Editor’s Note: After more than a year, Merrill Barr will be leaving the Reject Family and moving on to bigger and better things. We wish him all the best.

And now the series finale of Channel Guide…

Finale. A dangerous word in the world of television. Dangerous because it comes with a hefty amount of baggage for those working on a show that ‘s coming to an end. Everything a series has been working towards, whether serialized or episodic, has to be fulfilled in the finale. And somehow, the writers have the terrible job of making everyone feel like the journey was worth it.

When broken down, there’s really only two things necessary in order to deliver on a good series finale, stability and closure.

Stability refers to where the characters end up. Whether its happily ever after, in the grave, in the after life or on the run, the audience needs to know that however we leave the characters is how they will remain for the remainder of their fictional days. This isn’t to say that the audience needs to know every single detail, but a general idea needs to be available (or at least the tools necessary to draw a conclusion).

For example, the series finale of 24 sees Jack go back on the run, and unless that film ever gets off the ground, we’re safe to assume that he’ll remain on the run for the rest of his life. Where he’ll go, and how long he’ll be there is something for the viewer to figure out, but we know he’s never going home.

Or how about the series finale of Rescue Me? The ending reveals rather brilliantly that the boys of 62 Truck will always and forever be at 62 Truck. The adventures they’ll under take is once again up the viewer, but we know where they’ll be if we were to ever pop out heads into their world again.

And that sense of stability is what leads into the more important and absolutely necessary element of closure.

Every series, even the episodic ones, have questions that are never answered until the very end. And the bad ones are those that forget those questions exist or choose to ignore them. What’s the deal with the Smoking Man? Can Jack ever be happy? Will the detectives of the NYPD ever be able to live a normal life? What is the island? These are a fraction of a fraction of the types of questions that have plagued the television viewers landscape since the medium was first launched in 1928.

It would be to easy to point to a finale like LOST as an example of how not to do it, but it’s also not as much fun. Especially when there are some absolutely brilliant finales throughout the ages that deserve their do.

Ones like the final episode of Six Feet Under. A series in which death was far from a subtle theme, gave the audience the ultimate sense of closure by revealing the death of every one of its characters. Or how about the the finales (when there was one) of any of the Star Trek series? A personal favorite is the one for Voyager. Through some wack-a-do time travel, the Voyager crew makes it home from the delta quadrant safe and sound, with their futures no longer written but sure to take place with their loved ones.

Even more that demand praise:

• M*A*S*H
• The X-Files
• Everybody Loves Raymond
• The Shield
• Seinfeld
• Newhart (which belongs on this list for having giant balls)

These are just some of the amazing series finales and an even smaller fraction of the ones that will be coming down the line. We can only imagine what the likes of Breaking Bad, The Simpsons and South Park will have in store when their final bell rings.

The best series finales aren’t the ones that just end the story. The best are the ones that make the viewer feel something. And the ones that make the viewer look back and know that the ride was worth taking.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a lady named DVR.

THE END

Want to read all the past Channel Guides? Of course you do.

And you can always listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, on The Fat Guys Network.

The episode did not dissapoint.

Written by series creators Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern and directed by pilot director David Frazee (arguably the best of all the directors the series has had to date), “Grounded” follows the story of a group of hijackers who take control and forcibly ground an aircraft in an attempt to free a prison inmate via hostage negotation.

What’s nice about this episode is that it’s a very back-to-basics Flashpoint episode that perfectly represents what the series is to a new viewer (that’s sure to come with the jump to a new network). For example, something that Frazee does best is making Team One feel like a single entity rather than a group of individual parts and people.

During a scene where the hijackers agree to release fifty of the hostages, tactical leader Ed Lane (Hugh Dillion) is making sure everyone is where they need to be. Within three seconds every team member is accounted for and operating on the same wave length, and that’s what every Flashpoint episode always comes down to.

Many episodes of Flashpoint deal with exhausting every option before going to a tactical operation. Enrico Colantoni, who always brings his A game to the series, brought his A+ game in “Grounded,” especially during one scene in particular. After the leader of the hijackers dies from an accidental gun shot at the hands of his sister, Parker tries desperately to re-establish contact with the group. When told to stop trying to re-establish communications as his “peaceful surrender” scenario is no longer an option, Parker goes off on a short, but very calm and oh so sweet tear “it is an option, until it isn’t! And when it isn’t, we’ll be ready.” You are with Colantoni, but more importantly you are with Parker in that moment of desperation. It’s the kind of moment that new viewers can look at and see that the show means business.

But none of that compares to one dialogue exchange that occurs at the end of the episode that serves as both a linchpin for new viewers and a satisfying conclusion to old ones. After the critical incident leads to a tactical solution, the newest officer on the team, Raf is forced to take lethal action on the group leader. This is the first lethal of this career.

While heading towards SIU (the Canadian agency in charge of instigating matters involving the police force), Sam and Ed start giving Raf a breakdown of everything that’s about to happen to him on both an administrative and a personal/emotional level. It takes a mere fifteen seconds, but it’s fifteen seconds where so much is conveyed.

• The effect someone’s first “lethal” has on them.
• How a vet handles the situation.
• The graduation of the former “new guy” to veteran.

“Grounded” is a superb episode of Flashpoint and one that not only serves the purpose of delivering some great television, but also attracting some new viewers. And the ratings only stand to back that up.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

Six months ago, in the very first edition of the Channel Guide here on FSR, I wrote a list of five comic book character that would make for great TV. Apparently working at FSR has granted yours truly psychic like powers because according to Deadline, in one of the last deals before buying season ends, FOX has ordered an adaptation of The Punisher from former Criminal Minds show runner Ed Bernardo with a put pilot commitment.

The Punisher is more than prime for a television adaptation. However, based on the description of this version of the series, it appears that the character of Frank Castle is being changed from an all out murderous vigilante, to more of a Batman type character. “The Punisher is described as an hour-long procedural with a Marvel signature and a new take on one of Marvel’s more iconic characters, Frank Castle, a rising star detective with the NYC Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher seeking justice for those the system has failed.”

No mention of Castle’s murdered family and since the project is on FOX proper and not a more mature network like FX, it does raise concerns about how dark the show can really be. That said, Bernardo’s alma mater Criminal Minds does get away with some very dark and graphic material, and on a much bigger network. Not that FOX isn’t big, but CBS is the juggernaut of the big three, let alone four.

As an added bonus, Marvel is going to be on hand through every step of the series, even after it makes it to air. Luckily, we only have to wait a year to see how this one turns out.

But that’s not all.

According to Variety, CW has purchased a new drama series called Outsiders. The show is scripted by Supernatural writer Adam Glass and Executive Produced by non-other than Michael Bay.

In what will be Bay’s first television project to make it past the development stage (I remind you of his “still in development” Cocaine Cowboys HBO adaptation and reality-game show One Way Out), Outsiders follows “a quirky sociology professor with an almost savant-like expertise in subcultures. He is partnered with a young but uptight female detective and the pair solve crimes involving youths and subculters in Los Angeles”

The series is being run by Bay’s Platinum Dunes as well as CBS Television Studios. In response to why the series was purchased, CW head honcho Mark Pedowitz says he wants to expand the network beyond the 18-34 female demo. And he also likes the potential to tap into the international market that comes with the Bay brand.

A Michael Bay series is something I’ve been waiting to see for a long time and to have one finally make it the pilot stage (though still not a guarantee for the airwaves), I am very excited by the potential for awesomeness.

