The other day (a couple weeks ago) I was scrolling through Netflix, looking for something to watch. I happened upon Death by Lightning. I read the description:
Presenting the story of James Garfield, who rose from obscurity to become America's 20th President and Charles Guiteau, the man who assassinated him.
...and I was in.
(My high school U.S. history teacher's favorite president was Chester A. Arthur, who became president upon the death of James Garfield, so I had a vague understanding of the times and events.)
I was surprised how much I liked it. I mean, I wasn't expecting to hate it, but the first episode (of the four total) totally sucked me in. Of what I know of the actual events, the show was factual, although I'm sure many dramatic liberties were taken to dramatize the story.
So, now I'm telling people about it, as I haven't heard too much about other people watching it. I can't be the only one who saw it. And if I am, I want to make sure you get a chance to see it too.
Enjoy the trailer:
If you subscribe to Netflix, have you seen it? Have I tempted you to take a look?
I am out of town for Thanksgiving, so I may not be around the blogosphere as much this week. I'll catch up with everyone upon my return.
It's a holiday week, so that means Wednesday is time for that-TV-show-you-might-not-be-aware-of. Although, this show is on ABC, so I'm sure some of you have heard of it if you haven't seen it. I'm talking about the new show High Potential.
In the pilot, Morgan is a cleaning lady, but by the end of the pilot, she's working as a consultant for the police. And while I tend to avoid procedural TV shows (because that's only encouraging the networks to make more), there weren't many new shows that caught my eye, and this one also kept my interest. Here's the blurb via Google:
Morgan, a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind, helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential, she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective, Karadec. Together they form an unusual and unstoppable team.
Here's the trailer:
It was airing on ABC, but you can pick it up streaming on Hulu (to catch up). Currently it's on "winter break" until January.
Have you seen this show? Does it sound interesting to you?
When I write these posts, I tend to look for a TV show that I'm currently watching. I want to recommend something I'm enjoying and something you might not have heard of. But alas, everything I'm currently watching are shows that I wrote about already.
Well, okay, that works. Kind of...
First off, Evil is on its last season. I initially wrote about it five years ago when it started. Since then, it's just gotten weirder and creepier. And the student priest was fully ordained. (It's on Paramount Plus. Sorry, Alana.)
(Oh, it looks like the first two seasons are on Netflix. I'm sure they'll get the last two seasons later.)
I mean, what's not to like about a show with a nun who sees (and fights) demons. And a priest who does remote viewing (for the Vatican). And four daughters who always talk at the same time. And their grandmother (who's gone full evil) is babysitting the antichrist who is her biological grandson. The show is wild.
Last season the show was about resetting to July 1st when things went wrong. This season someone built a full-on time machine--that created a black hole that's going to destroy the earth three weeks after July 1st, so they've got to figure out a way to stop this. How (or if) they get a season 3, I have no idea.
Here's the trailer for the current season:
I have started a bunch of series. Some I got through the whole pilot episode. Most I couldn't even make it that long. So, when trying to come up with something interesting to watch, I thought, why not a rewatch? So, I'm rewatching Ted Lasso. I wrote about it three years ago. That was about season 1. They did three full seasons and then ended it.
As I write this, I'm a couple episodes into season 2. By the time you read this, I'll probably be finished rewatching it. Instead of finding a trailer, I found a video titled "convincing you to watch ted lasso in 7 minutes". It's 7-ish minutes of scenes from the show. I do need to warn you, the language is "salty". (Roy Kent can't utter a line of dialog without at least two F-bombs. And the others don't hold back.)
Have you seen any of these shows? What shows are you currently enjoying?
A little over a month ago, I saw a new show was starting on TNT that looked like it would be in my wheelhouse, so I set my DVR to record it. Only, it didn't record. But as I have Hulu, shows like this are easily streamed, so last week, I started it.
The show is called The Lazarus Project. It's about a team that saves the world from extinction-level events. When they fail (and they do fail), they are able to get a do-over which has some interesting and terrible side effects.
We are introduced to this world via George, who stumbles onto the project when his world inexplicably starts repeating itself.
