Revolution: Not since Power Rangers has a TV show forced me to completely leave my brain at the door in order for me to be able to enjoy it (My thoughts on season one of Revolution) (Part 4 of 4)

(Part Four: Conclusion/Follow-up)

All things considered, Revolution is very flawed, but as I said earlier, I definitely saw potential for the show to be good when I watched the first episode, which is why I was willing to give it another chance and watched the second episode. While the episode “The Children’s Crusade” is ultimately the episode that won me over as a viewer and convinced me to start watching the show on a regular basis, I feel like the show slowly started to hit its stride starting with the episode “The Plague Dogs”, especially considering the way they handled Maggie’s death. The show definitely got a lot better throughout the course of the entire season though, especially in the second half of the season.

If there’s one episode that I think more highly of compared to the rest of the season, it’s definitely “The Children’s Crusade” since it’s the episode that got me hooked on the show in the first place. It did a really good job of explaining why Rachel and Ben chose to get involved with something that went on to have catastrophic consequences for the entire world. They did it because they believed it was the only way that they could ultimately save the life of their unborn child, Danny, who needed a special kind of medical treatment in order to live. I’m not a parent so I’ve never been in a situation like Rachel and Ben were in, but for some reason whenever I think about that aspect of the episode, I can’t help but think of Star Trek and Spock’s famous line in the movie The Wrath of Kahn: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

I don’t think Rachel and Ben should have necessarily let Danny die just to spare the rest of the world from being hurt by the turning off all the power, but the whole thing definitely sounds a little extreme to me just to save Danny’s life. It reminds me a lot of Once Upon a Time and how Regina/The Evil Queen cast a curse that sent everybody in the enchanted forest to a town in “our world” where time was frozen, they couldn’t leave Storybrooke or remember who they were all to get revenge on Snow White for telling her mother, Cora, about her plans to run off with the man she loved, prompting Cora to kill him. Not only did it seem beyond extreme to me, it was definitely a serious case of misplaced blame, but I digress.

If Rachel and Ben took some time to think about it and negotiate with the people who wanted their technology, I just think they might have been able to come to an agreement that was less extreme. I suppose the writers having their decision to get involved with those people be motivated by them viewing it as the only way to save the life of their unborn child is a much better motivation than perhaps having their motivation be driven solely by greed or money. Regardless of the fact that I think their actions were rather extreme, “The Children’s Crusade” is still a great episode that answered some of the audience’s questions, had a nice blend of drama and comedy and was simply an altogether awesome episode. While I hold the episode “The Children’s Crusade” in very high regard, which is part of why I’ve mentioned it so many times throughout this review, I also think very highly of the season finale (“The Dark Tower”).

Revolution: Not since Power Rangers has a TV show forced me to completely leave my brain at the door in order for me to be able to enjoy it (My thoughts on season one of Revolution) (Part 1 of 4)

(Part One)

It had originally been my intention to write a review of the first ten episodes of Revolution while the show was on its midseason break, but after a series of delays and deciding to focus on blogging about other TV shows that I knew had potential to bring in a lot more traffic than I believed a review of Revolution would, I ultimately decided to wait until the season was over to write my review. I would like to preface this review by saying that I will be talking about other TV shows in this blog post. Some of the those shows will be Lost, Flash Forward, Fringe, Supernatural and as some of you may have guessed based on the headline for this review: Power Rangers. However, since I don’t know how familiar the people reading this review will be with those shows, I’ll try to not dwell on those shows too much. Although, in the case of Supernatural, I don’t have much commentary to offer on the show since I’ve only seen the first episode at the moment.

Due to the fact that I have so many issues with Revolution, I’m going to try and get the majority of my complaints with the show and its first season out of the way in part one of this review so I can hopefully end my review on a positive note and ideally avoid coming across as a total negative nelly by the end of this review. That being said, here are my thoughts on the first season of Revolution.

When it comes to Revolution’s first episode, my overall assessment of the series premiere was that it was rather average, and I constantly found myself thinking about things that I liked about the first episodes of Lost and Flash Forward, which ultimately led me to watch the first episodes of both shows in preparation for writing this review. Watching the first episode of Flash Forward again really made me wish that the writers for Revolution had taken page from the writers for Flash Forward’s book in terms of how they structured the first episode. Don’t get wrong, I don’t think they should have necessarily completely copied the structure of the episode, but I do think they could have learned a thing or two from Flash Forward’s first episode.

