Good news everyone! Futurama has returned!

    In 2003, after five seasons on the air (released in four DVD volumes; Wikipedia wrongly lists the four volumes as four seasons), Fox canceled Futurama.  Like so many bad decisions the network has made (canceling the amazingly awesome Firefly and Dollhouse and renewing the terrible Human Target spring to mind), this one was unacceptable.  However, luckily, the story doesn't end there.  In the last three years, four straight to DVD movies of the Futurama crew have been released.  And then Comedy Central asked for more episodes.  Last night, the culmination of that effort was gloriously realized when the first new Futurama episodes in nearly seven years premiered: "Rebirth" and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela".


     Producers and creators Matt Groenig (The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen are back at the helm.  The voice cast, including Billy West (The Ren and Stimpy Show), Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy, Married With Children), John DiMaggio (Kim Possible), Tress MacNeille (The Simpsons), Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain), Phil LaMarr (MADtv, Samurai Jack), David Herman (Office Space, MADtv), and Lauren Tom (King of the Hill, Man in Trees),  has returned.  There were disputes over salary, and talk of recasting, but it all was worked out in time.  If it hadn't been, it may have killed the new episodes before they even got started.  The setting, the animation, it's all like it never left.  Fans of the show should not notice anything different.


     Plot wise, the first episode picks up right where the final movie left off: with the ship and all the main characters being sucked into a wormhole.  This was intended as a series finale, just in case nothing else was ordered, but the writers were able to transition it seamlessly into the new plot.  Unfortunately, the ship crashes almost immediately and almost everyone dies.  Luckily, the Professor has murdered a few adults and harvested their stem cells, so he is able to bring everyone back.  Someone explain to me how stem cells regrew Bender, a robot?  Not only that, but due to a comedy of errors, a Robot Fry and Robot Leela are created.  And there were the obligatory puns, acknowledging their new network.

     Loyal viewers know that Fry's love for Leela was always an unresolved plot, winding through each episode, and taking center stage in a couple of the movies.  The fourth movie had them together, and the new episodes thankfully continue that thread, rather than setting them back.  My sincere hope is that the two remain a couple, and I think it likely.  Although only the first of last night's two new episodes developed their relationship, in the second one they kissed goodbye as she left for a dangerous mission.  Futurama is the rare cartoon that allows it's characters lasting growth, and it's part of what makes it so special.  That aspect should be nurtured.


     Twenty six new episodes have been ordered.  If it's rebirth is like Family Guy's, we can look forward to even longer run than the original series, although since it has been resurrected for cable, that may be wishful thinking.  However, I know of no other show that was off the air for as long as Futurama was and then brought back, so this whole situation sprang from wishful thinking.  It gives you real hope to see that anything is possible.

     Futurama will be airing Thursday nights at 10pm on Comedy Central.

Hot in Cleveland just lukewarm

    TVLand is trying their hand at making a sitcom instead of just airing old ones from the other networks.  Their first project of the type, Hot in Cleveland, feels incredibly dated.  Which may not be a bad thing.  Considering who TVLand's target audience is, Hot in Cleveland should fit in nicely.  Perhaps it's the humor, or the bottled laugh track, or the "filmed in front of a life studio audience" line at the beginning.  There isn't just one element, but the show definitely feels like it aired in the 1980's, or maybe the early 1990's at the latest.

     The cast is charming.  Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli, One Day at a Time, Touched By an Angel) is the one who fits best in the old mold, even though each of the four main actresses has already had success in the sitcom medium.  She is also the catalyst for the series's main plot.  Recently divorced, she is with two friends on a trip to Paris when their plane is held over in Northern Ohio.  Stopping at a local bar, Melanie and her friends soon realize that they are quite attractive when compared with the local women, and much more valued than they are in their home city of Los Angeles.  It is a premise that teases at our country's divide.  Plenty of L.A. and New York City denizens see the entire country between them, to borrow a phrase from a well known comedian, as one giant red state.  Different culture exists outside of those two large cities, and it's fun to see it acknowledged the way it is.

