Archive for 2010
Maggie Lawson, Psych, USA Television
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on March 10, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Working steadily since landing her first television appearance in the mid-1990’s, Maggie Lawson has been slyly scene-stealing for the past 15 years. After a string of guest appearances in shows like “Unhappily Ever After,” “Step by Step,” Cybill,” “Boy Meets World,” and “Home Improvement,” she began testing the feature film waters with appearances in the films “I’ve Been Waiting for You” with Sarah Chalke and Markie Post and “Pleasantville” with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.
Working around some top notch comedians and drama film stars only continued to shape Maggie into the engaging actress she is today. With a few more quick stops to appear in the cult favorite “Felicity” and the dramatic juggernaut “ER,” Maggie next landed a seven episode arc on the series “Party of Five” starring Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Scott Wolf (“V”), as well as a role alongside Justin Timberlake in the film “Model Behavior.” With an eye for cool leading men, Maggie continued her lightening streak working on the television series “Inside Schwartz” with Breckin Meyer and a brief appearance in the series “Smallville” with Tom Welling.
Then, in 2002, after landing the lead role in the film “Nancy Drew,” Maggie went on to star in the films “Winter Break” with Milo Ventimiglia, “Spellbound” with Dave Annable and “Love Rules” with Joey Lawrence. She also managed to score the leading role on the comedy series “It’s All Relative.” Then, once it ended, she appeared briefly on the cult series “Tru Calling” which starred Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse”) and Matt Bomer (“White Collar”), and the series “Crumbs” which starred Fred Savage and Eddie McClintock (“Warehouse 13”).
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/03/10/spotlight-on-psychs-maggie-lawson/
ABC, Bill Lawrence, Brian Van Holt, Christa Miller, Cougar Town, Courteney Cox, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez, Josh Hopkins, Kevin Biegel, Paley Center, Paley Fest
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on March 10, 2010 at 3:02 am
After a clip from “The Lucy Show” from the Paley Center’s archives and a quick introduction by Bill Lawrence, the lights dimmed for a preview of an upcoming episode of “Cougar Town,” much to the audience’s delight. Not wanting to spoil the episode, suffice it to say, it caused much laughter with references to blumpy blankets, cat fish, gay-traps, and provided a very funny take on whether men and woman can be friends.
Attending the “Cougar Town” panel were cast members: Courteney Cox, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Christa Miller, as well a co-creator/writer Bill Lawrence, co-creator/writer Kevin Biegel, and moderator John Griffiths of US Weekly. Explaining the absence of Busy Philipps, Bill Lawrence humorously said, “It’s a spoiler – but Busy’s been let go!” But before there could be a roar of outrage from the audience, he hastily added that Busy was actually in Hawaii on vacation. Imagine the chaos that would have caused!
As the evening’s moderator John Griffith’s noted, “Cougar Town” is credited with reinvigorating the story of a single mom raising a teenager – in spite of the show’s outrageous and somewhat misleading name. In an attempt to clarify how the show fits into the television landscape, Kevin Biegel explained that “Cougar Town” is actually an “adult family show.” It is a successful blend of both family issues and provocative adult situation comedy.
Explaining the genesis of the show and how its lead Courteney Cox came to be involved, Bill Lawrence shared, “The one thing we were afraid about was the show would only work if you can buy into it being completely self-deprecating and have no vanity whatsoever — you will let people see you in your most embarrassing situations right from the start — and I think [Courteney] is the one actress at her level in Hollywood that was immediately like, ‘Yeah, who gives a sh*t.’” She was the perfect choice to cast for the lead of the series as they needed someone who had no vanity and yet had vulnerability. They really wanted Courteney because as Bill noted, “It starts from the top, [Courteney] has allowed the writers to make fun and jokes about anything.” Despite an initial hesitation to tell her the name of the show, it was Courteney’s fearless attitude about portraying a single mom in her 40’s, daring to embrace life to the fullest and on her own terms without regard to what anyone else would think, that was crucial in making the show the success that it is.
As to how they decided to select the venue of the show, because both Bill and Kevin were from Florida they felt it brought a distinct and refreshing venue to portray and explore. Trying to tie in her own southern roots, Courteney volunteered, “My family lives in Florida, but I’m from Alabama,” which prompted Brian Van Holt to happily toss out his own southern ancestry, “I’m from the south as well — Southern California!”
Turning back to the inspiration of the show, because the message of the show is to have fun and make no apologies, Bill admitted that he took the opening scene of the pilot episode right out of his own life after he caught his wife, Christa, who had just had their 3rd child standing in front of the bathroom mirror, opening her robe and then exclaiming with a profane expletive. He also emphasized that they did not use a body double for that scene in the pilot. It was all 100% Courteney Cox. He noted that because Courteney is so brave and fearless – she is not just a star, but a true leader of the ensemble. When asked about what it was like to play a woman in her 40’s on television, Courteney optimistically said, “I don’t have that many more good years, but the ones I have I’m pretty psyched about!”
As far as other sources of inspiration, Bill Lawrence apparently has the memory of an elephant and can remember conversations nearly verbatim, which frequently turns up as the inspiration for or storyline fodder in future episodes. For example, Josh shared that one day he was playing his guitar outside of his trailer when Bill was driving by in his golf cart, which promptly came to a screeching halt, and Bill told him, “You know, that’s going to be in the next episode!” and next thing Josh knew, in the very next episode Grayson was playing a guitar. When asked if she contributes to the writing on the show, Christa quickly pointed out, “I don’t come up with ideas, I think that’s why our marriage works.” To which Bill smirked and happily said “I’m so glad you said our marriage works!”
Commenting on whether or not either Christa or Courteney are anything like their characters, Bill said that, while Courteney is nicer than her character, Christa is slightly meaner than her character. To which Christa immediately exclaimed, “I am!” and everyone laughed – though it is not certain whether she was being facetious or not. This was obviously in a spirit of fun and got laughter all around, also prompting Ian to tell Bill that he is welcome to his couch for the night if he needs it! Commenting further about Christa’s friendship with Courteney, Bill said, “The coolest thing is the way that these two have developed a relationship in real life that we can all kind of feed off of and steal from.”
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/03/10/an-evening-with-%e2%80%98cougar-town%e2%80%99-at-the-paley-festival/
ABC, Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Courtney B. Vance, David S. Goyer, Dominic Monaghan, FlashForward, Jack Davenport, John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Lee Thompson Young, Peyton List, Sonya Walger, Zachary Knighton
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on March 10, 2010 at 2:31 am
When “FlashForward” first aired last September, it was heralded as the next big sci-fi sensation. However, as the episodes unveiled, the series proved to be a bit more difficult to track than originally anticipated. So the intricate storylines and heavy sci-fi basis (alternate realities) quickly left the viewers confused. Added to the fact that the series has been on hiatus since early December, many viewers may not really remember that the series is actually returning on March 18, 2010. Fortunately, ABC believes strongly in the show and has granted it not only a 1 hour clip-show to refresher viewers on Tuesday, March 16th, it also granted a 2 hour premiere to help re-introduce the characters and story to the returning fans as it rolls out the remaining 14 episodes starting on March 18th. Thus, this article aims to be a helpful primer on what has happened so far: where our characters left off and what will the show (hopefully) be addressing as it enters the back stretch of its freshman year.
ORIGINAL PREMISE
“FlashForward” is based on the premise that the entire world came to a screeching halt for over two minutes during which time there was a global black-out and nearly every person experienced some kind of cosmic phenomenon where they were able to glimpse where they would be and what they would be doing 6 months into the future – a “flashforward,” if you will. For some, this preview of their lives was terrifying and, for some, it was miraculous. The question of “what did you see?” followed by the hope and/or fear of whether those visions will come true has captivated the entire planet. People are no longer living for today and the future they make; they are living for the future that they saw in their visions.
With the rest of the world preoccupied, world leaders and government agencies struggle to figure out what caused the black-out and whether there is a sinister purpose behind it. Fueled by vital clues provided by piecing together the bits and pieces of what people saw in their visions, the FBI began tracking the individuals who were behind the black-out, what their ultimate motive was for it and whether it will happen again. The FBI’s Mosaic Investigation had begun to yield fruit once they discovered that this was not the first time such a black-out had occurred — though it remains to be seen whether the “flashforward” visions had ever occurred before as well.
Racing against the clock as the flashforwards begin to come true, the story follows our heroes who are struggling against the dual-pull of fate versus their visions.
THE HEROES
At the heart of the show is a family: the Benfords, which consists of Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Olivia (Sonya Walger) and their daughter, Charlie (Lennon Wynn). Mark is an FBI agent whose flashforward vision gave him the initial clues he needed to set up the Mosaic Investigation. However, Mark is also a recovering alcoholic who fears what he saw in his vision: he was drunk and there were armed men searching to kill him. In turn, Olivia is a doctor and her vision was equally disturbing: she saw herself involved with another man – who she later found out was Lloyd Simcoe, the father of one of her patients. As for their daughter Charlie, who is 6 years old, all she could only say about her vision was that “there are no more good days” and that “D. Gibbons is a bad man.”
Another family whose fate is intertwined with the Benfords is the Simcoes: Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport) and his son Dylan (Ryan Wynott). Lloyd is a physicist who believes he is responsible for causing the black-out. Plus, in his vision he saw himself talking on the phone – he did not see Olivia, though he has since found out about it when he recognized the Benford’s home while searching for his son Dylan (who went missing from the hospital, ending up at the Benford home). Dylan is Lloyd’s autistic son whose mother was killed during the black-out and, significantly, Dylan’s vision showed him being in the Benford house where he saw Charlie.
The third family deeply involved is the Starks: Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Bryne) and his daughter Tracy (Genevieve Cortese). Aaron is Mark’s AA sponsor and in his vision he saw his daughter recovering from injuries in Afghanistan – a daughter whose funeral he had attended a few years before. Tracy miraculously appears several episodes into the series and appeared to be on the run from a mercenary group who she witnessed committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
Then closely associated with Lloyd Simcoe is Simon Campos (Dominic Monaghan), a genius quantum physicist and Lloyd’s shady business partner who may be more deeply involved in the conspiracy than he has let on. In a particularly creepy vision, Simon saw himself strangling someone in his flashforward.
Also crucial to the story is Mark’s FBI partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho) and Demetri’s fiancée Zoe (Gabrielle Union). Demetri did not have a flashforward and has since found out that he will be murdered on March 15, 2010. Demetri’s fiancée Zoe initially believed that in her vision she was at their wedding on the beach, but later, to her horror, found out that she was actually attending Demetri’s funeral.
Then at Olivia’s work, there is Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton), a fellow doctor working at the hospital. Bryce was on the verge of shooting himself when his flashforward occurred which revealed that in 6 months he would be sitting in a restaurant awaiting the woman of his dreams. This revelation has revitalized Bryce and given him a new purpose in his life, despite the fact that he is dying from cancer.