The trailer:
As I caught this mid-season on TNT, not all episodes have aired yet. (The last episode will air this coming Sunday.) But you can catch up just in time here in the U.S. It appears to be a British show, so they saw it last year (with a new season airing this year).
(That's why my DVR didn't pick it up. I had set it to record "new episodes", but since the original air date was last year, my DVR read them as "reruns" and didn't record. Ah, the joys of technology.)
Has anyone else been watching this? Does it sound interesting to you?
School is out, so to fill blog space, on Wednesdays I tell you about a TV show I stumbled across that you probably have not heard of but you may enjoy.
When I say, "The Hallmark Channel," you get a certain idea in your head. Cheesy Christmas movies. Yeah?
They have some original series, too. Family-centered fare. Wholesome. Stuff I enjoy, but not usually stuff I recommend.
But, earlier this year, they started a new show, and it was not quite like what they usually show. I was going to talk about it in April, but it absolutely would not fit on J-day, and W-day was on the wrong day of the week.
It's called The Way Home. It's about a teen girl who falls into a pond in our time and reemerges in 1999. Her family is going through some serious drama, then and now. Divorce. Missing kid. And more.
Summer 2020. There was nothing much on TV. I was caught up on my usual shows, and I had found a couple new shows to stream. And then my roommates found a little Canadian import on HGTV.
Renovation Island (I believe it's titled Island of Bryan in Canada) is about a married couple that buy a rundown resort in the Bahamas and set about bringing it back to life. Bryan is a contractor. His wife Sarah does the decorating and designing. And they moved their four children down there with them.
I'm not really a reality TV person, but I do enjoy reality decorating shows. This is more of a reality Money Pit. They planned to get the resort ready for guests in six months. Spoiler alert: they did not.
And, of course, they started all this just before Covid hit. By the time they could open, they couldn't open. But that's an issue for season 3, I think. (It was kind of hard to keep track of what was what season.)
I found the whole thing fascinating. Who wouldn't want to see scenery from far away places when one is stuck at home during a global pandemic?
So, while figuring out what to write about for this week, I figured this would be a good show to recommend. It's winter. They're in the Bahamas in the warmth. Sunshine and ocean views?
I could not find a trailer to embed, but if you click on the link to the show, there's a video there to sample. From what I can find, I believe you can stream it on Discovery Plus, although it might still be available On Demand from your cable provider if you get HGTV.
Have you seen Renovation Island? Are there any smaller genre-type shows you like to watch?
There is no school this week (yay, vacation!), so I'll save the subbing stories from last week for next week, and this week I'll shift to the "summer schedule" (which hasn't been used much as I keep working during the summer). That makes today the day I recommend some TV show or other.
This fall season has been filled with lots of procedurals, which I have been getting away from. The only new show I've been watching is The Big Leap.
On FOX, it's a fictional show about a reality dance competition where the winners are doing a version of Swan Lake. Except they're not ballet dancers. The ballet "expert" is kind of teaching them ballet, but the point is that they come from different backgrounds. Since this is not actually a reality show, the episodes focus on how the characters deal with being on a reality show.
I'm enjoying this way more than I expected. I rather like several of the characters, and then there's the dancing. It's based on a British show that is likely better (as American remakes tend to not be as good as the source material), but I'm still enjoying it.
It looks like you can stream it on FOX's app or on Hulu. Here's a trailer that pretty much sums up the pilot episode, just to give you an idea:
Two Sundays ago, God Friended Me had it's series finale. Which got me thinking about my occasional Wednesday "feature", the under the radar TV show.
Not too long ago, I pulled up the list of the TV shows I've featured. Let's just say many of them are no longer on the air. Sigh.
Although, the premise of the topic was for me to highlight shows I enjoy that aren't getting much of an audience.
So, in the spirit of we're-still-in-lockdown and you-might-be-looking-for-something-to-watch, I thought I'd see if any of the cancelled shows are available for streaming someplace. Now might be a good time for a short, self-contained season or two of a random TV show. (Links are to my post talking about the show.)
