Last year we posted How to Watch Downton Abbey Season 3 in the US Before it Airs on PBS. It is the most popular post we ever had! So naturally with the new season starting this Sunday in the UK we wanted to let you all know how to watch it before it airs in the US in 2014.
If you are one of our UK readers you can simply go to iTV's website (the English broadcaster of Downton Abbey) and watch it from their site. But if you are here in America you get an error, "This Video in not Available to Play in Your Region." It is a rotten thing that iTV & PBS make us wait 4 months to see Downton Abbey here in the US.
There has been a lot of talk this week about the “performance” by Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. For those of you who missed it, you can see the video on our Facebook Page, along with the tongue lashing we got from concerned readers. There are a lot of issues at hand here and I wanted to break them down one by one. While some of the themes are mature, if you were old enough to stay up late and watch the show, you are old enough to know the messages it was sending.
We are lucky to feature today a Guest Post from Geoff Openshaw. Some of you might recognize Geoff from his attempt to woo the Mormon Bachelorette, but you can how find him as the co-host of the popular LDS themed Podcast This Week in Mormons! It is a weekly show discussing news and cultural items relevant to the Mormon community during any given week. (You can also find Geoff if you Google image search "Virginity, I Choose You!")
Quality:
**Warning - light spoilers below** Experimentation is the vehicle by which society moves forward. Without experiments, there is no progress. Seen through that lens, the resurrection of Arrested Development after being sent to pasture in 2006 should be a template for the future of television. Netflix seems like an ideal medium to demonstrate our streaming, commercial- and restriction-free, future. However, not all experiments yield good results, and while the new approach to Arrested Development is certainly bold, it is an exercise in the experiment disproving the hypothesis. I wanted to love this season. I am a huge AD fan and have been since its Fox days. The hype surrounding its return has grown to near-mythic proportions, which certainly couldn't have done the revival any favors. But what has been regularly regarded as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time falls on its face in its new format.
If The Walking Dead (our review) didn't give you enough motivation to get your one year supply of food storage, Revolution certainly will! NBC has been posting some of the pilots to their new shows online. It is how we were able to get our review of The New Normal online before it aired. It is an interesting tactic, but shows the confidence NBC has in their Fall Lineup. They know fans we infiltrate the blogosphere with their thoughts on the new shows and feel it will be in their favor. Right now it is available for free on Hulu.
Revolution hits the ground running. We see two kids sitting on the couch glued to TV's and iPads. 30 seconds later Dad, Tim Guinee, busts into the house with all the canned goods he can carry with a warning, "It's all gonna turn off. It's gonna turn off and it will never ever turn back on." Two minutes into the show and suddenly all the power in the whole world goes out. Then we pick up 15 years in the future. We see a small community where everything in being done manually, farming, hand sewn clothes, sheep pens, bow hunting. For a pilot the sets are done very well. It is amazing to see some of the earth reclaiming the land. The 2 minute into really leaves a lot of questions, who caused the black out, can it be fixed, how did the Dad know it was happening. Many of these answers will be revealed via flashback. One of my favorite flashbacks takes us back to the night when everything turned off. Ben Matheson (Dad) is clearing out the freezer and gives his daughter a whole half gallon of ice cream since it will soon melt anyways. If a touching moment he looks his little girl in the eyes and says, "Slow down. I want you to really remember what it tastes like." It is like he is saying, the world is about to become a very harsh place and he wants her to be able to retain her innocence as long as possible. The federal government has fallen, and roving militias have formed their own governments run through tyranny and fear. It feels a lot like Kevin Costner's "The Postman." If you loved it like I did, you will really enjoy Revolution. If you didn't you may want to give it a pass. Content:
The world has gotten ruthless and we see some of the brutality. The violence is not extremely graphic, but we do see blood. The language is clean with only a few PG curses. There is a scene of attempted sexual assault, but it is not carried out.
Seeing the condition of the world, it makes me wonder what our last days will be like. I think a similar outcome is possible. What would you do if you couldn't look up recipes on Pintrest, drive to the store to get milk, Google a fact you didn't know the answer to, or get a message to your loved ones via text, Facebook, Twitter, or email?
