Saturday 28 January 2017

Power Rangers Ninja Steel | Forged In Steel


The second episode of Ninja Steel introduced us to Calvin and Hayley as the Yellow and White rangers as well as the rangers' zords.

Friday 27 January 2017

Scandal Comes Back With a BANG



Scandal returned yesterday (January 26) after an extended break with a killer episode. The Season 6 premiere titled "Survival of the Fittest" is possibly the best episode Scandal has aired in a very long time. 

Thursday 26 January 2017

The Middle is ABC's Most Underrated Success Story



The Middle has been a comedy staple on ABC's schedule ever since it premiered in 2009 alongside Modern Family. While the latter went on to win countless Emmys and become a worldwide phenomenon, the former has never received an ounce of the same recognition or the recognition it's fans say it deserves.

#OscarsSoWhite One Year On...


The academy has finally acknowledged black actors for their contributions to film for the year. However, this does not mean the fight is over. Despite the academy has finally given black actors the recognition they deserve for one ceremony after years of disregard does not mean the fight is over. The real work has only just begun. We as cinema goers must ensure the academy continues to support and recognise black actors in film for the years to come and not just for the first ceremony after the issue finally reached boiling point with the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. Some of this year's nominees includes: Best Picture nominations for Hidden Figures and Moonlight, Actor in a Supporting Role for Moonlight star Mahershala Ali, Best Leading Actress for Ruth Negga in Loving, Best Supporting Actress for Viola Davis in Fences, Octavia Spencer from Hidden Fences and Naomie Harris from Moonlight. Congratulations to the all the nominees. Let's keep the conversation going.

I Love Felicity, Here's Why You Should Too...



Felicity is a very rare type of television character who does not come along very often. 

Sunday 22 January 2017

How Will The Reboot Era Impact TV Series Finales?



It is a question we must all ask ourselves. In an era in which a growing number of cancelled and ended television programs are making a comeback, will the inevitable series finale in which we bid farewell to our favourite characters transform from being a permanent goodbye to a mere see you in ten years time?

Saturday 21 January 2017

Power Rangers Ninja Steel | "Return of the Prism"



On first viewing, the Ninja Steel premiere set good foundations for the rest of the season but the episode clearly had some flaws.

Friday 20 January 2017

Fresh Off The Boat | Clean Slate



To celebrate Chinese New Year, ABC aired two episodes of their Asian family sitcom Fresh Off The Boat on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday 18 January 2017

NBC Revives Will & Grace


That's right folks, the good ol' big bosses of Hollywood have revived the uber successful comedy Will & Grace.

Thursday 12 January 2017

Pilot Season 2017: HOT Comedies

ABC



Libby & Malcolm - From Kenya Barris (Black-Ish) ad co-starring Felicity Huffman (American Crime, Desperate Housewives) it already has a pilot order. 

Untitled Jeremy Bronson Project - Single-camera comedy about a struggling hip-hop artist who runs for mayor to promote his mixtape... and wins. This almost sounds like a sure bet due to the political aspect and the chance to increase diversity. However, the project does sound a little off-brand for ABC.

Charlie Foxtrot - Produced in house and produced by Aaron Kaplan, the pilot is very on brand and would pair well with The Goldbergs.

Joe 2.0 - About a modern African-American man who uses pop culture moments to tell his story.

The Escape - A good ol' father and son comedy from Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The Last Man on Earth, Son of Zorn) The pilot is on-brand, and the father-figure/son combo harks to the critically acclaimed film Manchester by the Sea.

Untitled Carol Burnett Project - It is the only multi-camera project on ABC's development slate which is produced by ABC Studios. After the huge ratings boost Last Man Standing had on its first airing this year, I'm sure ABC would love to repeat that success with a show they own. Plus, Carol Burnett is on par with Tim Allen in terms of star power.

CBS



Sheldon - Single-camera spin-off of the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory has been described as a new version of Malcolm in the Middle. A pilot order is inevitable.

Untitled Chris Distefano Project - Multi-camera/hybrid comedy about two families, one Italian and one Peurto who merge to raise a newborn. CBS needs to increase diversity on the network and this rather simple concept would help them do that. 

Me, Myself and I - High concept single-camera comedy examines one man's life over the span of 50 years in the same vein as the movie Boyhood. Hit drama This Is Us also explores an extensive timeline and has proven to resonate with both critics and audiences. I would not be surprised if this show scored a pilot order.

FOX




Thin Ice - Set in Antartica and created by New Girl auspice Liz Meriweather has already been ordered to pilot.

Turned On - Fox loves their high-concept comedies and Turned On is no exception, It follows a brilliant but awkward engineer who creates an android who spirals out of control.

Ghosted - See above + supernatural elements = winner?

Untitled Wrestling Comedy - Executive produced by former WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson is HOT. 

