Fall Picks 2015 - Quantico on ABC

Quantico - ABC - Premieres 09/26/15 -“It's Grey's Academy meets How To Get Away With Treason."

A diverse group of recruits has arrived at the FBI Quantico Base for training. They are the best, the brightest and the most vetted, so it seems impossible that one of them is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.

I am huge ABC fan, they have made of really good choices the past couple of years with How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal, Revenge and Once Upon A Time so I tend to give them a little more credibility when it comes to new ideas. This is a stretch and the writing really needs to be excellent to pull this one off. A plethora of familiar but unknown actors the show centers around FBI recruit Alex Parrish, played by Priyanka Chopra, who is somehow framed for the biggest terrorist attack in American history. Who framed her? Someone from her class at Quantico.

 Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Jake McLaughlin, Aunjanue Ellis, Yasmine Al Massri, Johanna Braddy, Tate Ellington, Graham Rogers

Check out the trailer below and come back on Monday, 09/27 for my review of the pilot.

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Limitless on CBS Runs Steady and True

Limitless - CBS - A man named Brian Finch develops superhuman abilities after taking a mysterious drug called NZT in this adaptation of the 2011 film starring Bradley Cooper, who serves as executive producer of the series reprises his role as Eddie Mora in the pilot.

Let me state first, I have not seen the film so my opinion is based solely on the pilot of the show. That being said, I have a huge smile about this series, hooray for great writing, pacing, cinematography and acting. Starting off the series with a murder mystery, Brian Finch is a guy with lots of pies in the sky and dreams of rock n roll stardom. Now he 28 and realizing the pies are falling all around him and after a mystery illness strikes his father, Brian starts to review his life. Confessing his worries to an old band mate, his friend offers to give him a 'jump start'.

When the pill takes effect, a voice over dialog starts, describing what he is experiencing. This, is usually annoying to me, however someone watched Burn Notice and figured out the ins and outs of making the voice over effective.

Brian WOW's his temp job and then goes home to find the root of his father's mystery illness. Then he crashes as the drug wears off. Desperate to continue to help his father, Brian goes to the friend who gave him the pill and finds him dead. He also finds a pill, but is caught at the scene of the crime by the FBI. The chase begins to find the real murderer and more NZT.

I loved this show start to finish, and I am looking forward to the next episode. The only hesitation I have at this juncture is for Jennifer Carpenter, the annoying sister in the Series Dexter (at least that is how I remember her), and once again I am finding her annoying as the lead FBI agent handling Brain.. She is so stiff I am hoping she loosens a little into the character. This is going to be a fun show and the only thing holding it back, for me, is this actress.

Great job on the pilot, passing the baton and cleaning up the back story of the movie was seamless, also leaving it fairly open ended for additional mischief in the future. I like it!
Looking forward to the next episode! 

If you missed it the first time around, here is the link to CBS or look for it On Demand through your local cable provider.

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Fall TV Picks - Blindspot Hits the Mark and Minority Report Lacks the Majority

Blindspot - Premiered on NBC, An unidentified woman with amnesia is found covered with tattoos, and the FBI soon realize that each mark on her body reveals a crime to be solved. This new NBC series premiered right after The Voice and I am gonna say off the bat WOW. The show begins in Time-square with a unmarked duffel bag. A tag attached to the bag says “For the FBI”. The street is cleared, and the bomb squad is called. A very nervous bomb technician approaches the bag and as he reaches out the bag moves, he jumps back and the zipper to the bag slides open…

From that moment the questions, intrigue, drama, and pace doesn’t stop. Jaimie Alexander, as Jane Doe, is brilliant in her portrayal, giving us a full range of emotion-confusion, anger fear and helplessness all shining back into the camera with every scene. Her plight and the mystery automatically pulls you in and does not let go. Her male opposite, FBI Agent Kurt Weller is played by Sullivan Stapleton, a virtual unknown from Australia, who does a fantastic job of keeping that cool cop exterior but also revealing the slow break down of his defenses when it comes to Jane.

