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‘Awake’ Series Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:49:59 +0000

While there was certainly disappointment in finding out that Awake wouldn’t see a second season, and would instead be looked at as a 13-episode miniseries, it would appear that the fate of the show – which has been bemoaned by so many – may help it to be remembered more fondly than if it were to continue.

This is not intended to be a slight on what has been a well acted, and frequently well-written series. The trouble is, however, that Awake - more often than not – focused on a sometimes bland procedural effort, rather than exploring the interesting and unique concepts it began with. More egregious, though, was the continued insistence to turn what initially started out as a thought-provoking exercise on the lengths one would go to overcome grief, into a frustrating ...

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‘House’ Series Finale Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:12:14 +0000

Paired with a beautifully crafted retrospective, the House series finale, in its two-hour form, perfectly represents the best and worst of the series. Using Hugh Laurie to endear audiences to the behind-the-scenes production of the series, House entered into its final episode by presenting the perfect platform for audiences to not only enjoy the finale, but to also appreciate it from the point-of-view of everyone who worked on it.

Sadly, all of those fond memories and earned goodwill from the retrospective were all-but lost, as the lack of actual story, its poor, disjointed flashbacks and “twist” ending served to almost isolate this episode from the entity of the series. Perhaps a story viewers would be interesting in hearing – though not as the closing chapter.

Trapped in a burning building, much of the episode ...

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‘Supernatural’ Season 7 Finale Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:39:09 +0000

Attempting to make sense of this past season of Supernatural is no easy task – one that the season 7 finale unfortunately fails to achieve.

With a string of episodic storylines that transformed the series’ typically narrative storytelling into a poor copy of television’s overused procedurals, the glimmer of hope that briefly showed itself in this season’s penultimate episode was all but lost to the disjointed, awkward presentation of the Supernatural season 7 finale.

Bringing together all available (read: not dead) fan-favorite characters to help ground many of this season’s awkward elemental inclusions, there is a strong sense that the producers are attempting to not only acknowledge the downfall of this past season, but that they are also trying to make the unfortunate position the series finds itself in as enjoyable as possible for longtime fans.

Succeeding to ...

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‘Justified’ Season 3 Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:26:48 +0000

To say that this season of Justified was something of a juggling act would be a fairly accurate representation, as long as you imagine a weary Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) keeping multiple criminal organizations, a self-serving BBQ master, and one ridiculously charismatic backwoods super-villain in the air simultaneously.

Given the two previous season finales, one wouldn’t be hard pressed to think that with the title of ‘Slaughterhouse,’ Raylan would be continuing his particular search for justice by ensuring those who have strayed from his loose definition of the law are properly lead-filled. Certainly, though, the title likely has more to do with one Ellstin Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson) and his little shack of terror, wherein he so menacingly butchers all those pigs, as if each swing of his cleaver stood as an example for all who would think to cross him.

Surprisingly, neither scenario plays ...

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‘Magic City’ Series Premiere Review

Kevin Yeoman — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:48:05 +0000

It seems that when creating a pilot for a new television series the creators have to make the difficult decision whether or not to skim the entire surface of a show’s concept in the first hour, or to plumb its depths at the risk of leaving some in the audience scratching their heads. When it comes to the pilot for the new Starz period drama Magic City, creator Mitch Glazer (The Recruit) clearly decided skimming was the way to go.

This is not a condemnation of the rest of the series, it is just meant to infer that, although we see a great deal of Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), there is no true sense of what, where or even when Ike’s run at the Miramar Playa ...

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‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 2 Premiere Review

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:30:21 +0000

Omens, visions and rituals combine to herald the next chapter of HBO’s obsession-worthy fantasy series, Game of Thrones. After leaving the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in the hands of a despotic boy-king, the series roars back to television, picking up right where it left off like a book opened to a dog-eared page.

From the start, it’s clear that, as much as season 1 followed the reluctant exploits of Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) and his ruinous turn as the Hand of the King, season 2 immediately begins gathering steam from the performance of Peter Dinklage. Yes, he was the break out star of season 1, but this season (awards and accolades aside) Game of Thrones feels very much like Dinklage’s program to carry. With his wit, charm and wry sensibilities, Tyrion easily handles the task.

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‘Spartacus: Vengeance’ Season Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:12:02 +0000

Rushing headlong into this finale with a true sense of revolution, Spartacus: Vengeance is set to complete an incredibly strong season by finishing what it had started with ‘Kill Them All’ way back in April of 2010. Moreover, though, Spartacus: Vengeance faces an unlikely challenger in its own storytelling, by having to face the prospect of exceeding the kind of epic grandiosity on display in episodes like ‘Libertus‘ and last week’s ‘Monsters.’

Suffice to say: the season finale ‘Wrath of the Gods’ does not disappoint. The episode is nearly wall-to-wall action that gloriously upends the series, offers closure to several lingering plot threads, and once more redefines the man Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) will become for the pending third season – whatever that may be subtitled.