NBC





Action Land - workplace comedy set at an amusement park would be a good companion to Superstore AND is produced by Matt Hubbard (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Mike Schur (The Good Place, The Office).

The Sackett Sisters - Produced by Tina Fey.  

Spaced Out - workplace comedy set in the world of space travel. NBC previously tried to launch (pun not intended) a space themed comedy (Mission Control) maybe Spaced Out will be the one to take off? Plus it's r=produced by Bill Lawrence.

The Baby - Executive produced by Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation), which makes it a sure bet for a pilot order (at least). While Old Soul and Dumb Prince failed, The Baby may succeed. It is revolves around the youngest member of an organised crime family.

Untitled Kourtney Kang Comedy - Executive produced by Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off The Boat), this show also explores diversity in America, It is based on Kang's life and shows what its like to be the only girl in a mixed race family in Philadelphia. 

Untitled Mindy Grandy/Kailing Comedy - NBC loves keeping their old collaborators in the mix. The Mindy Project was originally housed at NBC before moving to Fox and then Hulu. Plus, Mindy wrote several episodes of The Office back in the day.



Wednesday 11 January 2017

The Catch Switches Lanes in Season 2


The auspices behind The Catch revealed they will be changing the tone and format of the show. This seems to be a common trope in the world of television in which creators and writers change what they have already established in a show's first season in order to try and make the show better. However, for The Catch this is an uphill battle. It seems as though the already mediocre show will be taking its less than stellar elements, such as the so-called "romance" and  "comedy" and making them even more prominent. 

In the season one finale Peter Krause's con man character Benjamin Jones expressed his love for his former fiance and private investigator Alice Vaughan (Mireille Enos). Benjamin turned himself into the feds so that Alice would not be arrested. In the trailer for season two, Benjamin is sprung from prison on the condition he handles some even tougher con artists, all while having a good ol' romp with Alice as you do. 

The Catch operated like the other Shondaland shows Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder in which it developed the main story of the characters (the A plot) while having a procedural or "case of the week" as the B plot. Executive producer Allan Heinberg announced the case of the week for Alice's PI firm will be dropped because it was "really challenging" for the writers to keep up with. He said 'They became hard to break every week and took an enormous amount of real estate in the script. These cases weren’t allowing me to get to know the characters as well as I wanted. AVI only will do cases that explore (Benjamin and Alice’s) backstories and relationship.'

One of my initial criticisms of The Catch was it was too light and fluffy. We have come to expect darker, explosive and sexier exploits from Shondaland shows and The Catch failed to live up to its main selling point. We the audience had been duped! However, Heinberg claimed the show will now be approached as a "romantic comedy". He revealed he originally pitched the show to ABC when he took over as the EP as being a lighter addition to TGIF. He said "looking back at season one, it's really a romantic comedy at its heart". 

After watching the first season I think it is is safe to say The Catch was neither romantic or comedic. It was a disappointment which failed to live up to it's full potential. Any semblance of hope I once had for the show was completely thrown out of the window when Krause declared "it's like Scooby-Doo for adults. Adult Scooby Doo sex farce. In the age of Hollywood attempting to make network TV darker and more sinister, the one show that would benefit from having a darker and more mysterious tone will now be veering off track to the point of no return.

Monday 9 January 2017

This Is Us | The Pool



Towards the end of the Christmas break I decided to catch up with NBC's hit series This Is Us.

Disney Channel Needs To Leave Best Friends Whenever In The Past

Best Friends Whenever is the newest, high-concept series airing on Disney Channel. The multi-camera sitcom was created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who also created the Disney XD animated series Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja and executive produced by the Jed Elinoff, Scott Thomas and Michael B. Kaplan (Dog With A Blog). Set in Portland, Oregon, two girls named Cyd (Landry Bender) and Shelby (Lauren Taylor) are best friends living together while Cyd's parents are on an archaeological dig in Peru. The series will contain 19 episodes in its first season, the same number as Austin & Ally's first season.

Thursday 5 January 2017

Disney Channel Cancels Girl Meets World


After months of speculation regarding whether Girl Meets World would be granted an additional season, Disney Channel confirmed today the show will air it's season finale on Friday 20 January 2017. 

Wednesday 4 January 2017

Passengers and Collateral Beauty: Great Concepts, Bad Execution?



The Christmas season is always a busy time frame for American cinema and the big blockbuster space themed Passengers and the star-studded melodrama Collateral Beauty seem to be the perfect films for the period. 

Sunday 1 January 2017

The Mick | Review (Fox)



After  cancelling the low rated sitcoms Grandfathered and The Grinder, Fox is adding The Mick to their mid-season Tuesday schedule. Up to this point, Fox have yet to find a hit comedy for Tuesdays; New Girl has declined sharply, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has never been a ratings hit and The Mindy Project was cancelled. Will The Mick turn things around for Fox?