Hallmark to Launch new TV Channel

TV NEWS 

    In an age where we  have more cable channels either "reinventing themselves, being shutdown , or rebranding,"  Hallmark seems to be bucking that and launching 3rd channel called, Hallmark Drama, which will join it's sister networks Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.

#Breaking Crown Media Family Networks to launch @HallmarkDrama, a new TV Network on October 1 #TCA17.

— Hallmark Channel (@hallmarkchannel) July 28, 2017

      It will not be replacing any of the other channels they own, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries will continue as is.

We will be launching a new @hallmarkdrama, and @hallmarkmovie will still continue to be the mystery destination everyone loves! #TCA17 https://t.co/Blwax4l6SC

— Hallmark Channel (@hallmarkchannel) July 28, 2017

 The channel will air programming like repeats of their original series like  "Cedar Cove" , and repeats of Little House in the Prairie (which left main channel earlier this year )  and of course more will be announced later.    They don't have a website yet , but it is on twitter. 


    It is interesting to see a  totally new cable linear channel launch  in this age.   you can read the press release here  .


   Also, they are launching a stand alone streaming service for you Hallmark Channel Movie fans so any cord cutters won't have to worry either.

Crown Media Family Networks to launch standalone subscription/ streaming video on demand service, called Hallmark Movies Now #TCA17.

— Hallmark Channel (@hallmarkchannel) July 28, 2017

 

ABC Announces Fall premire dates

ABC TVLookFall2017  Primetime

    ABC has released their Fall scheduled premiere dates, as last but not least of the networks.    Their season starts of with the return of Dancing With The Stars  which launches on September 18th.  Then they take a week break and officially start the rest of the season the next week.   Here's a look at the full premiere dates.  ABC has also renamed "The Gospel of Kevin" to "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World"

ALL TIMES ET
Monday, September 18th
8-10PM  Dancing with the Stars

Monday, September 25th
10PM   The Good Doctor (Series Premiere)

Wednesday, September 27th
8PM The Goldbergs
8:30  Speechless
9PM  Modern Family
9:30  American  Housewife (new day and time)
10PM  Designated Survivor

Thursday, September 28th
8-10PM   Grey's Anatomy (2 Hours)
10PM   How to Get Away with Murder

Friday, September 29th
8-10PM  Marvel's Inhumans  (New Series)

Sunday, October 1st
7PM  The Toy Boy (New Day and Time )
8-10PM  Shark Tank (two hours, new day and time)
10PM  Ten Days in the Valley (Series Premiere)

Tuesday, October 3rd
8PM  The Middle
8:30PM  Fresh Off the Boat (new time)
9PM   Black-ish ( new day and time )
9:30PM The Mayor (new Series )
10PM  Kevin (Probaly) Saves the World

Thursday, October 5th
9PM  Scandal

Friday, October 6th
8PM  Once Upon a Time (new day and time)

Sunday, October 8th
8PMET  To Tell the Truth (new day and time)

Sunday ,November 26th
7PMET  America's Funniest Home Videos

Press release after the Jump

The Lookback : Woops!

The Flashback 

    We dip into short lived shows because in the world of TV  not everything catches on either with audiences, critics , or the network. (Either that or a show costs a lot of money and they'll ditch that if it's too much.).

    This time we head to early 1990's Fox  , where it was a stage where it was not quite a network, not quite a failure. They had two hits at the time though "The Simpsons" and "Married with Children" and this was before Football on FOX happened. Anyway, our series we are looking at was considered by TV Guide to be the 42nd Worst show ever. (in 2002)  Well that makes us feel good.

in stereo! 

   The Series?  Woops!  Well that's right it's called woops. (Spell check hates this spelling) The series started in September of 1992, just in time for the 1992 fall TV season.  It only aired 10 of it's 13 episode orders. So let's take a look at the first episode.

         It starts the world being destroyed (woops) a school teacher is narrating telling us that it was an average day then the world gets destroyed. (I hate when that happens)   Why is he alive? His Volvo saved his life.

Volvo : Doomsday is coming buy a car that will outlast man kind! 

          Apparently, this nuclear holocaust as made everything dessert like.  (I hate when that happens too)  He kept driving his Volvo around, eventually it runs out of gas and so he starts looking for other people. (Should have looked for gas or shelter or something) 

   Mr. Plot hole :  Wouldn't other Volvo drivers also survive if they were driving their Volvo's at the same time, where are the other Volvo survivors? 

