Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
11/1/12
Nashville [HERC's Mix]
As a general rule, HERC doesn't watch nighttime or daytime soaps. Or shows about lawyers, policemen, firemen, postal workers, soldiers, gangsters, vampires, post-apocalyptic worlds or hospitals. Or original shows on ABC Family. Or any of the so-called "reality" shows. But there are exceptions...
- the cast can actually sing and music is a huge part of the show but in a more natural way than say, a show like Glee;
- the show's music supervisor is none other than T-Bone Burnett and he has been getting some quality material from some of the most talented songwriters in the business;
- the music performed on the show is not what is getting played on country radio, rather its a rootsy, folksy throwback to the classic Seventies singer-songwriters that continue to get airplay today
HERC's favorite Hayden Panettiere portrayal is the titular, horrible driving tease in I Love You, Beth Cooper. She has released several singles, mostly in the Disney universe, between 2004-2011 so we know she can sing. There is much speculation as to which young denim diva her character "Juliette Barnes" is based on, from current star Taylor Swift to legends like Tanya Tucker. HERC don't play that game.
Connie Britton will always be "Tami Taylor" in HERC's clear eyes and full heart. Although HERC loves to hear her characters speak in Southern accented voices, Britton's singing voice comes as a very pleasant surprise. Most people assume Britton's Nashville character "Rayna James" is based on Faith Hill. Or Shania Twain. Or Trisha Yearwood. Or Tanya Tucker.
Charles "Chip" Esten, who plays "Deacon Claybourne", is most familiar to HERC as a cast member of both the UK original and the USA clone of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He excelled in the singing improv bits with Wayne Brady so it is no surprise he has pipes. HERC is waiting for "Deacon" to bust a sly smile and do his Snagglepuss impersonation, like he used to on Whose Line.
The rising talent on the show is Clare Bowen who plays Bluebird Cafe waitress "Scarlett O'Connor". She's a shy poet with an aspiring rock star boyfriend and one night, the bartender with a crush on her, encourages her to read/sing one of her poems while he accompanies on guitar and harmonies. This emerging love triangle has been the source of the best song on the show early on, the sexy, slow-burning "If I Didn't Know Better".
The bartender is "Gunnar Scott" played by British actor/musician Sam Palladio. HERC recognized him from the Matt LeBlanc Showtime series Episodes but honestly can't remember if he sang on that show or not. "Gunnar" somewhat resembles "Finn" on Glee but he's more laid-back, soulful and less awkward. His feelings for "Scarlett" come out when he performs with her and their chemistry is combustible.
*****
T Bone Burnett first gained prominence as a guitarist in Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975-1976. He then formed a band of his own and did some solo work before becoming a much sought after producer, working with Roy Orbison, Los Lobos, Counting Crows, Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Marshall Crenshaw and The Wallflowers among many others. In 1992, Burnett worked with River Phoenix and Samantha Mathis for their roles in the film Thing Called Love. Then in 1998, he was the "musical archivist" on The Big Lebowski. In 2000, T Bone wrote the score and produced the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou? which went on to sell seven million copies and earn several awards, including multiple Grammys. He followed that success as Executive Music Producer on Walk The Line, working with Phoenix's brother, Joaquin. Another Grammy and an Oscar came his way for his work on Crazy Heart. Other films and albums followed until Burnett is known as the foremost purveyor of Americana or roots music, a predominantly acoustic style descended from gospel, bluegrass, country and rockabilly. It's this flavor of country music featuring less hat and more cattle that drives the soundtrack of Nashville as well as Hart Of Dixie.
You don't have to be a country music fan to appreciate the songs heard on Nashville but it helps. In addition to the original performances by cast members, there's a healthy helping of country classics as well as contemporary country radio cuts heard in the background or sometimes even the foreground of most scenes. In a Glee-like marketing move, singles from the show are released the day after an episode airs via iTunes and several streaming services including Spotify. And mark HERC's words, there will be physical collections aka CDs of those songs eventually released as well. Here a few of the songs from the show's first three episodes (including the original 2009 version of "If I Didn't Know Better" performed by The Civil Wars) followed by HERC's Spotify playlist of songs featured on the show. He'll be updating it regularly as more songs become available so be sure to subscribe.
10/31/12
TV Cemetery: The One-and-Done Shows - Special Halloween Edition
Happy Halloween!
Thanks for stopping by the Hideaway -
here's your treats!