Other key players are FBI agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) and her partner FBI agent Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young). In Janis’ flashforward she saw herself nearly 4 months pregnant – which seemed impossible as she does not date men. As for the doomed Al Gough, his flashforward haunted him so much (even more than Demetri’s) that he took drastic measures to ensure that his vision did not come true and stepped off the top of a building. Al wanted to remind them that they all have free-will – and he proved that the future is not set in stone and can be changed.
Last, but not least, is the Benford’s babysitter, Nicole Kirby (Peyton List). Nicole’s vision was also very disturbing and she too is desperate to prevent it from becoming a reality — she saw herself being strangled in her flashforward. But, in an effort to take back her life, she embraced life and took a job working part-time at the hospital with Olivia and Bryce.
An interesting side-effect of the flashforwards is that all these individuals’ lives have become even more entangled than they could have ever imagined.
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7198
ABC, Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on March 4, 2010 at 1:28 am
Seemingly coming out of nowhere in the early 2000’s, Ana Ortiz was soon outshining her bigger name co-stars, Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”) and Jon Tenny (“The Closer”) in the television series “Kristin.” It was quickly apparent that the theatrically trained starlet was bound and determined to make a name for herself in television, particularly after her initial attempts to make an entrance only landed a few nameless roles in shows such as “Condition Red” and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.” So when the opportunity arose to demonstrate her comedic chops and screen presence, Ana rose to the occasion. While the role on “Kristin” was short-lived because the series lasted only 11 episodes, Ana was off and running, and quickly moved on to a series of guest appearances on shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Greetings from Tucson,” “NYPD Blue” “Strong Medicine,” “ER,” “A.U.S.A.,” “North Shore,” “Blind Justice,” and “Freddie.” Along the way she also took the time to appear in the films “Mr. St. Nick” with Kelsey Grammer and “Carolina” with Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine.
Finally after four years of persistence, Ana’s unique ability to bring a light comedic touch to dramatic roles landed her a seven episode arc on the Iraq war drama “Over There” alongside Sprague Grayden (known for her roles in cult favorites “John Doe” and “Jericho”) and Luke MacFarlane (who now plays Scotty on “Brothers & Sisters”). Once her story arc concluded, Ana quickly snagged a plum guest appearance role as a tenacious ADA on the David E. Kelley legal drama, “Boston Legal.”
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/03/03/spotlight-on-ana-ortiz/
ABC, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestree, Jason Winer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen, Modern Family, Paley Center, Paley Festival, Sofia Vergara, Steven Levitan, Ty Burrell
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on March 2, 2010 at 11:13 pm
As one would expect attending an evening with one of the most ridiculously talented bunch of comedians currently on television, the Paley Festival presentation in honor of “Modern Family” was filled with laughter. Riding high off of their recent wins for Best Episodic Comedy and Best New Series from the Writer’s Guild and for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series from the Director’s Guild, as well as nominations for Outstanding Performance by Ensemble in a Comedy Series by the Screen Actors Guild, Best Television Series – Comedy by the Golden Globes, and Best Comedy by the Writer’s Guild, “Modern Family” has lived up to its reputation as the best new show on television. Critically lauded as the “must watch” show of the fall season, “Modern Family” has consistently won its time-slot with viewers and only continues to garner more and more attention, not to mention rave reviews.
Chosen by the Paley Center to helm its annual two week Paley Festival, “Modern Family” lived up to the high expectations and brought the house down with laughter and raised it again with the jubilant spirits of the cast, creators and writers who beamed across the stage.
Watching a clip from the pilot episode of “Married . . . With Children,” the show credited with launching a yet unknown comedy actor at that time, Ed O’Neill, it was startling to see how young he looked. But it was also clear where he had perfected his comedic skills in his career. So with that blast from the past setting up the evening and after quick introductions by co-creator Steven Levitan, those of us in attendance were lucky enough to see a yet unaired episode of “Modern Family” entitled, “Fears.” Without spoiling too much, suffice it to say that the fears addressed included: buried treasure, roller coasters and a driving test. Trust me when I say, this will all make sense once you have seen the show! As a fan of show, this was a wonderful treat. It was also perhaps the best episode to date and the entire auditorium was soon holding their sides with laughter.
Once the episode ended and the laughter died down, introductions were made and the cast was brought out. Moderating the Q&A portion of the event was Billy Bush from “Access Hollywood.” Understanding that we were all anxious to see the real stars of the show, he quickly introduced Steven Levitan, Jason Winer, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet. It should be noted that, besides being one of the co-creators of the show, Steven Levitan also wrote the episode “Fears,” and Jason Winer is one of the series’ directors. Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet make up the adult cast members on the show, but, sadly, the younger cast could not attend and were sorely missed.
To start the moderated Q&A portion of the evening, Billy threw out a softball question by asking the cast if any of them do not like seeing themselves on screen. To get things rolling, Ty Burrell volunteered, “I don’t ever like to see my Franken-brow.” His candor and willingness to poke fun at himself earned a round of laughter and chuckles and, with the ice broken, it became an evening where they tried to one up one another and played to the audience for laughs.
In response to the comment that “Modern Family” has been called the savior of sitcom, Steven Levitan merely grinned and modestly said that, while a high compliment, he simply had no idea when he was creating the show that it was going to be as big a hit as it is. He added that, while there was simply no way to gauge what is going to be the next big hit, he is extremely honored by the warm reception and hopes they can live up to the bar now set for themselves. As he said, “This is so far one of those rare cases where it just felt right as soon as we started bringing these people together. It just felt good pretty immediately. And you can’t predict this. It’s impossible. . . .We’re just happy to be happy – we’re so thrilled – we’re so happy to be even in the game that we’re just embracing every minute of it.”
When asked about the genesis of the series, Steven shared that, after their prior television series had been cancelled, “Modern Family” was born out of a sit-down meeting he had with co-creator Christopher Lloyd. They had been sitting around brainstorming ideas for a television show when they discovered that all they wanted to talk about were the funny things going on in their lives –and it was those funny stories that laid the foundation for “Modern Family.” Steven summed it up with, “I think when you start from a place like that, which is real and honest, good things tend to happen.” And because of all the astounding success, Steven admitted that he just keeps pinching himself and now he’s black and blue all over. “We walk around hugging each other, then we’re terrified we can’t keep it up.” But looking at how successful the show has been already that is not really a fear they need to worry about.
Turning to casting, each cast member shared a bit about how they came to be involved with the show. Ed O’Neill shared that initially he had no intention of ever doing another half-hour comedy after the monumental success and long run of “Married . . . With Children,” but after seeing the script for “Modern Family,” he immediately thought, “Oh my God, I’ve gotta go back to work.” Plus, he tossed out with aplomb that there was the added bonus of being cast to play the husband of Sofia Vergara. He also shared that, “Then when I started to work with these guys, I thought ‘my god, where did these find these people – I mean it was just joy – it is, I have to pinch myself.”
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/03/03/an-evening-with-%e2%80%9cmodern-family%e2%80%9d-at-the-paley-festival/
Academy Awards, Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Movies, Oscars, The Hurt Locker, Truman National Security Project
In TV Watchtower on February 26, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Kathryn Bigelow is perhaps best known for her theatrical film work, but she has also dabbled from time to time on the small screen of television. Continuing with her quest to work on projects that make a difference and have something to say, Kathryn directed several episodes of the ground-breaking television series “Homicide: Life on the Street” (multiple Peabody Award winner and Television Critics Association honoree). So in honor of a film director who brought her unique talents and perspective to television before it became a trendy thing to do, I chose to share a bit about Kathryn’s latest passion project – the film and Best Picture Oscar nominee, “The Hurt Locker.”
On February 24, 2010, the Truman National Security Project hosted a special presentation and screening with a select panel of guests to discuss the significance and impact of the film “The Hurt Locker.” Attending the panel were: Kathryn Bigelow; Mark Boal, screenwriter of “The Hurt Locker”; Christine Pelosi, member of the Democratic National Committee; Paul Clark, retired Air Force officer and former White House representative; Drew Sloan, member of the Truman National Security Project and retired U.S. Army Captain who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan; Jim O’Neil, Executive Director of the EOD memorial and former demolitions technician; and Frank McAdams, also a war veteran and current USC faculty member.
With such an extensive panel of vastly different perspectives and experience, it was intriguing to find out, not only about the genesis of the film, but also how it sheds light on the lives of the individuals that the film so vividly and humanely portrays.
When asked how the “Hurt Locker” story was initially conceived, Kathryn Bigelow credited the story as originating with Mark Boal, a writer who had been a journalist embedded with an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) unit in Iraq during the winter of 2004. As the audience looked in askance at him, Mark Boal humorously quipped, “Everyone has their own version of how they broke into Hollywood, I had to go to a f***ing war zone!”
After the laughter died down, and on a more serious note, Mark explained that while he was embedded in Iraq with an EOD unit, that a typical 3-men bomb squad had an average of 10-15 IED (improvised explosive device) calls in a 24 hours period. He said, “Just the sheer number of bombs. . . these were incredibly gutsy guys, highly trained, into their jobs, wanting to do the very best they could – yet there are just so many bombs. The war had boiled down to running around the city trying to find all the IEDs. I hadn’t quite realized until I got there that this was the subject of the war: it was a war of bombs and this war did not have a frontline tactically. So these bombs increasingly became with methodology of terror and bomb disarmament became the key tactical response. I was really struck just by how totally overwhelming it was.” And because the Iraq war has become the “war of bombs,” demolition squads were thrust to the forefront of this particular war.
When asked about the significance of wanting to illuminate the “human cost” of the war, Kathryn said, “I thought it was interesting. The fact that these men arguably have the most dangerous job in the world — and it is an extremely challenged situation. From my perspective as a film maker and looking at this particular conflict in terms of the human cost — that was very, very moving to me.” Because it is the most dangerous job in the world, it is in one word: hellish. Kathryn further shared that she just wanted to try to capture the chaos and tragedy of the conflict, as well as promote and engage in a meaningful debate regarding this unpopular war.
Looking at how “The Hurt Locker” depicted this new battlefield technique and how it matched up with the reality of demolition work in Iraq, retired Air Force officer Paul Clark stated that because IEDs are so readily available that this has become the signature weapon of the war. There are literally hundreds of unexploded artillery that has been simply left in Iraq. Because of its ready availability, the abandoned weaponry is harvested for terrorist campaigns; thus forcing the U.S. military to develop a counter-insurgency campaign that consists of bomb squads working to prevent deaths. Mr. Clark also explained that, “We came to the conclusion that the military system as a whole had to have that resolution — that we should protect the civilian population. That is the primary goal and that’s what we see now in Iraq — and the same idea is now in Afghanistan where IEDs are showing up.” Thus, because so much undetonated artillery has been left behind, those unexploded bombs have become the key weapons of the war after the war and the U.S. military’s role is focused on counter-insurgency work in order to protect civilian lives.
