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‘The Bachelor’ Review: Indiana, Muppet Face, and 700 Lauren’s

By
Kelley Lynn
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0
The Bachelor
BACHELOR - "Episode 2002" - Ben greets ten ladies at a local Los Angeles high school where he invites them to take a trip down memory lane with him, but Lace is desperate to redeem herself after her erratic behavior at the first rose ceremony. Chris Harrison gets the first one-on-one date off to an exciting start when he introduces Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, fresh from the set of "Ride Along 2," to Ben and his date, and they are off on a rollicking, unconventional rendezvous, which will end with a special performance by popular singer-songwriter Amos Lee. Finally, a visit to The Love Lab will test six bachelorettes to see who among them has the best connection to Ben. The week culminates when the drama-filled rose ceremony has one lady making a stunning decision, on "The Bachelor," MONDAY, JANUARY 11(8:00-10:01p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Rick Rowell) BEN HIGGINS, AMANDA S.

Week Two of The Bachelor, aka this insanely stupid series, began with a montage of all of the ladies raving on and on about how fantastic Bachelor Ben/Peter Brady is. Saying things to camera such as: “Ben is so dreamy. He is the best ever!” and “Ben is the best Bachelor on the planet ever, ever, ever in life, like, ever.” Or something like that. I may have left out one “like” in that ridiculous excuse for the English language of a sentence. Anyway, here we are in the second episode of this utter nonsense, and this week, Ben has his very first One on One Date, along with two Group Dates, or what I like to call “Orgies.” Let us begin to re-cap the madness.

ORGY NUMERO UNO:

One of the girls stands up and reads the first Date Card with all the names of those that will go on the first Group Date with Ben. They are: someone named Jackie, someone named Lauren L.B. (WTF???), someone different named Lauren H., someone with the stripper name of Amber, creepy dentist girl Mandy, someone who for reasons unknown refers to herself as “JoJo”, someone else named Jubilee (which sounds like a dessert for kids at Friendly’s), Jennifer (because there’s always a Jennifer), Becca, and, of course, psycho-Giant Teeth, Lace. Giant Teeth tells the cameras AGAIN: “I get to redeem myself from drinking too much the other night. That wasn’t me. I’m not crazy. I’m not a crazy girl at all. ” Right. Because that is what non-crazy people do – they go around telling everyone over and over again that they are NOT crazy, dammit!

This was perhaps one of the lamest Group Dates of all time, and believe me, if you watch this silly-ass show, that is saying a lot. I didn’t even really understand the point of it, but then again, there never is a point to anything they do on this program. Ben took the girls to “Bachelor High School”, an actual high school, where they had to get into pairs and participate in different “classes” for no reason whatsoever. Hey, lets all pretend we are 16 again! Why? No idea. What does that have to do with compatibility issues or finding someone to love? NOTHING! And is this Ben’s old high school? I have no idea! I must have missed that part, because it seemed unclear to me. Anyway, pointless Host Chris Harrison was dressed as some sort of nerdy High School Principal, and made announcements over the loudspeaker. First up was Science Class, in which the girls had to get into pairs and follow instructions for a project. The first four teams to make “Ben’s volcano explode” move on.

Really? Lace and Jubilee lose because Lace is a dumb-ass who can’t read or comprehend simple instructions. Next up was LUNCH. Really? Lunch? Of course, they had to make it all sexual innuendos with food. If you thought the “make Ben’s volcano explode” innuendo was bad or tacky, check out the “passing red apples back and forth with our mouths” contest. Because, again, this is so relevant to finding a life partner. The girls basically dipped their faces and mouths into wads of water filled with apples, grabbed one without using their hands, and passed it on to another girls mouth. First of all, EWWW!!! Second of all, why? OH, wait. I know why. So they can make awful “blowjob” innuendo comments, in this case about Jackie, who apparently has a small mouth. Everyone had to comment on the size of her mouth, saying she “isn’t great with her mouth” and “she wishes she had a bigger mouth.” Does she? Who writes this crap? Can we just call this the “c**k-sucking whore contest” and be done with it? Thanks.

So, after the girls humiliate themselves by being sexualized, next up is showing us all just how dumb they really are. In their teams, they had to find Ben’s home state of Indiana, on a map. Actually, they had to PLACE it on a magnetic map. Let me just say first of all that NOBODY got it exactly right. Mandi and Amber were closest, but nobody placed Indiana exactly where it should be. Lots of teams got it very wrong, but coming in last place for the biggest epic fail was the moron team of Becca and JoJo, who placed Indiana somewhere around Canada. Since creepy dentist and stripper-name Amber were closest, they had to compete in a hurdles race in order to win Ben time and the title of “HomeComing Queen.” I’m embarrassed just typing that. The creepy dentist girl wins, wears a stupid banner and crown, and rides around a couple of times in a car with Ben as the others are forced to stand there and watch and hail the Homecoming Queen. Is this over yet?

Later that night, Ben has a cocktail party with the girls in the Group Orgy/Date. Becca is the first to take him aside. They play a little basketball, and flirt a little. Then Jennifer takes him aside, and they kiss. When Jen returns to the common area where all the girls are gathered for their usual one or ten glasses of wine, they question her as to whether or not they kissed. She says yes, and psycho Giant-Teeth Lace is NOT happy. “I’m aggravated. I’m getting that rose tonight. Do you even notice me? Hello???,” she whines to the cameras. Later, she takes boring Ben aside and says she is sorry for last night. “That is not me. I’m not crazy like that. ” Ben mutters something unintelligible, and then Lace stares into his mouth area LIKE SHE IS GOING TO EAT HIS FACE OFF, and then says to cameras: “We, were, like, almost eye-f**king.” No. YOU were creepily staring into his eyeballs and inside his tonsils, and he was cluelessly and blankly looking back with his usual look of confusion. Suddenly, Friendly’s ice-cream dessert Jubilee interrupts, and Lunatic Lace is NOT happy. Again. “This is NOT finished”, she tells cameras.

Meanwhile, Jubilee tells Ben about her childhood and that she was an orphan. He tells her he thinks she is amazing with her military background and such. She blushes and they kiss tenderly. Ginormous Teeth makes it known that she is unhappy about being interrupted by an ice-cream dessert. She whines AGAIN about not getting enough time with Ben. “Fuck these bitches. They can suck it.” But she’s NOT crazy. I know, and Ben knows, because she keeps telling him. After awhile, Ben comes by to get JoJo. He takes her to the roof, where they sway/dance romantically and he tells her he likes her attitude. They kiss, and he gives the group date rose to her. Giant Teeth and Ice-cream dessert are NOT HAPPY.

MOST BORING ONE ON ONE DATE OF ALL TIME:

So Pimp Daddy Host Harrison sets up the first one on one date for Caila and Ben. He sets them up with his “friends” Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. Yeah. Okay. If you believe for one second that these guys are FRIENDS with Chris Harrison, well, you’re dumber than the girls who couldn’t locate Indiana. Anyway, Caila and Ben go on a “ride along” date with Kevin and Ice Tea sitting in the back seat – which of course, is to promote their new film “Ride Along 2.” Subtle, eh? Never has White boy Peter Brady / Ben looked SO out-of-place before than trying to fit in with these two hip guys. It was even more awkward when Ben was casually “describing” who they are to cameras. “Kevin Hart is a comedian, and Ice Cube has done everything from acting to rap!” They drive along, pick up flowers off the street, go to a liquor store, and then a hot tub store to sit in the hot tub together. I guess this was supposed to be funny, this whole thing with Kevin Hart, but it really wasn’t. It was kind of lame. Eventually, they let those two clowns go, and the two go out alone for the night portion of the date. They have dinner, and he gives her the rose. Then they get a private concert from someone named Amus Lee, who I guess we are supposed to know or something. Ben is singing along with the ballad as they dance, saying its his favorite song ever. He sings to her, they kiss, and she tells cameras “I could see myself falling in love with Ben.” And I could see myself falling asleep watching these two. Snooze-ville.

ORGY NUMBER TWO:

So the second orgy included Emily, Shoshana (who didn’t speak any english last week and now randomly does), Samantha, Haley, Amanda, and Open Mouth Muppet Face Olivia. So, before we go any further, we must discuss Olivia and her Muppet Faces. WTF is she doing with the open-mouthed face every five minutes? (Please, for the love of all things Bachelor, Workprint.com, find a picture of Olivia and her mouth wide open like a Muppet and post it with this review). I mean, what IS that??? Also, every time they show Emily or Haley, it just says “Twin”, where their occupation would normally go. Twin? Really? Is that a job now? So, remember two paragraphs ago when I said that high school thing was the dumbest group date of all time? Wrong. THIS was the dumbest group date of all time.

They went to some weird-ass place called Love Lab Tech, a lab of some kind where they use “science” and Thermal energy and other fancy stupid words that mean nothing, to determine if these women are compatible sexually, with Ben. They blindfolded Ben and he went around SNIFFING the girls one by one like the way a dog sniffs out another dog. Seriously? Then he would say out loud what they smelled like. He called Samantha “kind of sour.” Well, ain’t that nice. Then they say different girls next to Ben on a bed to sense their natural attraction, and him and Muppet Face went through the charts high, while Samantha got the lowest score all the way around. Olivia screams to camera: “Winning!”

Later that night, they kiss and she tells cameras “There is heat in my stomach area. Oh man. My heart. ” Then she opens her mouth like Guy Smiley and just sits there with her frozen Muppet face. Amanda feels like this is all really hard, and it’s not fair because it’s the “Ben and Olivia show.” Amanda pulls Ben aside for some alone time to tell him that she has 2 daughters. “Theres, like, a lot that, like, I wanted to tell you, that like, I have 2 kids, and like, I could not have asked for like, this to be any better.” They kiss. He asks about her kids and she loves that he is so interested. Then Muppet gets the rose and Amanda is upset. Muppet is saying to camera: “Me. Mine. My rose. Come on now, lets just end the show. ” Meanwhile, Amanda cries “Seriously? Is it, like, even worth it, for like, me to be here?” No. But it’s probably worth it for you to take some , like, grammar lessons and stuff.