     Melanie's friends decide to stay with her when she rents a house in Cleveland.  Joy (Jane Leeves, Frasier) is a mess, in the second episode dating a young man that she thinks might be her son.  Victoria (Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me!) recently had her long-running soap opera canceled, so she has nothing better to do.  The first episode was all about the set up, but as the characters get more fleshed out, we find their true vulnerabilities.  Such as Victoria pretending to like the giant supermarket because fans fawn over her when she goes.  Why doesn't L.A. or NYC have big chain stores?  Why would these women not shop at them?  Again, cultural divide.

     Rounding out the cast is the 'caretaker' that came with the rented house, Elka (Betty White, The Golden Girls, Mary Tyler Moore, Boston Legal, etc.).  Despite the odd name, Elka has no accent.  She's just a grandmotherly type in a track seat with no obvious family around.  Elka gets all the good jokes, and let's be honest here.  Despite the talent and credentials the other three women bring to the show, most viewers will tune in for White, an American comedy legend.

     The chemistry is charming.  It's no Golden Girls, but it'll do for now.  It's television fast food: comfortable, tastes good, but without a lot of substance.  Yet, there is not necessarily anything wrong with that, and Hot in Cleveland does better than most at fulfilling the empty calorie content.

     Hot in Cleveland airs Wednesday nights at 10pm on TVLand.

Gleeks to get less Glee, but it's all good

     Fox had such a huge hit on it's hands with Glee that it was picked up for a second season by January, and a reality show leading up to the premiere of season two was announced soon after.  The reality show would feature fans uploading videos of themselves singing onto YouTube, and the winners would get to appear on the television show.

     Yesterday Fox announced that there would be no reality television show.  The project has been scrapped.  Speaking as someone who has no respect for reality tv (other than an occasional Project Runway or American Idol article, it is the genre missing from my reviews), this is definitely good news.  Why water down such an interesting, unique hit by adding a crappy, bastardized reality competition to it?

     Fans who already uploaded their videos, fear not.  Creator Ryan Murphy will still be combing them to find some new guest stars.  Some Gleeks out there will soon be getting a very special call.  The creator asked Fox to cancel the project so that he could focus better on planning upcoming episodes, and the network didn't fight him on it.

     Plenty of Glee will be coming to airwaves, so don't despair.  Fox has asked for twenty-five episodes this season, a number almost unheard of anymore for hour long dramedies, and especially for a show that takes as much effort as Glee does to put together.  It has also already been given a third season, so the creative team have plenty of time to take us on a great arc.  Also, in conjunction with the first season, there are three full albums and two mini-albums, as well as a DVD release available as a complete season or in two parts, so there's plenty of ways to relive the memories.  Not only that, but it was recently revealed that the Glee cast members have a clause in their contracts calling for three feature length films, should the studio decide to move the McKinley High students to the big screen.

     In other Glee news, it was just announced that Filipino singing star Charice will be coming on board in a recurring role.  Oprah called her the most talented girl in the world, so she definitely has some chops.  Look out Rachel!

     Glee stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron, Mark Salling, Jayma Mays, and the legendary Jane Lynch, among others, and will be returning to Fox this fall.  Many of the stars will also be at Comic Con this summer.

Scoundrels is surprisingly good

     ABC has done plenty of promotion for their summer season this year, promising good television.  This past Sunday, two of those drama premiered.  Sadly, The Gates was terrible.  However, Scoundrels had quite a pilot with "And Jill Came Tumbling After".  It introduced us to the West family, a group who are involved in the same occupational field: crime.  Each character has a distinct personality, and thanks to some great casting, they all gel together in a way highly pleasing.

     The patriarch of the West family is Wolf (David James Elliott, JAG), now serving five years in prison.  This means the responsibility of taking care of the clan falls squarely on the shoulders of his wife, Cheryl (Virgina Madsen, Sideways, Monk).  Cheryl decides by the end of episode one that she can't bear to loose any more of her family to prison or worse, so they all must go straight.  Although this is late in the pilot, it seems to be the premise of the series.  Not that anyone wants to go along with this plan.  Her kids worry about her being serious, the cop constantly on their tale (Carlos Bernard, 24) scoffs, and the episode ends with Wolf laughing heartily.  Clearly, Cheryl has her work cut out for her if she wants to save her family.