As storm clouds brew over Mt. Vesuvius, ...

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‘Alcatraz’ Season 1 Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:34:19 +0000

(This review contains SPOILERS for the season finale of Alcatraz. Stop reading if you have not yet seen the episode.)

When it was first announced, Alcatraz sounded like it had all the makings of another success from proven hit maker J.J. Abrams. But after a somewhat lackluster premiere earlier this year, and a steady, but not disastrous, decline in the ratings, the series had quickly proven it was not the next Lost; in fact, it wasn’t even the next Fringe.

After that inauspicious premiere, there was still hope that when the season came to a close answers would arise to not only validate the unending questions brought up in the storyline, but also to suggest the writers had a coherent and exciting plan for the series – should FOX decide ...

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‘Mad Men’ Season 5 Premiere Review

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:40:51 +0000

How big is the return of Mad Men? Well, after a 17-month hiatus, the proverbial red carpet has been rolled out for the two-hour season premiere. There has been non-stop media coverage of the arrival of Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the rest of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Everyone is seemingly in on the game, trying to pick off a piece of AMC’s flagship program and let the world know how aware they are of a program so innately self-aware.

Creator Matthew Weiner has offered almost nothing beyond an enigmatic image of Don Draper staring through a storefront window at a pair of mannequins, so it’s ironic that a show telling the story of ad men is effectively utilizing the media’s interest in the secrecy of season 5 to ...

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‘The Walking Dead’ Season 2 Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 04:20:38 +0000

What Happens Next: ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Details Revealed

(This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the episode ‘Beside the Dying Fire’ and season 2 as a whole. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen the entire season.)

What a difference a death makes. As occasionally entertaining as it was to have Shane (Jon Bernthal) around, watching him devolve into an ever-bigger threat toward Rick (Andrew Lincoln), his character was a lot like the walker Carl (Chandler Riggs) found at the edge of a creek: stuck. That metaphor of being stuck in the mud, and desperately trying to move on, pretty much sums up a great deal of The Walking Dead season ...

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‘Gold Rush’ Season 2 Finale Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:41:35 +0000

As Gold Rush: Alaska season 2 began, it quickly became apparent that this was not the same series that captivated audiences during its first season. In many ways, it had become much more.

Instead of simply focusing on the Hoffman crew’s endeavors at their new claim, the Jim Nail Placer mine, Gold Rush season 2 brought in two additional, concurrent stories that wonderfully supplemented the compelling tales of a mining season: the Big Nugget mine with Parker Schnabel and the Quartz Creek with “Dakota” Fred.

Transitioning itself from a single tale of the Hoffman crew attempting to provide for their families by striking it rich from mining gold into three concurrent stories, the amount of earnest storytelling that Gold Rush was able to achieve during season 2 is truly awe-inspiring – especially for ...

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‘The Walking Dead’ Season 2 Midseason Premiere Review

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:37:50 +0000

Given the difficult circumstances The Walking Dead survivors found themselves in at the end of the midseason finale, the return episode -titled ‘Nebraska’ – really had no choice but to pick up immediately following Rick’s decision to shoot Sophia. That being the case, the majority of the episode works as a direct extension of ‘Pretty Much Dead Already’ – which, as expected, works out to be an exercise in guilt, grief and for some, the realization that believing in hope is tantamount to standing idly by.

Although there are plenty of lingering plot points and character threads the episode could have chosen to cover, ‘Nebraska’ steers clear of hurrying along the storyline for the sake of getting things moving, but the episode feels dutiful and filled with a purpose, nonetheless.

Now ...

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‘Spartacus: Vengeance’ Season Premiere Review & Discussion

Kevin Yeoman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:26:19 +0000

After a very lengthy delay, Starz has launched the next chapter in the network’s sword and sandal epic: Spartacus: Vengeance. While the program’s return is marked by considerable excitement amongst its fans, the circumstances that led to the delay have tempered the event with a note of sadness.

With the untimely passing of Andy Whitfield, his replacement, Liam McIntyre, will certainly be met with hesitation and resistance on behalf of devoted fans of the series. But after watching the second season premiere, all concerns regarding McIntyre’s ability to step into the role should be put to rest.

In his role, McIntyre is (thankfully) not seeking to mimic Whitfield’s star-making performance as the titular Thracian. Instead, the new lead is making the character his by ever so slightly redefining who ...

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‘Chuck’ Series Finale Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:00:35 +0000

In 2007, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak’s geek-inspired spy series Chuck premiered on NBC and the notion of a fan-driven series was forever defined. Battling continuous intents of cancelation, as well as nasty writer’s strikes, television’s proverbial ‘little series that could’ proved that a cult show can not only be saved by its fans, but it can also evolve into something wonderful, if only given a chance.