COCK-TAIL PARTY:

See what I did there? It’s a cocktail party, where they drink their faces off, but it’s also a party all about cocks … and tails. Ben pulls Leah aside first and while she is talking to him, he keeps grabbing kisses from her in mid sentence. Meanwhile, Giant Teeth and Muppet Mouth have a weird conversation where Lace tells Muppet how she still hasn’t had enough time with Ben. Then Lace goes to Ben, and she suddenly goes into this bizarre monologue to him that makes no sense and blabbers on and on: “I know IM not crazy. Im not a crazy person. I was so dorky in high school. Like, people made fun of me and stuff. I was dorky looking and they teased me.” Ben had zero reaction because he is the King of Bland, and Giant Teeth ran away sobbing that she just made a fool of herself by bringing out “insecure Lace.” Meanwhile, Lauren L.B. and stripper name Amber whine that they have LITERALLY had no time with Ben. Then Lauren B, who is different from Lauren H and different from Lauren LB, also has not had lots of time. Ben takes Amanda aside and they make homemade barrettes for her daughter’s hair. She cries with joy at the sweet gesture from Ben.

ROSE CEREMONY:

Ben chooses Lauren LB as one of the girls to keep during the rose ceremony, but she pulls him aside and tells him this is all too much for her and she decides to leave. Hey that’s okay babe, we still have TWO more Laurens to work with. Peter Brady let’s go Samantha, because, lets face it, she smells sour. Also, her voice sounds like she just swallowed a cheese grater. The crazy dentist also gets eliminated, along with a third person who is so pointless, I don’t recall her name. Harrison condescendingly says “Say your goodbyes” to those rejected, as if they are going to the electric chair.

NEXT WEEK: Someone named Lauren T joins the cast of The Bachelor, confusing everyone completely. Chris Harrison marries a rose. Muppet Face opens her mouth and it gets stuck that way forever.

USA Renews ‘Playing House’ For a Third Season

By
Bilal Mian
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0
playing house season 3

Playing House fans can breath a sigh of relief and pump their fists.

The comedy following childhood best friends growing up together has been renewed for a third season.

“Not only is this a show for the ages, Playing House also represents a whole new way of financing production with its unique partnership of ad sales, Comcast, studio and network,” said Jeff Wachtel, President and Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

“Year-over-year we have seen Playing House attract critical acclaim and a loyal fan base that continues to grow,” said Jackie de Crinis, Executive Vice President Original Programming, USA Network, “The unique relationship between Jessica and Lennon translates into a heart-warming comedy about friendship and we are delighted to have it for a third season.”

More about the series:

Childhood best friends Maggie Caruso (Parham, “Parks and Recreation”) and Emma Crawford (St. Clair, “Bridesmaids”), have shared countless adventures growing up in the charming town of Pinebrook, Conn.  When Maggie discovered that her husband Bruce (Brad Morris, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”) was having an online affair, Emma gave up her burgeoning business career in China to stay in their hometown and help Maggie raise her baby.  Now, Emma is forced to confront the past that she abruptly left behind thirteen years ago: her first love and local cop, Mark (Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele,”), her prim-and-proper mother (Jane Kaczmarek, “Malcolm in the Middle”) and a small town that she’s never felt comfortable in.

Syfy Announces Premiere Dates for ’12 Monkeys’ and ‘Hunters’

By
Bilal Mian
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0
12 Monkeys
12 MONKEYS -- "Year of the Monkey" Episode 201 -- Pictured: (l-r) Aaron Stanford as James Cole, Amanda Schull as Cassandra Railly -- (Photo by: Steve Wilkie/Syfy)

Syfy has announced the premiere dates for the first season of Hunters and the second season of 12 Monkeys.

12 Monkeys, which follows of James Cole, a time traveler sent back in time to prevent a deadly virus from destroying mankind, will return on Monday, April 18 at 9 PM with a 13-episode season. The series stars  Aaron Stanford (James Cole), Amanda Schull (Dr. Cassandra Railly), Kirk Acevedo (Ramse), Emily Hampshire (Jennifer Goines), Barbara Sukowa (Katarina Jones) and Todd Stashwick (Deacon).

New to the network, Hunters follows Baltimore FBI agent Flynn Carroll whose wife has gone missing. His search leads him to a highly-classified government organization – the Exo-Terrorism Unit (ETU) – who track and fight alien terrorists. The first season will debut on Monday, April 11 at 10 PM.

‘Shadowhunters’ Pilot: Our Favorite Moments

By
Nicole C
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0
SHADOWHUNTERS - ABC Family's "Shadowhunters" stars Isaiah Mustafa as Luke Garroway, Matthew Daddario as Alec Lightwood, Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle Lightwood, Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray, Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland, Alberto Rosende as Simon Lewis and Harry Shum Jr. as Magnus Bane. (ABC Family/Bob D'Amico)
Shadowhunters
Season 1, Episode 1: “The Mortal Cup”
Air Date: January 12, 2016

 

This week fans all over the world rejoiced as Shadowhunters premiered at last on Freeform (formerly ABC Family) after months of anticipation all over social media.

When we interviewed the cast, creator Ed Decter, producer McG, and series author Cassandra Clare last October, they emphasized how the show would stay true to the spirit of the books. For the most part, this viewer feels that they succeeded with that, though many critics have voiced their opinion on the strength of the pilot. While it wasn’t perfect, there were lots of fun and entertaining scenes that capture Clare’s Shadowhunter world for both fans and newcomers alike.

Here are some of our favorite moments from the series premiere: (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

SHADOWHUNTERS - “The Mortal Cup” - One young woman realizes how dark the city can really be when she learns the truth about her past in the series premiere of "Shadowhunters" on Tuesday, January 12th at 9:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT. ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016. Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, "Shadowhunters" follows Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters - human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. Now thrown into the world of demon hunting after her mother is kidnapped, Clary must rely on the mysterious Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters Isabelle and Alec to navigate this new dark world. With her best friend Simon in tow, Clary must now live among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to find answers that could help her find her mother. Nothing is as it seems, including her close family friend Luke who knows more than he is letting on, as well as the enigmatic warlock Magnus Bane who could hold the key to unlocking Clary's past. (ABC Family/John Medland) MAXIM ROY, KATHERINE MCNAMARA
SHADOWHUNTERS – “The Mortal Cup”  (ABC Family/John Medland)
MAXIM ROY, KATHERINE MCNAMARA

Jocelyn kicking ass all over

Jocelyn Fray (Maxim Roy), Clary’s (Katherine McNamara) overprotective mom, will do anything to keep her daughter safe. That includes slaying a water demon when Clary was eight and then kicking the collective asses of Circle members that have come to the loft looking for her and the Mortal Cup. Then being the badass that she is, she downs a sleeping potion so that they can’t force her to reveal its location. Boom.

alberto

Simon Buff AF

We get a shirtless Simon Lewis (Alberto Rosende) in the first episode and fangirls and boys all the world say thanks. Even Clary couldn’t help but check out her best friend’s ridiculous abs after Champagne Enema’s gig on her birthday. Yup, we saw that Miss Fray.

BONUS: Simon singing “Forever Young” – ahhh super foreshadow! Well played Mr. Decter.

We see your Mr. DJ
We see you Mr. DJ

The DJ who kept playing in Pandemonium even though there was a supernatural fight club happening

Footage of the fight scene at Pandemonium had originally been shown to attendees at New York Comic-Con last October to much applause but seeing it play out during the premiere had me focusing on other details, like the DJ in the VIP section. It’s a quick flash but he’s not freaking the F out. Kudos to you possibly mundane DJ for playing on.

SHADOWHUNTERS - “The Mortal Cup” - One young woman realizes how dark the city can really be when she learns the truth about her past in the series premiere of "Shadowhunters" on Tuesday, January 12th at 9:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT. ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016. Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, "Shadowhunters" follows Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters - human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. Now thrown into the world of demon hunting after her mother is kidnapped, Clary must rely on the mysterious Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters Isabelle and Alec to navigate this new dark world. With her best friend Simon in tow, Clary must now live among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to find answers that could help her find her mother. Nothing is as it seems, including her close family friend Luke who knows more than he is letting on, as well as the enigmatic warlock Magnus Bane who could hold the key to unlocking Clary's past. (ABC Family/John Medland) ALBERTO ROSENDE, KATHERINE MCNAMARA, SHAILENE GARNETT
SHADOWHUNTERS – “The Mortal Cup” (ABC Family/John Medland)
ALBERTO ROSENDE, KATHERINE MCNAMARA, SHAILENE GARNETT

Maureen being a part of Simon’s band

If you read the books, Maureen Brown (Shailene Garnett) was actually groupie and younger cousin of bandmate Eric Hillchurch. Having her in the band instead and being friends with both Simon and Clary brings a new twist to the story that is intriguing. This sets up a whole new love triangle between the three characters that is mirrored by Simon/Clary/Jace.

alan

Valentine, his Chernobyl hideout, and his experiments

We got a first look at the villainous Valentine Morgenstern (Alan Van Sprang) who is not only Jocelyn’s husband, but is also the leader of the rogue Shadowhunter group, the Circle. Everyone thought that he was dead, but nope he was just hiding out in radioactive Chernobyl with his demon experiments.

Plus he showed the world how crazy he is by stabbing a Circle member who was talking smack about Jocelyn. Poor dude didn’t realize that Valentine was still obsessed with his wife.

SHADOWHUNTERS - “The Mortal Cup” - One young woman realizes how dark the city can really be when she learns the truth about her past in the series premiere of "Shadowhunters" on Tuesday, January 12th at 9:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT. ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016. Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, "Shadowhunters" follows Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters - human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. Now thrown into the world of demon hunting after her mother is kidnapped, Clary must rely on the mysterious Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters Isabelle and Alec to navigate this new dark world. With her best friend Simon in tow, Clary must now live among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to find answers that could help her find her mother. Nothing is as it seems, including her close family friend Luke who knows more than he is letting on, as well as the enigmatic warlock Magnus Bane who could hold the key to unlocking Clary's past. (ABC Family/John Medland) EMERAUDE TOUBIA
SHADOWHUNTERS – “The Mortal Cup” (ABC Family/John Medland)
EMERAUDE TOUBIA

Isabelle Lightwood all day, every day

Seeing Isabelle brought to life by Emeraude Toubia was such a pleasure to watch. She captures Izzy’s confidence, grace, and badassness wonderfully. It was also great to see her interact with Alec, Jace, and Clary. Plus the girl can fight in insane heels!

SHADOWHUNTERS - ABC Family's "Shadowhunters" stars Alberto Rosende as Simon Lewis, Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray and Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland. (ABC Family/Bob D'Amico)
SHADOWHUNTERS – ABC Family’s “Shadowhunters” stars Alberto Rosende as Simon Lewis, Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray and Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland. (ABC Family/Bob D’Amico)

Jace, Clary, and Simon in front of the Institute

Near the end of the first episode, Clary has woken up from her demon infection and meets Simon outside the Institute after two days of being asleep. Jace (Dominic Sherwood) has gone outside with her and a good thing too since a Circle member had followed Mr. Lewis and was trying to abduct Clary. Jace of course kills the guy and reveals himself to Simon. Clary gets caught in the middle as the Shadowhunter wants her to stay with him so he can protect her while her best friend (whom she trusts completely) is asking her to leave with him. So many feels! Bring the love triangle on.