     If that was the entire premise, the show would be weak.  However, the Wolfs have four children.  Son Logan (Patrick John Flueger, The 4400) has already gone straight, and has just been accepted to the bar as a lawyer.  Although he claims to have studied law so that he could get his family off the hook for their misbehavior.  Identical twin to Logan is Cal (also Flueger), the screw up whom Wolf wants to take over making money and supporting the family.  Obviously there will be some kind of swap between the two boys at some point.  It's too good a gag to pass up, and allows Flueger to likely have more fun than anyone.

     That doesn't mean that Logan and Cal overshadow the Wolf girls, though.  Young adult Heather (Leven Rambin, Grey's Anatomy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has beauty, but no academic brains.  The pilot finds her posing in next to nothing.  But when the photographer tried to withhold the best prints, she proves her scam skills by switching her roofied champagne for his clean glass and gains the upper hand.  In contrast, daughter Hope (Vanessa Marano, The Gilmore Girls, Dexter) has all the brains, but also the sneakiness.  She hasn't attended school for months, after blackmailing her vice principal (Jessica Collins, Tru Calling), who slept with 'good' brother Logan when the boy was only seventeen.  Instead, she's working on a screenplay.  The sisters totally have the Modern Family dynamic, but with an edge and little more affection.

     Add to the mix a senile Grandpa Wolf (John Lawlor, Phyllis) and you have a recipe that tastes delicious.  Scoundrels runs Sunday nights at 9pm on ABC.

Memphis Beat premieres tonight

     I am quite fond of Jason Lee.  I loved him in all of the Kevin Smith movies and I was happy for him when he got the title role in My Name Is Earl, though I'm still a bit bitter the show didn't get a proper finale after four seasons.  I celebrate his successes and feel bad when he doesn't do so well.  After watching the first episode of his new show for TNT, Memphis Beat, I am not sure whether to be happy or sad for him.  It's good that he's headlining another cast, and cop shows do pretty well on television.  As far as cop shows go, it's decent.  But it's mostly just a serial crime show, or so it appears from the first episode, and his talent goes beyond such drivel.  Sure, there's a Memphis charm, good music, and he gets to sing in the pilot, "That's Alright, Mama".  It was enough for my to set my TiVo to record the second episode next week, but far short of earning a season pass.

     Other things Memphis Beat have going for it include a couple of the supporting cast.  Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives, The Family That Preys, True Blood) is his new boss, Lt. Tanya Rice, who is bringing a motherly quality to the M.P.D., although a brief scene with her calling her daughter proves that she isn't as good a child rearer as she pretends to be.  I love Abraham Benrubi (ER, Men in Trees), but although his name was in the opening credits, he had scant seconds of screen time in the pilot.  The other actors in the show were not memorable, at least in the first episode.

     TNT already has a few crime-based dramas, and they do pretty well on the network.  Memphis Beat will certainly add to that portfolio.  I just wish it had dared to go a little further, like Justified.  Shows in this genre are better if they are about the characters, more than the crimes.  This series has a hint of character drama, mostly in the annoying, uninspired scenes between Dwight (Lee) and his mother, Paula Ann (Celia Weston).  On a side note, will television shows please quite tossing in the mother, as if that makes up for their serial nature?  Although it sometimes work, it's a tired premise, and often doesn't.  It certainly does not here.

     Memphis Blue premieres tonight at 10pm on TNT.

Season Finales Are Here!!!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 ~ Series Finale of Dollhouse (Fox)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8 ~ Heroes (NBC)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17 ~ Scrubs (ABC)

MONDAY, APRIL 12 ~ Life Unexpected (CW)

MONDAY, APRIL 19 ~ Damages (FX)

WENESDAY, MAY 12 ~ Mercy (NBC) and The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

THURSDAY, MAY 13 ~ Private Practice (ABC) and The Vampire Diaries (CW)

FRIDAY, MAY 14 ~ Smallville (CW)

SATURDAY, MAY 15 ~ Saturday Night Live (NBC)

SUNDAY, MAY 16 ~ American Dad (Fox), Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters (ABC), The Pacific (HBO)

MONDAY, MAY 17 ~ House (Fox), Castle (ABC), and Gossip Girl (CW)

TUESDAY, MAY 18 ~ V (ABC)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 ~ Modern Family and Cougar Town (ABC)