When asked what it was like in the mind of somebody who has done this type of demolition work, Jim O’Neil shared from his own personal experience that “these guys all have something in common: it’s a commitment to a mission and purpose. It’s a passion for the job and it’s the compassion that is required for a guy or a woman to put on that bomb suit and willingly walk that line towards an uncertain future – and probably a future that is either going to result in death or a very serious injury. To me, that takes a very special person. It is a little bit different than being in the regular military, as the EOD guy knows what is waiting for him, even though he doesn’t know how it’s going to be built, he doesn’t know how many of them there are, and he doesn’t know the exact scenario – so it takes a person who is exceptional. There is no greater love than what is inside a EOD tech because he or she is willing to take that walk and sacrifice theirself to save another person.”
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/03/01/kathryn-bigelow-from-tv-to-oscar-nominated-director/
90210, Tiffani Thiessen, White Collar
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on February 24, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Celebrating a long, successful television career spanning two decades, Tiffani Amber Thiessen first arrived on the television landscape after landing a major television role that would keep her steadily employed for 5 years playing the vivacious Kelly on the teen series Saved by the Bell. During that same period she also made guest appearances on family sitcoms: Charles in Charge, Married With Children, Valerie, Step by Step, and Blossom. As she advanced into her teenage years, she also made appearances in more dramatic made-for-television films such as A Killer Among Friends, The Stranger Beside Me, She Fought Alone, Sweet Dreams and Buried Secrets. But perhaps wishing to meld her innate talent for comedy with more light-weight dramatic television, she went directly from Saved by the Bell to starring in the hot teenage phenomenon, Beverly Hills, 90210. So for the better part of a decade, Tiffani was best known as either the lively Kelly from Saved by the Bell or as conniving Valerie on 90210.
Then, in 2000, when 90210 finally wrapped its final season, Tiffani continued to work steadily appearing in an eight episode arc on Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place appearing opposite Ryan Reynolds, Traylor Howard and a little known actor at the time, Nathan Fillion (who now stars in the ABC series Castle). She also appeared in three episodes of the comedy series Just Shoot Me which starred Laura San Giacomo and Enrico Colantoni. Then she took a quick detour to dabble in the Woody Allen theatrical film Hollywood Ending which starred Tea Leoni, Debra Messing and Treat Williams.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/02/23/spotlight-on-tiffani-thiessen/
Alessandra Torresani, Battelstar Galactica, Blade Runner, BSG, Caprica, Cylon, Dollhouse, Echo, Eliza Dushku, Moon, Soul, Syfy, Zoe Graystone
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on February 23, 2010 at 1:40 am
With all the avant-garde trends in sci-fi television and movies to allow for cloning and downloading, it poses a mind-bending question: what about a person’s soul? Perhaps no two television series have addressed so thoroughly this impossible question than the sci-fi dramas “Dollhouse” and “Caprica.” Both are dependent upon the idea that a person’s persona or personality can be saved onto a computer chip and downloaded into another being – whether it be human or robotic.
But as we watched the collision of personal identities between Echo (the imprintable doll) and Caroline (the person) in “Dollhouse,” how can we say which was more entitled to the physical body than the other. As interesting as it is to believe that Echo was more entitled because she was the evolved consciousness, what about Caroline’s soul? Does the soul evolve too? Or is that soul now cut-off from the body it was attached to because a new identity (person) has taken residence?
While many may argue that discussion of what happens to a person’s soul is entirely too theological or philosophical for mere science fiction shows, I disagree. After all, both “Battlestar Galactica” and its prequel series “Caprica” delve deeply into religious theology and what it means to be human. In “Caprica,” even the avatar version of Zoe understood the importance of the fact that she was a trifecta of existence: the persona of Zoe, her avatar version and her robotic body. Just like in the Judeo Christian religion which allows for a trichotomic existence, in science fiction, it also allows for the possibility of a 3-tiered existence melding three unique spiritual and physical forms: the emotional (the soul), the physical (the body) and the mental (the downloadable persona aka memories). The soul being perhaps the most essential part – it is what makes a person unique – it is what makes them who they are. But, as we have seen, a physical body can be cloned or replicated and memories can be stored and transferred like data on a computer hard-drive — at least in science fiction. That only leaves the soul as unique and un-copyable.
In the age-old debate of nature versus nurture (whether a person is formed by who they are at birth versus shaped by their environment), we have seen illustrated in films like “Groundhog Day” how a person can be molded into almost another human being entirely simply by repeating the same experiences over and over again and learning from those repetitions; we have also seen how in “Dollhouse,” a person can be shaped by their experiences due to residual imprints of other identities surfacing and becoming part of the stem identity; then in the classic sci-fi film “Blade Runner” and the more contemporary film “Moon,” it was explored whether a clone can even be a person with its own self-identity.
It is fascinating to explore whether and how a person’s identity can be imprinted, shifted, altered and manipulated. Can a person’s “persona” actually change or be replaced? Then what happens to the soul? Is the soul then imprisoned by the shifting “persona” which it inhabits or does it become detached – set free, if you will – because an alien host has taken up residence?
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7155
Caprica, Kyle XY, Magda Apanowicz, Syfy
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on February 19, 2010 at 10:30 pm
From an early age, Magda Apanowicz knew she wanted to be an actress and, once that decision was made, she made a rapid ascent and took the television world by storm. As a teenager, she first appeared in an episode of the post-apocalyptic series “Jeremiah” along side Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. She then did a series of other brief appearances in the sci-fi series “John Doe,” which starred Dominic Purcell and Sprague Grayden and the films, “Sweet Lullaby,” “Riverburn,” and “The Butterfly Effect,” which starred Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart and Eric Stoltz (her future co-star in the television series “Caprica”).
She then appeared in a three episode arc in the television series “Cold Squad,” which starred Tahmoh Penikett and Julie Stewart. With astonishing ease, Magda continued to secure work and worked next on the series “The L Word,” which starred Jennifer Beals and Mia Kirshner and “Bionic Woman,” which starred Michelle Ryan and Katee Sackoff, while simultaneously working on the films “Holiday Wishes,” along side Amber Benson and “Devil’s Diary,” with Brian Krause.
Then, in 2006, Magda landed her first regular television series playing the role of Alex Young in “Renegadepress.com.” The show focused on the trials and tribulations of teenagers today and starred Ksenia Solo (who currently plays Natasha on the CW series “Life Unexpected”).
Moving on quickly, Magda immediately scored a plum role on the teenage sci-fi series “Kyle XY,” which starred Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, and Bruce Thomas. Playing the quirky, but lovable Andy, Magda’s performance as a teenager living with cancer was touching and insightful. She showed with ease the duality of a young girl wanting to live her life carefree and to the fullest, yet burdened by a debilitating disease. Perhaps it was her graceful and gracious portrayal with a hint of mischievous and playfulness that captured the eye of the casting directors for “Caprica.”
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/02/19/spotlight-on-magda-apanowicz/
Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Firefly, FlashForward, Heroes, Lost, Sci-Fi, Television, V
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on February 18, 2010 at 2:20 am
Why some shows are allowed a dignified death and others are killed-off without warning
While shows like “Dollhouse,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Stargate SG-1,” and “Stargate: Atlantis” and even “Lost” are given the opportunity to conclude their series with some semblance of a storyline wrap-up, more frequently networks just unceremoniously yank sci-fi shows off the air without the dignity of a proper send-off or good-bye – “Firefly” being perhaps one of the more glaring examples.
With Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” airing its final episode last month, this is a perfect time to analyze how sci-fi shows are treated by the networks when their time has come. Fortunately, with “Dollhouse,” Joss was given advance notice that Fox was not going to be picking-up the back 9 episodes of the 2nd season and it allowed Joss the opportunity to wrap up the series – unlike when Fox abruptly cancelled “Firefly” a mere 8 years before, which ended with Fox airing “Firefly’s” 2 hour pilot as its swan song; a maneuver that still has fans scratching their heads in bewilderment. I mean who airs the 2 hour pilot after a show has been cancelled? It’s like rubbing it in the fans’ faces that a terrific show was forever gone.
But even with the chance to tack on an ending to the series, “Dollhouse” felt like it was rushing to its conclusion and the 1 hour finale left a disjointed feeling for many who felt like it was trying to tie up the show with a bow on top. Unfortunately, the show’s mythology and various character back-stories were never explored properly in the haste to conclude the show. But like several other shows prematurely killed-off before their time (e.g., “Pushing Dairies” or “Eli Stone”), there is only so much a creator/writer can do to tie it all together, working within the time-constraints and miniscule budget allowed to conclude a series.
“Lost” may be the exception as ABC clearly committed to an end date several seasons before its conclusion and appears to have spared no expense. It is arguable that “Battlestar Galactica” was also allowed the luxury of a decent amount of time to conclude its saga as Syfy also allowed them to select an end date to end the series. But for anyone who watched the 2 hour tie-in “The Plan,” you can plainly see that Syfy was keeping a tight reign on the budget in order to tie-up the extraneous storyline on what the Cylons were really up to – what was their master plan. So “Lost” is an example of a network fully standing behind its creative product and providing it with a properly funded good-bye. “Battlestar Galactica” (the series) too was given just enough time, but it is dubious whether they were granted sufficient funding to really go out in style. (Imagine what “The Plan” would have looked like with ABC’s money behind it.) But “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica” are the exceptions and not the rule.
As noted previously in my prior article: “The Grieving Season Continues: Mourning the Loss of Last Season’s Sci-Fi Shows Cut Down Before Their Time,” the past television season has been particularly blood-thirsty in killing off many sci-fi television shows – a record 16 sci-fi shows have been cancelled. Of those 16, only two had scheduled end-dates (“Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica”) and the remaining 14 were simply terminated without notice. Those shows cruelly decapitated were: “Dollhouse,” “Defying Gravity,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Stargate: Atlantis,” “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Reaper,” “Kings,” “Kyle XY,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Eli Stone,” “Eastwick,” “Life on Mars” (U.S. version), “Merlin” (while it still airs in the U.K., it was not picked-up for a 2nd season in U.S. by NBC, though it was just announced that Syfy has agreed to air its 2nd season), and “Primeval” (it was initially cancelled and then re-picked up by the BBC six months later after further financing was secured).
