Tag / Jennifer Carpenter

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NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday and very few changes are afoot, with only 3 new shows making the cut. The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Manifest, a new drama about a missing plane that returns 5 years in the future. Tuesday leads off with more of The Voice, followed by This Is Us and New Amsterdam, a new medical drama that stars some old favorites.

Wednesday is turned over to Dick Wolf, with his 3 Chicago series running back to back to back.  Comedy still reigns supreme on Thursday, with Superstore, The Good Place, and Will & Grace joined by I Feel Bad, from executive producer Amy Poehler.  Law & Order: SVU moves to Thursday for its 20th season.  Blindspot remains on Fridays, where it will continue to lead off the night.

The Blacklist returns at mid-season, debuting on Fridays after Blindspot.  Also returning are A.P. Bio, Good Girls, and, after a pick-up from Fox, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Four new shows also wait for spots on the air, including Abby’s, starring Natalie Morales as a woman who runs a bar in her backyard, The Enemy Within, a spy thriller starring Jennifer Carpenter, The Inbetween, which sounds fairly ludicrous, and The Village, about the inhabitants of a Brooklyn building.  Similar to last year, the fate of Timeless is still up in the air.

Cancelled shows include The Brave, The Carmichael Show, and Great News.

by jim

Post Mortem – Limitless

limitlessA sequel to the 2011 film, Limitless starred Jake McDorman and Jennifer Carpenter as a slacker who gains access to a superdrug that gives him full use of his brain and the FBI agent assigned to protect/exploit him.  Bradley Cooper, who starred in the film, was an executive producer and reprised his role a few times, but it wasn’t enough to get CBS to give the show a shot at a second season.

While adhering to the CBS procedural handbook, the show did take some liberties and occasionally broke out as a weird science fiction show.  While it wasn’t a great show by any stretch of the imagination, it was one that I usually looked forward to most weeks.  Honestly, I was surprised that it didn’t get renewed.  But, it didn’t fit the typical CBS demographic and that usually ends badly for bubble shows.

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2015: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

2015 was a bit of a letdown after last year’s improvement in movie watching for me, with the vacation over the past 3 weeks of December helping to greatly boost my total.  I managed to watch 69 movies last year, 9 less than last year and my fourth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Labor Day (2014)
A bit of a dud of a film and a poor way to start the year.

Bachelorette (2012)
This received nowhere near as much publicity as the similar themed Bridesmaids, but I enjoyed it much more.

The Last Exorcism Part II (2013)
Turns out I never saw the first one, which could explain why this made little sense to me.

The Factory (2012)
John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter team up to do cop stuff.

Godzilla (2014)
A much better remake attempt than the Matthew Broderick endeavor in 1998.

Drinking Buddies (2013)
An interesting indie film about a Chicago brewery and the people that work there.

Life After Beth (2014)
The latest zombie rom-com.

Butter (2011)
Who knew butter carving could be so entertaining?

Devil’s Due (2014)
A newlywed becomes impregnated with a hellspawn.

Tusk (2014)
Kevin Smith’s latest makes me think it may be time for me to stop watching Kevin Smith films. Continue reading →

by jim

2012 New Fall Season – Sundays

It’s that time of year again.  The new fall season is upon us.  Time to delve into the offerings that will clog up the DVR every Sunday night.

7:00

Once Upon A Time – ABC found themselves a winner last year with this series about fairy tale characters who have been forced to live in the real world thanks to the evil Queen.  Last season ended with the characters remembering their true selves, which promises a new status quo for season 2.

8:00

The Good Wife – Thanks to the great DVR crash of 2012, I missed the last few episodes of last season.  While never flashy, this show is always solid.  The big problem in the fall will be catching the entire episode when football runs long.

Revenge – ABC’s other breakout hit of last season moves from Wednesday to Sunday as Emily VanCamp continues her secret rampage through the Hamptonites that ruined her father’s life.  This was a surprisingly good soap that delivered the goods last season.

Dexter – Speaking of shaking up the status quo, last season ended with Jennifer Carpenter’s Deb walking in on Dexter mid-murder.  To make things more interesting, former Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski joins the crew at Miami Metro.

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