THURSDAY, MAY 20 ~ Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock (NBC), Bones and Fringe (Fox), and Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

FRIDAY, MAY 21 ~ The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO)

SUNDAY, MAY 23 ~ The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, and Family Guy (Fox), Series Finale of Lost (ABC)

MONDAY, MAY 24 ~ Series Finale of 24 (Fox), Chuck (NBC), How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

TUESDAY,  MAY 25 ~ Parenthood (NBC)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 ~ American Idol (Fox)

THURSDAY, MAY 27 ~ Series Finale of FlashForward (ABC)

MONDAY, JUNE 7 ~ Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara (Showtime)

TUESDAY, JUNE 8 ~ Glee (Fox) and Justified (FX)

SUNDAY, JUNE 13 ~ Breaking Bad (AMC)

SUNDAY, JUNE 20 ~ Treme (HBO) and Series Finale of The Tudors (Showtime)

FRIDAY, JUNE 25 ~ Party Down (Starz)

Down in the Treme

     Ah, Treme.  HBO's series, set in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated it, is a breath of fresh air.  It's unique and original.  The characters are believable, and have so many layers.  Last night's hour and a half season finale, "I'll Fly Away", was moving.  It wasn't an extraordinary episode, measured against any other.  It was like real life, continuing in it's twists and turns.  The only really stand out part was the ten minute or so sequence where we got to see all of the characters just before the storm.  But the fact that no part of Treme does stand out as especially more dramatic as any other is why the series works so well.  Sure, there are ups and downs, but everything flows along like a Second Line parade.

     The most heart breaking plot involved the suicide of Creighton Bernette (John Goodman, an actual resident of the city).  It was so nice to see him in the before the storm segment, acting normally with his family.  Damn imdb.com teases us, listing him as full time for the upcoming second season, but surely that is not to be.  His writer / activist was certainly one of the most fascinating characters, and while it was obvious from the beginning of the penultimate episode that he intended to take his life, suddenly cheery after all his frustrations  Yet, it made no sense, in that he had plenty to live for.  His family certainly didn't see it coming, and while I did, I still don't know why he did it.  My heart goes out to his wife Toni (Melissa Leo) and daughter Sofia (India Ennenga).  That's a testament to how un-fictional the family seemed.

     Elswhere, it appears that Davis (Steve Zahn) failed to stop Janette (Kim Dickens) from leaving town.  If her character doesn't return for the second season, she will be sorely missed, but I suspect she may soon be back in the south.  She just doesn't seem like a New York City gal.  However, the hints of a love interest for Davis in Annie (Lucia Micarelli, a real musician) make much more sense, and I would like to see that blossom.  It was clear that Davis and Janette weren't meant for each other, even to the characters themselves, but Annie seems a perfect match.  And Davis for her, much more so than her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, Sonny (Michiel Huisman).  I was gratified that she left him, and hope she never does back.

     Antoine (Wendell Pierce) needs to clean up his act.  Gambling away most of the money he made at his latest gig won't support his family.  How many kids does he have, anyhow?  I kept thinking he could find someone more attractive than the woman he is currently with, but he certainly doesn't deserve better.  I kind of root for him to get back with ex Ladonna (Khandi Alexander) because he actually seems to care about her, but she certainly deserves a good man, and seems to have found one.  I hope that she doesn't let past chemistry screw up what she has any more than it already has.

     Finally, is Delmond (Rob Brown) ever going to listen to his father, Indian Chief Albert (Clarke Peters) and return to his home?  He should.  He's the character that seems most disposable to me, so much more than John Goodman was.  In contrast, his father is part of the heart of New Orleans.  Between his civil disobedience and gathering back his tribute, Albert is a pillar of the community.  I hope things start going better for him soon.

The curtain closes on The Tudors

     The show was called The Tudors, but really only concerned one of the five rulers from that dynasty.  Now that it's over, it seems a shame that the series didn't start with a season or two of Henry the VII's reign, as Henry VIII (Johnathan Rhys Meyers) came of age.  It its even more regretful that it did not continue into his childrens' time in power.  However, the show was about Henry and his six wives, despite the name, and it was a well-told story.  I am at a loss to think of another show centered around such a despicable main character that still held interest and ran for so long.  Sure, flawed heroes are the norm on television today, but Henry VIII was merely flawed, not a hero.