No Tomorrow: Netflix. The show did manage a wrap up at the end, so no cliffhangers.
Humans: Amazon Prime. The finale of season 3 did have a couple things that could have been continued, but it's mostly finished.
Frequency: Netflix. Based on the movie of the same name, it also offered a conclusion once it was cancelled. I highly recommend it.
Longmire: Netflix. Once I finally got Netflix, the first show I watched was this. It finished with six total seasons, so this is a bit longer than the other shows on this list. A great modern day western.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: Hulu. Based on the Douglas Adams' books. Very, very weird. Each of its two seasons were self-contained stories, so no cliffhangers.
The Brave: It appears you can purchase it, but it's not just streaming anywhere. Maybe NBC still has it on its servers. This one, alas, did end with a cliffhanger, so I only include it for completeness.
The Gifted: Hulu. This managed to get two seasons, but that second season wasn't as great as the first. If memory serves, it ended on a cliffhanger, so caution.
Genius: Hulu. I only caught the Einstein season. There's also a Picasso season. I might have to check that one out...
God Friended Me: Amazon Prime, CBS All Access. The show that started this post. They did wrap it up nicely, so no cliffhanger. And two seasons, so there are a few episodes to watch.
American Princess: Here's another that you can purchase but not just stream. It was cute. I had hoped for a second season. There was a slight cliffhanger, so it's probably for the best that it's not streaming for free somewhere.
Yikes, with that record, I'd hesitate before starting anything I recommended last month. I hope I'm wrong. But I suppose most shows only last a season or two. And if you're looking for something new to watch, these were worth the time.
Okay, your turn. What's a good cancelled TV show to watch streaming someplace? Summer is coming, and we're all going to need something to keep us entertained.
Yes, I know it's Thursday. But it's Z day, and I've been waiting all month for Z day so I could talk about this show. And I can tweak my personal blogging schedule for that.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist originally showed its pilot in January, I believe. I recorded it, but I didn't watch it. The second episode aired in February, if memory serves. I recorded it, but I didn't watch it. In fact, I didn't watch it until I had five or six episodes on my DVR.
Why the hesitation? I wasn't too sure if I wanted to watch this. It's a musical, after all. The main character sees her friends, family, and coworkers break into song several times per episode. Would that work?
But then we got locked down, and I figured I might as well check it out.
The pilot got me. Zoey's father (played by Peter Gallagher) who is non-verbal, broke into song telling Zoey what he was feeling, and I was all in. I finished those first five or six episodes in a couple days.
I'm not a fan of awkward. It's a reason why I don't find most modern comedies funny. It's one of the reasons I wasn't sure I could go along with the breaking-into-song on this. But they make it work. Most of the time, no one is aware of Zoey's lapses into production numbers. (The times that it does happen were for story purposes. I wasn't a fan of those. But they were the exception, not the rule.)
I will warn you, if you don't like musicals (even using contemporary songs), stay away. There are at least three songs per episode. And Zoey does have a trans/gay neighbor of color who's purpose is to help her figure this all out, and that just smacks of, like, three or four of the best friend tropes. (They're a great character, and totally worth including, but I totally rolled my eyes at their inclusion.)
It's on NBC, so it shouldn't be too hard to stream. (Of the networks, I most love NBC's streaming options. They are by far the easiest.) The finale is coming soon, but this show is best binged, I think.
If there's a song in your heart, it will get in her head. Jane Levy stars in this high-concept drama as Zoey Clarke, a whip-smart computer coder forging her way in San Francisco. After an unusual event, Zoey, who always preferred podcasts over pop songs, suddenly starts to hear the innermost wants, thoughts and desires of the people around her - her family, co-workers and complete strangers - through popular songs. At first, she questions her own sanity, but after getting some guidance from her musically adept neighbor, Mo, and making a breakthrough with her ailing father, Zoey soon realizes this unwanted curse may just be an incredibly wonderful gift as she connects with the world like never before.
And the trailer:
Have you seen this? Do you hate musicals, so this doesn't even tempt you?