For those of you who’ve never seen the first episode of Flash Forward, the structure of the episode essentially went like this: The episode opened with them showing Mark Benford who was the primary protagonist of the show waking up after the blackout, he gets out of his police car where he surveys the damage in the area that was caused by everybody around him, along with the rest of the world blacking out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. They then showed the title card for Flash Forward, when the show returns from the commercial break they went back several hours before the blackout and briefly introduced most of the characters until they once again reach the point in the day when the worldwide blackout occurred, and then the characters each started to deal with the immediate aftermath of the blackout for the remainder of the episode and the episode ends with two characters discovering footage of an unknown person who was somehow still awake when everybody else on earth was unconscious during the blackout.

Deception: NBC has come up with another copycat TV show, but it has potential (My thoughts on episode 1x01 “Pilot”)

Usually I only like to review shows that are currently on the air, but considering the fact I’m taking some time to reflect on the series as a whole before I post my review of the series finale of Gossip Girl and most of the shows that I typically like to comment on are currently on a break, I’ve decided to take the time to write a review for the pilot of Deception; that being said, here are my thoughts on the pilot.

The main thing that I found myself thinking about as I was watching the pilot was that the show is seriously lacking originality in a lot of ways, and I say this because I thought of at least four different shows that I’ve already seen before as I was watching the pilot. Those shows would be Revenge, Dirty Sexy Money, The Killing and Desperate Housewives. I know that some people might think that I’m being a bit random with some of the shows that I just listed, but those are simply several of the shows that the pilot of Deception reminded me of in some way. I’ll try to explain what elements of the pilot made me think of those shows as I discuss certain elements of the show in my review.

Let me go right ahead and say that while the pilot didn’t seem all that original to me, there were still enough things about it to make me want to continue watching Deception once it premieres on TV. The main thing that I like about Deception is that it features several actors that I’ve seen in other things and like, namely Victor Garber and Tate Donovan. The cast also consists of Wes Brown and Ella Rae Peck, both of whom I’m familiar with, but have mixed feelings about after watching the pilot. Wes Brown guest-starred in five episodes of 90210 at the beginning of its fifth and current season. I didn’t really like him on 90210, but that was pretty much because of the character he played, but Wes Brown and his character, Julian Bowers, ended up being one of my favorite things about the pilot, especially when it came to his scenes with Meagan Good, who plays the protagonist of the show, Joanna Locasto.

I’ve never seen Meagan Good in anything prior to this show, and I don’t remember hearing of her before either, but I really liked her in the pilot. In terms of her acting, she doesn’t come across as being on the same level of amazingness as Sally Field, but I still think she did a great job in the pilot, and I’m confidant she will continue to a great job on the show in the future. Here’s a brief side note: Sally Field is my favorite actress, and she has been my favorite actress ever since I saw her in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire when I was six years old. For those of you who might not already know, I’m currently twenty-five years old, but I digress.

Personally, I thought the pilot did a great job of setting up the characters and storylines. There are definitely several potentially interesting storylines based on what I saw. Although, the pilot definitely felt a little rushed in my opinion. Given the fact that this is only the first episode, I think I can forgive the writers for making the episode feel too rushed though. After all, a pilot of a TV show is supposed to do a lot of things. It’s supposed set up the storylines and the characters on the show, so networks can decide whether or not it has potential to be a good show and should be picked up to series. Not only does a pilot have to do that for the network, it basically has to do the same thing for the viewers at home too once it premieres on TV. That being said, I’m okay with TV shows being fast paced, because if they move too slow then the viewers can get bored and lose interest, causing them to stop watching. The writers really need to be careful about how fast the storylines move on Deception beyond this episode though, otherwise they could be completely out of ideas halfway through season two at the rate the story moved in the pilot, assuming that Deception does well enough in the ratings to be renewed for a second season.