Since 1984, Kelsey Grammer has had exactly one claim to fame, his famous role as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers and the spin-off Frasier. Much like Cranston, it’s a role that has come to define Grammer’s career and has allowed, like Cranston, for people’s opinion of the man’s ability to be put into a single box…

That will all change this Friday thanks to the new Starz series, Boss.

Boss follows the journey of Chicago mayor Tom Kane who, after being diagnosed with an neurological disorder, decides to hide it from his colleagues who are busy with their own issues in attempting to run the city. In order remain in charge, Kane will lie, cheat and steal from anyone who gets in his way, even those closest to him.

It’s ironic (or possibly even intentional) that Tom Kane shares his namesake with arguably one of the most dynamic characters in the history of cinema. And more than that, an attitude. Charles Foster Kane was a self-aware bad man, who just wanted to make the world fit his own view of it. Tom Kane is not only self-aware, but also self-admitted. Throughout the pilot, Kane pulls every dirty political trick in the book to get what he wants, no matter who suffers for it.

Grammer is a power house in this show, and the Breaking Bad comparison is more than just hyperbole. Grammer plays Tom Kane as a soft-spoken man, only raising his voice when absolutely necessary. Much like other characters introduced to the public this year, Kane isn’t soft spoken because it’s cool, he’s soft spoken because it forces you to listen to every conniving word that comes out of his mouth.

And when the moments come where Grammer has to deliver an audibly loud moment, he becomes scary. Through his stature and just overall screen presence, when Kane raises his voice, you imagine yourself in the room too scared to move. There’s a moment like this in the pilot and thanks to the absolutely brilliant direction of Gus Van Sant, it not only does its job but also cements the series as something you’re going to want to keep tuning into every week.

At the start of the series, Kane is the broken shell of where a man once stood. And it’s thanks to a clinic of acting chops from Grammer that the audience is sucked into watching every son-of-a-bitch move he makes.

It’s impossible to say where Boss is going to go after the pilot, but with an already guaranteed season two from Starz, there’s going to be plenty of time for the writers to flesh it out. Boss is a show that comes around once in a blue moon and the last time it did, Bryan Cranston won an Emmy. This is a show you’re not going to want to miss.

In fact, you can watch it right now. Here’s the first episode:

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

The sixth annual New York Comic-Con was host to its largest audience to date at over 100,000 people. And it’s thanks to that audience the convention got to deliver on some of the biggest events of the year in the world of geekdom.

With the massive weekend now over, we take a look back the five biggest things that came out of NYCC 2011.

5. The CosPlay

What kind of Comic-Con list would it be if it didn’t start with arguably the most famous element of any con? NYCC may not be as land mark as San Diego, but no one told that the cosplayers who were out in full force this past weekend. From female Deadpool to Captain America Dogs (they were there, I promise) no matter which way you turned, CosPlay was in full swing at NYCC and it was one of the best sights of the weekend.

4. Terra Nova

The first panel at the IGN theater on Saturday was certainly no slouch as Terra Nova proved it could stand with the big boys. The fantastic episode aside, the panel that took place was just as much fun to watch as some any of the main events from later that day.

If there’s one thing you can say about Stephen Lang (other than the fact that he’s the definition of awesome), it’s that the man really knows how to work a crowd. From dwarf tosser jokes to messing with the question-askers on the floor, watching Lang on stage alone was worth the trip to the city.

3. The Avengers

From the first panel of Saturday to the last. There’s no doubt about it, The Avengers took the IGN theater for a ride at NYCC. Even while watching a trailer they had all seen one hundred times over on their computers, the crowd was full of energy and ready to take whatever the panel had to give.

Perhaps the best highlights weren’t the exclusive scenes shown from the film. It was all the B-roll moments of the panel. Things like Ruffalo coining his new catch-phrase “Ruffalized,” Clark Gregg singing his own version of the Avengers theme song to the crowd, all the woman gushing over Tom Hiddleston during the audience Q&A and a story involving Chris Evans, a text message and the phrase “assemble.” The Avengers came to the con with one goal, leave the crowd on a massive high, and there’s no doubt that they succeeded.

2. The Walking Dead

The Avengers might have been a big deal but when it comes to blowing the doors down, that metal goes to The Walking Dead  and their massive nine person panel (ten if you count Chris Hardwick and his new after show, Talking Dead). Despite only showing a single sequence which would air in the premiere 24 hours later, it was enough to send the highly enthusiastic crowd into a frenzy at the tiniest sight of zombie blood being spilled.

Not to mention that the panel featured one of the most adorable twelve year-olds to ever grace the planet. Chandler Riggs in a lot of ways was a child version of Stephen Lang from earlier that morning. The kid knew exactly what type of crowd he was sitting in front of and knew exactly what to say in order to get them riled up. Things like “my zombie fighting weapon of choice would be a flame thrower with a bayonet.”

1. Locke & Key

There may not have been a panel that followed, but the most talked about, unaired project from this past pilot season, Locke & Key drew a huge crowd to it’s one-time-only east coasting screening of the pilot episode (which was 100% completed except for the credit sequence). Much like The Walking Dead, I had zero knowledge of anything that was in the source material. But apparently, whether they did or didn’t, everyone felt the same way, the pilot was fantastic.

It’s clear this and the screening at SDCC from earlier this year are proving grounds that will hopefully lead to a deal between 20th Centruy Fox and the rumored eying network, MTV to bring the series to air. One thing is for certain, there’s an excellent mythology here and there needs to be more of it explored.

Honorable Mentions: Ghost Rider 2, Total Recall footage, Underworld Awakening and A Liar’s Autobiography.

So until next year NYCC, this is FSR signing out.

The Avengers and The Walking Dead weren’t the only highlights from this past Saturday at NYCC. While some were walking the show floor and enjoying many of the smaller panels going on throughout the day, a majority had one goal… Get their ass to the IGN theater. And while a fair amount were merely their to squat a seat for the two big events that would go on later that evening, I was there to enjoy some really awesome panels, the first of which was for the new FOX show Terra Nova.

Before bringing out any of the panelists, the newest episode set to premiere this Monday was shown to the crowd. This episode, the second of the series to be directed by 24 alum Jon Cassar, is by far the best episode to date. The action was superb and the single dinosaur scene in the episode was exceptionally done. This was also an episode that really showed of the scenery chewing awesomeness of Stephen Lang, mostly thanks to a stare down between him and the leader of the Sixers. Once that ended the panelists including EP Brannon Braga, star Jason O’Mara and good ole Stephen Lang himself were brought out.

During the panel, Bragga was asked how he felt about the way the show was hyped. And how he felt that the selling point was the dinosaur aspect of which there is not that much of throughout the series. Bragga made it clear that “it’s not about dinosaurs, it’s about people.”

Later in the panel he also made a promise to the audience, by the end of the 13-episode first season, all the necessary questions will be answered and more will raised according to Lang.

One of the more interesting moments came when the O’Mara was discussing his dinosaur scene from the episode that was shown. He feels that in something like this, his performance is very much in the hands of the special effects artist and the creatures the actors are working against when the final product is aired.

Later on in the panel this discussion would be added to when Bragga stated that there are animatronics used in the series, though sparingly.

When the panel’s focus was turned to Lang during the audience Q&A, one of the more pressing questions on everyone’s mind was how Lang viewed the show’s comparison to Avatar. To this Lang stated that he understands why many are making the comparison but the further the show gets, the more separated the two works become.

Lang then made an interesting statement that “based on the timeline, it’s even conceivable that Taylor and Quaritch served together in the military.” This statement referred to Lang’s belief that while two people might share a starting point, it just takes one minor route change to strip away everything you think you know about a character.