A special look at television shows that were axed after one season yet live on through digital media, streaming from the Cloud and shiny optical discs. These are HERC's favorite one-and-done shows that were spooky, creepy and just a little bit out there. (There are gremlins at work in this post - try as he might, HERC has been unable to rid the post of them. He's rewritten, copy and pasted, saved, drafted, saved, updated, etc yet it remains all FUBAR.)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker [1974]
Preceded by two made for TV movies - The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler - this series lasted just 20 episodes but inspired later long-running series such as The X-Files and Supernatural with it's monster (or creature) of the week story lines. HERC used to watch this show as if his life depended on it. In 2005, former X-Files writer and producer Frank Spotnitz brought back the series as Night Stalker. It ran for just six episodes before being cancelled which was a mercy kill in HERC's eyes as the show was lame. The entire series including 4 unaired episodes is available on DVD as is the entire original series and the two movies. (Click on the movie titles above to watch.)
Project U.F.O. [1978]
HERC SR. is a proud retired Air Force and Vietnam Veteran and a U.F.O. enthusiast as well. Project U.F.O. is one of the few shows HERC remembers watching with his father. Each week, a team of two Air Force investigators, would look into a file from Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force's official systematic study of unidentified flying object sightings, which was active from 1952 until 1969. The show was also an inspiration for The X-Files.
Technically, Project U.F.O. lasted two seasons, first as a mid-season replacement for an abbreviated 13 episodes in the Spring of 1978 and then a Fall/Winter 1978 10 episode season that ran one week onto 1979 before being cancelled. An additional 3 episodes aired in the Summer of 1979. Sadly, the rights to this series are in legal limbo and it has never been officially released. The truth is out there for those who seek it...
American Gothic [1995]
Purely by chance, HERC happened to catch the premiere episode that fateful night in 1995 while sick in bed. He was hooked and scarfed up each episode as it aired but has yet to break down and order the series on DVD. The show was just the right amount of creepy for his sensibilities [What? You didn't know HERC was a scaredy cat?] with a truly dark delightful cast, especially Lucas Black, Gary Cole and Sarah Paulsen. Joe, Alison's husband from Medium makes an early appearance as well. Who knew Seventies teeny-bopper sensation and former Hardy Boy Shaun Cassidy, the show's creator, had such a fertile, Stephen King-like imagination?
Dark Skies [1996]
A indirect descendant of The X-Files, this show's premise was a simple and intriguing one: "History as we know it is a lie." Basically, an ongoing alien infiltration of the people of Earth had necessitated a Government coverup. Eric Close, who can be seen on Nashville this season, was the star of Dark Skies as well as the narrator. The show's creators had a five season plan that was made irrelevant when NBC cancelled the show after it's 20 episode first season. Fortunately for fans, the show has been released on DVD.
Special Unit 2 [2001]
Like everyone else he has ever discussed this show with, HERC missed the initial airing of Special Unit 2 on the fledgling UPN network in 2001 but caught the re-airing on the Sci-Fi Network before it became the SyFy Netowrk. It is hard to describe the show but it is alternately creepy and funny kind of like Men In Black or maybe Ghostbusters. Again, technically, the show ran for two seasons: a six episode first season in the Spring of 2001 followed by a 13 episode season from Fall 2001 until Spring 2002. Fans of Abby on NCIS can catch the actress in an earlier role, as a blonde misinformation officer on this show. It has since been shown in several marathon airings on the Sci-Fi Network. No DVD release yet but kindred spirits have posted the majority of episodes on YouTube.
Fear Itself [2008]
A horror anthology series along the lines of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, Showtime's Masters Of Horror or HBO's Tales From The Crypt, each episode was a stand alone suspense or horror tale. NBC aired eight uneven episodes in June and July 2008 before putting show on hiatus with a promised return after the Summer Olympics that year. The show wasn't mentioned again until it was offically cancelled in March 2009 with five unaired episodes in the can. The Complete Series DVD was released in September 2009 including all 13 episodes. HERC's favorite episode is "In Sickness And In Health" directed by John Landis and starring "Jules" and "Shawn" from the show psych as a couple about to be married when she receives a note that reads "The person you are marrying is a serial killer."
9/11/12
HERC's TV: Shows He Misses From 2010-2011 Season
Television's highly anticipated Fall Premiere season has begun and what better time to ignore the new offerings and instead look back on those shows that did not make the cut in seasons past. HERC has already mourned, albeit ever so briefly, the loss of two of his favorite shows from last season HERE.
