By Elaine Bergstrom
It’s been a rough few weeks for our conflicted antihero, but an educational experience, too. He’s learned a lot about Arthur and even more about himself. After he confessed to Arthur that he’d killed an innocent, looking for some sort of advice from a man he still thought had things together, it led to a confession from Arthur about his own horrific past and the guilt he felt after his sister died. Worse, as the video above reveals, after Dexter learned the truth about Arthur’s family, his all-too-human reaction to the horror Arthur Mitchell’s family endures has put a target on his back. He’s also begun to realize that there are more than three killings in each cycle. And now that Debs figured out that someone shorter than Trinity shot her, Dexter will be looking for the killer’s accomplice. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama by Elaine
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Tags: Dexter, Dexter Hungry Man

Credit: Prashant Gupta / FX

By Stacey Harrison

The penultimate episode this season is one long call to battle, with the opening musical montage consisting of the West Coast chapters of SAMCRO coming together to assemble a task force to fight Zobelle and The League, while the old ladies — yes, Tara included — stand by their men to the plaintive swoon of “Someday Never Comes.”

It’s all headed toward an epic throwdown between the Sons and Weston’s faction of The League, all orchestrated by a united Jax and Clay fully in control of their dispute with the neo-Nazis for the first time. They tell Weston about Zobelle’s buddying up with the Mayans to run the heroin trade, in order to get the right-hand man to turn on his leader. They then turn Family Services onto Weston’s kids, resulting in having them hauled away in front of him. That’s when they confront Weston, let him know that they’re aware of his role in Gemma’s rape, and Jax challenges him to a fight, his best 10 against their best 10. No weapons. They also get the better of Stahl yet again, thwarting her latest attempt to catch them with a bunch of guns, instead making Cameron’s decision to cooperate and go against Jimmy O look like a fatal mistake. They’re also able to get the Chinese and the Niners to enter into an agreement that restores order and brings SAMCRO a lot more protection. All in all, some pretty fancy maneuvering. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009 by sharrison76
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Tags: Adam Arkin, Charlie Hunnam, FX, Henry Rollins, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Recap, Ron Perlman, SAMCRO, Sarah Jones, Sons of Anarchy, Stacey Harrison, The Culling

This holiday season, Hallmark Hall of Fame and CBS are partnering with Petfinder.com to launch the first ever “Foster a Lonely Pet for the holidays” program, inspired by the original movie A Dog Named Christmas which will air Sunday, Nov. 29, on CBS.

Based on Greg Kincaid’s popular novel, A Dog Named Christmas tells the story of a developmentally challenged young man whose affinity for animals inspires him to champion his family and their community to participate in a local animal shelter’s “Foster a Dog for Christmas” program. In keeping with the movie’s heartwarming story, Petfinder.com is working with more than 2,000 shelters and rescue groups across the country to give families the opportunity to welcome a lonely pet into their home for the holiday season, ideally from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.

[Read more →]

Categories: Holiday, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: A Dog Named Christmas, CBS, Foster A Lonely Pet for the Holidays, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Petfinder, Petfinder.com

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

By Stacey Harrison

If you’re any fan at all of Fringe —and if you’re reading this, I’ll assume you are — you’ve heard that The Observers take center stage this week, and that we’ll find out a whole lot more about them. No one-off episode here. This one will take a permanent place in the show’s canon. So, is it any good?

It has its trouble spots, but overall a strong show, dropping plenty of tasty tidbits and making sure we’ll never view The Observers the same again.

The cold opening, which has been available for sneak preview all week, does a great job locking into the story, showing a heretofore unseen Observer kidnapping a young coed, and doing some really cool stuff in the process. You don’t notice it until later when they’re breaking down the surveillance video, but the new Observer can catch a bullet with his hand and fire a really cool — most assuredly otherworldly — handgun that can make pesky interlopers fly several feet in the air. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, August, FOX, Fringe, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick, Leonard Nimoy, Massive Dynamic, Recap, Stacey Harrison, The Observer

By Stacey Harrison

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Michael Courtney/FOX

Are the Observers human? As far as I can tell, it’s never been definitively determined on the show, but in a conference call this week, a couple of Fringe producers may have let slip that the bald, Mad Men-styled characters who pop up during important events in several episodes are in fact of another species.

Tonight’s episode, “August,” delves deeper into the mysteries of these characters, who so far have not participated directly in any of the strange goings-on that seem to be building toward a war between our dimension and another. That all changes when one of these Observers, named August, kidnaps a girl. Does he mean her harm, or is he trying to save her?

Executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman shared some background about how they came up with the look of the Observers, and where the rest of the season is headed. [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009, Sci-Fi & Fantasy by sharrison76
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Tags: Anna Torv, August, Fringe, J.H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Observer, Stacey Harrison

By Mike Frey

Last night’s episode of Glee, titled “Ballad,” was packed with songs — or, in some cases, snippets of songs — so let’s jump right in a discuss them.