And before the panel ended, Lang gave everyone a laugh while discussing his role in the film The Great Panda Adventure where he got to toss a pre-Austin Powers Verne Troyer thus making him “a dwarf tosser” back in the day.

After the Terra Nova panel, there was a screening but no Q&A held for the latest episode of Person of Interest. All there is to say is that it is the best episode to date.

Later in the day came the panel for Nikita which included series’ stars Maggie Q, Shane West and producer Albert Kim.

Unlike the two TV panels before it, there wasn’t a full episode shown to the audience, instead there was a brand new sizzle reel shown featuring a combination of already aired footage and un-seen footage set to air later this season.

Some of the best moments of the panel came when the three were talking about working with series developer and Executive Producer Craig Silverstein. Q stated that Craig works very fast and demands the very best from everyone who works on the show. When asked about how they manage to make the show something more than just another remake of the Luc Besson film, Kim stated that it’s all because of Silverstein.

According to Kim, Silverstein is a very hard boss to work for and that often times he will blow up (literally, thank to a prop plunger detonator in his office) the writer’s first version of a pitch and have them improve it before moving forward.

Q then went on to state that Silverstein has “a plan” for the series as a whole.

Some of the other highlights of the panel included news that Owen will continue to be featured in the series and that Nikita’s “father” will be introduced this season.

After the Nikita panel ended, Sony took to the stage.

Before bringing out their main event, two brand new pieces of footage were shown. The first was the brand new 3D trailer for the upcoming Underworld Awakening film, with an accompanying introduced by Len Wiseman. This might be the first time I’ve ever given a shit about an Underworld film. The new 3D trailer shares a very similar approach to 3D style with last Resident Evil film. Just have a shit ton of fun in 3D.

After that, Len Wiseman introduced (via video) the first ever footage from his upcoming Total Recall remake. And I have to say, what was shown, was something no one saw coming, balls to the wall awesomeness.

The footage begins with Colin Farrell’s Quaid heading into the Recall center to be implanted. After a very awesome moment with John Cho, a squad of police offers come bursting through the door. And in a moment of cinematic brilliance, Ferrell goes all Jason Bourne and begins taking out the officers one by one, all in an absolutely stunning long take.

After that scene, the rest of the sizzle reel is made up of uncompleted but already impressive effects shots, mostly featuring some sort of upside down car chase.

To sum up, Total Recall blew everyone in the audience away and is now one of the most anticipated films of 2012.

After all of that hoopla, the main event started, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

The first thing shown was a behind the scenes montage that basically confirms what we all were hoping, this is very much a Neveldine/Taylor production. All their crazy, awe inspiring camera work will be featured in full effect during the film.

The final moment of the reel sums it up perfectly “Fucking your shit up in 3D this February.”

Following that, the men of the hour themselves, Mark Neveldine and Bryan Taylor were brought on stage to massive applause.

When asked why they took the project, Neveldine simply stated “motorcycle, skull on fire.”

After a brief discussion, a 3D reel for the film was shown. Despite later being revealed to be 100% post-converted due to the camera limitations of current 3D technology, it didn’t stop the footage from being spectacular in everyway. And when discussing it, Taylor stated that post-conversion 3D is only as good as you make it and it can be just as good as native 3D. Based on the footage, he isn’t wrong.

Taylor, when talking about the production stated “we wanted real cars, real motorcycles, not CG.” This was meat with tremendous glee from the crowd who was high at this point from all the awesomeness taking place before their eyes. Taylor went on to discuss how he and Neveldine have never had second unit on their films because they view the production portion as the most fun and don’t want to hand it off to anyone else.

When discussing star Nicolas Cage, Neveldine put it best when he said “Cage is like a Crank film in person.” Which was followed with a humerus ”he smells like Vanilla,” from Neveldine. Taylor simply stated that “Cage was awesome.”

When the floor was opened to questions, a hot topic was the recently announced MPAA rating for the film as PG-13 and not R. Taylor stated that the plan was always going to be a “PG-16″ film. Neveldine stated that they worked to find creative ways around the MPAA and that “we drop F bombs, we  swear, we have a high body count… it’s just how did it.” Taylor then went on to say “to aspiring film makers trying to make violent PG-13 films, you can burn as many people as you want.”

And of course it wouldn’t be a Neveldine/Taylor panel without a little Crank talk. The biggest question was regarding a possible third film to with Taylor simply stated “Crank was destined to be a trilogy, it’s just a matter of when and where.” This was of course was met with the loudest applause of the panel.

Before they left for the day, the duo did state they an idea of what they would do, should they end up making another Ghost Rider film.

This panel was followed by the panels for The Walking Dead and The Avengers.

In all, Saturday was an extremely successful day at the con and in terms of the various items that were shown, 2012 is going to be a great year for awesome things in movies and TV.

And finally, we leave you on yet another pic of the day:

There’s still more to come from the New York Comic-Con, so don’t go anywhere…

When the first public trailer dropped for Joss Whedon’s upcoming Avengers film, it was met with a collective sigh from many, including yours truly. It wasn’t very exciting and the only thing it had going for it was some pedestrian banter that relied solely on the charm of Robert Downey Jr. Even on a visual level, the trailer failed to deliver the scale expected from an Avengers movie. It’s with that attitude that I entered the IGN theater at the New York Comic Con this past Saturday.

When the panel started, moderator Chris Hardwick walked out to a crowd that was already coming down from the high of The Walking Dead panel and introduced the film’s producer Kevin Feige. Feige commented on how the teaser just recently dropped, but that it was on the computer and then proceeded to ask the audience if they would like to see it played on the three giant screens in the theater.

This was met with great enthusiasm.

This was the first time that the teaser had been shown on a movie theater sized screen. And the the fact is, it didn’t make much of a difference. It induced the same sigh felt earlier in the week, just with the addition of a blaring room filled with 4,000 Marvel fanatics who would hoot and holler at every frame featuring a different character no matter the quality of the footage.

Once the trailer had concluded, the rest of panel was brought out, including Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg.

Things like Gregg singing his own version of the Avengers theme song to the crowd and Ruffalo coining his new catch-phrase, “Ruffalized” drew major laughs which were then met with wonder as some of the cast began talking about their roles. Specifically Ruffalo and Hiddleston.

In regards to how he felt about Loki‘s portrayal in the upcoming film, Hiddleston commented that he found it thrilling to be the only villain in the film and that he found it allowed Loki to truly shine and develop his complete self-centered outlook on life. A side that was merely touched upon in Thor.

When asked about how he was approaching the character of Bruce Banner, Ruffalo stated that he was “building” his version with elements of the actors that played him in the past including Edward Norton (whose name drew massive applause from the audience), Eric Bana and even Bill Bixby and then “Ruffaloizing” them. He stated that he wanted this Bruce Banner to be a more “mature” version of the character, and one that hadn’t been seen thus far.

Later on in the panel, Ruffalo stated that the one thing he has over the other three actors who’ve played the character is that he got to be on set as Hulk thanks to performance capture technology. Every scene featuring Hulk in the film is 100% Ruffalo’s performance.

After Ruffalo finished his breakdown of his approach to Banner, a reel of brand new, never-before-seen footage was shown to the audience.

The reel opens in what appeared to be a South American town where a little girl is running through the streets. The girl eventually makes her way up a set of stairs where she finds Dr. Banner and asks for his help. This is when we cut to an empty house where the girl has led Banner. At which point, Black Widow comes from around the corner and through a dialogue exchange that tops any action scene in the aforementioned trailer, informs Banner that Nick Fury needs his help and that they have been watching him for quite some time.

It was the kind of scene that should of been in the trailer that recently came out. It completely helps get across the kind of tone Whedon’s script is going for and gives a really good idea of the kind of dialogue and performances we can expect from the film.

