Ron Perlman has been a force in television and film for three decades. He’s no stranger to fans, especially those he won as Hellboy and as Clay Morrow on Sons of Anarchy, and he’s appeared in a handful of movies every year since 1993 (with 1996 and 1999 being the only years he appeared in only one). You know him. You love him. Now, we’re ready to pronounce 2011 The Year of The Perlman because while he’s worked steadily in movies small and big alike for a long time, this was the year that he really ate his spinach and showed his face in an almost absurd amount of flicks. What’s more, his performances spanned the quality spectrum enough to earn him the Shyamalan Award For Bizarrely Up and Down Work. It’s important to note that his acting was rock steady throughout, but even with (and with the addition of his talents), he was in some terrible (and some amazing) movies. From prestige films, to independent action, to summer epics, to that one thing with Nic Cage, Ron Perlman was everywhere doing everything.

Because it’s Saturday, we’re talking television. That’s when Amber Humphrey publishes her weekly entry of Channel Guide, our twice-weekly column on all things television. But there’s something else at work this week. It might be Saturday, but it’s also the final day of the year. And what better way to send off our coverage of television in the year 2011 than with a list of the shows that we loved most dearly. In order to do so, Channel Guiders Amber Humphrey and Mikela Floyd each contributed their picks for the five best shows of the year, in no particular order. In keeping with our ’11 Best’ theme for the Year in Review, FSR Publisher and closet television fanatic (don’t tell movies, we don’t want them to be jealous) Neil Miller throws in one final pick with his own best show of the year. All powers combined, they have unleashed our list of the 11 Best TV Shows of 2011.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that had one hell of an extended weekend this week. For starters, its author had a birthday. He’s old. Moving on. And then it had a “reaction” to “ice cream cake” that is too embarrassing to describe in detail. It’s also now very well acquainted with Rooney Mara’s body. All of it. But that’s another story for another time. Lets get back to doing what this column does best: things that are almost news. We begin tonight with a first look at Lara Pulver as Irene Adler in Sherlock, the second series of which will hit BBC screens early next year. The much-anticipated second frame of the Steven Moffat produced series will build on the events of the last series, including showing us what the hell happened in the pool house! 

It’s time for another day late edition of This Week in Blu-ray. I might as well just move this column to Wednesday, as I’m so often cramming to get releases from certain studios — who will remain nameless (Fox) — that send out their review material at the absolute last minute. That said, I’m glad they decided to send their releases this week, as they earned a Pick of the Week with one of the best shows on television. Also included in this week’s rundown: we fly into the danger zone, I admit to not hating something that screams Disney Channel, Criterion drops to juicy releases and Hugh Laurie is still so dreamy. All that and more in this week’s saucy selection of high definition accoutrement. Sons of Anarchy: Season Three With the seemingly obvious exception of Breaking Bad, there may be no better drama on television than Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy. Conceived with a great passion for the brotherhood of biker gangs and filled with characters, both main and supporting, that are infinitely engaging, it’s one of the grittiest, gnarliest and often best-acted shows around. In their expansive third season, the boys from Charming go on the hunt for Jax’s kidnapped son, Abel, a tour that leads the crew all the way to Belfast and one hell of an emotional finale. After season two’s finish, it’s hard to believe that a repeat is possible. But when it comes to SAMCRO, anything is possible. As for the Blu-ray earning [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]

I used to love collecting TV seasons on DVD almost as much as collecting movies on DVD. But what the movie discs always added, things like commentary and behind the scenes docs, the TV discs completely lacked. After season 1, what’s left to say? We know how the show got made, why people got cast as they did, what a pain in the ass it was to get the pilot produced, the re-casting that occurred after the pilot. Extra content was hard to come by. For crying out loud, the most recent season of Dexter’s special features included episodes of other Showtime programs. Those are ads, not bonus features. A movie on DVD is easy. It’s a single thing, the story exists in that movie and that movie alone (usually). I don’t have to pop in the next five discs just to get to episode 22 where I find out that House is still a drug addict or that Jack is still really angry about something. In order to re-watch a TV series, especially a serialized one, I have to re-watch the entire thing. Very few shows exists that I enjoy watching single episodes of. I recently spent the last few weeks selling all my old TV on DVD sets, even the ones I had the complete series for, simply because I wasn’t watching them. As I packaged each one and put it into the mail box, I realized how much money I spent on the set, and how useless of a purchase it really was.

Yup, it’s that time of the year again. That time of the year where we TV folk bitch and moan about what shows won’t be getting some golden Emmy love because the Academy is full of old people who think basic cable is what holds up the Brooklyn Bridge, which they also saw get built… I think… That said, this year’s Emmy Nominations are no more surprising than they were last year. Mad Men leads in the scripted drama series dept with nineteen nominations, but more interestingly, the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce leads the overall with twenty one nominations. Before we get and further into this, let’s check out some of the shows that didn’t get nominated for anything in either overall, acting or technical categories (not that any of this matters, like usual).