As the 2009-2010 season is not yet over, it is conceivable that another 6 sci-fi shows will also suffer a similar fate in the next few months: “Heroes” which may not be picked up for its 5th season after a lack-luster year of ratings; “V” and/or “FlashForward” which may not have the ratings power to convince ABC to grant them 2nd seasons; “Demons” which also did not garner the critical acclaim and ratings that the BBC was hoping for and ended after just one season, “Saving Grace” which TNT has already announced will be ending after this next season; and possibly the British version of “Torchwood,” which the BBC has been reluctant to pick up for a 4th season and Russell T. Davies has announced that he plans to make an American version of the series (furthermore, with its lead John Barrowman currently moonlighting on “Desperate Housewives,” the show’s fate is certainly dubious and uncertain).
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7143
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Matthew Davis, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on February 12, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Damon got a nasty Valentine’s Day surprise and a good witch’s spell had a deadly side-effect
This was the moment everyone was waiting for: the crypt was opened. While it was not as horrific as anticipated, it did yield a few surprises and some dastardly consequences. The biggest surprise was that Katherine (Nina Dobrev) was not inside. The bad result was that casting the spell to open it and keep it open drained the life-force right out of Grams (Jasmine Guy) – and it left the door open for one of the entombed vampires to escape. And surely if one can get out, they all ultimately will.
Curse Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and his foresight to bring a pack of blood for Katherine so she would not feel the need to feed on any of the helpful humans nearby. It was both sweet of him and stupid. Sweet because he only thought of his beloved and how she would be hungry. Stupid because, when he did not find her in the crypt, he threw it against the wall in a fit of anger only to be found by a blood-starved vampire. Thus, it is Damon who unwittingly perhaps unleashed an angry hornet’s nest of ravished vampires who will not think twice about eating everyone they come into contact with; for scruples are sure to be low on their priority list after 100 years entombed without sustenance.
So with Grams’ sacrificial death and the crypt now open, it feels like a big first season finale may be brewing.
What Worked
Damon’s encounter with Bonnie’s grandmother tickled the funny bone, particularly when he told her, “Step outside and say that” and she did! Her fierce declaration, “I am not Bonnie — you don’t want to mess with ME,” was awesome to behold as she unleashed some of her power on Damon who promptly fell backwards in agonizing pain.
Bonnie (Katerina Graham) was the girl of the hour as everyone seemed to want her – Stefan (Paul Wesley), Damon, Anna (Malese Jow), Ben (Sean Faris) and even Elena (Nina Dobrev). But each had their own personal reasons for wanting to find her. Stefan wanted to find her so that he could find Elena. Damon, Anna and Ben all wanted her to open the crypt. And Elena and Grams just wanted Bonnie safely back. But all this “where’s Bonnie?” felt more like a treasure hunt. It left me wondering: are they all just tools to each other – a means to an end? Or do they actually see each other for who they are? Do they actually have self-identity and free will? Food for thought.
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http://rabiddoll.com/node/1103
ABC, Modern Family, Sofia Vergara
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on February 10, 2010 at 10:49 pm
For anyone who has been watching the new ABC comedy sensation Modern Family, the name Sofía Vergara is already well known to you. Sofía plays the luminous Gloria Delgardo-Pritchett.
However, before crossing over to American television, in the 1990’s, Sofía was a reality television star in the Columbian travel series Fuera de Serie. Then, after a successful 4 year stint traveling all around the world to the most exotic locales, she appeared briefly hosting a reality series A que no te atreves. But as her fun-loving personality and stunning looks had begun to garner lots of attention, Sofía was quickly offered a number of film roles.
Beginning in 2002, she worked on the film Big Trouble co-starring Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Stanley Tucci, which was followed by her ground-breaking role in the film Chasing Papi. Chasing Papi was produced by Forest Whitaker with brief appearances by D.L. Hughley and Ian Gomez (a Felicity alum who now works on Cougar Town). With her career moving rapidly ahead, Sofía then filmed in quick succession the films: The 24th Day which co-starred James Marsden and Scott Speedman (another Felicity alum); Soul Plane co-starring Tom Arnold, Method Man and D.L. Hughley; Lords of Dogtown with Heath Ledger; and Four Brothers with Mark Wahlberg.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/02/10/spotlight-on-sofia-vergara/
NBC, Heroes, Jack Coleman, Greg Grunberg, James Kyson Lee, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Cristine Rose, Milo Ventimiglia, Robert Knepper, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Deanne Bray, Dawn Olivieri, Kate Vernon, Elizabeth Rohm, Zachary Quinto
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on February 9, 2010 at 8:58 pm
In what was to be a showdown between a super-hero and a super-villain, many heroes were left standing on the sidelines
With the fate of the series hanging in the balance, this episode was pivotal. It was time to pull out all the stops. It was time for a “shock and awe” campaign. It should have been a tension-filled roller-coaster ride to the final battle between Sylar and Samuel. So imagine my surprise, when the episode took its time to blissfully allow for a fake-out tearful good-bye scene between Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman) and Claire (Hayden Panettiere); for Parkman (Greg Grunberg) to debate with Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto) whether or not the five years of incarceration in Sylar’s mind had truly made him rehabilitated; and for Hiro (Masi Oka) to find Charlie (Jayma Mays) and reminisce about the good ole days and whether they could still have a future. This just did not feel like the right time and place to explore those stories. Instead, this was the time to rally the troops and take down Samuel (Robert Knepper). Samuel received his comeuppance, but it was not as expected. It was much tamer and less satisfying.
Was it truly Peter’s destiny to tackle Samuel while Hiro took all those with abilities to a safe distance away? Was Sylar even needed to help Emma (Deanne Bray) when all she had to do was flick her fingers and it sent Doyle (David H. Lawrence) flying? With Samuel seconds away from mass destruction and the death of thousands, would not his loyal family at the carnival rallied on their own and stopped him? After all, they each had some pretty amazing abilities as well. Surely, Eli the Replicator (Todd Stashwick) and Edgar the knife-wielding speedster (Ray Park) would have intervened, or even the two-faced puppet-master Doyle would surely not have allowed Samuel to continue to destroy and kill at whim. Thus, were Sylar, Peter, Noah, Claire and Hiro even needed at all?
There was a lot of creative interweaving of storylines used to try to justify why they all were needed. But, in the end, it was really about one thing: once everyone saw who Samuel truly was, they would have left him alone anyway. His grand plan was nothing more than a demonstration of his demented desire to demonstrate his superior god-like ability to destroy the world and those who lived within in it. It was evil and insane. But his Achilles heel was that he needed others with abilities for his power to work. It simply made no sense that he would endeavor to kill everyone when he needed them so desperately.
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7125
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Matthew Davis, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on February 5, 2010 at 11:28 pm
While searching for the witch’s cookbook, the cooking gets a bit spicy
A few big questions were raised in this week’s episode, such as: Can there be such a thing as a good vampire? And are all vampires cursed with eternal loneliness?
Looking back through time again to when Katherine (Nina Dobrev) ruled the Salvatore brothers’ hearts and walked with apparent impunity throughout the world, we saw that not much has changed in Mystic Falls. The town is still riddled with vampires living amongst them, the Salvatore brothers are trying to get exactly what they want regardless of the consequences, and everyone is desperate not to be alone.
While Stefan (Paul Wesley) debated with his father, Giuseppe Salvatore (James Remar), and with himself whether or not a vampire can be good or if all vampires are merely soulless demons, we witnessed the lengths that Damon (Ian Somerhalder) was willing to go to so that he would not be alone. Damon was willing to give up his own humanity and soul to be with Katherine for eternity. It is still debatable whether or not Stefan was so willing initially, or whether he was indeed deceived by Katherine and turned against his will. But, as Damon found out, being a vampire is not a guarantee against eternal loneliness – for he has been separated from the love of his life who has been encased in a magically-sealed crypt.
Loneliness and trust were the prevalent themes – and there were no easy answers to be found. For in the end, Damon discovered once again that he cannot trust anyone and he is just as alone as he was before. Stefan and Elena (Nina Dobrev) are in a slightly better position having each other, but who is to say that there is still not some hidden agenda that Stefan has that has not yet been revealed.
Also, what is really tickling the brain is the question: why has it taken over 100 years for Damon and Anna (Malese Jow) to return to Mystic Falls to attempt opening the crypt? Surely, they could have come back sooner and manipulated everyone into handing over the crystal, the journals and ultimately found the grimoire. Why the 100 year wait? Did some kind of stars have to align first? Surely, there was not something to be afraid of that kept them away. If there was something that was guarding Mystic Falls, what was it and why is it now gone?
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http://rabiddoll.com/node/1093
Friday Night Lights, Alicia Witt, FNL
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on February 4, 2010 at 6:55 pm
At the tender age of 8, Alicia Witt became a world-renown film actress after David Lynch cast her to co-star in the sci-fi film Dune along side Kyle McLaughlin. She played the iconic role of Alia, the younger sister of Paul Atreides. With such an auspicious start to her career, it helped launch her into an exclusive arena of acting professionals. Fortunately, she took a break to focus on school and did not return to regular acting work until she was 14, when David Lynch gave her a small role in the cult TV series Twin Peaks (also starring Kyle McLaughlin). In Twin Peaks she played Gersten Hayward, the piano-playing child extraordinaire. This brief appearance was a great way to showcase Alicia’s own piano prowess and afterward she played professionally at the famed Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a period.
During the next 5 years, Alicia appeared in numerous films, fine-tuning her acting skills in such projects as Bodies, Rest & Motion with Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda, Fun with Leslie Hope, Four Rooms playing Madonna’s daughter, Mr. Holland’s Opus with Richard Dreyfuss, and Citizen Ruth with Laura Dern and Swoosie Kurtz. Never one to shy away from controversial roles or an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of character portrayals, Alicia played an array of challenging roles. Then, in a complete change of pace, Alicia took on a major role in the television series Cybill playing Cybill Shepherd’s daughter, Zoey. It was a light-weight, fun comedy series that ran for four seasons, reintroducing Alicia to mainstream American audiences.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/02/03/spotlight-on-alicia-witt/
Avatar, District 9, Duncan Jones, Film, Moon, Oscars
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on February 3, 2010 at 1:54 am
Why the indie film “Moon” is perhaps the best sci-fi film of 2009 that no one has heard of and puts several bigger sci-fi films to shame
In a year with so many other bigger and splashier sci-fi films overshadowing it, the film “Moon” deserves to be remembered and celebrated for its clever ingenuity. Preying upon every sci-fi buffs fear that this was going to be a remake of the sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,” it surprised us all with several delightful twists and turned out to be one of the most sophisticated sci-fi films ever seen.
So what happened with “Moon”? Why did it launch in a year chalked full of superb sci-fi films and yet barely registered on the radar, while films like “Avatar,” “District 9” and even “Terminator Salvation” all went on to make obscene amounts of money at the box office?
Using the 9-prong argument utilized in my recent article analyzing why I thought “District 9” deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture more than “Avatar,” the following is an analysis of what differentiated “Moon” from its peers.