Revolution: Daniella Alonso Joins Cast as Rebel Fighter-TVLine

According to TVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich and Kimberly Roots, Daniella Alonso is joining the cast of NBC's upcoming new TV series, Revolution. Here's an excerpt from the article, which gives some information on the show and some scoop on Alonso's role:



Executive-produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost) and writer Eric Kripke (Supernatural), Revolution presents a scenario in which all of the power in the world mysteriously shuts off, and civilization begins to fall. Picking up 15 years after the catastrophe, the series follows a band of survivors trying to evade a ruthless militia unit that wants to get the current flowing again, though for the wrong reasons — meaning, to watch Jersey Shore?

Alonso, whose TV credits include One Tree Hill and Friday Night Lights, will play Nora, a character described by series creator Kripke as “a rebel fighter battling against the militia that controls North America. And she’s got a lot of rough water under the bridge with Miles, Billy Burke’s character. And she likes to blow stuff up.”



Link to the full article:NBC's Revolution -- Daniella Alonso Joins Cast as Rebel Fighter - TVLine



My thoughts: I have to say that I'm really looking forward to this show. Revolution sounds like a very interesting show, but given the fact that heavily serialized and mythology based shows, such as ABC's FlashForward and NBC's The Event, haven't done very well in recent years, I'm worried that it's not going to do well. Hopefully, Revolution will be able to break that trend.

Parenthood: Season 3 Episode 7 Lauren Graham and Jason Ritter Preview-TVLine

Parenthood‘s Sarah and Mark (played by Lauren Graham and Jason Ritter) seem like the perfect, happy couple, so naturally, the show’s writers plan to send them through a romantic obstacle course, of sorts. In tonight’s episode (airing on NBC at 10/9c), Mark will face a lot of Bravermans, but the biggest challenge comes from someone outside the family.

TVLine caught up with Lauren Graham and Jason Ritter to talk about their characters’ romance, the challenges Sarah’s ex Seth (John Corbett) poses, and some extra treats for fans of Gilmore Girls and The Event.

TVLINE | What’s going on in Tuesday night’s episode? Jason, there are some pictures of your character out with all the ladies.
LAUREN GRAHAM | [Mark] gets introduced to the family at a big party that my brothers are having to launch their music studio. That’s a sweet part of this week’s show – that I’m all excited for him to meet my family. He’s not, like, partying with the ladies. [Laughs]

Exclusive Parenthood Video: Julia Makes a Shocking Discovery [SPOILER ALERT]

TVLINE | How does the family accept Mark? And what does he think of them?
JASON RITTER | I love them. And they’ve all been very accepting of me up to now.
GRAHAM | They’re happy for Sarah to be happy finally.

TVLINE | Seth has been stirring up a lot of drama in Sarah’s life recently. How does that affect Mark and Sarah’s relationship going forward?
RITTER | It’s tough. Exes are a very difficult part of any relationship. They’re harder to deal with than some new person that someone might be attracted to or not; there’s no history there, no old love there. So it’s difficult, especially because here’s someone who’s having a real problem with alcohol and now they’ve decided to get sober. So they’re returning to the person that they were when…
GRAHAM | We were connected.
RITTER | Exactly.

TVLINE | Is it going to strengthen Mark and Sarah’s relationship, as a result, or uncover some weaknesses in it?
GRAHAM | Both of those probably.
RITTER | Any time there’s any kind of pressure on anything, it changes it. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. Sometimes for the medium between those two. [Graham laughs]

Exclusive: Parenthood Casts Life Unexpected Alum As Deadbeat Baby Daddy

TVLINE | Does Sarah have romantic feelings for Seth?
GRAHAM | It’s confusing. I’m not sure she’s sure. There’s a lot in not having had him healthy for so much of the marriage. I think there’s a fantasy, for her kids, wishing that their father was in the picture. And maybe that spills over a little bit into some feelings for him. I’m not sure she knows exactly what it is.




TVLINE | Mark’s been really understanding and calm about everything so far. Is he going to lose his cool soon?
RITTER | He does start standing up for himself a little bit more. He’s always been at least clear with her about what makes him uncomfortable and what he’s not excited about. She at least knows that he’s trying. He just really loves her a lot. He loves her that much, so he’s trying as hard as he can. He’s not going to throw away a whole relationship because it’s difficult. It’s tough for him, but…
GRAHAM | Or are you going to punch [Seth]? [Laughs]
RITTER | I would love to get one good clock in there and then run fast. [Laughs] You get to see the true mettle of a person when they’re challenged like that.