What were your favorite scenes? Share it with us in the comments section!

 

You can catch Shadowhunters on Freeform Tuesdays 9/8 Central.

‘Man Seeking Woman’ Review: Third Wheeling and Toilet Lightning

By
Terence Chen
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0
Man Seeking Woman
MAN SEEKING WOMAN -- "Wings" -- Episode 201 (Airs Wednesday, January 6, 10:30 pm e/p) Pictured: (l-r) Jay Baruchel as Josh, Sarah Gadon as Kelly. CR: Michael Gibson/FX

Man Seeking Woman
Season 2, Episode 1 – “Wings”
Grade: B

AND WE’RE BACK!!!

Did you miss me? No? Well, that hurts. So let’s catch up real quick: I’m still single, definitely less desperate, and still reviewing Man Seeking Woman for you guys. Glad you’re back. Anyways, let’s get into the series premiere!

You know, for some sad sack, Josh tends to pull some pretty quality women. This episode is no different with Josh starting a new relationship with a blonde named Kelly, who he immediately chooses to hang out with instead of Mike and their weekly wings night, from which the episode gets its title. We start dipping our toes in the surreal with the ersatz Army squad car relaying the sad news that Josh has been lost in the hazy fog of party combat, House of Cards, and new relationship hotness. Wesley Snipes and the Blade trilogy will have to be put on hold.

Man Seeking Woman
MAN SEEKING WOMAN — “Wings” — Episode 201 (Airs Wednesday, January 6, 10:30 pm e/p) Pictured: Eric Andre as Mike. CR: Michael Gibson/FX

Thankfully, I’ve never been the third wheel on a date is recent memory, although this might be because most of my friends are undateable misanthropes. But, awkward third wheeling aside, I completely empathize with the Josh free time union. Having a friend lost to the vagaries of a new relationship could be really frustrating, and seeing the various ways that Josh spent his single time is funny, though his mother’s requests of baby time are a bit chilling. Sadly, Mike’s demands in negotiations for weed, Call of Duty and blackout drinking are rebuffed, and Mike calls for the union to protest Josh’s apartment. However in response, Josh invites them up, and most of the union members cross the picket line, with Mike being the last holdout. What Mike says is true, anything with Josh and Kelly becomes a couples thing, not a hangout, but the others just want any time with Josh, so Mike is left out in the cold.

On the other side of things, we cut to Josh and Kelly spending shared tooth-brushing time. I’m not sure that there will ever be a time where that feels normal, but the innate clinginess of Josh comes out when he invites himself to his new girlfriends high school get together. Listen, I don’t know a lot about relationships, but I know that the self-invite is never a good idea. And of course, when Josh shows up to the cabin, it looks like they all sprang out of a goddamned Abercrombie catalog.

Man Seeking Woman
MAN SEEKING WOMAN — “Wings” — Episode 201 (Airs Wednesday, January 6, 10:30 pm e/p) Pictured (left): Jay Baruchel as Josh. CR: Michael Gibson/FX

As you could expect, Josh is a fish out of water, and ends up being on the outside of every inside joke, and ends up doing a puzzle while everyone else is being hunted by a possessed lumberjack. Oh yeah, Kelly’s friends are in a horror movie trope where they’re being hunted down one by one in a “I Know What You Did Last Summer” type of scenario. Have I ever told you how much I hate horror movies? Yeah, I’m glad that the show points out how incredibly dumb the characters in those things are. Oh, there’s a common place where you hid a shameful secret? Sure, let’s go back there EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I’m glad Kelly and her friends got murdered by an undead lumberjack possessed by the devil. Though, true to trope, Jamal dies first, why’s it gotta be the black guy.

After Josh gets dumped by Kelly, he leaves Mike a voicemail (ugh, the desperation) and randomly drops by, only to find that him and Mike have a daughter from accidental semen mixing and lightning in a toilet, because you know, that’s how babies are made. The rest of the episode is basically using their child Sophie as a surrogate from rebuilding their friendship. Thus, status quo restored, Josh is single, Mike is co-defendant, and I assume that Josh’s mom still has some messed up issues to sort out.

All in all, ‘Man Seeking Woman’ is back to form, and while this episode was a bit humdrum, it reminds us about what we love in this show, and gives us a refresher about the convoluted love life in Josh’s head.

‘Heroes Reborn’: Katana Girl’s Last Stand

By
Nicole C
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0
HEROES REBORN -- "Send in the Clones" Episode 111 -- Pictured: Kiki Sukezane as Miko Otomo -- (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)
Heroes Reborn
Season 1, Episode 11: “Send in the Clones”
Air Date: January 7, 2016

 

Jumping back into the fray after the mid-season break, Heroes Reborn wastes no time in this action packed episode that has many characters coming face-to-face at last. When we last left Katana Girl, she had somehow been transported to the future and where she met Tommy at Erica’s Gateway facility.

The teleporter transports Miko away from the Renautas CEO and realizes that she was in his last issue of 9th Wonders! We get a quick look at the last page and see the picture of late comic book creator Isaac Mendez. Sad feels. On the plus side though, Tommy tells Katana Girl that she must play a part in saving the world after she explains that it was her mission to rescue the master of time and space. But soon KG starts to digitally fade and she seems to finally accept the fact that she is only a computer construct. The real Miko Otomo is still asleep and is being held by Renautas to keep her father Hachiro in line.

HEROES REBORN -- "Send in the Clones" Episode 111 -- Pictured: (l-r) Kiki Sukezane as Miko Otomo, Robbie Kay as Tommy Clark -- (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)
HEROES REBORN — “Send in the Clones” Episode 111 — Pictured: (l-r) Kiki Sukezane as Miko Otomo, Robbie Kay as Tommy Clark — (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)

Speaking of which, Erica is having Hachiro build a new eternal fortress and that is the only reason why he is still alive. Thinking this could be for young Tommy now that he has Hiro’s powers and his father probably did not survive the encounter with the clones.

Through the comic book, Katana Girl sees her future battle with Harris and tells Tommy that the reason she and Ren came to America was because the man had taken her father’s sword (actually Hiro’s Kensei sword). She also determines that he would be the one to send her on her final mission. Miko needs to head Sunstone Manor quickly as her hand begins to pixelate in and out again. Tommy wonders how he can possibly convince Erica that he’s actually gotten rid of her and she gives him her hair ribbon as proof. What a relief to know that he hasn’t gone over to the dark side. Before being sent back to the present though, she tells him that if he sees Ren to let the gamer know that she loved him too. Just as she travels back in time an angry Erica arrives and asks Tommy where KG went.

He fibs and explains that he had to teleport the Japanese girl away initially because she was trying to kill Erica and then she simply vanished. Erica inquires if KG said anything to which Tommy replies yes but it was in Japanese. He hands over Miko’s ribbon to the Renautas head and it disappears moments after, providing some proof to his story. Erica then has Tommy take herself and Otomo back to present Odessa (where the big showdown will be taking place).

Katana Girl next finds herself in a field outside Sunstone Manor where Carlos and Farah have rescued Jose and Micah although Father Mauricio gets killed. Unfortunately Matt Parkman managed to pull one over Rene and sent him away while gaining control of Taylor. She soon faces a hoard of clones but her final battle lies with Harris Prime. The two engage in a battle of axe vs. improvised spear with lots of twirling, kicking, and smacking. Just as Harris is about to kill computer Miko, she stabs Harris in the chest through her own fading stomach and then dealing the deathblow via decapitation. Oh Harris, don’t you know that you shouldn’t give long speeches before killing your victim? Carlos and the others come outside where he asks her who she was.

HEROES REBORN -- "Send in the Clones" Episode 111 -- Pictured: (l-r) Clé Bennett as Harris Prime, Kiki Sukezane as Miko Otomo -- (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)
HEROES REBORN — “Send in the Clones” Episode 111 — Pictured: (l-r) Clé Bennett as Harris Prime, Kiki Sukezane as Miko Otomo — (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)

“I was Katana Girl,” she said before disappearing, for now at least.

Poor Ren never got a chance to say goodbye! But I’m guessing that he will probably have a shot with the real Miko when she wakes up, because she has to right? Otherwise that’s just real sad. As he makes his way to Odessa after encountering the Hachiro construct, Ren must somehow find a way to save the Otomos from Erica’s evil plan.

Katana Girl has fulfilled her role in rescuing Hiro from the eternal fortress so that he could bring HRG back to 2013 and become father to Tommy/Nathan as well as vanquishing her nemesis Harris Prime. In her short life she jumped in and out of reality and the virtual world, time traveled, and even fell in love. Not too shabby for a computer construct. While her storyline had borrowed greatly from Tron, it was nevertheless fun to watch in an over the top kind of way. You and your pink outfits will be missed KG.

Watch her final battle:

https://youtu.be/G9dLLEIkf6E

 

You can catch Heroes Reborn on NBC Thursdays 8/7 central.

 

‘Daredevil’ Season 2 Receives New Teaser, Official Release Date

By
Bilal Mian
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Daredevil Season 2

What’s better than a new teaser for Daredevil Season 2 on Netflix? How about an official release date that is much closer than anticipated.

Netflix and Marvel have announced that Hell’s Kitchen’s blind vigilante will return on March 18, 2016 with a worldwide release of thirteen episodes.

In the new season, Matt Murdock will need to learn from his past when he faces the vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and the mysterious Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung) returns from his past to present all-new challenges for the hero.

daredevil season 2

“The Bachelor” Review: Twins, A Loony Dentist, and a Chicken Enthusiast

By
Kelley Lynn
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0
The Bachelor

Well, here we are, back again to witness yet another season of “journeys” and “fairy tales” on the mind-blowingly stupid show “The Bachelor.”  I believe this is Season #879, and this time, as they’ve been known to do, The Bachelor chooses one of the rejects from last season’s stupidity, and turns them into the new victim … uh … I mean … bachelor. The premise is always the same. One man (or woman) – and in this case, 28 women, a mansion, lots of hot tubs, LOTS of drinking, endless rose-giving, and enough drama to make your eyeballs burn. In the end, there is usually a proposal, and then a few months later, off air, there is usually a break-up. But its okay, because all of this keeps the wine industry in business, not to mention it has kept the most pointless person on earth, host Chris Harrison, employed for over a decade. So let us begin with episode one of this new season. I shall do my best to try to describe the crazy to you. Sit down with a few bottles of wine, it’s going to be a long one.