      All of Henry's six wives appeared in the final season, and four in the finale.  All six were in the finale if you count the final montage, showing scenes from all four seasons.  The scenes where the three mother of his children, Katherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), and Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis, although Anita Briem played her in as many episodes as Wallis, was seen in the montage, and did a better job) came to him were spine tingling, in a good way.  They reminded him of his mistakes, and who he really was.  Henry did not die in the finale, but he was near death's door, alone.  It was hard to sympathize for him, but the finale was a fitting end.

     As mentioned above, Henry had three children, and each also played a part in the end.  Mary (played by Sarah Bolger since season two) was the most prominent.  Here was a daughter who loved her father, despite what he had done to her mother and her religion.  She deeply cared for her mother, her mother's faith, and her mother's people.  She would later become known as Bloody Mary, and it is no wonder, with such torn loyalties.  The other two were played by multiple performers, but the middle child, Elizabeth, ushered Britain into a Golden Age, and so it is unfortunate that the show did not continue for her.

     The Tudors, more than any other show, had a rotating cast of characters.  As mentioned before, the series focused on Henry and his wives, and so it was a bit disappointing that so many faces gracing the theme song appeared for only a season, or less, and were not given fitting endings.  There are two exceptions to this rule, however.  First appearing in episode three, Chapuys (Anthony Brophy), an ambassador from Spain, was never made a main character, but made quite an impression, and I was saddened by his death, which came shortly before the finale.  But the most integral, who the only person in every episode, aside from Henry, was Henry's best friend, Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill).  In real life, Henry died about a year and a half before Henry.  In the show, he died fifteen minutes before the end.  He was the heart behind the throne, and it was nice to see him get such moving screen time as the series came to a close.

Breaking Bad ends season three

     Tonight is Sunday.  I have become quite accustomed to watching AMC's Breaking Bad on Sundays, but unfortunately, season three ended last week with "Full Measure", so it won't be back tonight.  Two and a half months is not long enough.  The drama that started pretty good, and was something different, has become must-see.  The wait for season four will be a long one, especially because the cliffhanger was much more suspenseful than the show had done before.

     This season saw a couple of new regulars as Walter (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse's (Aaron Paul) meth business expanded.  Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) helped them launder their money, provided wonderful comic relief, and actually seemed to come through in a pinch.  Giancarlo Esposito delivered a much more nuanced performance as chilling new boss Gus, and both became essential to the series.

     I feel really bad for Walt and Jesse.  They keep getting themselves into the mess deeper and deeper.  Now that they work for a man who eliminated his competition south of the border, and controls a huge chunk of land, including several states, how much deeper can they get?  For the series to continue to up the stakes, the writers are going to have to get even more creative than they have been, and they've already been outstanding.  At this point, it seems doubtful a happy ending can be had by the two main characters, but they have to try, and audiences will continue to root for them.

     The cliffhanger, where Walt was being held at gunpoint, waiting for Jesse to kill Walt's replacement, so that Gus could eliminate Walt, was nail biting.  We heard a gun shot as the screen faded to black, but did Jesse do the deed?  He had to have, didn't he?  Yet, something tells me perhaps he didn't.  Can the brilliant people behind Breaking Bad write themselves out of this narrow of a corner?

     Walt's family drama has also gotten deeper.  Skyler (Anna Gunn) now knows Walt's secret, and after a whole season of knowing, is finally showing signs of not hating him.  While they still have a long road ahead before any type of reconciliation may be possible, it's added a new level of intrigue and pathos.  Also, if Dean Norris doesn't at least get nominated, if not win, an Emmy for portrayed brother-in-law Hank this year, justice will not be served.  What started as a two dimensional a**hole has become probably my favorite character, and after Hank barely escaping his own assassination, I look forward to every moment of screen time he gets.

     Breaking Bad will surely return to AMC next year.

Out of Town

Dear Readers,

    Sorry my out of town-ness turned into almost ten days!  There were family events, and then some unexpcted work travel.  However, I will be back on June 20th with more articles, and will continue writing for the forseeable future.  Thank you for reading.

~Jerome Wetzel