TVLINE | Jason, how long are you around for this season?
RITTER | Neither of us know. I’m happy to say it’s already been longer than I initially thought. That’s really, really nice. They’re giving our relationship an opportunity to get into more complicated areas, instead of just having to break it off because it gets weird and complicated.

NBC Increases Parenthood‘s Season 3 Order

TVLINE | Lauren, does it give you some anxiety knowing that Jason’s gig is probably temporary and Sarah’s likely going to have her heart broken?
GRAHAM | It does give me some anxiety because at this point, I’m so invested in this character, I personally don’t want to start over. And I’m not sure how they would split us up because it is so positive. Your guess is as good as mine.

TVLINE | Jason, at what point should fans move on from the idea of an Event reunion movie or miniseries?
GRAHAM | At the same point that the Gilmore Girls people should – never!
RITTER | [Laughs] That is still a possibility. When I hear for sure that it’s not happening, I will let it go myself, and I will spread the word to let it go. But until then… Every time I’ve started to feel like it’s not going to happen, I get a little email from one of the producers of it, saying, “We’re still working on it, so don’t give up.”

This article was written by Vlada Gelman.

Link to the original article:Parenthood Season 3 Episode 7 Lauren Graham and Jason Ritter Preview

Spoilers from Ask Ausiello on Gossip Girl, Glee, Community and more

Here's some scoop on Glee, Castle, Gossip Girl, Cougar Town, Community, Modern Family, Parenthood, Justified, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, The Middle, as well as an update on the possibility of a wrap-up miniseries for The Event from Michael Ausiello's Ask Ausiello column for the the week. I've included a link to the original article at the end of the post for anyone who's interested in reading the entire column.

Question: Will Quinn be meeting her daughter soon on Glee? —Cindy
Ausiello: Considering the fact that Idina Menzel (a.k.a. the kid’s adoptive mother, Shelby) is returning for a major arc, I think it’s probably a safe bet that Quinn (and possibly baby daddy Puck) will cross paths with their daughter at some point. But the $1 million dollar question is whether the inevitable reunion will awaken any maternal feelings in the teen mom. If the buzz I heard at Sunday’s Emmys is to be believed, it will. And my guess is that can only mean one thing: Quinn’s going to want her baby back baby back baby back.

Question: Any scoop about Glee‘s Karofsky? —Dalanda
Ausiello: He’s baaaaaack! Or at least he will be come late October, when Kurt has a very awkward run-in with him at a [SPOILER ALERT] gay bar.

Question: I am still dying after watching the season premiere of Castle. Please give us some spoilers on upcoming episodes! —Cheryl
Ausiello: As if his issues with Beckett weren’t enough to keep him up at night, Castle is going to have his hands full with another woman in his life this season: daughter Alexis. “She’s testing the limits — and where we take her in the next couple of episodes allows her to push the limits even more,” previews series creator Andrew W. Marlowe. “It was always my intent to have Alexis be a good girl and not do anything crazy — we don’t expect her to become a drug addict — but we do get to see that [father/daughter friction] and other issues that she’s wrestling with. She’s at an age where girls struggle with their identity and with relationships, so we have all of that material to play with.”

Question: Any Castle scoop? As much as I love Beckett and Castle, I’d love some news on anything relating to Ryan and Esposito. —Mere
Ausiello: “This season there is going to be a ‘boys night’ episode, either [Episode] 7 or 8,” reveals Jon Huertas (aka Esposito). “Castle and Esposito probably want to show Ryan a good time before he gets ‘locked up’ [in marriage]!” So, where might the guys go for their manly merriment? “Atlantic City isn’t that far from New York,” Huertas ventures, “so I imagine we’d try to go there and see how dirty we can get.”

Question: I’m a “Dair” fan, I must admit. Do you have an scoopage on my favorite Gossip Girl storyline? —Nova
Ausiello: I’m hearing rumblings about a second kiss early in the season, but I don’t know when it occurs or what the context is. But does it really matter? A kiss is still a kiss.

Question: When is Cougar Town returning? —Poonam
Ausiello: Best case scenario sounds like November, per Bill Lawrence. Worst case scenario is January. (Fingers crossed the BCS wins out.) Meanwhile, a little casting scooplet to tide you over: Relative newcomer Briga Heelan has been cast as the very young woman Grayson (unwittingly) impregnated years ago. As I reported in last week’s AA, mother and daughter will be sticking around for quite a few episodes, which means Jules may want to consider trading Big Carl in for a 10-gallon IV drip.