Profits
Whereas “Avatar” earned in excess of $1.9 billion and “District 9” earned over $204 million, “Moon” grossed only $7 million world-wide. It is hard to fathom exactly why “Moon” did not tickle the fancy bone of the movie-goers. But it can be attributed to several possibilities, such as: too much competition, lack of marketing, no identifiable big names attached to it, no source of visible conflict to drive the story, or even just a lack of interest as there was no “hook” to draw the audience in. Unlike “District 9” or “Avatar” which had visible aliens in all their marketing materials, “Moon” had nothing for the audience to latch onto. It felt a bit too ambiguous to see a poster of a man in a space-suit standing on a white round spiral. Perhaps there was confusion as to whether the film was a fictionalized account of a true story. Nothing alienates (pun intended) an audience faster than the notion that a film may be a documentary — or just as off-putting can be a film based on a true story. Additionally, the tagline was not illuminating or helpful, “950,000 Miles from Home, the Hardest Thing to Face is Yourself.” While absolutely accurate, this bleak description gave the impression of a story about a solitary existence in a remote locale. No one could quite figure out what this film was about and thus stayed away.
Realism
In an area in which it excelled, “Moon” felt very real. It looked and appeared like it was entirely possible that there was a man actually living on the moon. This concept is not entirely impossible for we certainly have put astronauts on the moon and we have been looking for years to find a way to exploit any resources the moon may offer. It was helpful that writers Duncan Jones and Nathan Parker came up with something that the people of Earth needed so much that we had a reason to put a man on the moon for an extended period of time. Using much of the technology currently available today with only modest enhancements, the film felt like a realistic version of what a space station on the moon would look like, as well as populating it with advanced computer assistance that would be needed if we were to exploit the moon’s resources. Thus, the film was immediately relatable and believable. So, in realism, “Moon” simply excelled. It took our visions of the future and made it feel real enough — like it was happening today.
Scope of Story
As far as scope goes, “Moon” cannot quite compete with either “District 9” or “Avatar” because “Avatar” created a whole new world to utilize as the backdrop for its sweeping story and “District 9” used the city of Johannesburg as its canvas for its film. But “Moon,” well, its story was isolated to space station on the moon and its few outlying buildings. It felt nearly myopic in how narrow a scope “Moon” chose to embody. But perhaps its strength lies in staying so tightly-focused and not choosing to distract the viewer with a wide array of locales.
Name Recognition
Without the big names of James Cameron and Peter Jackson splashed across billboards and posters, “Moon” was content to advertise itself on its own merits. Unfortunately, it was then just as easy to ignore. Sam Rockwell is not an immediately recognizable actor. But then, neither was Sharlto Copley in “District 9.” However, in “District 9’s” case, there is no denying that adding the words “Peter Jackson Presents” on its marketing posters was a huge enticement for sci-fi fans everywhere. Even though no one knew exactly what “District 9” was about, everyone assumed that if Peter Jackson was producing, it must be a film to go see. “Moon,” on the other hand languished in its anonymity.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7102
NBC, Heroes, Jack Coleman, Greg Grunberg, James Kyson Lee, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Cristine Rose, Milo Ventimiglia, Robert Knepper, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Deanne Bray, Elizabeth Rohm, Zachary Quinto
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on February 2, 2010 at 10:09 pm
A watchmaker, a paramedic, a cheerleader, a cop, an office worker and a man who holds a grudge – these are the heroes we are relying on to save the world from an egomaniacal terra-shifter?
In what should have been a revealing and tension-filled penultimate episode to an epic 4th season finale, instead the episode meandered down tangential storylines. However, there is simply no time left for long, drawn-out back story revelations like they attempted to do in order to shed light on Noah’s (Jack Coleman) past and his recruitment by the Company. It felt out of place and rushed to take the time to tell this particular story now. Rather, this was the time for the heroes to gather and formulate a strategic plan on how to confront and take-down Samuel (Robert Knepper). At this late juncture, there is no cohesiveness on what our heroes are up to because they are too scattered and too invested in their personal stakes to be relied upon. But perhaps they can pull it together in next week’s finale episode — though it is dubious that this season’s finale will be the ending we were all hoping for. After all, how will our heroes survive to fight Samuel together in the Season 4 finale when they are strewn to the four winds and all in mortal peril?
What Worked
While it was also a detour that the series did not have time for so that it could be explored properly, it was interesting to watch how Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) reacted when confined together within Sylar’s mind for a long period of time. For Sylar imprisoned in his mind for three years without any human contact reverted to being a genteel watchmaker, perhaps wanting to atone for his sins. But after the sudden appearance of Peter in the midst of his solitary confinement, Sylar did not rush to welcome him. Instead, Sylar taunted Peter as if Peter were but a figment of his imagination. Truly, is this how Sylar would have greeted Peter when Peter appeared suddenly amidst his eternal loneliness? While Sylar may have appeared benign, Sylar was still a monster imprisoned in the solitary confinement of his own mind. So when Peter approached him about returning to the real world in order to save Emma, Sylar merely said with sad self-awareness, “You’ve got the wrong guy. I’m not the savior kind.” When Peter accused him of not wanting to get out, Sylar further protested, “Maybe I deserve all this aloneness – this nothing – maybe I earned it.” It was only once Sylar desired to be truly free that the wall appeared. The wall represented the obstacle they must overcome to attain their freedom. After all, they were in a voluntary prison. For it was not until they both wanted their solitary confinement to end that they were finally able to break through the wall. What was even more intriguing was when they got out, Sylar thoughtfully noted, “I felt like we were in there for years. Does it make it any less real?” Maybe Sylar needed to be isolated for a period of years in order to sort out within himself the conflicting feelings of murderous lust for abilities and his desire to not live alone for the rest of eternity. And maybe Peter needed time to heal and to forgive Sylar so that they could work together to fight Samuel. After all, they will likely need each other and will need to trust each other in the final showdown.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7100
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Matt Davis, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on January 29, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Never assume that anything is exactly what it seems when everyone is wearing a mask
The Decade Dance turned out to be more of a masquerade with so many people hiding their true intent behind a mask of illusion. We had Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) pretending to be Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) escorts to the dance, when in fact they were bodyguards in hunt of the vampire stalking Elena. There was Noah (Dillon Casey), Anna (Malese Jow) and Ben (Sean Faris) all pretending to be average teenagers, hiding their true identities and intentions. And there was Alaric (Matt Davis) pretending to just be a history teacher, when he too had many secrets to keep. Perhaps only Bonnie (Katerina Graham), Matt (Zach Roerig), Caroline (Candace Accola) and Jenna (Sara Canning) were the only ones really not hiding what they were up to. They were all just looking for love. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) was also just a bit clueless, but he too seemed sincere in his actions. Is nothing what it seems in Mystic Falls?
So in another blast from the past, we saw our fearless crew embark on another adventure. With so many hidden agendas, it is a wonder that anything was accomplished at all. But, astoundingly, they did unmask the vampire stalking Elena and a few more villains revealed themselves as well. Apparently everyone really wants to open that blasted crypt. Don’t they know that they should be careful what they wish for? For surely unleashing 26 hungry and vengeful vampires is a risky venture and will lead to all kinds of unfathomable complications.
What Worked
There were a lot of “Scream” nostalgic moments in this episode, including when Noah stalked Elena in her own home while she was on her cellphone and later as he chased her through the school hallways. When Elena asked Stefan why this particular vampire was so intent on pursuing her, Stefan tried to explain by stating, “It’s because we’re predators. . . we hunt, we stalk. It’s often as exciting as a kill.” In mock-exasperation Elena asked, “Shouldn’t you guys be able to sense each other or something?” To which Stefan was forced to admit, “No, it doesn’t work that way.” But he did the next best thing and gave her the Gilbert compass so she would always know if there was a vampire around. Gotta love a guy who so willingly shows off his strong protective side: he has not only given her a vervain-filled necklace and the compass, he also made vervain-infused necklaces and bracelets for all of Elena’s friends and family to protect them as well. Chivalry at its finest.
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/1088
Avatar, District 9, Movies, Oscars
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on January 27, 2010 at 2:57 am
Part 1 can be found at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7054
To supplement and conclude the arguments raised in last week’s TV Watchtower column, the following are additional reasons why “District 9” is a more Oscar-worthy film than the mega-hit “Avatar.” As a recap, the issues previously discussed in last week’s column were (1) costs v. profits, (2) realism v. fantasy, and (3) micro-story v. epic adventure. Continuing along there are six more issues that address why “District 9” deserves the Best Picture Oscar more than “Avatar.”
Portrayal of Physical Disabilities
Another area which is incendiary, but pivotal, is the significant contrast in how people with disabilities are portrayed in each film. In “District 9,” Wikus found himself turning into a prawn, which was a horrific disability for him. It made him an outcast, potential medical experiment for his own kind, and an oddity amongst the prawns. He was unwelcome everywhere he turned. There is no place for a half-human, half-prawn. He was even more discriminated against than the prawns, as they are at least minimally tolerated. In “Avatar,” while Jake saw himself as less than a man without the use of his legs and being confined to a wheelchair, he was accepted as a valued member of the Marines and the science unit in order to complete the avatar mission. He was treated with equality and welcomed as a useful member. He was not simply tossed aside or hunted down because of his disabilities.
While both Jake and Wikus rejected their disabled status and sought to be free from it, in the end, Wikus accepted his disability and learned to live with it. Jake, in turn, fled his own human body to escape his disability. This sent a distinctly different and prejudicial message about those suffering from physical disabilities. “District 9” showed the horror, denial and then eventual acceptance of Wikus adapting to his new disabled state. Despite not being happy to be converted into one of the prawns, Wikus made the best of his changed-state and modified his life to fit in and adapt – even thought he clearly wanted to be human again, for he still loved his wife. But in the end, he did not reject his own kind in order to fit in with the prawns.
But “Avatar” showed only Jake’s disgust and revulsion for his disabled status. He did not accept his human limitations in the end, and hastily forsook being human to escape his disability and embrace a new life as one of the Na’vi. Thus, “District 9” portrayed a better depiction of living with, not escaping from a disability.
Big Name Stars v. No Name Actors
Striving to keep it real in “District 9,” Neill Blomkamp used virtually unknown actors. It was risky to cast an actor who had only one other small film role before entrusting him to carry a major feature film project. Yet it was a gamble that paid off in a big way. Having an unknown face playing Wikus made it easier to believe that he was a real person stuck in a horrible real-life situation. It kept the viewer linked into the story.