After that scene, we cut to various moment of eye candy, some of which were shown at D23 earlier this year. Moments like Stark doing his “head count” intercut with various action beats. But new scenes including some more banter between Stark and other characters, most notably Banner, were present.

In another great dialogue moment, Stark shocks Banner with a what appears to be some sort of cattle prod like device while he’s working, in order to see if he can make Hulk come out. To his surprise he states “wow, you really have that thing under control, don’t you? What’s your secret?” At that point, Steve Rogers says “is everything a joke to you?” “Only things that are funny,” the exact response we have come to expect from Downey’s Tony Stark.

A few more D23 action beats are shown, and then the footage ends. All in all, it did a much better job of exciting the audience for the film, and they didn’t even need a Nine Inch Nails soundtrack to do it.

The floor was then opened up to fan questions that were mostly directed at Hiddleston and his amazing body. But some interesting facts were learned. Two of the most notable were that there will in fact be a post credit scene at the end of The Avengers, simply because Feige has found it to be tradition at this point and sees no reason to break it now.

When discussing the upcoming Iron Man 3 film being helmed by Shane Black, Feige stated that the new sequel will be the beginning of “Phase 2″ of the Avengers project. I.E. Iron Man 3 will be the start of a new story that will lead into a second Avengers film… At least on paper.

And there were of course some amusing answers such as the fact that Evans has found he enjoys playing Captain America over The Human Torch, and that when Clark saw all the Avengers on set for the first time he felt like it was the make-a-wish foundation, which was met with a bit of laughter from the crowd.

At the end of the day, the NYCC Avengers panel was a complete success and now it all comes down to waiting out the next seven months to see what Whedon and the rest of his team have in store for us all.

There’s more to come from New York Comic-Con, so stay tuned…

One of the most high profile shows to come out of last year was AMC’s adaptation of the hit Robert Kirkman comic book The Walking Dead. But depending on who you ask, the first season was either the greatest thing ever to grace television or an absolute waste of storytelling potential.

This past Saturday, one of the two most highly anticipated panels of the day was for The Walking Dead, mostly due to the fact that the second season of the show premieres tonight on AMC at 10pm.

To start, Chris Hardwick, who would later grace the crowd with his moderator awesomeness at the Avengers panel, came out on stage and introduced comic creator and Executive Producer Robert Kirkman, EP Gale Anne Heard and special effects artist Greg Nicotero.

Before getting into any footage, Anne spent a little time talking about the contributions Kirkman has been making to the series to date, one of which included Kirkman making a permanent move to Los Angeles so that he could work in the writer’s room of the series full time. Nicotero then went on to discuss how the six episodes from season one didn’t allow a lot of time to delve into what makes the characters tick, a problem that will be corrected in the 13-episode second season.

Nicotero also went on a ten minute rant about the special effects of the show. Some of the highlights included the fact that the zombie actors are still shocked by the effects being used to create the walkers and how he has a rule that the same walker design can’t be used more than once.

Nicotero also stated that he’s able to keep the zombie related moments fresh because he intentionally seeks out things to put into the show that he, as a zombie fan, would enjoy. Kirkman would later add to that when asked about the state of the zombies themselves in season two, saying that he has no intention of changing their personality (I.E. making them smarter) and that they look better than ever.

At this point a lengthy zombie filled scene from the season premiere was shown. However, it’s a scene I refuse to reveal in any way other than to say that it has slightly restored the faith in the show that season one killed. And perhaps also very surprising was that the show works so much better in the movie-like environment compared some some of the other shows screened earlier in the day, such as Terra Nova and Person of Interest. However, that might just be part of the show’s problem, but that’s another discussion for another day.

After the footage was shown, a hefty amount of the cast was brought out including Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohen (a brand new addition in season 2), Steven Yeun, Laurie Holden and Jon Bernthal.

At that point, Nicotero talked about the sequence that was shown. It took the entire team four days to complete, a hefty amount of time for any television production.

Some of the cast then began discussing the state of their characters in season two, including Riggs, who says that 12 year old Carl will evolve from a scared kid hiding in the background to a much more mature and darker level. Holden also explained that her character evolves as well and is “no longer a victim” in the new season.

While talking about his character, Norman Reedus gave the audience a chuckle when he described Daryl as “the kind of guy that just needs a hug, but if you were to try, he would stab you.”

Bernthal said that he was happy during season two that the cast got to do what ever they wanted for the most part when it came to the gore related moments, but that things became very strict whenever scenes involving relationships were dealt with.

Yeun had little to say at the panel other than the fact that everyone in the cast brought their A game to the current season.

Cohen also talked about her experience on the show thus far, especially as the newest face on the cast list. She stated the thing that surprised her the most about the show is that “[she] never knew TV could feel so much like theater.”

When the floor was opened up to questions, the one moment that caused the crowd to swell up in joy was when Kirkman revealed that there are plans to bring the character of  Michonne out of the comics and into the series at some point, but that it’ll likely not happen this season.

The panel for the The Walking Dead was by the far the most successful one of the day and with the season premiere set for tonight, it couldn’t have come at a better moment.

Stay tuned for more coverage from New York Comic-Con as the weekend rolls on…

Day 2 of the New York Comic-Con is in full swing. The cosplayers are out and the show floor is rocking like it’s 2011. And while there is much to do and so many pictures to take, there were two things in particular that really got me interested.

The first was a screening of the pilot for the new ABC series Once Upon A Time. The premise of the series focuses on Emma Swan, (Jennifer Morrison) who after being “greeted” by her ten-year-old son that she gave up for adoption the day he was born, is forced to bring the boy back to his home of Story Brook, Maine.

The hook of the series is that Story Brook is, in actuality, a place frozen in time where the likes of Snow White, Rumplestiltskin, Jiminy Cricket, Prince Charming and The Evil Queen live. The problem is that none of them have any memory of who they once were.

Much time is spent jumping between the fantasy land that the magical characters lived in before being transported to our world and the present day. If anything, you could call the pilot of Once Upon A Time a very poorly put together prequel.

On paper the show has everything going for it. Mystical fantasy seems to be all the rage these days, Jennifer Morrison is still hot off the heals of leaving House and two lost writers (Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz) are running the writers room. However, in practice the pilot fails to give the audience a reason to do anything other than laugh at the extremely poorly written dialogue and convoluted explanation as to why everyone ended up in the town.

Perhaps the show’s only saving grace is the little boy Henry (Jared Gilmore), who’s natural charm allows the audience a tiny glimmer of hope that the show might actually be worth while. Ironically, according to its creators who took some questions after the screening, the main theme running throughout the series is “hope.” Hope in the idea of happy endings, because without those, what’s the point?

If Once Upon A Time can fix its absolutely atrocious dialogue, then it might just survive the current television season.

And speaking of surviving, a show that made huge buzz this past pilot season was Locke & Key. Unfortunately the pilot was never picked up to series by production company, FOX. But with MTV supposedly now interested in it, the pilot has begun making its way around the convention circuit, the first of which was San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, and it has now made its way to the east coast at NYCC.

Unlike Once Upon A Time, Locke & Key wastes no time in making sure you know exactly what kind of tone the series is going for. And while the opening is definitely creepy, it’s not until much later in the pilot that the audience realizes just how messed up things are going to get.

From what can be gathered from the pilot (yes, I am aware it is based on a highly successful comic book) the series follows the Locke family who after suffering a massive tragedy, move into the home that has been in the family for ages. But what some of the family don’t know is that the house is more than just a pile of bricks. It follows three children who act as our gateway into the magical nature of the mansion they’ll spend their season discovering.