Starting out as a series about the geek-turned-spy Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), NBC’s Chuck quickly took hold of all the geek cred that it received from fans and championed on for 5 years. Turning a series about one reluctant man against a world of bad guys into a hilariously referential ensemble series, which saw the entire cast join in on the fight – including Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester ...

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‘Touch’ Series Premiere Review & Discussion

Kevin Yeoman — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:55:53 +0000

With the premiere of Alcatraz under its belt, FOX can now ready its second highly anticipated midseason premiere with Touch, starring Kiefer Sutherland. Given the idea comes from Heroes creator Tim Kring, and also counts Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover among its cast, there is a considerable amount of anticipation and curiosity surrounding this new program.

The pilot, written by Kring and directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Constantine) is a kind of metaphysical exploration of what connects us not only to each other, but also to the world at large. And in order for Kring to make the statements, and deliver the kind of message Touch is intended to carry, he has chosen to expand the dynamic of the program to a global scale. While also keeping the central ...

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‘Archer’ Season 3 Premiere Review

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:36:40 +0000

After a short mini-season arc in the fall (a la Lost), FX’s Archer is now back for its official full third season, kicking things off with a premiere that featured a guest appearance by leading man icon (and Sterling Archer’s longtime man-crush), Burt Reynolds.

The episode (titled “The Man from Jupiter”) was already distinguished by Reynolds’ presence – but it also proved that Archer is truly hitting is comedic stride in season 3.

Things started in the usual Archer fashion: with our master spy (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) by the bar, courting a few young ladies. The twist comes when Archer bumps into one of the other patrons of the bar – who just so happens to be Burt “Gator” Reynolds. Then comes another twist: Burt isn’t just ...

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‘Justified’ Season 3 Premiere Review & Discussion

Anthony Ocasio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:08 +0000

Fresh off an Emmy win for Margo Martindale’s portrayal as the violently altruistic Mags Bennett in season two, Justified spectacularly kicks off its third season by introducing two intriguing, yet completely terrifying, antagonists that serve to masterfully delve further into the criminal vein that runs through Kentucky’s infamous small town.

Picking up three weeks after the Justified season 2 finale, a visibly weakened Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) is forced to take a desk position at the U.S. Marshall’s while his two soon-to-be adversaries, Fletcher “The Ice Pick” Nix and Robert Quarle, make their way in to Harlan.

On loan from Dexter, the always wonderful Desmond Harrington portrays the eerily charming gunslinger Fletcher, who is brought in by the town magnate, Emmitt Arnett (Steven Flynn), to help secure funds that are owed to Justified season 3 baddy Robert Quarle.

Quarle, who is ...

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‘Alcatraz’ Series Premiere Review & Discussion

Kevin Yeoman — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:08:57 +0000

Of all the television programs J.J. Abrams has produced, none have left a more indelible mark on the cultural landscape than Lost. So, naturally, once word broke that the famed director/producer would be involved in another island-based drama with a time-travel theme, Alcatraz inevitably, and perhaps unfairly, became the heir apparent to everything (positive and negative) associated with that series.

So it feels appropriate that Alcatraz should come with something of a disclaimer stating: Despite all the outward appearances and the inclusion of Lost star Jorge Garcia, Alcatraz bears little or no resemblance toward the program it finds itself most associated with. In fact, to Alcatraz is really more of the same ilk as Abrams’ other FOX effort: Fringe.

From the onset, Alcatraz has the same small-screen playfulness that Fringe had when ...

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‘Hell On Wheels’ Season 1 Finale Review

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:50:50 +0000

When AMC announced it had picked up Tony and Joe Gayton’s television western Hell on Wheels, the news set off a string of speculative buys across the various other networks scrambling to reproduce AMC’s success, as was the case with Mad Men. After having viewed the complete first season of Hell on Wheels, however, the onslaught of pending westerns need not fret, the best is still waiting to be discovered because AMC has set the bar incredibly low.

Having previously written revenge flicks like Faster and The Salton Sea, it was of little surprise that the Gayton brothers would choose to begin the story of Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) by having his trek west be fueled with a thirst for vengeance. What is surprising is how quickly everyone ...

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‘House of Lies’ Series Premiere Review & Discussion

Kevin Yeoman — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:54:10 +0000

After giving anyone with an Internet connection a free (but edited) preview of its newest comedy series late last month, House of Lies finally premieres in all of its adults-only glory on Showtime. After a second viewing sans large boxes of television static and with all the four-letter words reinserted, it’s clear that this series has potential, but whether or not said potential will ever be realized is somewhat murky.

Don Cheadle stars as Marty Kaan (as in con, and unfortunately not “Khaaaan!”) who heads up a group of slimy management consultants comprised of Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) and Josh Lawson (who thankfully avoided headlining the ill-advised Americanization of Spaced). In everything leading up to the premiere episode entitled ‘The Gods of Dangerous Financial Instruments,’ Showtime ...

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