It only compounded his sadness when one of the stars of said shows recently passed - R.I.P. Michael Clarke Duncan - HERC was compelled to watch The Finder again in it's entirety and is hoping for an official home video release soon. Another thing: It's gonna be weird when the guy who played "The Finder" aka "Walter" shows up on other shows now but HERC will be on the lookout for him. [Ed. his name is Geoffery Menton "Geoff" Stults and he's signed to appear on a few episodes of new show Ben & Kate]
Let's jump back past last season to the season of 2010-2011 and review HERC's favorite freshman shows that didn't return for a sophomore season. In no particular order, they are:
CHAOS - Great cast, good premise, horrible time slot - if HERC remembers correctly (HEY! It was almost two years ago!) it was burned off on Saturday nights as a mid season (and then Summer) replacement series. [Ed. I got nothing.]
Love Bites - From what HERC has read, so many things went wrong behind the scenes that this show never really stood a chance. A clever, modern updating of one of HERC's all-time favorite shows Love, American Style with a few recurring characters, a whole bunch of recognizable guests each episode and writers who ran a thread through the stories to tie them all together. Eventually aired as a Summer replacement series.
Terriers - This show was sooooo good. Well-written, well-acted and well, missed. Find it, watch it, wait a couple of weeks and watch it again. It's that good. Was it the title that led people to avoid it? Other quirky FX shows have done well but for whatever reason this one was put down. Rumblings of a possible Terriers movie surfaced at the end of August 2012. Anyone else remember Donal Logue's show The Knights of Prosperity? It's where Sofia Vergara first displayed her um um um comedic talents. [Ed. Good save, HERC.]
Outsourced - Based on the movie of the same name, the sitcom played up the comedy and made light of cultural differences. While the title and subject matter is a sore one here at the Hideaway household, HERC giggled and laughed more than he would have expected while watching this. HERC recommends the movie (see trailer below) as well but wishes it had been done with the TV cast as he found them more likable.
Glory Daze - Aside from having one of the greatest songs in the world as it's theme song, this show was a look at college life in the late 1980s. It had the good sense and fortune to cast HERC favorites Brad Garret and Cheri Oterri in small roles. Besides the theme song, the show featured somewhat lesser played hits of the Eighties on it's soundtrack as featured in the playlist below:
The Good Guys - Man, oh man, this was an entertaining show. Unfortunately, no one watched it when it was on. HERC thinks it was on Friday nights - go figure. The chemistry between Whitford and Hanks was awesome. Interesting that both actors went on to play serial killers (Ed. Brad on The Mentalist and Colin on Dexter] after this series because the soundtrack was KILLER. Listen for yourself below:
Mr. Sunshine - This show was brilliantly cast, insanely funny and heavily promoted - no wonder it was cancelled. Correct him if he's wrong but HERC believes this is the only show featured today that HAS been released on DVD. [Ed. You're wrong, HERC: Outsourced is also out on shiny digital discs.]
What shows do you miss from the 2010-2011 season? Let HERC know in the Comments. He'll be back again with another collection of his favorite one-and-done shows.
5/19/12
HERC's TV - The Casualties from the Class of 2011-2012
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| logo collage from screenrant.com |
Earlier this week, the five major commercial television networks announced their Fall 2012 broadcast schedules. What this means is last minute cancellations of some shows that were on the bubble as well as surprise renewals of others. Throughout the year, other cancellations and renewals have been announced but the ones announced at the last minute often sting a little more simply because there was a faint glimmer of hope, not just for the fans of the shows but also the cast and crew whose livelihoods are suddenly in limbo.
HERC is merely the messenger here - if any of the following was among your weekly requisite viewing, you have his condolences as some of these were among his favorites as well.
We can all take some comfort that most of these shows are available via streaming or will soon be on digital video disc. Plus there are literally a ton of new shows coming our way in September. HERC will profile a few of the ones he's looking forward to in the weeks and months ahead.
These are the scripted shows, non-reality division, that didn't make it to the Fall:
Alcatraz
Allen Gregory
Are You There, Chelsea?
Awake
Bent
Best Friends Forever
Breaking In
Charlie’s Angels
Chuck
CSI: Miami
Desperate Housewives
The Finder
The Firm
Free Agents
GCB
A Gifted Man
Harry’s Law
House
How to Be a Gentleman
I Hate My Teenage Daughter
Man Up
Missing
Napoleon Dynamite
NYC 22
One Tree Hill
Pan Am
The Playboy Club
Prime Suspect
Ringer
The River
Rob
The Secret Circle
Terra Nova
Unforgettable
Work It
If HERC was the head honcho of a network, "Awake" and "The Finder" would be back for their sophomore seasons.
Which shows would you have kept?
Which shows would you have cancelled instead?
Which shows would you have kept?
Which shows would you have cancelled instead?
Let your voice be heard in the Comments.
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