What’s really intriguing about Locke & Key is very similar to what was so great about MTV’s Teen Wolf series this past summer: there is a lot of meat on the bones of the series to chew on.

The best part of the series is the character Dodge played by Ksenia Solo. Despite the fact that she spends a majority of her time at the bottom of a well, that doesn’t stop her from completely chewing the scenery. The creepiest thing about her is that she is so good at playing innocent and adorable.

Any time she comes up close and personal with another character, a slight chill runs down your spine as you wonder if someone’s neck is going to get snapped.

This year also seems to be the year for really awesome kids in shows because Skylar Gaertner, who plays 6-year-old Bode is completely charming and has some of the best slap-stick sensibility I have ever seen on television.

For every scare, there is a hint of charm running throughout the series. Locke & Key holds nothing back in its pilot and it is very possible that at the ends of the day, MTV will order it to series.

And before you go, here is the pic of the day:

]]> http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/new-york-comic-con-once-upon-a-time-locke-and-key-hunger-games-mbarr.php/feed 1 http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/new-york-comic-con-2011-mbarr.php http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/new-york-comic-con-2011-mbarr.php#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:08:17 +0000 Merrill Barr http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/?p=126746 Comic-Con. A place of joy. A place of wonder. A place of really awesome costumes. Thursday marked the start of New York Comic-Con 2011. Not nearly as land mark as SDCC (which some would say is a benefit), but certainly not at the bottom of the scrap heap. In a city bustling with the creative minds from all walks of life, it would only make sense that once a year, those creative minds come together for one giant weekend of awesomeness. And we’re here to bring you all of it. Something many were upset with from SDCC this year was the lack of any showing for the highly anticipated Avengers film from Marvel. Their parent company, Disney, pulled out of that event to promote the film on their own at D23. That isn’t the case at NYCC, as Marvel is planning a panel for Saturday in addition to the huge display they made on the show floor dedicated to the upcoming film from Joss Whedon: Marvel has apparently also made sure to roll out some marketing for their upcoming Amazing Spider-Man reboot: But they weren’t alone as DC made sure to bring out their big bad bat in a massive display courtesy of The Dark Knight Rises production company Legendary Pictures, showing off some vehicles and the famous costume: However, DC’s main goal on the show floor is to push their revamp of their comic universe, and if the fan response is any indication, there are very few who are upset with the move. Also making a surprising [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]]]>

Comic-Con.

A place of joy. A place of wonder. A place of really awesome costumes.

Thursday marked the start of New York Comic-Con 2011. Not nearly as land mark as SDCC (which some would say is a benefit), but certainly not at the bottom of the scrap heap. In a city bustling with the creative minds from all walks of life, it would only make sense that once a year, those creative minds come together for one giant weekend of awesomeness.

And we’re here to bring you all of it.

Something many were upset with from SDCC this year was the lack of any showing for the highly anticipated Avengers film from Marvel. Their parent company, Disney, pulled out of that event to promote the film on their own at D23. That isn’t the case at NYCC, as Marvel is planning a panel for Saturday in addition to the huge display they made on the show floor dedicated to the upcoming film from Joss Whedon:

Marvel has apparently also made sure to roll out some marketing for their upcoming Amazing Spider-Man reboot:

But they weren’t alone as DC made sure to bring out their big bad bat in a massive display courtesy of The Dark Knight Rises production company Legendary Pictures, showing off some vehicles and the famous costume:

However, DC’s main goal on the show floor is to push their revamp of their comic universe, and if the fan response is any indication, there are very few who are upset with the move.

Also making a surprising and rather impressive splash at the con was Transformers from Hasbro. With only one version of the property still in production (Transformers Prime) and the last in Michael Bay’s film trilogy out of theaters, no one would of expected them to pull out all the stops, but they did:

And the fact is, all of this only scratches the surface of the abundance of media featured on the show floor this year. But don’t worry, there’s much more coverage where this came from.

But for now, I leave you on this.

Check back with FSR throughout the weekend for more from New York Comic-Con 2011.

*The following contains Breaking Bad spoilers in general and a major spoiler for the season four finale in particular.

The Breaking Bad bandwagon is one that I avoided  getting on for a long time. After watching seasons one through three in a summer marathon, I found a lot to enjoy in the show, but there certainly wasn’t any drinking of the Kool-Aid being done. And while there still isn’t, I’ll be damned if the ending of season four didn’t at least tempt me to take a sip or two.

This season started off rather lackluster compared to the high of the previous season. Sure, Gus slitting Victor’s throat and the cartel shoot-out were among some of the greatest moments of the show’s history, but they were scattered in a field with the likes of Hank’s self-loathing and distractingly annoying advertisements for Denny’s. But the final two episodes of this season made up for the majority of all that lackluster crap.

What made the Breaking Bad season four finale special is that the immediate storyline involved is played out over two episodes instead of one. “End Times” is mostly set up for what we saw in “Face Off,” and that’s why “Face Off” is so fucking good. Imagine if the spinning gun scene in “End Times” had instead aired in the same episode as the final shot of the season. It wouldn’t have worked, simply because the final shot was one what required a moment of processing by the audience. Had everything been in “Face Off,” that moment of realization from the audience would’ve happened much faster, and thus, been much less effective.

This was one of those few instances where, if this season finale had been the series finale (due to failed network negotiations0, it would’ve completely worked. It could easily be interpreted that Walt finally “broke bad” and Jesse became the family man Walt was when all of this started. But since we know this isn’t the series finale, and there are still sixteen episodes to go, that leaves us wondering, where the fuck can we go from here?

I’ll leave that up to you, mainly because I want to get to the death of Gus, which is by far one of the best send-offs for any character in the history of ever.

Gus has been living on borrowed time for the majority of the fourth season. Mike said it himself: “you can handle the cartel or you can handle the DEA, but not both” (paraphrasing, of course). There’s no way Gus was going to make it out of this season alive, but not a single person could have predicted the absolutely crazy and hilariously out of place death that he received.

Gus has always been painted as a very real and down-to-earth character. The reason Gus has been so feared is because he has never done anything that has been out of the realm of possibility, so when he walked out after the bomb went off and fixed his tie, I was with it, assuming that my predictions were wrong and Gus survived the blast. But then the camera whips around to reveal that half of his face is gone (an effects shot courtesy of the folks over at The Walking Dead). Was it a brilliantly executed moment? Fuck yes. But does it fit in with the rest of Breaking Bad? Not one bit. And that may or may not be a good thing. It’s something that needs to be judged on a person by person basis within the audience.

Overall, season four of Breaking Bad is by far the show’s best one to date. With sixteen more episodes to go in the series, it will be crazy to see where the hell creator Vince Gilligan intends to take us next.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

Webster defines it as “the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or a competing company.”

It doesn’t make mention of aggressive tactical operations, shootouts, explosions, fist fights or kick boxing matches. The verbal form of spying, no matter the definition one uses, refers to the basic act of observing, not fighting.

So much of what’s portrayed in television and film of the spy world is focused on offensive measures, often times meant to be interpreted as defensive counter-measures. But, in Homeland that concept is reversed, and to great effectiveness. Rarely do we get to see the truly defensive measures that are taken on U.S. soil and what our intelligence community’s response is when we are the foreign entity being infiltrated.

Homeland follows CIA analyst Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) who, after receiving intelligence that “an American prisoner of war has been turned,” questions the true nature of the rescue and safe return of U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) who has been M.I.A. and presumed K.I.A. for the last eight years.