Just like last week, I took a look at the letter for today to figure out what I was going to write about. And just like last week, I was a bit lost. I'm sure you've heard of Stumptown. And Supergirl. Those are the only two S shows I'm currently watching.
But then I took a look at a list of upcoming shows, and I found something on Netflix that sounded interesting, so I checked it out. And yep, I liked it enough to recommend it.
It's not so much a TV show as a limited series. Four episodes and you're done. And it's based on a true story. Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C.J. Walker is about the first African-American self-made millionaire. And she did it about 100 years ago.
Self Made is a fictionalized depiction of "the untold and highly irreverent story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C. J. Walker and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America’s first Black, self-made female millionaire.
It's got a great cast, and the characters brush up against some famous historical figures. Take a look:
There are a few movie-style flourishes. She daydreams in musical production numbers. And it's told with modern sensibilities in mind. But it's still worth the time.
When I was looking at this week's letters, I wondered what TV show I could talk about. I don't think Manifest is really "under the radar", and there weren't any other TV shows I was watching that would fit the letter. Would I have to give up the letter of the day? It's not like I'm really doing A to Z anyway...
Then I noticed that there was a show I've been recording that I hadn't started yet.
I read about Motherland: Fort Salem someplace. It's an alternative universe show, where witches fight in the military. A witch army? I'm in.
I recorded the first three shows, but I hadn't watched any of them. So, I started with the pilot...
And I started wondering about what else I could write about for today.
The pilot was a mess. There were too many things going on in not enough time. It introduced the three main characters plus a couple important supporting characters plus the big bad, and it tried to give them all equal weight. I wasn't impressed.
But I had two more episodes recorded. It could get better?
It did. The pacing was much better, and we're getting a better idea of the world. It's not a favorite, but it could develop into one. At the very least, it's something different, and it's different in a good way.
Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution by cutting a deal with the government to fight for the country, Motherland: Fort Salem follows three young women from training to deployment, as they fight terrorist threats with supernatural tactics.
As I started thinking ahead to my posts for this week, I counted to see what letter fell on Wednesday. (Even though I'm not officially doing the A to Z Challenge, I'm still writing to the letter of the day.)
G? That made today's post topic obvious.
I have lamented the fact that The Good Wife's spin off, The Good Fight, was only going to be broadcast on CBS All Access, CBS's paid streaming service. I have made many blog comments to this effect. I knew that one day I'd bite the bullet and sign up.
Then, a couple weeks ago, I heard that CBS was doing an extra long free trial. Instead of the usual week, they were opening it up for a month. (Only until something like April 23rd, so if you're thinking about doing the same, check to see if there's a deadline. The coupon code was ALL.)
I signed up that night and immediately started this show. I finished season 3 Monday night. But while in the midst of season 2 (sometime last week), I heard that season 4 is starting soon. How soon? Tomorrow (April 9th). Talk about timing...
So, because I suck at writing synopses, the show is about (via Google):
The CBS All Access series picks up one year after the events in the final episode of "The Good Wife." After a financial scam destroys the reputation of young lawyer Maia Rindell and wipes out her mentor and godmother Diane Lockhart's savings, the two are forced out of Lockhart & Lee and join forces with Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago's pre-eminent law firms. At Reddick, Boseman & Kolstad, Diane finds familiar faces, including Colin Morrello, who is a rising star in the state's attorney's office, and Marissa Gold. Though starting at the bottom, Diane and Maia are determined to rebuild their careers and lives at the new firm.
Or, if you prefer trailers:
(That's the trailer for the first season. You can find trailers for all the seasons here.)
It's a great show. Very dramatic. The stakes are always high. And the supporting characters...
If you ever saw The Good Wife, you'll remember how some guest stars would recur. Like, they're lawyers, so occasionally they're in court. Several of the judges are familiar faces. And they return episodes and seasons later, and they're playing the same judge. This leads to some good jokes, especially if you're paying attention.
It's a great show. If you haven't had a chance to see it, you should check it out. It is the only reason I'm doing CBS All Access. (And I'm a sci-fi fan and I do want to see Picard.)