This season’s bachelor choice is Ben Higgins, who looks like a much cuter adult version of Peter Brady. And even though he does have a nice and seemingly genuine personality, he seems about as exciting and riveting as Peter Brady too. He is from the small town of Warsaw, Indiana, and in the first episode, the show makes a big deal about the fact that he is only 26. He tells the camera “I’m just a normal guy.” Suuuure. A normal guy who goes on a TV reality show to find a wife, TWICE. Also, his hair looks like it was run over by a lawnmower, and then the lawnmower turned back around and ran it over a second time, just for fun. Peter Brady’s parents have been married for over 30 years, and he says he wants to find something like what they have. So, of course, the best place to find that would be on national television, don’t you agree? Ben was rejected by Kaitlyn on last seasons “The Bachelorette”, although the intro to tonight’s show didn’t mention that at all, which was odd. Ben told cameras: “I’m nervous to date 26 people.” Gee, if I could count how many times I’ve said that in my lifetime. OH that’s right. I have NEVER once said that. I forgot.

Next up in Episode One, Ben gets advice from 3 past “Bachelors” on the show; Chris Soules (Farmer Dull), Jason Mesnik (Mr. “I picked one person, then, OOPS! MY BAD!, chose a different person after the finale”), and Sean Lowe, who stupidly dyed his hair blonde and made it look stupider than Ben’s “Attack of the Lawnmower” Hairstyle. The only advice that Hay-for-Brains Farmer Boy had was to “kiss all of them.” Then he just sat there nodding like a jackass while the other real men talked. Ben said he wanted to get to know people before doing too much kissing. The men left, and then there was a small montage introduction that featured some of the ladies vying for Ben’s love. I will highlight some of the strongest and most memorable of these crazy-ass females, in the next paragraph, where we shall discuss Ben’s first time meeting them.

The Bachelor

GETTING OUT OF THE LIMO:

As with each new season, The Bachelor stands just outside the mansion, as Pointless Host Chris Harrison has his shining moment of the night and explains what is about to happen. “You are about to meet 26 amazing women. Are you ready? Have fun. ” What would we do without this guy to show us the ways of life? And now the real fun begins ….

Lauren with the initial B, is a flight attendant living in Boston. When she meets Ben, she gives him a pair of wings. She also says her “S” words in a very annoying way. Caila runs and jumps into Ben’s arms, and then he carries her like a weirdo. Jami, a bartender from Canada, gushes: “Goodness gracious I’m nervous!” Woah! Watch your language, young lady! Amanda has a little girl voice. LACE is a nutbag, and yes, her name is Lace, so right there, we know she’s going to be a problem. She has crazy possessive eyes, and she demands Ben to close his eyes upon meeting her, and then she kisses him. “I wanted to get the first kiss”, she says. Someone named Shushanna didn’t even speak english at all, and is from Russia. Ben just stared at her as she spoke to him, in total confusion. Leah brought a football, put it between her own legs, and spiked it toward Ben. When he caught it, she said “I knew you were a good catch.” GAG!!!!!

Joelle wore a unicorn-head and then told him: “Its true. Unicorns do exist.” What the f**k? Where do they come up with this crap? Laura is from Kentucky, and is a redhead who wants to be called “Red Velvet.” She seems terrified of everything, including Ben, herself, and oxygen. Mandi is a dentist, and also, she is batshit crazy. Weird as hell, and from Portland to boot. SHe showed up out of the limo with a giant rose hat and told Ben that he could “pollinate it later tonight.” Then, of course, we have the twin sisters, Haley and Emily, who of course say all the things at the same time and finish each others sentences and all that good stuff. They are already on my last nerve, and I think Ben should hit them both over the head with a 2 by 4. They awkwardly hug and giggle together with Ben, before going into the mansion. Maegan is a cowgirl who brought with her, her mini-horse, because THAT’S normal.

Breanne is super annoying and brought a basket of bread, which she then beat the shit out of against the brick wall outside. “I’m a nutritional therapist, and I think gluten is Satan.” As girls kept pulling up in the limos outside, the ladies inside were getting more and more anxious, and Lace was drinking more and more wine, because whats a first episode without at least one loony alcoholic? “I’m judging everyone. Some dumb ones, some pretty ones. None of these people are competition for me though. ” Oh, and Lace has GIANT teeth. She needs to see that crazy dentist about her ginormous teeth.

Meanwhile, outside, Izzy pulls up in her one piece pajamas, saying “I’m under dressed, but I had to find out if you were the onesie for me.” And that is where there should have been a rimshot or the sound of people booing. Rachel is “Unemployed”, love when they don’t even pretend to have jobs on this show. They just come right out with it – “Yeah my name is Bambi and I do absolutely nothing in life.” But at least being unemployed is being honest. Unlike Tiara, whose job is listed as “Chicken Enthusiast.” Ummm …. really??? What the fuck is a chicken enthusiast? You really like chickens? How is that a job? Perhaps you need to see a psychiatrist about this chicken obsession. She said she was really going to miss her chickens to take part in this JOURNEY, but she had to ask herself “which comes first, the chickens or the Ben?” Where the hell is that rimshot sound effect?

The Bachelor

COCK-TAIL PARTY DRAMA:

Now that Ben has met all the crazies, I mean … ladies …. they all go inside and try to impress each other and make out and drink more alcohol. All the girls are talking about how gorgeous Ben is, how he is the best Bachelor of all time, yadda yadda yadda. Then, enter Ben and his perfectness, and everybody literally gushes out loud . Before entering the mansion, he takes out his cell phone and calls his mom and dad to tell them that the limo meets went very well. Awwwww, how sweet. Then, he goes inside to greet the ladies and they are all tripping all over themselves and fanning themselves. Really? Have you people never seen a man before? Calm the hell down. Then, in the middle of Ben’s welcome speech to everyone, Crazy Dentist Rose Hat steals him away and makes him lie down on a bench outside so she can give him an oral exam to make sure he flosses well. “If we are going to make out, you have to floss.” Who the fuck is she, Hermie from “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?” For reasons unknown, Ben goes along with this and doesn’t seem completely turned off, as most humans would be. Olivia, a news anchor who tells Ben she left her job to come on the show, makes a good impression on him and he tells cameras that.

Then, Amber and Becca show up. They are both former contestants from past seasons – more rejects that didn’t get chosen. Apparently, they love Ben so much that they wanted to be on the show, so Chris Harrison meets them outside and sets up the drama for everyone. “Now Ben has no idea you are here, and its up to him whether or not to keep you or send you home tonight.” Oooooh!!! Of course, this does not sit well with Lunatic Giant Teeth Lace and her 9th glass of wine. “Its unfair. They have an advantage. And who the hell wants a fucking virgin anyway?”, she says, referring to Becca, who is a virgin. Lace eventually steals Ben, takes him outside, and asks him awkwardly if she can get a second, “better” kiss from him, than the one she forced on him outside. Just as he is about to tell her no, the other loon interrupts them with her dentistry conversation. After he finishes up with Loon Number Two, he goes inside to find Loon Number One, Giant Teeth. He finds her and tells her that he wants to get to know her more before kissing her, and that she is gorgeous and great. She mutters through her glazed drunk eyes and slurs that he doesn’t seem to notice: “OH okay, you have no idea what this means to me.” Whatever. Keep drinking, crazypants.

Finally, host Chris Harrison has another shining moment, as he drops the rose off on the coffee table in the main room of the party mansion. He doesn’t say a word, just leaves the rose there, which is the First Impression Rose. All the ladies start sweating and drinking more and flipping out about who is going to get the rose. Eventually, Peter Brady comes by and awkwardly takes the rose and leaves to go find his winner. He gives it to Olivia, the news anchor, and again, Lace is not happy. “He didn’t make eye contact with me”, she slurs. What the hell are you blabbering on about, woman? Finally, it is time to end the party and have the first rose ceremony. Ben comes in and announces that he is nervous by making a heart-pounding sound against his chest. The girls laugh at his silly joke WAY TOO HARD – its embarrassing. Meanwhile, Chris Harrison is in the Fantasy Suite pleasuring himself until his next line.

The Bachelor

THE ROSE CEREMONY:

Drama. Ben picks lots and lots of girls, and for reasons unexplainable to humans, he keeps the chicken lady AND the crazy dentist AND the one he cant even understand because she speaks no english AND Giant Teeth Alcoholic Lace. But, that isn’t good enough for her. SHe gets the final rose, and as everyone is about to celebrate with champagne, she asks Ben if she can talk to him privately yet AGAIN. They have one of the stupidest conversations ever on the face of the earth:

Big Teeth: I feel like you didn’t look at me even once through that whole ceremony and at the party. Like, you didn’t look me in the eye at all.

Ben: Okay well I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to not look at you. Did you see there are a lot of great people in there and you are one of them, which is why I gave you a rose.

Big Teeth: But you never made eye contact with me even once. Like, I thought I was going home. You didn’t look at me.

Ben: So just to be clear, the issue here is that I didn’t look at you during the rose ceremony …”

The show sort of left off in the middle of their stupid conversation, with Ben saying to cameras “But I GAVE HER A ROSE!!! Ahhh!! I think the drama is just getting started!”

Ben sent home red-headed Laura, who assumed it was because “maybe he doesn’t like redheads. Some people don’t.” Or maybe it’s because you look like you are terrified of air. Breanne and her gluten-free existence and her dumb bread also didn’t make the cut. On her way out, he told her “keep doing you.” GAG!!! He also sent home other pointless people who I don’t remember. The important thing here is that the Chicken Enthusiast made it through.

NEXT WEEK: Chris Harrison makes love to a chicken. Ben confuses one twin for the other, and nobody notices, not even the twins. The lawnmower runs over Ben’s hair a third and final time.

‘Rise of the Tomb Raider’ Receives Release Date for Steam and Windows 10

By
Bilal Mian
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rise of the tomb raider

Waiting for last year’s Xbox One exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider to hit PC? The wait is nearly over!

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have announced that the game will be available for Windows 10 and Steam on January 28, 2016. The PC version of the game, developed by Crystal Dynamics and Nixxes Software, will add numerous features, including Windows 10 support and 4K resolution.

“The PC release of Rise of the Tomb Raider continues the positive momentum from our highly successful partnership and collaboration with Microsoft for the launch on Xbox One and Xbox 360,” said Scot Amos co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics.

“PC players are a passionate, devoted audience and we know they’ll embrace the version created for their systems,” said Ron Rosenberg, co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics.

The PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider will be available as a digital download via Steam, the Windows Store, Amazon, the Square Enix e-store and other major retailers – both in-store and online. Standard edition pricing is $59.99. The Digital Deluxe edition is $89.99 and includes a Season Pass to nearly all current and future DLC.

A Collector’s Edition, which includes the Digital Deluxe version of the game, a 12-inch Lara Croft statue, replicas of Lara’s journal and jade necklace, and a steel case, will also be available from the Square Enix e-store for $149.99.

Syfy Renews ‘The Expanse’ for Season 2

By
Bilal Mian
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The Expanse

Fans of Syfy’s The Expanse will be ringing in the new year with some great news as Dave Howe, President, Syfy and Chiller, has announced that the series will be coming back for a second season in early 2017. The second season will return with 13-new episodes, three more than its first season order of ten.

“The Expanse is firing on all cylinders creatively, building a passionate fan base among viewers and critics alike, and delivering on Syfy’s promise of smart, provocative science fiction entertainment. We can’t wait to see where the story takes us in season two,” said Howe said in a statement.

Since its debut, The Expanse has been sampled by 4.5 million viewers who watched the first episode on Syfy.com, On Demand and digital outlets prior to the series’ linear premiere, and an average of 1.6 million P2+ linear viewers (L3) in its first three episodes.

The Expanse airs Tuesday nights on Syfy at 10 PM.

 

‘Daredevil’ Season 2 Will Hit the Ground Running

By
Bilal Mian
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0
DAREDEVIL

Entertainment Weekly has released two brand new stills from the upcoming season of Daredevil featuring Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, and Elektra, played by Elodie Yung.

The first image finds Matt Murdock tied up by chains while donning the Daredevil outfit. To make a bad situation worse, Frank Castle is towering over him with a gun. In their report, Entertainment Weekly revealed that the season two opens with an action sequence that quickly introduces The Punisher. According to showrunner Doug Petrie, “The advantage of any sequel is you can dive right in. We hit the ground running and then we ran as fast as we f—ing could.”

daredevil elektraLike its fellow Netflix series Jessica Jones, Entertainment Weekly reports that Daredevil will feature more sex “as Matt gets closer to Karen and then his old college girlfriend resurfaces.” Old college girlfriend you ask? It’s none other than Elektra.

“Matt’s a deeply moral complicated guy and she’s just the best bad girlfriend you can possibly have,” Petrie says. “She does everything wrong and attractive, she’s his id, the wild side. Matt is always taming his wild side. Elektra just lets it out. He’s both repulsed and deeply drawn to that.”

You can read the entire interview over at Entertainment Weekly’s website.

 

Showtime Kicks Off the New Year with Previews of ‘Shameless’ and ‘Billions’

By
Bilal Mian
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Shameless

Showtime will be ringing in the New Year with an early opportunity to view the season premiere of Shameless and their new drama series Billions.

Viewers will be able to sample the TV-14 rated versions of both premieres for free on YouTube, Facebook and SHO.com. The Billions and Shameless premieres will also be available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes.

Season six of SHAMELESS picks up shortly after last year’s finale, as the Gallaghers prepare for yet another long Chicago winter. This season will see more than just the arctic Lake Michigan winds whipping through the South Side. Change is hard, and the Gallaghers are as surprised as anyone at how life is turning out for them. But the question remains, as they come into their own and find out who they are, is it really possible that the Gallaghers could grow apart for good?

BILLIONS is a bold, contemporary drama that melds the worlds of ultra-wealth, influence and corruption as personified in two highly ambitious opposing figures: hard-charging, blue-blooded, politically connected U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Giamatti) and brilliant, calculating, blue-collar billionaire hedge fund king, Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Lewis). Set amongst the Machiavellian machinations of New York City power politics and finance, BILLIONS weaves a complex, intricate narrative featuring a high-stakes game of predator-versus-prey.

Shameless returns to Showtime on January 10. Billions’ series premiere will air one week later on January 17.

Syfy’s ‘The Magicians’ Is Magic We’ve Been Waiting For

By
Nicole C
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1
The Magicians
THE MAGICIANS -- Season:1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Stella Maeve as Julia, Summer Bishil as Margo, Hale Appleman as Eliot, Jason Ralph as Quentin, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Arjun Gupta as Penny -- (Photo by: Lorenzo Agius/Syfy)

Ever wonder what it would be like if magic was truly real and you were one of the few lucky ones who found out? Well, you’d probably say oh s***. Syfy’s The Magicians brings the realm of spell casting and enchantments into the adult world and it’s ridiculously addictive.

THE MAGICIANS -- Season:1 -- Pictured: Jason Ralph as Quentin -- (Photo by: Rodolfo Martinez/Syfy)
THE MAGICIANS — Season:1 — Pictured: Jason Ralph as Quentin — (Photo by: Rodolfo Martinez/Syfy)

Adapted from Lev Grossman’s The Magicians series, the show tells the story of Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph), a young man bored with his ordinary life until he is mysteriously invited to an entrance exam for Brakebills University (Brakebills College For Magical Pedagogy in the novels), an educational institution for the magically inclined. While he was originally 17-years-old in the first book, the character is aged up a little so that he’s in his early twenties as a post-graduate student and it works.

***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

What makes Quentin so appealing is that he’s like many of us who read to escape reality for a little while. He’s the fanboy that never grew up! When the episode starts, Q is at the hospital talking to his therapist where we learn that he has voluntarily checked himself in for depression. In their conversation however, the young man decides that he’s ready to let go of childish notions and return to the outside world to become a productive member of society. Later on at a party held in his apartment, Quentin is shown as socially awkward individual and spends most of the time alone. He retreats to his room where he reads a first edition copy of The World Within The Walls, the first book in the Fillory series. Here we are first introduced to Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve), one of his best friends and unrequited love interest. Jules is trying to get him to come out of his room and he tells her that he’s just enjoying the book one more time before he sells it on eBay. This is a significant step for Q who had been obsessed with this fictional world since he was a kid. Fillory shares many similarities to the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and Grossman has mentioned in interviews that this is intentional.

While both Julia and Quentin are invited to take the entrance exam at Brakebills, only the latter passes. Q matriculates into the school and begins to learn real magic, leaving behind his old life. Julia on the other hand fails and is supposed to have her memory wiped except that doesn’t quite work out and it begins to take a toll on her psyche. The show illustrates an interesting dynamic between the childhood friends as Julia had been the object of Q’s affections for a long time. She was the one who had her life together while he was struggling to find his place. In the course of the first episode, the tables are turned as both their lives are changed forever. One for the better and the other for the worse.

THE MAGICIANS -- Season:1 -- Pictured: Stella Maeve as Julia -- (Photo by: Rodolfo Martinez/Syfy)
THE MAGICIANS — Season:1 — Pictured: Stella Maeve as Julia — (Photo by: Rodolfo Martinez/Syfy)

As we watch the magical journey of these two friends diverge into different paths, audiences are shown that this newfound ability is not the answer to every problem. It can be both a gift and a curse with dire consequences. After all with great power comes great responsibility, except as humans we tend to screw this up all the time.

At Brakebills, we meet the other main characters: shy and gifted Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), confrontational Penny (Arjun Gupta), and the troublemaking duo Eliot (Hale Appleman) and Margo (Summer Bishil), who was originally Janet in the books. These magicians curse, drink, smoke, have sex and behave just like any twenty-something in the real world. They have insecurities, family issues, relationship problems, and mental health concerns but that’s what makes them immensely fascinating. It’s this rawness that grounds the show even with all fantastical aspects. One can’t help but relate to these characters because of their many flaws.

This adaptation moves pretty quickly as some significant events happen in this first episode that doesn’t occur until much later in the books, yet the story and tone remains true to Grossman’s world. The Magicians does a great job in merging the drama and fantasy genres while giving audiences a compelling narrative full of the mundane and the wondrous, making it addictive television.

Syfy has been upping their scripted game and The Magicians is another great addition to their lineup. Showrunner Sera Gamble (Supernatural) has done a fantastic job in creating this new magical universe that will draw both fans of the books and newcomers alike. At last all us Harry Potter kids have something new to watch.

The Magicians comes out on January 25, 2016 on Syfy.

Watch our interview with the cast at New York Comic-Con 2015:

With Only One Episode Left, Let’s Make Some ‘Homeland’ Predictions!

By
Jen Stayrook
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homeland season 5 carrie

It should go without saying that this post has spoilers for all of the aired episodes of Homeland. 

Last season of Homeland was a jumbled mess of high’s and low’s but thankfully, outside of the Carrie has superpowers nonsense, season 5 has been mostly solid. Sure, there are character issues and nothing will ever compare to season 1 of Homeland but Allison has been a clever villain, the anti-Carrie, and giving the CIA a run for its money. With only the finale left, let’s make some predictions for what might happen in the last episode of season 5! Last year I didn’t do too well with my end of year predictions but hey, the older you get, the wiser, right?

Allison gets away

Allison has been making the agency look like babytown frolics for a long time. I mean, what in the world was that agent THINKING when he handed her his gun? There have been some truly unbelievable decisions made by the CIA (why is Allison sitting in on these meetings??) and I can’t fathom any scenario where she doesn’t take her handbag and margarita money and run away. The only situation I can foresee where she returns is to try to get Ivan out of CIA custody and even then, we’ve only got one episode left, so that would have to be left for season six.

Dar Adal Leaves

He has to, right? He’s been played the entire season, made abysmal decisions as a director, and at this point, he feels like dead weight. And if he ISN’T a mole, I don’t know what to do with him. I don’t want Saul as the director as that seems way too easy for the show but maybe the directorship of the CIA has become a bit like the Defense Against the Dark Arts position and no one can hold it for very long. That being said, it seems like everyone is a mole for some other agency except Carrie and the whole system is shit. They need a serious shakedown. Or they need to bring Lockhart back. No way would he have stood for these Allison shenanigans.

We never find out what really happened between Carrie and Saul

This is a big one for me but as Homeland is notorious for leaving plots open-ended, I suspect we’re going to be stuck with the whole, “Carrie voted against Saul as director” excuse. The rift between these two characters was far too large to even imagine that such a petty thing would cause animosity between Carrie and Saul, especially after Carrie did EVERYTHING to rescue Saul last season, but hey, maybe we’ll get some resolution…next season? (No we won’t.)

Quinn lives

He’s THE fan favorite character, so this is kind of a gimme prediction. If he dies, there is no Homeland. As much as I love Carrie (and I’m one of the few it seems), Quinn is the better, more consistent character. Killing him off kills the show.