“Avatar” of course took the direct opposite approach and cast several big name and recognizable stars in order to attract an audience. There was Sam Worthington (who had just come off his starring role in “Terminator Salvation”), Sigourney Weaver (a James Cameron favorite from the “Alien” films), Zoe Saldana (made famous for her role as Uhura in “Star Trek”) and Michelle Rodriguez (best known from the television series “Lost”). Every time a new scene started, there was a familiar face for the audience to exclaim at and admire. It did not help keep the audience grounded in the film and the reality that “Avatar” had created; instead, it promptly took the viewer out of that reality.
High Expectations v. No Expectations
Also with “Avatar,” everyone saw it coming. It had been highly publicized since the day it had begun filming. For it was touted to be the next great film from the Oscar Award winning producer James Cameron. It was relying on James Cameron’s hefty reputation to carry it through in order to become a box office success. So, with the James Cameron legacy and promotional machine pushing it in a huge blaze of glory and high expectation, virtually everyone had heard of the film well before its release and it was simply a countdown to the Christmas extravaganza at the box office.
“District 9,” on the other hand, was a film that no one saw coming. Despite coming from Peter Jackson, another Oscar Award winning producer, the name recognition and publicity push just was not there. Instead, the studio elected to focus on a novel grassroots publicity campaign. It screened select scenes before a rabid group of sci-fi fans at Comic-Con one year before its release and let them, along with some strategically and thought-provoking ads, drive the momentum to introduce “District 9” to its audience before its release. Because those mysterious billboard ads and bus bench ads simply read “Humans Only,” no one knew what the film was about. It was simply out of curiosity movie-goers initially checked out the film and word then quickly spread. But even with the tagline “a Peter Jackson film,” it was not a hyped film. It was only because of the grassroots campaign that, once lit, spread like wildfire.
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7078
NBC, Heroes, Jack Coleman, Greg Grunberg, James Kyson Lee, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Cristine Rose, Milo Ventimiglia, Robert Knepper, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Deanne Bray, Dawn Olivieri, Kate Vernon, Elizabeth Rohm, Zachary Quinto
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on January 26, 2010 at 11:14 pm
From the “How-to-be-a-Villain handbook,” if you are caught killing hundreds of people, you had better frame the good guys with a massacre
Last week we watched with trepidation as Vanessa (Kate Vernon) turned down Samuel’s (Robert Knepper) invitation to live in paradise; for as she softly told him, “This is your fantasy. It’s not my life.” Afterwards, Samuel’s anger knew no bounds and we watched helplessly as he cruelly and callously destroyed the beautiful oasis with one twitch of his hands. Because it was so public and visible, I had wondered how he could get away with it. Thus, it was nice to see that the writers addressed this glaring question immediately.
This week, the episode opened with Samuel looking around him and noting with sorrow that many of his “family” had vanished overnight. He sadly noted, “They’re afraid of me.” To which Lydia (Dawn Olivieri) quietly said, “What did you expect after watching you destroy that town?”
Samuel knew that in order to redeem himself in the eyes of his followers, he needed a miracle – something significant to sway public opinion back on his side; and the resulting massacre was shocking to behold. Despite Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) plea that, “If you care about this family, protect them,” Samuel threw back the glove of truce offered. Instead, he had conceived a diabolical plan to frame Noah (Jack Coleman) for the shooting-spree at the carnival which had left Samuel, Claire, and Lauren (Elisabeth Rohm) bleeding from gun shot wounds and Lydia (poor Lydia) lying in a pool of blood. It was only as Samuel kissed her good-bye that Lydia realized in horror what he had done. As she gasped, “You did this?!” Samuel mockingly said, “They needed a villain. Someone worse than me.”
With the villain-within fully revealed, it was with further horror that we saw that Samuel had summoned Emma (Deanne Bray) to help with the wounded. As he ushered her back into the depths of the carnival standing amongst the dead and dying, we felt with growing dread how easily Samuel was going to manipulate Emma, preying on her sympathy and fears, in order to align her with his demented interests. Thus, it was with a chill running down our spine, we heard Samuel ominously say, “It’s time we showed the world what we truly are.”
The gauntlet had been thrown down and Samuel was eager to demonstrate just how lethal his family can be. It remains to be seen if Samuel can rival the revulsion and fear that Sylar (Zachary Quinto) has inspired. It will also be intriguing to find out if Sylar will align with Samuel or be the savior of them all.
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7076
Damages, FX, Rose Byrne
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 25, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Landing her first feature film role at the age of 12, Rose Byrne had the immediate good fortune to be working with the notorious Sandra Bernhard; for surely, working along side such a distinct and strong actress taught her how to make her presence felt. For the next 8 years Rose would then work steadily in a variety of film and television roles learning the craft. She even worked with Heath Ledger during the same year he starred in the indie film “10 Things I Hate About You.” Unlike Heath who began a super streak readily visible to every one, Rose pursued a determined path as she set out to conquer both television and film.
Then, in 2002, Rose scored a minor but significant role in the sci-fi film Star Wars: Episode II playing Dorme, the handmaiden to Natalie Portman’s character, Padme. This role was pivotal in introducing her to Sofia Coppola, who would later cast her in the film Marie Antoinette. But before Sofia Coppola could showcase her remarkable talents, Rose continued her astute journey towards leading film roles working along side Matt Dillon in City of Ghosts, co-starring with Marc Blucas and Bill Nighy in I Capture the Castle, and best of all, scoring the memorable role of Briseis in the epic film Troy, the priestess rescued by Brad Pitt’s character, Achilles, who captured his heart.
Tackling next a darker role, Rose played Alex in the wicked love triangle in the film Wicker Park with Josh Hartnett and Diane Kruger (who she had co-starred in Troy, with Diane playing the infamous Helen of Troy). Rose then moved on to a three episode arc in the British television series Casanova, which starred Peter O’Toole and David Tennant (of Doctor Who fame).
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/01/25/spotlight-on-rose-byrne/
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Matthew Davis, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on January 22, 2010 at 10:32 pm
A walk on the wild side, a road trip down memory lane and an earth-shattering discovery
Starting right back where the show left us two months ago, we witnessed the aftermath of Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) car accident. Just as the shadowy figure began to approach, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) arrived in the nick of time. It was a Heathcliff-ian rescue as he ripped off the door of Elena’s car and took her sweepingly into his arms checking anxiously to see if she was okay. But then Elena softly mumbled, “I look like her,” and lost consciousness. Not sure what to do with her, Damon did the next best thing. He put her gently in his car and took her to Georgia with him.
Yep, Georgia. So what the heck was in Georgia? Apparently, another powerful witch, something Damon needed in order to take another crack at that blasted crypt locked tight for eternity with his beloved trapped inside.
However, Elena was on her own mind-trip as she tried to wrap her head around the idea of Katherine looking so eerily like her. Back at home, Stefan (Paul Wesley) agonized not knowing where Elena was, acutely aware that she did not have her vervain-filled necklace to protect her from Damon. It did not help when he tried to reach her and Damon answered her cellphone. So, in light of the massive revelation and the scary car accident and in spite of her initial misgivings, Elena leapt at Damon’s off-the-cuff offer to “step away from your life for 5 minutes” and joined him on the journey into the past in Georgia.
What was truly revealing and astounding in this episode was the blossoming friendship between Damon and Elena. Her tentative inquiry, “Am I going to be safe with you,” was but a precursor. She knew perfectly well that she was not safe, but the fact that he had not yet killed her or caused her harm led her to make the tentative overture of friendship. This is somewhat revealed by her wistfully asking him, “This is a nice act. Is any of it real?” It was at the end of the episode, when she finally got up the courage to pry into Damon’s soul by asking, “So why did you bring me with you?” and he tellingly replied, “You’re not the worst company in the world,” that the depth of Damon’s loneliness was laid bare. It was a glimpse into the soul of a lonely vampire. Despite Damon’s horrific vampire desires and casual cruelty, he is still a lost soul that does not want to be alone. After all, forever is a long time.
It is Damon and Elena’s friendship that was truly fascinating to behold. It will be an interesting and delightful journey to watch as they embrace that friendship.
What Worked
Everything to do with Alaric (Matthew Davis). Watching him as he said, “I was right about Mystic Falls. There is evil here. I can sense it – feel it – it’s everywhere,” while staring longingly at the photo of his wife helped shed light on his motivation for coming to Mystic Falls. Additionally, seeing the brief glimpses into his past as he recalled the day his wife died was revealing and heart-breaking. Mia Kirshner as his wife, Isobel, was marvelous. Thus, when we later saw her previous life-blood dripping out of her neck as Damon devoured her, was heart-wrenching. But it begged the question: how did Alaric get away alive after walking in on them?
Also nice was seeing Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) embrace his academic-side and in the process turned into a romantic lead more than ever before. Plus, his encounter in the library with newcomer Anna (Malese Jow) was a nice way to help bring him further out of his shell and give him a journey of his own to embark upon. Propelling him on that journey was Alaric’s seemingly benign suggestion that Jeremy research the town’s history, which led to Jeremy’s discovery of his ancestor’s journal. Thus, meeting Anna turned out to be even more than fortune as she too had an ancestor with an all too revealing journal. I do not think I was never prouder and more surprised than when he recited the soliloquy about vampire lore: “Vampires are a metaphor for the demons of the day – the Union soldiers. I’ve read the stories myself. They talk about the enemy – the demons that attack at night. Allegorical vampires which is what it is. Creative expression during a very volatile time. I mean a country at war doesn’t want realism. They want fantasy. Thus, vampire fiction.” He may have been completely wrong, but his analysis was cool.
It was also interesting to see Stefan and Bonnie (Katerina Graham) work together; first, to try to locate Elena using the necklace as a locator-stone; and then later, when Stefan came to Bonnie’s rescue when she fell into the underground crypt. While I did not quite get the necessity of the “face your fear” stuff espoused by Bonnie’s grandmother (Jasmine Guy), it was fun watching her face off against Stefan.
Also well done was the final confrontation between Elena and Stefan when she demanded, “What am I to you? Who am I to you?” and Stefan begrudgingly admitted that he had saved her that fateful day when her parents died and he had been struck by how much she looked like Katherine. His further revelation that she was adopted was even more shocking and well-delivered. Who saw THAT coming?!
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http://rabiddoll.com/node/1079
Cristine Rose, Dawn Olivieri, Deanne Bray, Elizabeth Rohm, Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere, Heroes, Jack Coleman, James Kyson Lee, Kate Vernon, Masi Oka, Milo Ventimiglia, NBC, Robert Knepper, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Zachary Quinto
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on January 19, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Since when did super-villain Sylar turn out to be the fairy-godmother of the story? The time continuum must be cracked with this trip down the rabbit hole
With promos showing the infamous kiss between Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) teasing us of a possible romantic hook-up, it was with relief that the episode revealed to be a bit more benign in reality. Sylar this entire season has been the biggest wild-card. A notorious villain who has been traditionally out for himself, his incarceration in Matt Parkman’s (Greg Grunberg) head has seemed to have left a residual imprint on his personality. For once reunited with his body, his ability to kill seemed handicapped. He still has the desire to kill, but he could not actually go through with it. So after being shown the ink-vision of Claire after replicating Lydia’s (Dawn Olivieri) ability, Sylar set off to find out why the ink-vision had shown Claire as his true desire.