After last Tuesday’s TV news bombshell that consisted of FOX obliterating pretty much every under-performing show on their schedule, many wondered what could be next from the networks in terms of picks-ups and cancellations. Well, NBC has decided to answer that question with a slew of pick-ups, none of which involve the words “wonder” or “woman.” At the moment the fourth place network has called for series orders from four pilots including Whitney a sitcom based on the stand-up comedy and starring Whitney Cummings. The Steven Spielberg produced, Gleeish musical-comedy Smash. The U.S. adaptation of the British series Prime Suspect and the Christina Applegate starring Up All Night. But that’s not all. It appears that NBC decided to have a little heart yet again as reports are filing in from all across the internet saying that spy-comedy CHUCK has indeed been renewed for a fifth season. This is by far the best news I’ve heard all day.

Every TV season there are a select group of people that really stand out above the rest. People that really push their shows to a place that no one expects. People that take the medium of television and spin it on its head. And that’s why sometimes they need the love that the Emmys just refuse to give. And with that, I bring you The Top 10 TV Big Shots of 2010-2011. Let’s celebrate these creative minds and their teams in no particular order.

At the beginning of the ’00s, basic cable networks were known for nothing more that twenty four hour news and syndicated broadcast television. Some networks had a few original shows, but nothing that really went passed the throw away slots. And certainly nothing that would ever win any Emmys and gain critical acclaim. The only place on cable you could go for ground breaking drama was HBO. That was it. At least until 2002 when a little known cable broadcaster known as FX came along. In 2002 the network launched the first of a radically bold, and never before seen move in basic cable. Hard hitting, edgy original programming. This began with what would become one of the most critically acclaimed crime dramas in television history, The Shield, but it didn’t stop there. In 2003 the network launched the massive hit Nip/Tuck. A year later would see the turn to a more emotional drama with the hit Rescue Me. And then in 2005 FX went comedic with the hit show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Things laid dormant at FX with a few programs reaching minor success, but that changed in 2008 with the networks biggest hit to date, Sons of Anarchy. Sons would go on to carry the network for the next two years, allowing FX to test new ground with shows like Louie and The League, as well as launching the hit Justified, bringing us to the current television season.

With premiere week over I’ve compiled a list of the week’s top premieres from each night. The winner of each night is based upon the quality of the writing, the shows entertainment value and if it’s a new series, the shows sustainability. This year had some extremely heavy hitters and some of the best performances we have seen on the small screen. So without further ado, here are the winners of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List (please note that this list only applies to shows that started before or during the week of September 19th). Sunday: Boardwalk Empire In what should come as no surprise, Boardwalk Empire was top dog on Sunday. I’m not big into period pieces which is why I really never got into Mad Men, but Scorsese has made me fall in love with the 20′s and Atlantic City. Steve Buscemi is a great lead and a guy I can’t wait to watch every week. If only Scorsese could direct every episode and not just the pilot.

While it may be the loneliest night of the week, some of the best franchises have come out of Tuesday night. Everything from NCIS to Law & Order: SVU have thrived on Tuesdays. It’s is also the first big night of the week for cable stations. This past summer alone saw six major hard hitting programs air against each other on various networks on this night. This fall is no different. So make sure those DVR remote batteries are fresh, because here comes Part III of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List.

Nominations for the 62nd annual Emmy Awards were announced today — and boy, are they a let-down. Plenty of great shows were snubbed while some usual suspects were treated to another round of nominations. In the end, it’s hard to argue with several nominations for Breaking Bad, some send-off noms for Lost and a round of names from the Mad Men cast on the list. But I can’t help but wonder why recognition wasn’t paid to some of television’s best drama, namely Sons of Anarchy, or its best and most overlooked comedies, shows like Community and the dearly departed Party Down. Then of course, there’s Conan O’Brien getting a nomination for The Tonight Show. That made me giggle.

It is catch-up time once again on This Week in Blu-ray. Watch Neil scramble to catch you up on all the Blu-ray releases of the last few weeks. We’re told that next week, TWiBD will be ready for Tuesday morning. That remains to be seen.

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves working as a trailer park handyman and playing the Starfighter arcade game in his spare time. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. This week we have Sons of Anarchy, The 5 Deadly Venoms, Hardbodies Collection, and more!

In need of cash to fund Bobby’s defense, Clay’s solution leaves Samcro in a vulnerable position. What’s supposed to be a happy homecoming for Abel ends in more turmoil for the club.

When one SOA member is arrested for murder and another goes missing, Jax must choose between friendship and the club. Meanwhile, Abel grows stronger and is soon to be released from the NICU, but he’s not the only one coming home.

With ATF agent Stahl pressing the women of Samcro, Jax sees Chief Unser as the key to the club?s salvation.

With the IRA gun payment looming, Samcro scrambles to come up with the cash; the Mayans and Nords take a drastic step toward strengthening their alliance; Jax finds himself in a dangerous position with Tara.

When old bones are discovered on the outskirts of Charming, Clay (Ron Perlman) is forced to deal with secrets he buried long ago. Meanwhile, ATF agent Kohns investigation turns personal when his true intentions are revealed.

A small favor for Pineys old war buddy turns into a big problem for Samcro. With Clay detained, Jax must step-up to handle the situation.