The long-awaited, but inevitable return of Justified aired last night, and it was worth the anticipation. Raylan Givens probably accounts for about 37% of the total ‘swagger’ in all of television right now. The guy has got character, and he exudes a remarkable likability factor. Basically, he is so cool that I want to be his sidekick. I could make witty quips and get kidnapped, and eventually snag an unorthodoxly hot girlfriend, who doesn’t really compare to his girlfriend, but is a catch none the less on her own. She wouldn’t be “Hollywood Hot”, because she would have glasses or something, but she would be “Real life Hot” so it’d be cool.
For those of you who have been pining for the most boringly interesting show on television to return, and I say that as a fan, your wait is almost over.
Don, Peggy, Roger and especially Joan will be back when Mad Men finally debuts its first episode of season five March 25th on AMC.
The poster announcing the return has been creating some online controversy because of its likeness to some chilling images from 9/11, but anyone who’s upset about this is late to the party because Mad Men has been using the falling man graphic since it’s debut in 2007. This is simply a bit of Don Draper magic, capturing the viewer as simply and as powerfully as possible. It will be a relief to see the Mad Men characters back in their familiar swarthy Manhattanite atmospheres instead of popping up in various television shows and movies.
I’ve always been very interested in Alcatraz Island ever since seeing Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz. So when I heard that J.J. Abrams was going to be producing a Sci-Fi/Drama series that revolved around the island I was immediately intrigued.
I sat down to watch the first two episodes and was not disappointed. The show drew me into it’s mystery the same way that LOST use to. Here is a quick summary of the plot of Alcatraz so far.
SPOILERS AHEAD>>>>>>>
“When San Francisco Police Department Det. Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce), a former Alcatraz Island prisoner who died decades ago. Given her family history— both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, Ray Archer (Robert Forster), were guards at the prison —Madsen’s interest is immediately piqued, and once an enigmatic, government agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) tries to impede her investigation, she is doggedly committed.
Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia) to piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he is loose on the streets of San Francisco, leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he has not aged a day since he was in Alcatraz, when the prison was ruled by the iron-fisted Warden Edwin James (Jonny Coyne) and the merciless Associate Warden E.B. Tiller (Jason Butler Harner).
Madsen and Doc reluctantly team with Agent Hauser and his technician, Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra), to stop Sylvane’s vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca’s own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. For while he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane will not be the last prisoner to reappear from Alcatraz.
Through the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that the government has been upgrading the prison since its closing for a reopening to house America’s darkest criminals once more. In the process, Madsen will be forced to see everything she thought she knew about her family’s past shattered, all while fighting to keep the country safe from the country’s most dangerous criminals, locking them behind “The Rock’s” bars once more.”
Now that that’s out-of-the-way here are some of my thoughts on the show.
Alcatraz kicked off the series very strongly with an opening narration by Sam Neill that reminded me of Unsolved Mysteries or The Twilight Zone. That along with the quick introduction of the mystery the show revolves around immediately had me hooked.
The writers seem to be using flashback in the same way that it was used on LOST to reveal elements of character and plot, which I like. I thought it was used well on LOST and if the writing stays strong on Alcatraz it won’t become a problem. I also like that the flashbacks are interconnected, but considering the majority of the characters are in a prison together that’s to be expected.
Sarah Jones (Justified, Sons of Anarchy) plays Rebecca well in a tough but cute, Nancy Drew sort of way. I think she has serious potential to do well as a strong female lead.
Jorge Garcia (Lost) is awesome as always and plays Rebecca’s side kick really well. I’m not totally sold on why his character is her partner, but I’m willing to let it slide for now.
Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) is amazing as Emerson Hauser. Nothing else to say about that really. I am really looking forward to seeing what we learn about his character in the upcoming episodes.
All things considered, I was left with many more questions than answers. I still have no theory on what happened to the staff and prisoners of Alcatraz or why they’re coming back. However I will be coming back to watch this show to find out.
Zombie fans, be excited! The Walking Dead is extending the number of episodes per season yet again! The first season was a mere 6 episodes, which left everyone craving more.
Season two, which we are currently in, will be a total of 13 episodes when all is said and done. Season two will return on February 12. Season three will be split up into two parts, just as season two was.
This detail surfaced during an interview that Glen Mazarra did with the Television Critics Association Winter press tour. The season 2 premiere proposal that we mentioned before was brought up during this interview as well, and Mazarra was asked about Frank Darabont’s turned down genius idea. Mazarra basically stated that it was one of many ideas that were brought up in the writers’ room and that the idea felt like a stall. Mazarra said that they just wanted to get to the characters.
The Walking Dead season 2 will continue on Sunday, February 12th at 9:00pm.
I am sure that if you are reading this, you are a fan of the AMC series The Walking Dead. Many of my friends are fans as well as myself, and we have had many discussions about season two. Yes, it ended up being a thrilling season so far, but the beginning could have been much more interesting. The way the season began was not nearly as exciting to me as season 1 was. (It also set up one of the most annoying wild goose chases in television history with Sophia and the gang.)
When I found out via Geek Tyrant that there was another story in mind that we will never see now because AMC fired Frank Darabont, I was a sad panda. Sam Witwer, a character from season 1, explained the idea this way in an interview:
Look, I think it would be really cool to tell a prequel story about how Atlanta fell, do ‘Black Hawk Down,’ but with zombies, have a few main characters pass through, but the lead will be you. You’re a soldier and all these horrible things happen, and the chain of command breaks down, and, eventually, you have to take out your superior officer. Then, eventually, in the end, you get bit.’ He’s pitching me this. ‘You’re crawling and you crawl into this tank and you have a grenade and you’re going to blow yourself up, but you set the grenade next to you and you die. Then, we reprise the scene from the pilot, where Rick gets in the tank and there’s a zombie there.’
Quint from Ain’t It Cool News sought out Frank Darabont to verify that the information from Witwer was legit. Here is his response:
I’ve made clear my admiration for the BBC show Sherlock. It’s well written and acted, its interesting, and all around better than at least 90% of the other TV shows. That said, I thought the latest episode might’ve been their weakest. I recognize that following up the premiere, which I feel to be the best episode to date, was no easy task. It’s like doing stand-up for the first time and going on stage after Eddie Murphy…
Anyhow, that’s not to say it was terrible either. One thing that this episode actually did quite well was attempt to humanize Sherlock some more. In A Scandal in Belgravia it showed Sherlock to be less asexual than previous, as it was clear how he felt for Irene Adler. In The Hounds of Baskerville however, the focus is more on John Watson and their friendship – the only one Sherlock has.
Grizzly Bomb 