophy Wife & More