Quality: One of the more talked about shows being added to NBC's lineup this fall is The New Normal. I was able to preview the pilot episode (watch it free) and I thought it would be fun to post a review about it. It is a bit of a heated topic, so I will save my impressions on the controversy to the Content section and use this section to merely talk about the quality of the show. The New Normal stars Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon, and Justin Bartha, National Treasure, as a gay couple who desire to have a baby through a surrogate parent. At the opening of the episode Rannells is making a heartfelt video message for his child he might have. It is very tender. Having know several friends unable to have a baby by birth, it pulled at my heart strings a bit. But it is about the extent of any real emotion felt during the pilot episode. Rannells still acts well and is very likable. Almost a toned down Jack from Will and Grace. Bartha, however, is not as watchable. He is very mild and dry in his role of the more masculine of the pair. That played very well for him in National Treasure as a quippy sidekick. He loses the boyish excitement here though, and seems to float around the screen instead as the sun stroke induced groom found after 2 days in the Las Vegas heat he played in The Hangover.
Did you know the human head weighs 8lbs?
The rest of the cast also seems to not be a very strong support. The surrogate they choose, Georgia King, is easy to enjoy on screen. She plays Goldie, a single mom who is trying to get a fresh start. Bebe Wood, who plays her daughter, seems to suck that joy out of their scenes though. I always feel bad being critical of kids, but my problem is with the way the writers created her character. She is the stereotypical, know it all, sassy pants that erupted onto the forefront of entertainment after that kid from Jerry Maguire rose to popularity after it came out in 1994. It has been done to death, and needs to go the way of the Buffalo, "What's the deal with the new Tide?", Yakov Smirnoff, and "I just flew in and Boy, are my arms tired." One character that has room for character progression is Goldie's grandmother portrayed by Ellen Barkin, Ocean's Thirteen. She is portrayed as a judgmental bigot who thinks she is above others. She speaks her thoughts without a filter, but I can see her growing closer to acceptance as the show progresses.
The mood of the show is very hard to gauge, it isn't funny enough to be a comedy and it isn't moving enough to be a drama. Instead is just hovers in emotional limbo. When Goldie's grandmother, Jane, gives the big reveal at the end of the episode as to why she has such hateful feelings toward gays, it just falls flat. I would recommend the show runners start wrapping up plot lines, because I really don't see this lasting more than a season. If it wasn't for the talents for Rannells, it wouldn't make it past the mid season break Content Two weeks ago KSL, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake, decided to not air The New Normal when it premiers tonight. Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL's parent company Bonneville International stated, "For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time.” Although I didn't find the show to be Pay Cable grade obscene, there was a scene of simulated sex, and the two main characters share light affectionate kisses. Language is appropriate for it's 9:30pm time slot, but more shocking was the racial and prejudicial slurs by the grandmother. I think the main things that got The New Normal removed from KSL's line-up was the message it sends that a homosexual couple is a perfectly normal situation to raise a child in. But there is another message sent that actually is more offensive to viewers like me. The characters are very polarized on their opinion of Goldie's choice to be a surrogate parent to a gay couple. They are in either overwhelming support, or vehemently against it, like in the case of Barkin's character. This message hurts the story telling. The show really needs a middle ground to help those in the middle identify with a character. There seems to be a message that if you don't agree with gay behavior, you must hate gay people. I have gay people in my life and I love them just like my other friends. I don't agree with their choices, just like I don't agree with the choice some of my friends have made to drink, vote for Barrack Obama, or wear a blue shirt to Church! But to say I must hate them is offensive to me. Although I don't necessarily agree with the choice KSL has made to ban the show based on the message it sends. Also do not agree the message the show sends either. If they would have said, we know our demographic and we feel a different show in that time slot would create more ad revenue it would make a lot more sense. But I agree with what the Lord has said about families in the Family Proclamation. "Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity." We live in a world where not every child gets that opportunity though. Some are born into families of drug and alcohol addiction, abuse, teen moms, absent fathers, and some babies are killed before they even have a chance at life. Do I think a child can find happiness and love with a family of same sex parents? You bet I do! But do I think it is the "New Normal?" I hope not.
NBC's Community is one of the most under rated shows on NBC right now. It is based on a group of students who form a study group at a local community college. The study group comprises students from all walks of life and backgrounds, but they mesh very well. It has a strong ensemble cast with each one able to carry an episode story on their own. Ever since the first season Community has seen declining rating, but the show is still making great TV. I has already been picked up for syndication by Comedy Central.
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. So in honor of this day I'd like to focus my review on one character. Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) seems to be a huge fan favorite. Although it hasn't been made official, many believe Abed has Asperger's Syndrome. Abed's character has difficulty in showing empathy with the other members of the study group and his love of cinema and television has caused people to make this assumption. Asperger's is a part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder and can be characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.
Regardless if these things Abed becomes a sort of moral center for the show. Many of the characters go to him for advice and council because he is can make logical decisions without appearing emotionally invested. For that same reason character seem to write him off as naive, (and he sometimes is) but find out in the end he was right all along. He is honest, kind and although not always visible has very deep feelings (Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas).