The troubled crew of Avenue 5, a space cruise ship filled with spoiled, rich, snotty space tourists, must try and keep everyone calm after their ship gets thrown off course into space and ends up needing three years to return to Earth.
The first season wrapped up about the time we all got stay at home orders in California. With a total of nine half-hour episodes, it's an easy binge. If you're looking for something to watch.
Because I'm a bit ambivalent about the show, I'm going to list some things I liked and some things I didn't. First up, in no particular order, five things I liked about the show:
Hugh Laurie. And with his actual British accent. Sometimes.
They actually take into account how long it would take communications to reach them from Earth (and how long it would take them to send messages back). They play it for comedic effect, but still.
The gravity exerted by the ship created some surprising, but in retrospect obvious, problems.
Even though they were on a space ship in the future, the plots revolved around mundane matters that most people can relate to.
Characters: Billie, Karen (sometimes), Sarah (until her final episode), and Iris.
And here are five things I didn't like:
Some of the characters were really very annoying.
It took the "captain" way too long to figure out what the actual skill level was of the "bridge crew".
The problems created by the gravity of the ship was a gag that was taken way too far.
Too many of the "bosses" were incompetent and/or made things worse. (This is good writing, but some of their idiocy really irritated me.)
While some of the plot points make sense from a "how people are" standpoint, they did take a couple of them way too far. (I don't want to spoil it in case you are planning to see it. And you might not have a problem with it.)
On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, it gets a solid 3. Not bad. And I totally want to encourage different sci-fi takes from those that make these sorts of things.
If my five things I didn't like didn't turn you totally off, you can find the show on HBO's streaming service.
Have you ever seen Avenue 5? If anyone has anything to add, feel free to do so in the comments.
It's a holiday week. There is no school. So, it's time for the "summer schedule". (Yes, I did work last week. Those posts will go live next week.) Today I'm going to convince you to check out a show you may not have heard about: Evil.
What is the nature of evil? Is it done by bad people? Or does it come from supernatural sources? This is the debate at the center of the show.
Kristen is a forensic psychologist. She used to work as an expert witness. She was recruited by David, a priest-in-training, to help vet various claims submitted to the Catholic Church. The third member of their team is Ben. He's their tech expert, and like Kristen he's also a skeptic.
Each week is a separate story investigating a different claim. They've looked into alleged demon possessions, an alleged miracle, an alleged prophet, and they've attended at least two exorcisms.
Alongside the case of the week, they've got longer arcs, like our villain Leland, who may or may not be an actual demon. He is a very bad man who's actively encouraged others to kill. (This is a dark show, and there are some scary elements. I dislike horror, but I like this show. Proceed cautiously.)
This is not the kind of show that would necessarily be on my radar, but it was created by the same husband and wife team that created The Good Wife (and The Good Fight). On that basis alone I checked it out, and I kept watching as I thought it was pretty good. It has a couple flourishes that'll look familiar to Good fans, but otherwise it's a very different type of show.
So, is evil something done by people? Or, does it have otherworldly origins? The show doesn't take a side. David is a believer. Kristen is not. We see the show through Kristen's eyes mostly, but sometimes what they find are things she can't explain. (Other times the explanation is completely mundane.)
No matter which side you fall on, you'll find your bias confirmed. Although, you will be given something to question.
I really hope this finds an audience. Although, while doing my research for this post, I noticed that Evil was renewed for a second season already. Yay. That might be on the strength of the creators alone. I haven't seen what the ratings are like.
It's on Thursdays on CBS. Because CBS, it's available on their All Access. I haven't seen whether it's OnDemand, but it might be. (Whatever you do, don't start with episode four: "Rose390".)
Had you heard of Evil before? Are you watching? Are you tempted to check it out?
It's Wednesday, and it's summer, so it's time for my "Under the Radar TV Show". This is a show that you probably have not heard about. If you're looking for something to watch, here's a show you might consider.
I don't watch Lifetime much. The last show they enticed me into watching was You. (Totally creepy. I don't know if I'd recommend it.) But when I read a short piece on American Princess, I figured, why not?