All of this is playing as we move seamlessly from one scene to the next. There is no illogical coincidence in this show everything, and I mean everything happens for a reason. Even Jane Doe’s instinct to protect a beaten wife thus exposing her martial arts skills. Reminiscent of Jason Bourne in many ways, the characters are driven into the plot two fold, by their own need for answers and their desire to stop the bad guy.
First episode out I am hooked and looking forward to next week!

Minority Report - Premiered on FOX yes this show is based on the 2002 Tom Cruise/Stephen
Spielberg film. Per FOX television, The series is set in Washington, D.C., it is 10 years after the demise of Precrime, a law enforcement agency tasked with identifying and eliminating criminals… before their crimes were committed. To carry out this brand of justice, the agency used three precogs – “precognitives” Dash, Arthur and Agatha – who were able to see the future. Now, in 2065, crime-solving is different, and justice leans more on sophisticated and trusted technology than on the instincts of the precogs.

Despite the interesting premise and heavy-hitting producers I am less than impressed with Minority Report. Bombarded in the first scenes with technology overload, the dialog is sub par, characters are predictable and cardboard. All of that being said, I always give a show three chances. The pilot has set the stage, and the characters. I will wait to see how the chemistry plays out.
First episode out and I'm not holding my breath…

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Fall Picks 2015 - Limitless on CBS

It is my favorite time of year, new TV! I do get excited, and sometimes scared about the new Fall television series. Television is such a versatile medium and every year there are marvels of greatness and oh-god-what-were-they-thinking? My DVR is already full of shows I LOVE to watch, how can I possible make room for more? Well I am hoping to at least off some guidance in the ‘what should I try’ category. 

Here is how it works, I have chosen shows I think are good bets, I put them to the three episode test and then decide whether to click ‘Series Record’ or Delete. There are A LOT of new shows his year so I am going to list them as they premiere. 

Limitless - Premieres Sept 22nd on CBS - A man named Brian Finch develops superhuman abilities after taking a mysterious drug called NZT in this adaptation of the 2011 film starring Bradley Cooper, who serves as executive producer of the series reprises his role as Eddie Mora in the pilot.

Believe it or not I have not seen the movie and yet I am still eager to see this series. Executive Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, has a healthy stream of film and television credits, and Jennifer Carpenter, the annoying sister in the Series Dexter (at least that is how I remember her).

produced by Bradley Cooper is an interesting twist, albeit risky, he can pull it off I think. Casting is solid with

The hero of the series, Brian Finch is played by a little known actor named Jake McDorman. He has been bouncing around television and movies for years. He played Biggles in American Sniper opposite Cooper (explains a possible connection).

This could definitely work with some good writing and a fast pace. The way the trailer is laying the plot out, I am thinking Chuck super-spy, meets Scorpion?

We shall have to wait and see. Check in on Friday to read my take on the pilot of Limitless.



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Fall Picks 2015 - Blindspot on NBC

It is my favorite time of year, new TV! I do get excited, and sometimes scared about the new Fall television series. Television is such a versatile medium and every year there are marvels of greatness and oh-god-what-were-they-thinking? My DVR is already full of shows I LOVE to watch, how can I possible make room for more? Well I am hoping to at least off some guidance in the ‘what should I try’ category. 

Here is how it works, I have chosen shows I think are good bets, I put them to the three episode test and then decide whether to click ‘Series Record’ or Delete. There are A LOT of new shows his year so I am going to list them as they premiere. 

Blindspot - Premiere’s Sept 21st on NBC, An unidentified woman with amnesia is found covered with tattoos, and the FBI soon realize that each mark on her body reveals a crime to be solved. Talk about thinking outside the box or body in this case. This one looks to be intriguing in not only the decoding of the tattoos but the unraveling of who this woman is and how she became the ‘messenger’. Liking the intrigue and premise of this show.