Abed reveals that he did not have many friends in school, but upon coming to college finds a Best Friend in Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). During the first and second season it was so enjoyable to watch this friendship evolve. The chemistry between the two is so remarkable the duo is almost exclusively used in the cold endings of each episode.
I am curious about everyone else, but I came to the realization why I was such a fan of Abed last season. He reminds me of my son Garren! Last year my son Garren was educationally diagnosed to be on the Autistic Spectrum, particularly with behaviours indicating Asperger's. We have not been very public about it, Garren doesn't even know. It was really hard for us at first to hear it, but we are very fortunate. We have friends with children on the spectrum to varying degrees, a few with cases that are very severe. I felt today was a good day to make it known.
Garren is very high functioning. To spend 5 minutes with him, you wouldn't think twice about it. An hour and you would notice something is a bit off. The whole day and it would be pretty evident. He loves reading and learning. He can tell you about every Pokemon and about all the ships in Star Wars. He can be oblivious to other people's feelings at times, then surprise us when he is moved to tears by an episode of "Phineas and Ferb." He desperately wants to Choose the Right and takes correction very hard. He loves to be funny and wants to have friends, and he does!
Our school has a wonderful Individual Education Program for him. He is making great strides, but we still have hard times. As his Dad, one of my greatest hopes is for him to fit in and feel loves. "I'll Walk with You" moves me to tears every time I hear it. He has reached the age where the kids are starting to notice he is a little different, and has caused some kids to avoid him. Many times, he has no idea, but other times he does. It is heartbreaking to hear him talk about a boy at school who doesn't want to be his friend any more.
I love the story of Troy and Abed because Troy is friends with Abed because of his personality, not in spite of it. In my favorite episode of season 2 (Early 21st Century Romanticism) Troy and Abed are enamoured with the same woman, the Librarian. After she eventually chooses Troy she reveals that she thinks Abed is weird. Troy instantly dumps her and rejoins his friend.
I can see something like that easily happening to Garren and instantly wanted him to have a friend who would love him that much. Then I realized he does, his brother Greyson. They are best friends! They do everything together. Just about anything Garren is doing Greyson is right behind him. I now that is Garren grows up and has hard time, Greyson will be right there with him.
When we found out Greyson was going to be a boy baby, my wife shed a few tears. Not that he was another boy or anything, but that we were hoping for a girl. Now we would not have it any other way! I am recalling now giving him his baby blessing. I felt promoted to speak about his important mission of being a companion to his brother, and to support him in the challenges he would face in life (at that time we had no clue of Garren's condition). Now it all makes sense and I can see the wisdom of The Lord. He truly is the Troy to our Abed.
Content: Did you forget this was actually a TV show review? Obviously me too. Community is a great show. The language isn't crude, but exclamatory remarks are made. There is no overtly sexual content, but characters do have intimate encounters that I tell myself they never go past first base. Like when my wife makes me watch Doris Day & Rock Hudson movies.
Quality: Recently in Stake Conference one of our Presidency members made two separate references to "The Walking Dead." I thought it might be worth a shot. So far I have gotten through Season 1 and a few Episodes into Season 2.
Officer Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to find the world has succumbed to a zombie apocalypse. Now he starts his search to find his wife and son amid the walking dead all around.
Now is full disclosure; of all the monster movie types, zombies are the only one that I really have a suspension of disbelief for. Werewolves and Glittery Vampires just seem like pure fantasy, but something about zombies seems plausible. Think I'm crazy? Have you seen the Metallica video for "All Nightmare Long?"
Okay rant over. Anyways, "The Walking Dead" is fantastic at playing to these fears. The suspense is so intense I actually woke up the next day with a tooth ache from clinching them so hard. The acting is pretty good. You care for the characters and you care about what happens to them.
Not only does Rick have to contend with the undead, but with human nature as well. In a "Lord of the Flies" sort of way the pandemic has brought out the best in some, and the worst in others. There are some very tough ethical choices the characters have to make and I found myself stopping to think, what would I do in that situation. With the Drama and Action so intriguing this is a great series to check out on Netflix.
Content:
Being on AMC the production is able to make push the envelope a little more than broadcast stations, but it isn't as graphic as if it were on HBO. The language is pretty mild, with only an occasional PG-13 swear word. The really isn't much sexual content either. The thing that pushed this one to 3 stars is the graphic violence. Zombies love to eat one thing, human flesh. And there is only one way to kill them, destroying the brain. Both are shown often and in complete detail. It's a great one for a guys night in, but if the Bishop drops by, you might want to press pause.