As far as what can be figured from the pilot, Homeland is choosing to avoid the political game until absolutely necessary and get down to brass tacks.

Once all the character set-up is completed, there’s a scene where Brody is being debriefed by a round-table full of major players in the intelligence community, but none of them are asking the questions that need to be asked because of the aforementioned ”politics game.” However, Mathison uses the opportunity to gather real intelligence, treating the situation as if she was an American operative in a foreign land. It’s a cold, heartless scene for a character who just returned from hell, but it’s the type of scene that the audience can look at and say “that’s the kind of defensive measure I’d want to see taken.”

The show also boasts a well-rounded supporting cast, the standout of which is Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin). There are a surprising amount of similarities between Saul and another one of Patinkin’s character’s, Jason Gideon from Criminal Minds. Both Gideon and Berenson are master analyzers of human behavior. The difference is that, in Homeland, the humans being analyzed aren’t unsubs killing people in a small town, it’s the people who work within the CIA and the people they’re tracking.

This show is one of the few that’s willing to admit that there can be and are major flaws with the people who populate the intelligence community. The writers do anything but hide the fact that Mathison is an extremely broken individual who is willing to use illegal methods and even her own body to get the answers she needs.

Homeland is a very serious take on a very serious issue. Arguably, it’s the first show to tackle the topic of espionage in a realistically compelling way. This time around there’s no Jack Bauer packing a SIG P226, no Annie Walker waiting to take you out when you poke your head out of the window and no Michael Weston with a sniper rifle one thousand yards away and you in his cross-hairs. Instead there’s only a man, a woman and a giant game of who will blink first.

Stop threatening to blow up a Starbucks in the name of Java and go read more Channel Guide

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

You gotta give Ryan Murphy credit for one thing, he sure as hell doesn’t believe in doing anything “normal,” and his triumphant return to adult television in the new FX series American Horror Story fits right in with the rest of his filmography, and the creepy child would agree.

What can honestly be said about American Horror Story? Well first off, there’s no way to properly market this show. It’s honestly one of the most twisted things this reviewer has ever seen attempted by a mainstream television network. Here are a few adjectives and phrases I would use to describe the series: bloody, creepy, hyper-sexual, campy, crazy, ummm…okay…, WTF?!, where the?, huh?, holy shit, behind you!

If any of that sounds appealing, then you are going to fucking love American Horror Story.

The show is almost un-reviewable because the terms which are needed to truly describe it, I don’t think have been invented yet. The plot is actually the simplest part of the series (to its benefit). The Harmon family, in an attempt to start anew, move into a new house in California. But it turns out that the house is haunted by the ghosts of its terrifying past.

One thing I can say for sure is that every actor on screen, from Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, all the way down to the family dog, brings their most fucked-up A-game to sell the viewer on the craziness of the series. And that’s all I’m willing to say, because pretty much every moment in the series is one that should be experienced without any pre-existing knowledge. Trust me, it makes it ten times more crazy.

Everything about the series is just…off, but intentionally. The editing is strange, yet seems to give the show its own style. The cinematography supplies the illusion of being hand-held while using smooth crane shots. The lighting completely fills out every scene which, in a way, makes it creepier because just when you think you’ve seen everything there is to be seen, something new and even more fucked up pops out at you.

Killer Scene

During a major plot point in episode two, there is an extremely violent sequence involving some intruders, an axe, a bathroom, and a whole lot of blood. Don’t that just sound like fun, kids?

Kill Sheet

Violence

From the opening scene, American Horror Story lets you know that you’re gonna need a mop during the commercial breaks. And trust me, things get even more twisted in episode two.

Sex

As I said, one of the best phrases to describe this show is hyper-sexual. Bare ass, S&M leather, naughty maids, it’s all presented for the taking in this extreme version of Ryan Murphy’s deeply twisted brain. The only thing missing is full frontal and you can thank FX standards and practices for that.

Scares

In the pilot, there’s some. In episode two there’s many. The scares that take place in American Horror Story are a mix of real shock and the psychological so you never know what you’re going to get.

Final Thoughts

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have crafted something original, that’s for damn sure. This isn’t Glee, hell it isn’t even on Nip/Tuck‘s level. American Horror Story is in a league all its own and, you know what? I’m realizing, in real time as I write this review, it’s probably one of the most uniquely crafted shows I’ve ever seen. The show is more than a television series, it’s an experience and one that needs to be seen on a television screen, preferably with friends.

The only proper way to end this review is to congratulate the show’s creators for doing something I didn’t think was possible – get me interested in an extremely fucked up series that is 100% outside the realm of anything I’m used to enjoying.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pick up my S&M suit from the dry cleaners.

*A fun side note, one of the writers on the series is non other than James Wong of Final Destination fame. Go wrap your brain around that one, folks.

Don’t miss the premiere of American Horror Story tonight at 10PM on FX.

And you can read more Channel Guide for your TV fix

Since its cancellation in 2006, fans of the extremely cult-hit Arrested Development have been clamoring for a film continuation to their beloved series. In the years since, the project has been off and on more times than Edward and Bella’s wedding plans, but today series creator Mitch Hurwitz, along with the rest of the cast at The New Yorker Festival dropped some news that should send all fans into a tail spin.

If the announcement is to believed, it has been confirmed that the series is set to return for a 9-10 episode mini-series that would lead directly into a motion picture. The mini-series would serve the purpose of explaining what all the various lead characters have been doing for the last five years and each episode would focus on a single character.

In addition to this, Deadline was able to obtain information that Showtime and Netflix were in talks with 20th Century Fox Television (who owns the property) to broadcast the mini-series which is supposedly set for an early 2013 air date.

Got all that? Good, because here’s the hitch…

There is not a single deal in place yet to confirm this story. Every single thing that has come out of this sounds more like wishful thinking by the creative/acting team than actual fact.

If anything, it should be interpreted as Hurwitz’s way of pushing things forward and getting negotiations started. By announcing to the world “this is happening” he can strike while the iron is hot and walk into a meeting and say “we already announced it, so lets do it.”

As of now, until a deal is actually struck, all of this is just talk and nothing more. And that is something that should be kept in mind.

Especially now that Falling Skies cemented Spielberg’s return television (and the first time since ER that he has put out a series that’s been widely praised across the board), all eyes are on Terra Nova to see if lightning can strike twice. But unlike Falling Skies whose behind the camera talent is mostly full of non-names (outside of the offices of studio heads and agent assistants), Terra Nova boasts some heavy hitter talent such as Craig Silverstein (who created the new iteration of Nikita on The CW), 24 heavy-hitter Jon Cassar and Brannon Braga whose credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and the highly under-rated FlashForward. The point being that there are a lot of hands in the pot of a show that is either the next LOST or this season’s The Event.

So it’s time to figure out which one it is.

Terra Nova centers on the classic Spielberg style of telling both the microcosm and macrocosm consequences of the plot device, which in this case is humanity’s new found ability to send people back in time (sort of) to restart civilization. At least based on the two-hour pilot, the series is going to follow the Shannon family who’ve managed to escape the laws of a crumbling present to make it through the time portal and start a new life.

Perhaps the highest compliment is that it has potential, mostly thanks to a very awesome Stephen Lang. Plus, the scenarios that the show is putting its characters in feel well fleshed out. Things like the introduction of a rival colony to Terra Nova are the kinds of plot lines that are going to carry the show through most of its run; on-going conflict in a series of this nature is beyond necessary.