American Princess follows Amanda. It starts on her wedding day. She's gone full bridezilla. And then she catches her fiance... Well... I won't say what she catches him doing as I'm trying to be all PG here.
Nothing here is new. How it's done is where the fun is. And that's the point. It is fun.
Because, don't we all need a little fun?
The show had its finale on Sunday. (Sorry. I probably should have recommended it sooner.) It looks like right now you can see it via Amazon. If they do what they did with You, it may end up on Netflix sometime soon. And it may still be available OnDemand from Lifetime.
Have you seen American Princess? (Did you see You?) What's a good show on Netflix that I should check out? (Seriously, I have no idea what to watch now that I've caught up on Longmire.)
It's Wednesday, and it's summer, so it's time for my "Under the Radar TV Show". This is a show that you probably have not heard about. If you're looking for something to watch, here's a show you might consider.
Endings are important.
There are myriad movies that I thought were okay as I was watching them, but then the ending hit, and I lost all respect for them. In fact, many of them I hate to this day based solely on those endings.
But, an ending can make something that was so-so totally worth the time.
Murphy is blind. She also is cranky all the time. This is what almost turned me off the show initially. How many times have we seen a person with a disability act like a jerk in a story? It's practically a cliche.
In the Dark began when a bunch of other shows I watch were ending. I had an opening in my schedule. And it wasn't terrible.
So, anyway, Murphy is blind. And she's not happy about it. She has a best friend named Tyson, only he was just murdered. She thinks.
Murphy found Tyson in the alley where they always meet to hang out and talk. He felt dead to her. She went to the cops. When they returned to where she was, there was no body.
Murphy is bound and determined to find out who killed Tyson. And to find his body. She has some help from her other best friend/roommate. Drugs and drug dealers are involved. Murphy drinks too much, smokes too much, and is pretty awful to just about everybody. But she bulldozes those around her into helping her.
Season 1 was 13 episodes long. (I have no idea if there'll be a season 2.) And we did find out who killed Tyson and why. And...
I like to think of myself as intelligent, but I did not see that ending coming. Not at all. In fact, when the show revealed who did it, my jaw hit the floor.
And it was then that I knew I was going to blog about it.
You may see that ending coming. I don't claim to be an ending expert. But the show works. And if you have some time, you might want to check this one out.
It was on the CW. It is still available on the CW's app. And according to some random article I saw on Facebook (so take that for what it's worth), it's due to hit Netflix on Friday. As in the day after tomorrow. So, just in case you were wondering what you could watch this weekend...
Bonus: Murphy has a guide dog named Pretzel. (Just sayin'...)
Have you seen In the Dark? Does it sound interesting to you if you haven't seen it? (If you have seen it, did you see that ending coming?)
The schools have the week off, so I'll return with last week's subbing stories next week. Today, it's another edition of "Under the Radar TV Shows". That is, a TV show that isn't getting a lot of attention.
If you're like me, you probably rolled your eyes when you saw this in the fall lineup. The title? The premise? Really?
In case you didn't hear about it, the show is about a Millennial who gets a friend request from God on Facebook. (A Millennial on Facebook? Already, my suspension of disbelief is strained.) And then he's given friend suggestions. These friend suggestions turn out to be people who need help...
But here's the thing. It's really well done. It's on Sunday nights (on CBS), and it's a very nice show. I mean nice in a good way.
Miles (the Millennial) is an atheist and son of a minister. He has a podcast called The Millennial Prophet where he rails against religion. And he's dubious about the whole God thing. He resists the friending and the helping until he kind of gets into it.
In fact, Miles recruited his friend to hack into the God account and figure out who's behind it. Finding this person or people is proving to be way harder than they expected.
It's a nice show with the whole helping people thing, but the stories aren't as straightforward as you'd expect. It's a very retro premise, but they don't conclude the stories in that retro way. A woman comes to New York to find "the love of her life", but it turns out that the guy is gay. It's still a nice reunion between two old friends. (They'd met at a summer camp when they were kids.)