Carrie saves the day but Berlin gets attacked anyway

Unfortunately for Carrie, she’s always on the right trail, her instincts are top-notch, but she’s usually just one step too far behind to make a huge difference (or she’s alone in her actions) and that seems to be the case with the terrorist attack in Berlin. I imagine she’ll stop enough of the attack to keep the gas contained, but some sort of attack will still happen, people will die, and she’ll be left with the guilt and the decision over whether or not she wants to go back to the CIA. We know she doesn’t have a home anymore at the During Foundation and I don’t think any of those characters will be back for season 6, so going back to the CIA seems all but assured.

What do you think about the latest season of Homeland? How do you think the finale will go down?

Homeland season 5 finale airs December 20th on Showtime. 

‘The Expanse’ and ‘Childhood’s End’ Usher in the Golden Age of Sci-Fi

By
Bilal Mian
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0
childhood's end

Syfy has been through a renaissance this year as it shifted its focus on delivering more scripted science-fiction shows that reflected its moniker. With the success of new scripted series 12 Monkeys, Dark Matter, and Killjoys, the network aims to revive the era of science fiction on television that Battlestar Galactica once brought. With tonight’s new programming, Syfy has ushered in the Golden Age of science fiction on television.

Monday night Syfy kicks off one of their most ambitious nights in the network’s history with two big new shows, The Expanse and Childhood’s End – the former based off of the first book, Leviathan Wakes, in James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series, while the latter serves as a three-night miniseries event adapted from Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 novel.

The Expanse

The Expanse propels us forward into the 23rd century where humanity finds itself spread across the solar system. An opening text-scroll quickly fills in the audience on the current political climate that humanity faces – The Earth and Moon are controlled by the U.N., Mars is under independent military control, and the “Belters” who live in colonies around the asteroid belt, serve as the work force to mine the asteroids for the two planets. Water and air are precious commodities, which lead to high tensions as Belters are enforced with water rations and poor air quality, while those on planets appear to be living in luxury in comparison.

The premiere follows three plot threads. In the far reaches of space we’re introduced to a group of miners employed by corporations to collect ice, but are met with a mysterious distress signal. On Ceres, we meet a detective, played by Thomas Jane, who is tasked to hunt down the missing daughter of a prominent family, while on Earth we are introduced to a politician who will do whatever it takes to avoid war.

The first four episodes of The Expanse bring about an engaging, interconnected space opera that hasn’t been seen on television since the departure of Battlestar Galactica. I found myself immersed in the world and characters from the get-go. It’s clear Syfy took no shortcuts with The Expanse when it comes to budget because the world looks beautiful. Featuring one of the most diverse casts on television, The Expanse is one of the biggest must-watch series of the year.

Childhood’s End’s premiere finds Earth visited by an alien race, led by an alien known as Karellen – voiced by Charles Dance (Game of Thrones). The Overlords, as they are quickly named, are here to end war and bring upon the Golden Age of mankind. Of course there are many out there that fail to trust Karellen and question his motives. The mysterious alien chooses an American farmer, Ricky Stormgren, to serve as an intermediary between humanity and the Overlords.

Childhood's End

Ricky, whose life completely transforms with his selection, is transported to an empty hotel room which serves as his meeting with the voice of Karellen. The alien refuses to reveal himself since he claims his image will cause great distress. It is in the final moments of the premiere when Karellen does reveal himself to humanity, but saying any more would be a massive spoiler.

The series does a fantastic job tackling humanities initial reaction to the Overlords, the acceptance and resistance of being controlled, the crisis of religious faith, and the potential of human evolution. Like The Expanse, Childhood’s End’s diverse cast of characters is a refreshing sight to see on television.

The adaptation of Clarke’s book undergoes a few minor changes in its conversion to television. The jumps in years aren’t as wide range as they were in the book in order for Syfy to use the same cast of characters. There are some name alterations, but overall the series stays faithful to Clarke’s original vision.

Night Two of Childhood’s End, while not as exciting as the first night, lays the groundwork for a solid finale to the miniseries. Days after watching the final part, I still ponder back to some of the points that series brought up. And honestly, what more could you ask from great thought-provoking science fiction other than to be able to reflect upon what you’ve consumed.

Childhood’s End premieres December 14, 15, and 16 on Syfy at 8 PM.
The Expanse premieres December 14 with the second episode premiering on December 15 at 10 PM. 

WWE TLC – 12/13/15: Sheamus retains but Reigns stands tall

By
Matt Perri
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0

WWE’s annual pay-per-view, “Tables, Ladders and Chairs” (AKA “WWE TLC”) came to us live from Boston, Massachusetts and boasted a card that I thought looked dull. The show itself? It was a typical WWE B-show, meaning that while it wasn’t flaming dogshit, it actually turned out to deliver a few solid moments.

Let’s take a look at what we saw:

PRE-SHOW MATCH: Sasha Banks (w/ Naomi & Tamina) def. Becky Lynch

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As is a somewhat disturbing trend for WWE lately, the pre-show matches have had a knack of topping each and every WWE PPV card in the last few months. While this match wasn’t great (and it honestly doesn’t need to be), it was better than the WWE Divas Championship match. NOTE TO WWE: the fans love Sasha Banks, so stop putting her in the background and put her in the title picture, will ya’? Thanks for that. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Lynch a “failure”, this match does her no favors. With Nikki Bella out of the picture and Naomi and Tamina marginalized to the point of irrelevance, Becky should be standing front and center along with Banks and Charlotte — but she isn’t. The only downside to the match was the length and the shit finish that saw Naomi kicking Lynch in the face during the Dis-Armer so that Banks could get the win. Overall, a decent match. ** for me.

MATCH #1: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) (champions) (w/ Xavier Woods) def. Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) (challengers) & The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) (challengers) in a Triple Threat Ladder Match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

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Let’s talk about The New Day, shall we? They’re an entertaining team. Their little pre-match performances are fun to watch even though they sometimes venture into “STOP TALKING AND JUST WRESTLE TERRITORY”. I just don’t like watching The New Day very much. They’re like your really outgoing friends at that one party who have a little too much to drink and they start dry humping the standing corner lamp…and you just kinda chuckle uncomfortably because you don’t want them to feel like they’re really fucking idiots even though your friends are wondering why you brought them around. Big E and Kofi haven’t changed at all since they’ve formed this stable. They’re the same people. They’re uninteresting mid-carders whose only saving grace is that they shout a lot of absurd bullshit that isn’t really funny before their matches. Then they cheat to win to cover for their weaknesses. This match is Exhibit A, folks. The Usos and Dragons’ workrate was top-notch as The New Day was barely around to do much “wrestling”. Sure, they did the usual Trombone Double Team in the Corner thing they usually do, but the Dragons and Usos were the ones earning their paychecks tonight. Sure, Woods had his cute “WWE 2K16 Stamina” pop culture reference but, for that, I’d like to direct you back to the bit about your drunken party friend. In any case, The New Day retains and it feels more like “has to” than “needs to”. I’m not even sure why it needs to be the former. I can understand Mr. Fuji’s cane and Jimmy Hart’s megaphone…but Woods and the light-as-air trombone just barely tapping Kalisto on the back and Kalisto selling it as though he’s been hit by cinder block?? Nope. Not buying it. The whole thing just felt forced. In any case, fun match. I give it ***.

MATCH #2: Rusev (w/ Lana) v. Ryback

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Holy shit, WWE still thinks we care about Lana and Rusev. The match is basically two meatheads kinda beating each other until Ryback doesn’t really injure her. Isn’t this thing supposed to be the Face’s Gimmick and not the cowardly heel? In any case, this was a huge DUD of a match.

MATCH #3: Alberto Del Rio (champion) def. Jack Swagger (challenger) in a Chairs Match to retain the WWE United States Championship

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A match slightly more entertaining than the Rusev/Ryback thing — but not by much. The whole angle here was that Del Rio turned his back on Zeb Colter, so Swagger was aiming to avenge him because WE THE PEOPLE! Colter never shows his face and Del Rio beats Swagger up with a chair to retain the WWE’s tackiest title ever. *, if that.

MATCH #4: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman) def. Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer & The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) in an 8-Man Elimination Tables Match

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Oh, hey look: a bunch of has-beens vs. The Youngsters. This match had potential. To illustrate: we got our chair shots, trash cans and Kendo sticks; that’s all well and good…but don’t set up for a Gore Through The Table spot only to see Rhyno fly into Bray Wyatt putting him through a table. Don’t have Bubba Ray douse a table with lighter fluid — only to have Harper kick Bubba in the face and have Strowman end him. Don’t have Strowman actually go through a table — only to have your announce team declare that he’s not eliminated because it was “really only his foot”. In fact, don’t even eliminate any of The Wyatt Family if you’re gonna have it end with three of the Wyatts surviving. This whole match was like watching a sequel to a film that came 30 years too late and the writers saw maybe ten minutes of the first film and decided to start writing. I mean, you had Tommy Dreamer using a cheese grater hitting Strowman with a Low Blow here. This was about 15 minutes or so of “cute” ending with the Wyatts standing tall. I sincerely hope this ends here and sees the Wyatts going for the Tag Titles. That’s long overdue. ** for this one.

MATCH #5: Dean Ambrose (challenger) def. Kevin Owens (champion) to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion

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Finally, something I could get behind. This was a match featuring two of WWE’s best workers, a lovable psycho a’la Rowdy Roddy Piper and a dude who, despite his appearance, is seasoned and knows his way around a ring. I love two guys who play off of each other well and who give a great match. The pop when Ambrose wins the title is joy and something WWE needs to take note of. This sort of thing makes your fans happy. Kevin Owens has been a decent champ but Ambrose is the antithesis of Owens: he’s fun. Also, this was one of those cases where the veteran should always beat the n00b. Ambrose is just a badass who wins at any cost. He even Roddy Piper’ed the win: a roll-up off a reversal. My only real gripe about this match? The length was about something you’d see on RAW or Smackdown: all of ten minutes. Really? Look, WWE, if you’re gonna make a memorable match, have it go longer with more back and forth between the two combatants. Despite its faults, however, Ambrose’s reaction to his win felt genuine. His win was the best part of a card where, if you think about it, the heels took precedence. Overall: ***1/4

MATCH #6: Charlotte (champion) (w/ Ric Flair) def. Paige (challenger) to retain the WWE Divas Championship

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Let’s not pretend that Charlotte got here without the help of her Dad, m’kay? She did. But she also got by because she’s pretty talented. She won the Divas Championship, beating Nikki in fairly unconvincing fashion. Then she retained the title against Nikki again, beating her in…well, unconvincing fashion. So, now, Creative has got Ric Flair defending his daughter. No. Just no. First, screw this alleged “#DivasRevolution”, ok? It’s dead and gone. It was dead around the second or third week when we all realized there was no direction for the Divas and that they were just wrestling matches because that’s what they were supposed to be doing. Charlotte grabbing the title was the right thing to do — but it was forced. It’s that same force, in fact, that has brought Ric Flair back into the mix, defending his daughter and helping her cheat. The whole point of the “Divas Revolution” was, I assume, some sort of Feminist statement that women are fighters and didn’t need the boys. So, why the holy hell is Ric Flair around helping his daughter out when Charlotte didn’t need his help in the first place? Charlotte wins this match because of her Dad. Even the cheap “bare turnbuckle” finish is because of Ric. It derails everything. I don’t even want Paige to be the champ, but this is bullshit. Ric was never needed except for moral support and here we are wasting time, pretending Ric is needed. In any case, ** here.