That said, the show, at least for now, does suffer from a major case of pilot syndrome. There is a lot of exposition that needed to be given in this first long-form episode. Things like:

• Why is the colony not worried about creating a paradox?
• Why is no one worried about a giant asteroid that is supposed to be headed their way?
• How is the colony dealing with the dinosaur issue?
• Where did the time portal come from?
• What is the problem with the current state of present earth?
• Why is Commander Taylor trying to imitate that Col. Quaritch dude from that blue cat movie?

All kidding aside, the other job of a pilot is to set the characters up in their permanent positions throughout the series. For example, a majority of Terra Nova’s pilot is spent getting Jim from the role of stowaway to security guard for the colony. It’s involved character stories like that that make it difficult to completely write off the show so early on.

But let’s be honest, we all know the real reason everyone is tuning in: the dinosaurs.

Yes it’s true, Jurassic Park set the standard for realistic looking dinos on screen. And it’s also true that the bar set in 1993 has yet to be passed. But Jurassic Park had the equivalent of a $100 million budget by today’s standards. Terra Nova has $4 million per episode. In other words the money, and more importantly time, to create Jurassic Park level dinos is simply not there.

That said, the dinos in Terra Nova are some of the best post JP era I’ve seen on both the big and small screen. They are probably the second best looking ones put to screen to date. There are definitely moments where their weight of the animals isn’t truly felt, but then there are other times like during the JP homage scene in the woods with the kids trapped in the truck and the scene where Zoe is feeding the two Brachiosaurus (sorry if I have the species wrong) over the fence and then is lifted up by one of them.

Those two scenes work 100%.

I think that Terra Nova is a case where the series needs about five or six episodes to find its foundation and to get things rolling. Luckily, it’s been confirmed that this first season will only feature thirteen episodes (the time issue is that bad when it comes to post-production) so it will allow for a much stronger story and less time spent diddle-daddling around waiting for something to happen.

Terra Nova is one of the biggest series ever attempted by any network. It’s ambitious as hell and has all the elements required for success… It also has all the elements that when not instituted right, lead to failure. Right now all any of us can do is put on our CO2 filter masks and wait to see exactly what the show has in store for us.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

This past weekend, nerd king Chris Hardwick premiered his new show on BBC America, The Nerdist (which is now available for download on iTunes and Amazon) based on his extremely awesome and successful pocast of the same name. This new version of the podcast is a variety talk show that features Hardwick himself, as well as his co-hosts Jonah Ray and Matt Mira.

To no one’s surprise, the video version of the podcast was great in just about every way. Hardwick & Co. is just the second entity to successfully transfer a hit podcast to the small screen after Ricky Gervais, which brings us to a new question – are there any other podcasts that would be able to make a similar venture into the small screen? Well, I think there are at least five. Check them out after the break.

The only criteria for this list is that the essence of the show would have to be transferable, and not just the host(s).

Walking The Room

The bar by which all podca–podcuddles should be judged, Walking The Room is audio bliss…if your idea of bliss is having the spikes of a cactus jammed into your ears…I kid. In actuality, Walking The Room is almost too ripe for television adaptation for one simple reason, it has already set up the world a television version would be set in.

Hosts Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony have created an entire universe and dictionaryfor the show, full of characters including orange-stealing “hobotangs” and cricket-eating vaginas. If that doesn’t have “edgy basic cable sitcom” written all over it, then I don’t know what does. But then again, what does a clown from the neck down know?

TOFOP

If Walking The Room had a illegitimate, evil sister, it would be TOFOP. Not as elaborate as Walking The Roombut Wil Anderson and Charlie Clausen hop on the mic every week and deliver an hour of comedy that makes the world seem so much more bittersweet, and thus a lot more fun.

I see a TOFOP television show as similar to what the The Nerdist show ended up being this past week, some dudes in front of a bitchin’ set and a live audience talking about various levels of awesome shit.

The Smartest Man In The World

Whose Line is it Anywayfunnyman and stand-up genius Greg Proops is, as his title proclaims, The Smartest Man in the World. His unique one man show is simply a stand-up show of complete and pure creativity and zero boundaries. If it were ever adapted, that’s what I’d want to see on the small screen.

I picture Greg, a desk and a single spotlight on stage, his continuous, Aaron Sorkian-like rants recorded in a single shot like a perfectly crafted stage play. I know that it would probably never happen (as of right now, in the current state of the television business) but it’s certainly a nice thought.

The Tobolowsky Files

A masterful story teller with more of them to tell than the meatiest parts of the bible, Stephen Tobolowsky’s podcast The Tobolowsky Files would make for excellent television in similar form to The Smartest Man In The World. A dude (or two in this case along with /Film’s David Chen), a mic, a stage, and a spotlight.

One take, one story, one episode at a time. Tobolowsky is one of the best speakers on the planet and one of the best character actors that the world has to offer. This is a guy who would be great at leading his own self-based story telling show and I defy as much as one person to prove me wrong on that.

The Titus Podcast

A personal favorite of mine in the comedy world, Christopher Titus’ self titled pocast sounds like the perfect base for a television program. Every episode begins with Titus’ “Armageddon update” which leads into a long and ever-changing discussion with his girlfriend Bombshell Rae and the even hotter Stuntman Tommy, with the addition of part-time contributor Willie. Some segments in the discussion include “Douche of The Week” and “Hero of The Week.”

If all of that doesn’t sound like a perfectly crafted variety show, then what does? Every week, Titus comes out in front of a green screen, does his update, and then walks across the stage for a roundtable discussion with his fellow co-hosts. Now that would just be cool.