The first performance was a duet by Rachel (Lea Michele) and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) on “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. Though the singing was beyond competent, this scene was all about comedic effect and the awkwardness of Rachel’s developing crush on her teacher. To that degree, it totally worked. The internal monologues of each character were hilarious, making this the best use of “Endless Love” in a comedy since Happy Gilmore. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy by Mike
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Tags: Ballad, Cory Monteith, Glee, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison

Winner Peggy Black with "Simpsons" EP Al Jean

Peggy Black of Orange, CT, has hit it big in yellow and been selected by producers of The Simpsons as the winner of their Character Contest, which called for submissions of new secondary character ideas for the long-running animated comedy. Black created the character Ricardo Bomba (nicknamed “La Bomba”), a smooth-talking ladies’ man from South America with a luxurious black mane, chiseled physique and silky smooth voice. By day, Ricardo works as safety inspector at the nuclear power plant, and by night works Springfield’s singles scene.

Bomba will make his debut in the “Million Dollar Maybe” episode of The Simpsons, premiering Jan. 31 on FOX. In this episode, Homer blows off a date with Marge to buy a lottery ticket. When Homer wins the million-dollar jackpot, he fears how Marge will react when she finds out why he missed their date. Homer keeps his newly inherited fortune a secret, and instead spoils his family with “anonymous” gifts. When Bart finds out, he gives Homer a lesson in looking out for number one. Chris Martin of Coldplay makes a guest voice appearance as himself in the episode, if you need extra enticement to watch.

For winning the contest, Ms. Black won a trip to Los Angeles to meet with Simpsons producers and animators, and work with them to bring her character to life.

____________________

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting. Credit: Ray Mickshaw.

The Simpsons ™ & © 2009 TTCFFC. All Rights Reserved.

Categories: Animation, Comedy, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: character contest, La Bomba, new Simpsons character, Peggy Black, Ricardo Bomba, The Simpsons

JFK & Jackie arrive in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963

By Jeff Pfeiffer

This Sunday, Nov. 22, will be the 46th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The exact details behind this act remain among our country’s most enduring mysteries, and have led to many theories, some reasonable, others bordering on — or crossing into — crackpot conspiracy territory. It’s likely we will never know for sure what actually took place leading up to the firing of those bullets in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza in 1963, but it will always remain good speculative fodder for TV networks and fascinated audiences. This year is no exception, as a few new and repeat specials are airing to keep the mystery alive.

The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After (repeat) – History, Nov. 21 at 8pm ET. For the first time, using never-before-seen transcripts only recently made public, this film pieces together the 24-hour period after the shots were fired. The timeline reveals startling new information about the death of the president and the traumatic transfer of power to his successor, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. From new details about when JFK really died, to the truth behind LBJ’s Oath of Office photo on Air Force One, this special uncovers an unfamiliar story born out of one of the most crucial days in American history. [Read more →]

Categories: Documentary, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Carlos Marcello, Dallas, Dealey Plaza, Did the Mob Kill JFK?, Discovery Channel, History, Jack Ruby, Jeff Pfeiffer, JFK, JFK assassination, JFK: The Ruby Connection, Jim Leavelle, John F. Kennedy, Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lyndon B. Johnson, National Geographic Channel, November 22 1963, The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, The Lost JFK Tapes

By Stacey Harrison

Credit: Prashant Gupta / FX

You always knew Opie would find out. But what would he do about it? Would he do what most of us believe we would do, and quit the group that sanctioned and carried out his wife’s murder? As each character in this show can attest, the ties to SAMCRO run deep, and not even Donna’s death can come between Opie and his gang.

Maybe it has something to do with how he found out. Having Tig break down out of guilt — which was compounded by a near-miss sexual encounter with Gemma that really came out of left field — and spill his guts probably put Opie in a better frame of mind to put the blame on Stahl. His decision to stalk her, put a gun to her head but not actually kill her sums up his character nicely — along with his stopping short of killing the judge’s son a few episodes back. Opie looks mean, and is willing to get his hands dirty, but he just ain’t a killer. As he puts it, “The outlaw had mercy.” [Read more →]

Categories: Drama, Fall Preview 2009 by sharrison76
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Tags: Adam Arkin, Charlie Hunnam, Ethan Zobelle, FX, Henry Rollins, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates, Recap, Ron Perlman, Ryan Hurst, SAMCRO, Service, Sons of Anarchy, Stacey Harrison

Two fan-favorite actresses from Syfy’s departed hit series Battlestar Galactica will be making guest appearances on two popular CBS comedies.

In the Nov. 16 “Gorp. Fnark. Schmegle.” episode of Two and a Half Men, Tricia Helfer (on the right in this photo; she played sexy Cylon “Number Six” on Battlestar) stops by. Helfer plays Gail, Chelsea’s (Jennifer Taylor) college roommate, who is invited by Chelsea to stay at the house while getting over a bad breakup. Naturally, Charlie (Charlie Sheen) is intrigued, and likely a bit frustrated, by this development. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Battlestar Galactica, CBS, Charlie Sheen, Chuck Lorre, Gorp Fnark Schmegle, guest stars, Jeff Pfeiffer, Jennifer Taylor, Kara Thrace, Katee Sackhoff, Number Six, Simon Helberg, Starbuck, The Big Bang Theory, The Vengeance Formulation, Tricia Helfer, Two and a Half Men