MATCH #7: Sheamus (champion) def. Roman Reigns (challenger) in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

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I’ve resigned myself to the fact that Roman Reigns will probably never be champion. He’s The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dean Ambrose — without the appeal, the edge or the fun. This year’s main event saw Reigns and Sheamus in a match that should have ended with Sheamus losing to Reigns. But we’re in that weird Twilight Zone where Sheamus is champion only because WWE has zero idea what the fuck to do with John Cena out of the picture and, for some reason, they don’t want to fork the title over to Roman Reigns despite the fact that Sheamus is an even less desirable champion than Cena or anyone else in the company. So, the match ends with Sheamus winning because of Del Rio and Rusev saving his ass. Does this epic, manly soap opera end there? Nope. It ends with Roman losing his collective shit and beating Sheamus to a pulp with a chair. Triple H shows up and he gets the same treatment Reigns gave Sheamus for his troubles (while Steph, disturbingly, shrieks on the sidelines for her husband and doesn’t do anything about it) and we’re off to the goddamn races, setting up a nice RAW for Monday night where everyone who opposes Triple H is a mutant and must travel back in time to stop his Sentinel program from stopping Stone Cold from winning the title back in the late 90’s. Neat match but it gets a **3/4.

OVERALL: I have to say, I enjoyed this TLC PPV a lot better than the last few. This one was fun to watch and wasn’t a total waste of time like the Survivor Series. I know that this is wishing too much, but I’m hoping that Santa can deliver us a nice Royal Ruble and a fun Road to WrestleMania.

Er…that’s it.

It’s the End of the World as We Know It In ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Trailer

By
Nicole C
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1

The much anticipated X-Men: Apocalypse trailer has hit the web today and we finally get to see young Jean Grey, Storm, Jubilee and Cyclops in action as well as super villain Apocalypse along with Psylocke. It looks like an epic battle is in store for fans and we got that teaser shot of a hairless Professor X! Admit it, you got the shivers.

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Lucas Till, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Josh Helman, Lana Condor, and Ben Hardy.

X-Men: Apocalypse comes out May 27, 2016.

Rick Riordan’s New Series ‘The Trials of Apollo’ Cover Revealed

By
Nicole C
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0

Fans of Rick Riordan are in for a treat today as we finally see the cover of his new Greek series, The Trials of Apollo. The first book is titled The Hidden Oracle and follows the adventures of Apollo who was turned mortal by his father Zeus after events in The Blood of Olympus. Now a 16-year-old teenager named Lester, the former god will need to find a way to survive as a mere human.

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Source: Disney Hyperion

Here is the official synopsis:

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.

But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Riordan is a New York Times bestselling author most known for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as Egyptian mythology series The Kane Chronicles. His most recent published work is Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer, where readers are introduced to the world of Norse mythology.

Head over to USA Today to read an excerpt. The Hidden Oracle is the first of a five-book series that is published by Disney Hyperion and will be released May 3, 2016.

Clarke is Being Hunted by Everyone in the First ‘The 100’ Season 3 Promo

By
Bilal Mian
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0
bellamy the 100

The first promo for The 100 is here and one thing is clear, it’s not easy being Clarke Griffen. After flooding Mount Weather with radiation and killing its denizens in order to save her people, it appears she’s now being hunted… by everyone.

The first promo for season three of The 100 aired during Arrow’s midseason finale gave us our first details from the upcoming season.

Here’s what we learned:

The 100

  • Clarke seems to have taken shelter with someone who asks her what she did at the mountain (aka Mount Weather). Clarke responds, “I did what I had to do, that’s all.”The 100
  • There is a field of Grounders walking across the field. To a battle? In search of Clarke? Hard to say just yet.The 100
  • Bellamy seeks Indra’s help about Clarke who tells her she is being hunted by everyone. What did Clarke do to piss off all the Grounders?The 100
  • There is a Jeep! Vehicles seem to return to the planet’s surface. I wonder what they are using for fuel.bellamy the 100
  • A quick montage of events show that tensions are still at a high between the Grounders and the Sky People.

The new season looks just as action packed as we all are hoping it would be! January can’t come fast enough!

The 100 returns for Season 3 on Thursday, January 21, 2016,

Syfy’s ‘The Magicians’ Will Receive a Commercial-Free Preview Next Week

By
Bilal Mian
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2
The Magicians
THE MAGICIANS -- Season:1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Stella Maeve as Julia, Summer Bishil as Margo, Hale Appleman as Eliot, Jason Ralph as Quentin, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Arjun Gupta as Penny -- (Photo by: Lorenzo Agius/Syfy)

Fans of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians are in for a special treat next week.

The author of the fantasy book trilogy took to Twitter today to announce a commercial-free preview of the first episode following the final installment of Syfy’s Childhood’s End miniseries.

The sneak preview is a strategic move on Syfy’s part in using the much anticipated run of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End miniseries to bring more eyes to The Magicians ahead of its official premiere on January 25, 2016. More about The Magicians:

Based upon Lev Grossman’s best-selling books, “The Magicians” stars Jason Ralph (“A Most Violent Year,” “Aquarius”) as Quentin Coldwater, a brilliant grad student who enrolls in Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. He and his 20-something friends soon discover that the magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real – and poses grave danger to humanity.  Stella Maeve (“Chicago P.D.”), Hale Appleman (“Teeth”), Arjun Gupta (“Nurse Jackie”) and Summer Bishil (“Towelhead,” “Lucky 7”) also star in this one hour drama.

Childhood’s End will air Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, Dec. 14-16 on Syfy (8-10 p.m. ET).  The Magicians commercial-free sneak preview will occur on Wednesday, Dec. 16 on Syfy at 10 PM.   

Showtime Renews ‘Homeland’ and ‘The Affair’

By
Bilal Mian
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0
Homeland
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in Homeland (Season 5, Episode 3). - Photo: Stephan Rabold/SHOWTIME - Photo ID; Homeland_503_5625.R

Ahead of their season finales in two weeks, Showtime has renewed Homeland for a sixth season and The Affair for its third.

The official press release is below:

In advance of the final two episodes of the current seasons of its hit fall drama series, SHOWTIME has picked up a sixth season of HOMELAND and ordered a third season of THE AFFAIR. SHOWTIME currently has the top two rated scripted series on premium television in the fourth quarter, with HOMELAND and THE AFFAIR (ranked based on Live+SD, L+3 and L+7 ratings). HOMELAND season five stars Emmy®, Screen Actors Guild® and Golden Globe® Award winner Claire Danes, Emmy nominee Rupert Friend and Emmy and Tony® winner Mandy Patinkin. THE AFFAIR season two stars Golden Globe nominee Dominic West, Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson, Emmy Award nominee Maura Tierney and Screen Actors Guild nominee Joshua Jackson. Both series air on Sunday nights starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

 

As HOMELAND approaches its highly-anticipated season five finale on Sunday, December 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Carrie Mathison (Danes) and Saul Berenson (Patinkin) race to stop a terrorist attack on Berlin, after Carrie and Astrid (guest star Nina Hoss) found Quinn (Friend) barely alive from being tortured by the terrorists planning the attack. In the extended second season finale of THE AFFAIR, which will run for 70 minutes on Sunday, December 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, fans’ long-awaited questions will finally be answered, including who killed Scotty Lockhart.

Roald Dahl’s ‘The BFG’ Comes to Life in the First Teaser Trailer

By
Bilal Mian
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0
The BFG

Disney has released the first look at Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic story, The BFG. The abbreviation which stands for Big Friendly Giant, tells the imaginative story of a young girl and the Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country.

The story synopsis can be read below:

The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.

 

Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome. Says Spielberg, “It’s a story about friendship, it’s a story about loyalty and protecting your friends and it’s a story that shows that even a little girl can help a big giant solve his biggest problems.” Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Victoria (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.

The CW Announces Winter 2016 Schedule and Return Dates

By
Bilal Mian
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0
The 100

Midseason finales are the bane of many television viewers existence. Our favorite shows air major, cliffhanger-y episodes before taking a few weeks off for the holiday season. The wait in between is excruciating. Luckily for us in this day and age, information is readily available when our favorite shows will be returning.

The CW has announced their Winter 2016 schedule which will include the departure and premiere of some of our favorite shows. Here are some of the biggest changes:

  • Reign will return for three more episodes before going on hiatus with its own Winter Finale on January 22. No word on a renewal or cancellation has been given on the series
  • DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the network’s superhero mash-up series, will premiere on Thursday night in the 8 PM timeslot on January 21, 2016.
  • The 100 will follow Legends of Tomorrow with its third season premiere on Thursday nights at 9 PM.
  • The Vampire Diaries and The Originals will shift to Friday nights from their original Thursday night timeslot.

The return dates can be seen below:

Friday, Jan. 8

8 p.m. “Reign” (winter finale Jan. 22)

Tuesday, Jan. 12

9 p.m. “iZombie”

Tuesday, Jan. 19

8 p.m. “The Flash”

Wednesday, Jan. 20

8 p.m. “Arrow”
9 p.m. “Supernatural”

Thursday, Jan. 21

8 p.m. “Legends of Tomorrow” series premiere
9 p.m. “The 100” season premiere

Monday, Jan. 25

8 p.m. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
9 p.m. “Jane the Virgin”

Friday, Jan. 29

8 p.m. “The Vampire Diaries”
9 p.m. “The Originals”

First Look: Alexander Skarsgard in ‘Tarzan’

By
Nicole C
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0

We’ve got our first sneak peek at the upcoming Legend of Tarzan starring Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie via USA Today.

Directed by David Yates (who directed the last four Harry Potter films), the film takes place in Victorian London where Tarzan (Skarsgard) is British peer John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke. He is married to Jane (Robbie) and has been living life as civilized gentleman for over a decade. Eventually though he returns to his home in the jungles of the Congo and adventures ensue.