Starring Jaimie Alexander, as Jane Doe. Jaimie is best known as Lady Sith (I know I knew her face from somewhere)from both Thor movies and Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D., she is an up and coming actress with HUGE potential in my humble opinion. Playing opposite her as Kurt Weller is Sullivan Stapleton, a virtual unknown from Australia, he has frustrated cop written all over him.

While Martin Gero doesn't’t have a huge resume of hits under his belt I am willing to overlook that for creativity alone. It will all depend on characterization and dialog, it always does in my book :)

As always here is a first look for you...see you on Wednesday when I will be reviewing the Blindspt pilot.

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Fall Picks for 2015 - Minority Report on FOX

It's my favorite time of year, new TV! I do get excited, and sometimes scared about the new Fall television series. Television is such a versatile medium and every year there are marvels of greatness and oh-god-what-were-they-thinking? My DVR is already full of shows I LOVE to watch, how can I possible make room for more? Well I am hoping to at least off some guidance in the ‘what should I try’ category.

Here is how it works, I have chosen shows I think are good bets, I put them to the three episode test and then decide whether to click ‘Series Record’ or Delete. There are A LOT of new shows his year so I am going to list them as they premiere.

Minority Report the Series - Premiering on Monday, Sept 21st on FOX, yes this show is based on the 2002 Tom Cruise/Stephen Spielberg film. Did anyone else remember Colin Farrell was in that film? I digress…

Per FOX television, The series is set in Washington, D.C., it is 10 years after the demise of Precrime, a law enforcement agency tasked with identifying and eliminating criminals… before their crimes were committed. To carry out this brand of justice, the agency used three precogs – “precognitives” Dash, Arthur and Agatha – who were able to see the future. Now, in 2065, crime-solving is different, and justice leans more on sophisticated and trusted technology than on the instincts of the precogs. During the Minority Report panel for the Television Critics Association, producers Borenstein and Falls explained Fox’s Minority Report TV series shows that there were complications the film didn’t explore.

This is intriguing to me, a platform to address current social issues in a future state, sounds like a political fantasy dream. Now that the precogs are free, Dash (Stark Sands) is trying to save people from his psychic visions of their death, but he never gets there in time. So Precrime was only 100% effective under Anderton (Tom Cruise’s character in the original film). Other people aren’t as reliable. It also suggests that telling someone you’re going to catch them won’t necessarily stop them from perpetrating a crime.

In an interview with the pair after the panel, as posted by Slash Film.com Producer Max Borenstein states “our characters deal with ethical dilemmas in every episode because unlike in the movie, they don’t have an institutional ability, an infrastructure to intervene. Instead, they have to do kind of living room precrime and they have to be judge, jury and arbiter of these people’s lives. Now, sometimes that may mean giving a person another chance. Sometimes it may mean someone is so bad and they absolutely believe this person needs to be put away because they’re evil, maybe they make a decision and they don’t have actual evidence. Maybe they would consider planting it. These kind of moral dilemmas are right at the heart of what our show is about and putting our characters to the test.”

This will be the chief writers of 2014’s Godzilla’s first stab at television, while Kevin Falls has a plethora of production work ranging from NBC’s The West Wing to TNT’s Franklin & Bash.

Putting Minority Report to the three episode test and I will report back on Wednesday my thoughts on the pilot. Here is the pilot trailer if you are enticed.

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Limitless the TV Series on CBS

 A man gains the ability to use the full extent of his brain's capabilities. A television adaptation of the 2011 film, 'Limitless'.

Staring Jake McDorman, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Carpenter, & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio


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Fal Picks 2015 - Blindspot on NBC

An unidentified woman with amnesia is found covered with tattoos, and the FBI soon realize that each mark on her body reveals a crime to be solved.

Staring, Jaimie Alexander, Sullivan Stapleton, Audrey Esparza





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Minority Report the Series on FOX!

10 years after the end of Precrime in Washington DC one of the three PreCogs attempts to lead on a normal life while still suffering from visions of the future. Will they be able to hold it together or mentally breakdown and give up?

 Starring Britney Waldron, J.C. Williams, & Stark Sands 




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