When we saw him sit down next to Gretchen (Madeline Zima) in the cafeteria, our worst fears leapt into our minds. The mere “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” was enough to send shivers of dread down our spines. Thus, with those few ominous words ringing in our ears, the scene was set for us to believe that the worst had happened: Sylar had kidnapped Gretchen in order to coerce Claire to do his bidding.
Sylar had laid his trap well as he invited Claire to participate in his “study group” entitled: “Why Claire Bennett?” The resulting discussion and debate was hilarious and surprisingly insightful. When Claire angrily asked, “What the hell are you doing here?” Sylar calmly replied, “I came to learn . . . I’m a little off my game and you’re going to help me get it back. . . They told me I need a connection – a friend – I don’t want to be alone and somehow you’re supposed to help me.” This was rather discerning of Sylar who has never been one to engage in soul-searching prior to this point. Clearly, he had really put some thought into the issue at hand by illustrating that they have a lot in common, such as: they are both adopted, they were then abandoned, they have parents who did not understand them, they have cold-blooded killers for fathers, and they cannot be killed; and these commonalities were formulative in creating them from the same building blocks. Thus, when he wondered, “How did we end up so different?” Claire simply retorted, “You want to know what the difference is? You’re a psychopath.”
Not believing that this was an actual factor and in order to glean further information, Sylar opted to instead utilize another ability he had picked up from Lydia and simply bent over to kiss Claire humorously saying, “Oh what the hell – it is college after all?” This allowed him to see even further into her psyche to understand her motivations and desires. Afterwards, he continued his prodding by observing, “We are exactly alike. You use this gift to build walls making it impossible to connect to another living person.” Sylar further explained that he saw all those moments ripe with subtext that Claire had when she was with Gretchen. Angry for the intrusion in her private thoughts and worried about Gretchen’s safety, Claire promptly rammed a pencil right through his eye and ran to save Gretchen.
But it was as Sylar planned and anticipated. He had baited his trap even more cleverly than we had foreseen. He simply shape-shifted so that Claire mistook him for Gretchen, allowing Claire to reveal even more of her intimate thoughts and feelings. It was only after watching Claire struggle to break through the self-imposed barriers separating her from someone she clearly cared about that Sylar noted with surprise, “Maybe that’s the answer: in order to become human again, [I have] to get ride of all [my] powers.” Thereafter, upon shape-shifting back to his self, Sylar said with a sly smile, “Now was that so hard? Like I said, I’ve had a little trouble being myself.”
It was revelations for everyone as Sylar learned more about himself and Claire learned the true extent of her feelings for Gretchen. Even more startling was seeing Sylar watching benevolently from afar as Claire declared her feelings for Gretchen. Since when did Sylar become the fairy-godmother of the story? And why is he looking for Matt Parkman – the man responsible for imprisoning him? Is this “new” Sylar a friend of foe?
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7056
CW, Life Unexpected, LUX, Shiri Appleby
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 19, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Debuting as a young child actor in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shiri Appleby established herself as the “it” girl for young ingénue roles with a comedic flair. She was precocious and her infectious smile lit up the screen. Then, as she took on more advanced roles in her teens and 20s, that same engaging smile and sparkling persona kept her steadily employed as a working actor. By the time she was 18 years old, she had made appearances on Santa Barbara, thirtysomething, Who’s the Boss, Knots Landing, Baywatch, 7th Heaven and Xena: Warrior Princess. Then, after brief appearances in the films Deal of a Lifetime and The Thirteenth Floor, Shiri scored the plum role as the lead in the teen sci-fi series Roswell.
In Roswell, Shiri played Liz Parker, a young woman whose life was changed forever after discovering aliens lived among us and who found herself irresistibly drawn to one of them. The series ran three tumultuous seasons, garnering rave reviews and a loyal fan base. During that same time period, Shiri continued to pursue film projects and co-starred in the acclaimed independent film A Time for Dancing, along side Larisa Oleynik.
After the cancellation of Roswell, Shiri was in constant demand working on 18 films over an 8 year period. Her film credits ranged from Swimfan with Erika Christensen to The Battle of Shaker Heights with Shia LaBeof and Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. She also did a series of made for television films such as Darklight with Richard Burgi, Everything You Want with Nick Spano, Pizza My Heart with Eyal Podell (recently seen in the ABC sci-fi series Defying Gravity), Thrill of the Kill with Chris Potter, and To Love and Die with Ivan Sergei and Tim Matheson. Astoundingly, Shiri also found the time to squish in roles on two televisions series during the same time period. She appeared as the mistress of Campbell Scott in the little known J.J. Abrams series Six Degrees and as a young medical intern in the final season of ER.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/01/18/spotlight-on-shiri-appleby/
Avatar, District 9, Movies, Oscars
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on January 18, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Posing this very controversial argument, I want to share why “District 9” is more Oscar-worthy than the mega-hit “Avatar.” Surely, the virtually unknown sci-fi film that was one of the few films to cross over the $200 million mark this past summer deserves a little attention – and as the Producers Guild’s nomination for Best Picture has proven, it is a worthy contender to watch out for during this award season.
Cost v. Profits
Looking first at the numbers, money talks. “District 9” cost only $30 million to make and then went on to make over $204 million in the world-wide box office ($115 domestically). That is a return of 6 times what it cost to make. Any way you look at it that is a phenomenal return on a mere $30 million investment; and with a prestigious PGA nomination and further DVD sales racking up, this profit margin will only continue to rise.
As for “Avatar,” it cost $237 million to make, plus another $150 million for marketing, and has grossed over $1.6 billion world-wide to date. That is not a bad return either. But it is only a profit margin of 4 times its cost. However, given that “Avatar’s” resulting profit margin is over $1 billion, it is not a number to discount. I cannot imagine that the investors for “Avatar” are displeased with such a modest return.
So in the money game, both films are providing huge monetary profits for their investors, with “Avatar” edging out “District 9” due to its boffo box office sales. But it can never be said that “District 9” did not do well, as it is one of a handful of films to ever cross the $200 million mark.
Realism v. Fantasy
Looking next at which film was more realistic, “District 9” is hands-down the winner in that category. Taking a page right out of last year’s Oscar winner’s play-book, “District 9” was filmed in the actual slums of Chiawelo, Soweto in South Africa. Not only did they film amongst the filth and degradation of the slums, it was filmed simultaneous to the attempted forced-relocation of the Abahlali baseMjondolo in District 6 in Cape Town, South Africa. Thus, in an effort to make the film as realistic as possible, Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson literally filmed what was really occurring in Chiawelo and made a sci-fi film out of it. They just used CGI aliens in the place of real people who were being relocated. Thus, the story was a mirrored-reflection of the actual apartheid atrocities and discrimination that had been practiced in South Africa for over 45 years.
Another element of realism that worked in “District 9’s” favor was its portrayal of the aliens, aka: prawns. The prawns looked like giant bugs walking on two legs. They did not speak English or any other human language, so there was a distinct language barrier. They were also gritty, repulsive and overall disgusting. These were not the humanoid creatures used to depict aliens in classic and modern sci-fi films. The prawns looked ALIEN. It was like having a colony of giant insects living amongst us. No one wanted to be around them and it felt more natural to have them kept separate and secluded from the rest of the human race. It was just unfortunate that their spaceship died while hovering right over Johannesburg and they had no where else to go. Literally no one on Earth wanted them here.
As for “Avatar,” it went the route of traditional sci-fi and opted to create a brand new world where everything was magnificent and glorious to behold. Welcome to Pandora where there are mountains that float in the sky, trees grow as tall as skyscrapers, plants glow rainbow colors in the dark, dragons fly through the vast blue skies, and the humanoid inhabitants are a brilliant turquoise blue that stand nearly 10 feet tall. Everything about this exotic paradise was meant to seduce us into their world and make us fall in love with it. But it is simply too pretty. Too good to be true. It was a fictional world created purely out of CGI in order to fool the audience into thinking that there may just be such a fairy tale place that exists out in the universe. But as any viewer perfectly knew watching the film, it was clearly not real. You could simply not believe it. The Na’vi were too tall, too blue and too pretty.
In contrast, the slum-ridden background of “District 9” felt all too real. We have seen just such places on Earth and know that they exist and avoid them at all costs. This made it harder to distinguish that the prawns were not real, for they look exactly like a larger version of the cockroach you might find crawling out from a crack in your kitchen.
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7054
LINK to Part 2:
http://thetvwatchtower.com/2010/01/27/tv-watchtower-%e2%80%9cavatar%e2%80%9d-vs-%e2%80%9cdistrict-9%e2%80%9d-part-2/
An Education, Dollhouse, FOX, Olivia Williams
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 15, 2010 at 4:55 pm
British actress Olivia Williams has become the go-to girl for roles demanding icy disdain covering up a tormented beating heart. Coming from a diverse theatrical background, Olivia began dabbling in the television/film arena in the early 1990’s. She first captured everyone’s attention in the role of Jane Fairfax in Jane Austen’s Emma in 1996, and after garnering rave reviews, moved quickly on to snag a pivotal role in Kevin Costner’s film The Postman in 1997. Those roles were quickly followed by roles as a lonely widow in Rushmore with Jason Schwartzman and Bruce Willis’ grieving wife in The Sixth Sense.
Over the next several years, she was cast regularly in British films such as Born Romantic with Craig Ferguson, The Body with Antonio Banderas, Lucky Break with Bill Nighy and Lennie James, The Heart of Me with Helen Bonham Carter and Paul Bettany, To Kill a King with Tim Roth and Dougray Scott and Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures. With such a diversified and preeminent list of roles and experiences at her disposal, Olivia took a stab at American film and appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand in an uncredited role as Dr. Moira MacTaggart. This lure to American film was short-lived and Olivia quickly returned to her roots in British film appearing in the dark drama Damage and the breezy adaptation Miss Austen Regrets based on the life of Jane Austen. (It is rather astounding that she has played both British greats Jane Austen and Agatha Christie.)