Question: What’s the latest on Netflix or Syfy picking up The Event and doing a wrap-up miniseries? Have you heard anything new in the rumor mill? —Eric
Ausiello: Event leading man (and current Parenthood star) Jason Ritter told me Sunday at Entertainment Tonight’s post-Emmy bash that the project still has a pulse. “I’m waiting to get a phone call either way,” he said. “[Producers] Nick Wauters and Steve Stark are still talking to people and trying to get it done. Every cast member I’ve talked too is interested. And I personally would love to at least finish that story up.”

Question: Any Parenthood scoop concerning Sarah and Mark? I love them together! —Mimi
Ausiello: Well, then you might not like what I’m about to tell you: There’s trouble ahead, and it involves the return of Sarah’s ex, played by John Corbett. “She’s trying to balance Mark and her new life with this man that she has very complicated feelings for,” Ritter explains of Corbett’s Seth. “This is the father of her children and she loves him in certain ways. But she also wants to start anew, and she’s not sure that Mark can take on everything that’s in her life. It’s really interesting. It’s that great thing that Parenthood does. It’s not overly dramatic. It’s just real life.”

Question: I am dying for some Justified scoop. Got any? —Dayna
Ausiello: Boyd Crowder is so over playing Mr. Nice Guy. According to portrayer Walton Goggins, the old Boyd “will be back in full [in Season 3], and he will probably be in trouble sooner rather than later. There is no more shyness or healing to Boyd Crowder.”

Question: Modern Family! Scoop me, Ausiello! —Jason
Ausiello: This November, the Emmy-winning comedy will introduce viewers to a little phenomenon known as Pumpkin Chunkin. “It’s when you take a pumpkin, attach a bungee cord and send it flying,” explains Nolan Gould (Luke) of the unusual competition, which serves as the centerpiece of the show’s Thanksgiving episode. “I’m on the [team] with Julie Bowen, Ed O’Neil and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. They call us The Dream Squashers… and the rest of them are The Visionaries. We’re the Squashers because we don’t believe that they can chunk a pumpkin. They say they can throw it across a football field and a few of us are like, ‘Nuh-uh.’”

Question: Any update on the return of Robin Sparkles on How I Met Your Mother? —Gayle
Ausiello: No news on the Sparkles front, but exec producer Carter Bays tells TVLine that this season’s 10th episode features “a very funny song that [co-creator] Craig Thomas wrote. The less I say about it the better.”

Question: Is Community planning any memorable event-type episodes this season? —Tammy
Ausiello: One would argue that every episode of Community is a memorable event, no? This week’s season premiere — featuring some kind of mysterious musical sequence — certainly sounds like it has the potential to be an instant classic. “I wanted to start the season with something special,” teases series creator Dan Harmon of the musical interlude. “And it represents an important part of the story — it’s not just there for flash. The best way to perceive that scene is as a surprise, it’s that good. It’s really just a quick snippet, but it’s fun.”

Question: Any Season 3 Community scoop? —Chris
Ausiello: Harmon is making good on his promise to show viewers more of the Greendale gang’s home life. In this season’s seventh episode, we’ll again visit Annie’s creepy apartment building. Why creepy? Because her landlord is a freak show and the first floor of her building is a porn palace.

Question: Do we know what brings Jackson’s mother to Grey’s Anatomy? —Cary
Ausiello: We do, and it’s gonna make you giggle. Mama Avery (played by Debbie Allen) shows up at Seattle Grace to perform a — pause for dramatic effect — penis transplant. Not surprisingly, there’s a long line of residents fighting hard to get in on the surgery, but the competition is stiff.

Question: I’d like some scoop on The Middle, the most underrated show on TV. —Carlos
Ausiello: Axl is converting to Judaism! In an attempt to avoid taking a Spanish exam, he tells his teacher he’s Jewish and can’t attend school because he’s observing “The Schmala.” (That reminds me of the time in middle school when I stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil in order to get home in time for Bo and Hope’s wedding. Ah, memories.)

Link to the original article:Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Glee, Gossip Girl, Castle, Law & Order: SVU, Parenthood, Community and More! - TVLine