If you're not watching, you should give it a try. Just one episode. Right now, it's nice to have a nice show. It's a great balance to some of the other darker shows out there. (Because if you want dark, I could tell you all about YOU...)
And let me know if you're watching it, too. I hope I'm not the only one.
Last season focused on Albert Einstein. If Einstein brings to mind a wild-haired old man, you don't know half the story. Two wives, estranged sons (one who had some mental health issues), and immigration issues. (He lived in Germany before World War II. And was Jewish. Getting out was kind of a priority.)
And this was only in ten episodes.
I can't tell if it can be streamed from the website. Probably if you get NatGeo already. It looks like you can get it via YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon. I have no idea if it's on Netflix. (If someone knows, please leave a comment.)
Of course, the trailer...
Sometime this year there's supposed to be a season two. The topic will be Pablo Picasso. Keep an eye out for it.
Did you see Genius last year? Had you heard of it?
I'm not sure if this actually qualifies as "under the radar" as it made a big splash when the fall season began. But alas, I haven't been watching anything "under the radar" lately, so this'll have to do.
(For those of you still in the blogosphere in the dead week between Christmas and New Year's, hello.)
At the beginning of the fall season, two "mutant" shows were on the schedule--one from Marvel and one from the X-Men universe. You may have heard the Marvel one was largely panned. (It got better, but I don't consider it worth touting.)
The X-Men one, however...
This show, The Gifted, takes place in an alternate present day. Some humans have become mutants with superpowers. But, superpowers are illegal. (The X-Men have "gone away" for some unexplained reason.)
The show focuses on one average family. The two teen children develop powers. So, now they're hunted by Sentinel Services. Which was the employer, kind of, of the father. He worked as a prosecutor. That is, he argued in court for locking up mutants. Who now include his children.
He changed his allegiances pretty quickly.
The family is on the run. Will they escape?
The Gifted returns from its winter hiatus on January 1st. You can catch the first half of the season on Hulu or on FOX's website. Here's the trailer...
I was not sure if this was a show I really wanted to watch. But it started at a time when I was low on shows but with some extra time. And there was something about it...
Then, at about episode 3, I saw the credit for Matt Nix, and it all fell into place.
Matt Nix also created a little show called Burn Notice. It aired on USA Network from 2007-2013. (I think now you can find it on Netflix.)
Burn Notice is a favorite show of mine. It's one I can watch over and over again. So, no wonder I'm enjoying The Gifted.
Are you watching The Gifted? Did you ever see Burn Notice?
The schools have taken the whole of Thanksgiving week off, so it's back to the "summer schedule" for the week. Wednesday is the day I talk about a TV show that you've probably not heard of.
I've been attempting to figure out an obscure show I've been watching recently, and I can't come up with a thing. Because, I've just been barely keeping up with the network shows since the fall TV season began. In fact, there are three shows that I'm recording and storing for when all the shows go off the air in December.
So, instead of a show you've not heard of, I'm going to talk about a new fall show I've been enjoying. It's called The Brave, and it's on NBC.
In the dark and complex world of America's elite undercover military heroes, Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Patricia Campbell and her team of analysts wield the world's most advanced surveillance technology from headquarters in D.C. All the while, Adam Dalton and his heroic Special Ops squad of highly trained undercover specialists use their unbreakable bond and commitment to freedom to save lives of innocent people and execute missions in some of the most dangerous places in the world.
The reviews aren't good. And I didn't want to like this show. I recorded it primarily because it started before all the other shows this season started. And then I got sucked in.
Each episode is exciting. The stakes are clear. The Special Ops team has a difficult goal to accomplish, and they fight like hell to make it happen. They're in some exotic locale, and the odds are stacked against them. But somehow, they manage to make it through successfully.
It's one of those shows that you don't need to know a lot going in. And apparently no one is watching. It looks like no new episodes are going to be ordered, which means that this show is all but cancelled at this point. However, as there isn't a lot of backstory, it's one of those shows that you can watch when you're looking for something exciting to fill the time during this holiday season.