Continue reading article at :
http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/01/15/spotlight-on-olivia-williams/
Courteney Cox, Golden Globes, Julianna Margulies, Modern Family, Simon Baker
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 13, 2010 at 1:48 am
Julianna Margulies –
Continuing a red-hot streak of accolades for her performance as Alicia Florrick, the wife of a state attorney accused of corruption turned junior litigator at a prestigious law firm in the series “The Good Wife,” Julianna Margulies received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama. For anyone who saw the pilot episode, or any episode since, this comes as no surprise. Not only has the show become a break-out success with an average of 14 million viewers, it managed to crack the Top 10 of the most watched shows for 2009. It is Julianna’s electrifying and finely nuanced performance combined with a cracker-jack twisty backstory that keeps the viewers glued to their screens. Competing against last year’s winner Anna Paquin (“True Blood”), two time Emmy winner Glenn Close (“Damages”), cult favorite January Jones (“Mad Men”) and fan favorite Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”), this is a highly competitive category and Julianna is the dark-horse contender.
Simon Baker –
Receiving his second Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in the series “The Mentalist,” and on the heels of his Emmy nomination for the same role, Simon Baker is once again being recognized for his outstanding performance with a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama. Simon’s performance is credited for launching “The Mentalist” on to the Nielsen Top 10 for 2008, ranking at #5 behind the reality series juggernauts “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars,” and ranking #1 of all scripted shows in 2008. The combination of devil-may-care façade concealing the boiling rage beneath is riveting and keeps the viewers guessing as to when all those suppressed emotions will erupt. Besides the complex duality, it is a pure joy to watch the impish glee with which he unmasks criminals and foils their devious plots. However, despite the overwhelming mass popularity, Simon remains a long-shot in this category due to the steep competition: Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Hugh Laurie (“House”), and Bill Paxton (“Big Love”).
Courteney Cox –
Long time television favorite, Courteney Cox received her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series- Musical or Comedy for her zany, but lovable portrayal of Jules Cobb in the series “Cougar Town.” While a regular Emmy nominee and winner for her performance on the series “Friends,” Courteney has worked hard to capture the attention and love of her fan base once again. It is her undaunted approach to physical comedy and willingness to do anything for a laugh that stands out. If there is a word for her performance it is “fearless.” That courage is what draws us to empathize and root for her. Alas, she is also facing tough competition from Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie”), Toni Collette (“United States of Tara”) and break-out star Lea Michele (“Glee”).
“Modern Family” –
Right in the midst of its extraordinary freshman year, “Modern Family” nabbed a surprise Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Literally one day after the L.A. Times deemed it “overrated,” the nomination was a wonderful affirmation of “Modern Family’s” ingenuity and outrageous comedy — and best yet, nicely emphasized the LA Times’ clearly erroneous assessment. Adored by the mass television audience and raved about by virtually all of the television critics in an era where family comedy was thought to be on the decline, “Modern Family” has delighted in proving this misguided belief wrong. Its unique documentary-style story-telling and hair-raisingly funny situation comedy has nailed the top tier of comedic television. It also showcases the wide-range and array of talent brought by its cast and writers, which blend beautifully together to bring us thirty minutes of primetime joy with each new episode. However, despite its superior comedic offerings, it too is in a tense category with competition from “30 Rock,” “Entourage,” “The Office” and the other break-out favorite “Glee.”
Cristine Rose, Dawn Olivieri, Deanne Bray, Elizabeth Rohm, Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere, Heroes, Jack Coleman, James Kyson Lee, Kate Vernon, Masi Oka, Milo Ventimiglia, NBC, Robert Knepper, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Zachary Quinto
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on January 13, 2010 at 12:54 am
Some people will do anything to impress a girl and Samuel, unfortunately, is making all the wrong moves
Opening with Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman) despairing over his inability to reach his own daughter who was slowly being seduced into Samuel’s (Robert Knepper) carnival of freaks, Bennett noted with sorrow, “I have lived long enough to know everything is not as it appears – evil does exist. People do terrible things to one another. . . How do I protect [Claire] without losing her? How do I build a bridge between us when the distance seems too vast?” It felt rather Shakespearean as he pondered how to save Claire (Hayden Panettiere) from Samuel’s evil clutches.
This was the episode where everyone tried to reach out to one another and failed miserably in the process. Bennett avoided approaching his daughter and managed to push away Lauren (Elizabeth Rohm) in the process. Matt (Greg Grunberg) just wanted to make ratatouille for his family and ignore what was going on in the world, despite the fact that world would not leave him alone. Emma (Deanne Bray) just wanted to become a part of the world by playing beautiful music on her cello, which Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) destroyed in order to save the world. Hiro (Masi Oka) simply wanted to save someone before his time was up. And Samuel just wanted the girl of his dreams. But, as they all discovered, what you wish for is not necessarily what you get.
Bennett took off for Los Angeles in pursuit of the elusive Vanessa (Kate Vernon), Samuel’s former childhood friend and lover. With a bit of arm-twisting, he persuaded Matt to assist in using Vanessa as bait to lure and capture Samuel, but only after warning him of Samuel’s interest in recruiting those with abilities which posed a threat to both their children. Naturally, their well-thought out plan back-fired for Samuel had out-smarted them, kidnapped Vanessa, and did some impressive terra shifting in order to conceal his escape route.
It should be noted that the disappearing carnival is a magnificent trick. Is the carnival truly ever there to begin with or is it merely an illusion leading to a portal to where the carnival actually exists? Thus, requiring a magic compass to find it through one of the accessible portals.
Until this point, it appeared that everyone that Samuel had recruited had come willingly or by manipulation, but his outright kidnapping of Vanessa is stripping away one of his carefully applied masks and showing his true evil nature. Vanessa is clearly not a willing victim. She immediately began chafing under being held in captivity and was not quite buying all of Samuel’s promises that he will take her back just as soon as he shows her something amazing. However, after taking us to this juicy juncture, they left us hanging once again as we don’t know what exactly Samuel has in mind. Surely, it cannot be the oasis he is building in the desert. Would that be amazing enough to convince Vanessa to give up her music career and live happily-ever-after there with him?
What Worked
As zany as it may have seemed having Hiro and Ando (James Kyson Lee) embark on a fools-errand of trying to rescue “Dr. Watson,” this proved to be one of the funnier storylines in this episode. All the plays on words (such as calling the orderlies “storm troopers”) were delightful, especially as Ando tried to figure out what each word meant in deciphering Hiro’s “word salad” gibberish. The side-trip to the Arkum mental institution to rescue Dr. Watson aka: Dr. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) was a nice break from the more serious and disturbing storylines as of late. It was with child-like wonder and delight that Hiro watched Suresh show off his Bruce Banner/Hulk like strength and Ando demonstrate his new-found ease as Electro-Boy with his ability to electrically zap through the security doors.
It was also impressive as the Frankenstein-esque scene played out with Ando using his electrical charge abilities to zap Hiro back into his normal speech patterns. While the references to Don Quixote may have flown over a lot of people’s heads, it was easy to interpret and connect the dots to the references to “Star Wars,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “Frankenstein.”
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http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7034
Alyson Hannigan, Carter Bays, CBS, Cobie Smulders, Craig Thomas, HIMYM, How I Met Your Mother, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 10, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Attending the special presentation and screening of “How I Met Your Mother’s” 100th episode at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills last week can be described in one word: HILARIOUS! The creators, cast, writers and producers in attendance were clearly a well-oiled comedy machine. They not only write, act and direct comedy, they live and breathe it. It is an integral part of who they are and it is nearly impossible to distinguish between their professional and personal personas. For the past six years, “How I Met Your Mother” has been home for this special group of gifted individuals. It was created out of a vacuum at a time when comedic television series were thought to be a thing of the past. So it was with an innocuous start that they landed on the television landscape with barely a splash, but it was not long before this little show that could, broke out and took the television world by storm.
As Neil Patrick Harris perfectly summed up, “It was always eggshells. For a good two and a half out of our first 5 years, we were considering cancellation. . .Television is such a weird medium. Shows that are lauded critically fail and shows that no one seems to like sometimes seem to stick around for a long time. . . We never had a lot of light shining on us. . . That first year, none of us felt secure enough although we were all proud of the show. . . I don’t think for the first year, we ever really celebrated.”
But even from their humble beginnings, anyone who tuned in knew instantly there was something special going on. This was not just a show content with 30 minutes of laughs. It was a show that had a heart. It was a story of a father sharing the story of the humorous journey he went through to find the mother of his children. Told with a distinctly comedic tone, the story unfolds as a series of fun-loving adventures against a poignant backdrop. It was not long before the five leading stars were major sensations as their one-liners melded with pitch-perfect physical comedy and their warm genuine friendship began to garner more and more attention.
So it was with earned confidence that the creators and cast sat before a select audience at the Paley Center for a screening of their 100th episode. It was a landmark night as they were clearly proud of their long-running and creatively original series. Never one to back down from a challenge, they chose to celebrate their 100th episode as a musical. On any television show it is risky enough to dare to step outside the box, but they embraced their wild-side and threw caution to the wind. Relying on the strong showmanship talents of Broadway-star Neil Patrick Harris, they wrote an episode set to showcase his immeasurable musical talents combined with the awesome comedy the entire cast is known for. The song, the dance, the irrepressible quick quips of comedic confection had the entire audience rolling with laughter and joy.
As the lights went up after the screening, creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays got up on stage along side their fellow comrades through this amazing journey: Josh Radnor (Ted), Alyson Hannigan (Lily), Jason Segel (Marshall), Cobie Smulders (Robin), Neil Patrick Harris (Barney), and Pam Fryman, who directed 93 of their 100 episodes. Their beaming faces spoke volumes about how happy they were to be celebrating this momentous occasion. It is rare for any television show, let alone a comedy, to make it to the milestone mark of 100 episodes. With television audiences proving more fickle and finicky (cat joke! – trust me, it makes more sense later), it is a remarkable feat to make it so far in this day and age.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/01/11/how-i-met-your-mother%e2%80%9d-celebrates-its-100th-episode-at-the-paley-center/
ABC Family, Candace Cameron Bure, Full House, Make It or Break It, MIOBI
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on January 5, 2010 at 2:40 am
Currently co-starring in the ABC Family Channel hit series Make It or Break It, Candace Cameron Bure has had a long television and film career. Candace started off as a child actor in the 1980’s working on such TV shows as Alice, St. Elsewhere and T.J. Hooker. This quickly led to work in feature films like Little Spies with Mickey Rooney, Some Kind of Wonderful with Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson and Punchline with Tom Hanks and Sally Field. With those actors as role models and the encouragement of her brother, Kirk Cameron, Candace continued to take the comedy world by storm, with guest appearances on Growing Pains and Who’s the Boss.
Then in 1987, she landed the role of a lifetime as D.J. Tanner on the family comedy Full House. Working for 8 years alongside Bob Saget, John Stamos and Dave Coulier, Candace only continued to shine and garnered six award nominations for her finely-nuanced portrayal of the eldest Tanner daughter. In 1994, she also won a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards as Favorite Television Actress for her role on Full House.
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http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/01/04/spotlight-on-candace-cameron-bure/