Oh, and an Honorable Mention to the list: Reject Radio (I’m contractually obligated to include this or Cole Abaius will force me to watch The Human Centipede II).

~~~~~~

Podcasts are an ever-changing and ever-expanding medium. In many ways, it’s better than both television and film combined for the simple fact that restrictions are completely lifted and only the truly passionate give a crap about doing them. But, if someone were to approach a podcast creator and ask them “any interest in bringing it to the small screen?” with the added guarantee of zero restrictions, then I would hope at the very least the creator would give it a real thinking over before deciding.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast (which would probably also make for great TV…on public access), The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

The show follows former military man John Reese (Jim Caviezel) who is recruited by a very strange rich guy known only as Mr. Finch (Michael Emerson) who, through a machine he built for the government, is able to predict crime before it happens… Sort of… The machine can’t give out details without exposing Finch’s back door to the machine, so all he gets is the social security number of the titular person of interest, and that person could be the victim…or the culprit.The premise at face value is the stuff of science fiction, which is why it was nice to see that the pilot got the exposition out of the way very quickly and allowed the show to get into the world of what we’ll see every week.

This show is Batman with no masks and a lot of awesome guns. Reese is nothing more than a vigilante at the end of the day, which is probably what makes the show so appealing. The writers, actors, directors, they all know exactly what they are making and have no disillusions of its range.

Sure, there are some clear over-arching seeds being planted like what exactly the pre-cog-esque machine is and where it’s hidden, or the cop in the beginning of the pilot who clearly suspects something bigger is a foot. I expect this from most procedurals, but Person of Interest doesn’t go over the top with it, and that’s the key.

After we’ve gone through the annoying but necessary exposition we get into the meat of the series and while the crime-of-the-week that takes place in the pilot is a bit lack luster, it has more to do with the fact that it’s forced to be compressed into two acts instead of the usual four it would capitalize on.

That said, it didn’t stop the episode from allowing Caviezel some truly bad-ass moments that include taking out an entire room of gangsters at a gun buy, a stand-off between two gunman and a stellar scene involving him, a grenade launcher and an SUV.

I’m not saying that based on the pilot, Caviezel is one of the best action stars to be put to screen, but if the series is given time to grow (and based on initial ratings that shouldn’t be a problem) then perhaps one day he will be.

Some might be quick to judge Person of Interest as being manufactured to be widely received across many demographics. But, I would argue that it’s just a case of Jonathan Nolan‘s really kick ass idea for a show having the right producer in the form of J.J. Abrams to back him up, and a cast that gets it from the start.

That’s why Person of Interest did indeed live up to the hype and will most likely become this season’s Hawaii Five-0.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

I’ve been with NCIS since ’05, when my dad walked into my room after the season two finale and said “you need to watch this.” I did, and since then have been hooked on the adventures of Gibbs and his ever-changing team. My love of the procedural genre has never been hidden, but NCIS is one that I love just a little more than the others, mostly because it’s one of the few that I get to enjoy with my dad every week…at least that’s what my phone bill says every 15 minutes between 8 and 9PM every Tuesday.

But my affection for the show has not blinded me to the fact that it hit a plateau around season five. It’s not that the show got bad in any way, but it stopped improving. Basically, it found its voice and decided that it was a good place to stay. And you know what, the numbers agreed with that judgement as it’s still the highest rated scripted show on television across all demos.

However, in yesterday’s season premiere, something happened. Something that made me wonder if Chas. Floyd Johnson and Shane Brennan walked into the writers’s room this season and said “you know what, they’re gonna tune in no matter what we do, so why don’t we have a little fun.” There’s an extremely fine line between pushing things to new ground and jumping the shark. And based on the season nine premiere, it appears that NCIS wants to try walking it.

The issue is that most procedurals that make it to a ninth seaason (which is rare in and of itself for any show) are usually on their way out as far as ratings go. But NCIS has yet to have a season where its final overall average audience was smaller than the year before it. In other words, beyond contract disagreements, the show is here to stay for a while longer.

Every character has been fleshed out as much as they can at this point. Everything you could possibly want to know about Gibbs, DiNozzo, Abby, Ziva, Ducky, McGee, and even Vance has been answered. So what’s left to do, just continue solving the crime of the week? Well, normally, yes.

Normally, a show like this would continue doing crime of the week while waiting for the clock to run out. That isn’t to say that the show would get stale, because what keeps people coming back to NCIS each week is the characters bantering with one another, but there’s no arc anymore.

And that’s where it gets interesting.

In the final scene of season premiere (in a move that I can only assume was done intentionally so that the audience would have no questions as to who the bad guy was), an over-arching conspiracy was suddenly introduced. Not a conspiracy that changes anything we’ve been through since episode one, no one was “meant to be here,” but a conspiracy that will definitely affect the future of the characters. Questions are posed that will take more than a single episode to solve. In other words, the writers said “let’s play with our toys now that we polished them all nice and neat.” Those toys being Gibbs and his team.

Now, this isn’t to say that NCIS is suddenly going to abandon the caper-of-the-week format (as the preview for next week’s episode indicated), and this isn’t the first time the show has had a season-long arc, but this is the first one that is this involved. The questions posed are ones that the characters can’t just forget about until it’s convenient for the story. And they’re questions that can’t not be addressed at least once an episode as we continue moving forward. Moments that occurred in various episodes of last season affected what happened in the premiere. Moments that I know 90% of the audience missed, including myself.

There’s no real point here, rather, I’m just making what I hope is a pretty cool observation – and observation that it’s nice to see the most powerful scripted show on television look at their track record and go “yeah, we can put this on the line.”

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

• Futurama walked away with the top honor for animated program based on the episode ‘The Late Philip J. Fry,’ beating out front runners South Park and The Simpsons who dominated the category between 2000 and 2009. This also marks the second time Futurama has won the award for Best Animated Series.
• Maurice LaMarche also walked away with the award for Best Voice-Over Performance for his work on the series as Lrr and Orson Welles.
• Gwyneth Paltrow took the award for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Holly Holiday on Glee.
• Game of Thrones took the award for Best Title Sequence.
• Boardwalk Empire took the win for Best Visual effects beating out the likes of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.
• Deadliest Catch won the award for Best Reality Series (a win that is more than acceptable in this category).

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let’s move on to my predictions for the major categories.

Writing:

Any industry type will tell you that when it comes to television, the writer is king. So when it comes to the award for it, it’s probably one of the most coveted of the bunch. As for how I think they’ll fall out:

• In the comedy category, considering all his surprise nominations, it’s entirely possible that Louie C.K. could walk away with a win. Of course, it’s also just as likely that Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman could walk away with the award for their work on Modern Family.
• For drama, knowing that usually the Emmys like to go with the safe choice, there’s an easy win for Mad Men here.
• In the Variety section, of course it will go to The Daily Show. Why? Because it always does.

Acting

Let’s get right to the breakdown on this one:

• For Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, it could go to any one of the cast members that were nominated from Modern Family, which is probably the most consistently funny comedy on television. The same goes for the Actress side of the same award.
• As for Best Supporting in a Drama Series, that will most likely go to Andre Braugher or Walton Goggin for Men of a Certain Age and Justified respectively. On the Actress side, it’s a lock for Justified‘s Margo Martindale.
• Moving to Best Lead in a Comedy – considering once again with the surprise nomination, Louie C.K. has the best shot to take this one. As for Actress, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are the front runners here and will be battling each other for the top spot.
• Now, things are very interesting this year since Bryan Cranston, who has won the past three years in a row, isn’t eligible for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series since Breaking Bad missed the calendar cut off. Of the bunch, it’s an honest horse race between every single nominee on the list. And with whoever wins it (between Steve Buscemi, Kyle Chandler, Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm, Hugh Laurie and Timothy Olyphant), there’s no doubt that it will be the most debated win of the night. My personal wish is that Hugh Laurie finally walks away with a long overdue win for House.
• As for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, it’s a toss up between Elisabeth Moss, Mariska Hargitay and Connia Britton. It would be fantastic to see Hargitay take it this year though; she knocked it out of the park on SVU this past season.

Overall

Ah yes, the most coveted awards of the night:

• For Best Variety Program, it’s most likely a lock for The Daily Show as usual.
• For Best Mini-Series or TV Movie, Mildred Pierce will definitely be walking home with this one.
• For Best Comedy, it’s a solid bet that Modern Family will take it for a second year in a row.
• For Best Drama, odds are Mad Men will take it for a fourth year in a row, but if they don’t then it’s a toss up between Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights and Dexter. Sadly, Game of Thrones doesn’t feel like the typical show the Emmy voters are keen on.

The deck is definitely stacked this year across the board. I just hope that Jane Lynch doesn’t disappoint as host. Check back tomorrow to see who wins in real-time as we cringe through the inevitable along with you.

Want to read more Channel Guide? Of course you do.

To listen to the latest episode of Merrill’s TV Podcast, The Idiot Boxers with Kevin Carr, head over to Fat Guys at the Movies.

According to EW, the series will focus on “three former federal agents who are part of a top-secret program. Each week, they’ll use “Source Code” technology to jump into the consciousness of people involved in tragic events.” Clearly that’s a fairly big leap from the film where the main protagonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) had no clue that he was inside the Source Code.

The series will mark the first time ABC Studios will produce an off-network show. But as this will clearly be more of a procedural, it will fit right in at CBS who has actually been taking stabs lately at more high concept versions of the genre (like Person of Interest).

All that aside, it should be noted that neither film director Duncan Jones or writer Ben Ripley were even so much as offered the chance to work on the series. This is an all too unfortunately common occurrence in Hollywood. I understand moving forward if the creator’s say no, but producers should give them the opportunity to say yes.

However, I’m sure Source Code will, at the very least, make for an interesting series come pilot season. I see a 13 episode pick-up by CBS if it works out.