Joining Skarsgard and Robbie are Djimon Honsou as Chief Mbonga, Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams and Christoph Waltz as the villlainous Captain Leon Rom.

The Legend of Tarzan is based on the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs is set to be released next summer July 1, 2016.

Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pass 2 Announced

By
Roberto Valentin Jr.
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0
mortal kombat x

Are you a big fan of Nether Realms fighting series? Have you been waiting for a reason to pick up Mortal Kombat X again? Do you like spending $30 on 4 dlc characters when some of the best games this year cost less than that?

If you answered yes to any of the above then you are in luck! Warners Bros. Interactive have announced four new playable characters coming to Mortal Kombat X in Kombat Pack 2. The new fighters are as follows:

  • The Xenomorph from the Alien franchise. (*Editor’s note: You can live out Aliens vs Predator with both Kombat Packs)
  • Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series (*Editor’s note: Who is the better masked killer? Leatherface or Jason? Find out.)
  • Classic Mortal Kombat character Bo Rai Cho (*Editor’s note: Sorry I can’t think of anything clever.)
  • Cyrax, Sektor and Robot Smoke combined in the form of new character Tri-Borg (*Editor’s note: Wait what? Like some sort of robot centipede? This is a joke right?)

The DLC pack is set to release in the first quarter of 2016 for the previously mentioned price of $30.

Samurai Jack Will Return to Adult Swim in 2016

By
Bilal Mian
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0
Samurai Jack

A big surprise is in store for Samurai Jack fans this morning.

Adult Swim has announced that Genndy Tartakovsky, creator and executive producer of Samurai Jack, will helming the return of the series when it debuts in Adult Swim’s Toonami block sometime in 2016.

Samurai Jack followed the story of a samurai hunting down Aku, an evil shape-shifting demon who destroyed his father’s kingdom. The series originally premiered in 2001 and aired for four season before being canceled by Cartoon Network in 2004.

The new season of Samurai Jack is currently in production in Los Angeles at Cartoon Network Studios.

Samurai Jack

Superman Learns Batman’s Biggest Secret in ‘Batman v Superman’ Sneak Peek

By
Bilal Mian
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0
Batman v Superman

The first Batman v Superman sneak peek has arrived during Monday’s night episode of Gotham featuring a clip between DC Comic’s two biggest heroes.

The short clip highlights the arrival of a pissed off Superman in an underground room which houses a chained up Batman. Superman slowly walks up to Batman and rips off his mask to reveal Bruce Wayne underneath before the clip comes to an end.

The official Batman v Superman trailer will debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Wednesday, December 2nd.

‘Supergirl’ Receives a Full Season at CBS

By
Bilal Mian
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0
Supergirl

Kara Danvers is sticking around for a full season at CBS, the network announced today.

Supergirl will be receiving an additional seven episode order, bumping its full season count to 20 episodes. It  joins fellow CBS shows Life in Pieces, Limitless, and Code Black as series that received additional episodes this year.

Supergirl currently averages 11.24 million viewers, 2.8/08 in adults 18-49 and 3.5/09 in adults 25-54.  The series has improved the year ago time period by +46% in viewers, +40% in adults 18-49 and +25% in adults 25-54.

Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh and Jeremy Jordan with David Harewood and Calista Flockhart. Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter are executive producers for Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Supergirl is based on the characters from DC Comics.

‘Star Wars Rebels’ Renewed for Season 3

By
Bilal Mian
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0
star wars rebels

Star Wars Rebels will be receiving a third season, Disney announced today on StarWars.com.

The series, which takes place between Star Wars Episode III and IV, follows the birth of the Rebellion against the Empire. The third season is currently in production and will premiere in 2016.

“We are proud to bring our audience a third season of Star Wars Rebels, a series that has resonated across generations,” said Marc Buhaj, senior vice president, Programming and General Manager, Disney XD, in a statement. “The creative team behind the series continues to do a brilliant job in delivering on the key tenets that fans have come to expect from a Star Wars property including adventure, hope and the battle between good vs. evil.”

The transformative second season of Star Wars Rebels featured the return of fan-favorite clone troopers Captain Rex, Captain Gregor, and Commander Wolffe, and the debut of new characters including the Seventh Sister, a cunning and crafty Inquisitor who is tasked by Darth Vader to track down the rebels. Following a series of critical events, the lives of our heroes will be changed forever as season three begins.

‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finale: Bindi is Queen of The Dance (and our Hearts)

By
Kelley Lynn
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Dancing With the Stars

Well, kids, here we are again. The ending to another awesome season on everyone’s favorite cheesefest Dancing With the Stars. The finale event was 2, back to back episodes, and in the end, the new winner was given that Mirror Ball Trophy. And I think we all know by now who won, but let’s talk about how we got there.

The night one show opened with singer Meghan Treanor singing her hit “Better When I’m Dancing”, as pro dancers created movement all around her. After that, Tom Bergeron, who looked spiff and handsome in his suit and silky blue tie, introduced the nights festivities along with o-host Erin Andrews. There were two Rounds to compete to get into the Top 3. Round One was Judges Choice, where the judges picked a style of dance  where the couple needed work on, and then helped them to train for it in rehearsals. Round Two was the FREESTYLE, which is everyone’s very favorite dances of the season. Mine too.  Lets get started on the fun …..

Carlos / Witney:

Round One: Foxtrot. Bruno was the judge who helped them during rehearsals. The music was strange and techno style. Julianne thought it was the sexiest foxtrot she had ever seen, while Carrie Ann thought that Carlos had full command of the stage. It was their first time ever receiving perfect scores. 10/10/10.

Round Two: Their freestyle was a hip-hop mixed with Salsa, to the tune of a Missy Elliott song. They used backup dancers of Hayes Grier and Paula Deen, and Alexa, so that Carlos could actually dance with his own wife for a few seconds in a number. Julianne said that using other star dancers in the number had never been done before, and she thought it worked. Bruno yelled “Hip hop Hooray! So tight!” Right, Kind of like his sex romps. Scores were again, 10/10/10.

Alek / Lindsay:

Round One: The Rumba, with help from Carrrie Ann. It was tough for Alek to be romantic and sensual with Lindsay, since he thinks of her like a sister. Anyway, the dance turned out to be really lovely. Scores were 9/9/9/9 Len was at home fixing himself some warm milk.

Round Two: This was such a cool Freestyle dance. I loved it so much. They set it up like an obstacle course , to represent overcoming obstacles. They did tricks on and then climbed a legitimate wall. That was pretty cool. Bruno said “No challenge is too great when you have faith. You translated that into dance perfectly.” Carrie Ann said the dance will stay with people for years to come. Perfect tens. Len fell asleep and snored into his cereal.

Nick / Sharna: 

Round One: They did the Jive, and Julianne helped out with rehearsals. This dance was so much fun. SO fast too. Very impressive speed. Carrie Ann said “Kawabunga!” Which, I’m not sure what that translates into. Julianne yelled “You performed the CRAP out of that!” Bruno yelled “Sex bomb! High octane Jive!” Relax Bruno. Nick plays for the other team. Scores were perfect at 10/10/10.

Round Two: They chose to use one of The Backstreet Boys biggest hits, “Larger Than LIfe.’ It was like a kick-ass music video. Bruno said he felt like a fan at their concert. Scores were 10/10/10.

Bindi / Derek: 

Round One: Quickstep. Derek was sick as a dog, and Bindi was covered in bruises and injured just about everywhere on her body.Loved her shimmery silver dress. Loved this song and this dance. Bruno called her fearless, while Carrie Ann said she is in a class all her own. Scores were 10/10/10.

Round Two: OH. MY. GOD.That is really the only way to describe this perfect, haunting, emotional, gorgeous, incredible Freestyle that Derek choreographed and that Bindi delivered absolute perfection on. The song wa s”Footprints in the Sand”,which Derek told Bindi reminded him of her situation with her dad. They did not use any backup dancers and no fillers of any kind – just raw, stripped down, emotional dance. Derek told her during rehearsals “I’ve done this show so much, I never thought it could feel this new again. Thank you so much.”3 steps into this dance and I was a sobbing mess.It was insanely awesome and beautiful . Carrie Ann called her a real dancer, Julianne said that Bindi has “left an impression on each of our hearts.”, and Bruno said it touched everyone all over Amera. Backstage, Bindi told Erin through tears “This whole experience has changed my life, and it has meant the world.” Everyone in America was crying,  Not only was the dance emotional beyond words , but Derek made it even more so by having a giant picture of Bindi and her dad come on the screen behind them a the end of the dance Scores were 10/10/10.

THE FINALE: 

This brings us into night two, which was filled with awesome performances, dancers coming back to rejoin the cast, and of course, crowning the winner. The show opened with Bergeron inside the theatre, and Erin Andrews outside, as the two went back and forth to one another tag-teaming on everything that was going on. Erin introduced some great outdoor performances, including Chaka Khan singing her hit “I’m Every Woman” while pro dancers danced. There was also a funny moment where Erin embarrassed Tom by introducing a montage of him singing and dancing badly, edited together brilliantly to the tune of “Safety Dance.” Paula and Louis revised their Gilligan routine, which felt like a”3hour dance” – just like in the song. Carlos and the male dancers stripped their shirts off and performed . Andy Grammar performed his own hit, while Gary Busey and Anna Trabunskiyah did “Dancin’ In the Streets”. Nothing has changed – he is still a trainwreck of epic proportions on the dance floor, and entertaining as hell every time he speaks. There was even a Holiday Message on recording, from Len Goodman, which basically said he will be back next season and that he can’t wait.

Finally, each of the remaining pairs danced one last time for judges votes only, and then they announced the winner. Well, first, they announced 3rd place, which was Carlos and Witney. That left Bindi / Derek against Nick / Sharna, and the WINNER was ……………..

BINDI AND DEREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, Bindi Irwin has made this show so much fun again,and given it new life. She is so fun, and honest, and so very talented. And I love all the ways in which she has honored her dad this season, both in dance and how she lives her life. I know she belongs to Australia, but Bindi has to know that America is so very in love with her. I’m going to miss seeing her smile every week on the show.

Until next season, which is  in MARCH (Really? I told you, this show never goes away!!!), I say goodbye to my buddy Bergeron and company, and here is hoping that next season is the one where he finally puts me on the air to talk with him and to banter. Hey, if Vine sensation Hayes Grier qualifies to be on the show, then so do I. I’ve #mcfallen for Tom Bergeron , and his wit and charm are calling my name. See you in March.

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