  Scary Thought : I guess his students are dead now , he was a sixth grade teacher , that's kind of sad. 

    It cuts away to our hero (?) in a room with 3 other people.  

"Welcome, to our house, we almost ate you"(probably) 

      These three people are the other survivors (which is strange since none of them were driving Volvos)  and they are in a farm house ,that  luckily was nuke proof.   The man in the suit is named Curtis Thorpe , our teacher is named Mark Braddock, and the woman is named  Alice McConnell  she was in a book store that she owns.   (how to survive nukes : A ) Volvo  B) Bookstores  got it !)  Actually she had gone in the basement to get something and basement was made in the 60's as a bomb shelter. (convenient)  Thorpe was a stock annalist he was in his vault.  He's not taking the end of the world well.  The other man is named Mr.Conners  or Jack , and he apparently hasn't lost his sense of humor in the end of the world.  He was a homeless person who was saved by under the  interstate.  

      

               Another man  (this is going quicker than Last Man on Earth) comes the farm house, he is a doctor named Fredrick Ross. He survived by being the basement morgue. (He survived with the dead)  

Our cast , either that or a spinoff of The View 

       They wonder why they survived and made it to the same farmhouse. (Script called for it) Alice thinks they are there to start a new society. (Hmm steady there) 

                  

This Green Acres reboot is strange 

    

           It's hard starting a new society. and they don't know what to do.  They pick Mark as their leader as they try and plant wheat. (The plant of society.)  Of course five random strangers  aren't going to click together very quickly (if at all) so this gets messy--- the others want to leave.  Then a sixth person joins because that's what we need.  This time it's other woman named Suzanne.  So we have two women on the show that balances it out.  

Hello I'm new... 

     A Giant spider (gives up throws computer out the window) is seen outside and Alice is taken by it.   The men think of a plan to help stop spider and save Alice.     

   We only looked at the first episode , does it deserve to be on the worst TV show list?  No , not really. again that list  was made in 2002, so there have been worse series.  It's a strange one but kind of funny at points.  Now the first episode did try to bang that Volvo joke in your head a little more than necessary.  Most of the characters seemed to be playing a one type character ,which maybe developed on in the later episodes.   

         Tune in next time when we post our next post from a Volvo because they  will save us all ! 

The 2017 Emmy's Nominations

Awards  Emmys 

             The 69th annual Emmy Awards nominations have been announced. The Awards show airs September 17th at 8pm ET on CBS ,hosted by Stephen Colbert.
 

Outstanding Comedy Series 

Atlanta
Black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

Outstanding  Drama Series 

Better Call Saul
House of  Cards
Stranger Things
The Crown
The Handmaid's Tale
This is US
Westworld

Outstanding Limited Series 

Big Little Lies
Fargo
Fued: Bette and Joan
Genius
The Night Of

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program 

Born This Way
Deadliest Catch
Gaycation with Ellen Page
Intervention
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
United Shades of America With W. Kamau Bell

Outstanding Reality Competition Program 

American Ninja Warrior
Project Runway
RuPaul's Drag Race
The Amazing Race
The Voice
Top Chef

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Late Late Show with James Corden
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series 

Billy on the Street
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live
Tracey Ullman's Show

Outstanding  Variety Special 

Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2017 Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner
Louis C.K. 2017
Sarah Silverman: A Speck Of Dust
Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale: Who's Going To Clean Up This Sh*t?

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Donald Glover, Atlanta
William H Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy

Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Jane Fonda, Grace & Frankie
Allison Janney, Mom
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julie Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movie

Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective
Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Geoffrey Rush, Genius
John Turturro, The Night Of

Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie

Carrie Coon, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Jessica Lange, Feud
Susan Sarandon, Feud
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

Louie Anderson, Baskets
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Matt Walsh, Veep

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
John Lithgow, The Crown
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie

David Thewlis, Fargo
Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies
Alfred Molina, Feud
Stanley Tucci, Feud
Bill Camp, The Night Of
Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live
Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Judith Light, Transparent
Kathryn Hahn, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Thandie Newton, Westworld

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie

Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Regina King, American Crime
Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies
Judy Davis, Feud
Jackie Hoffman, Feud
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies

Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series

Matthew Rhys, Girls
Riz Ahmed, Girls
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live
Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live
Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live
Hugh Laurie, Veep

Outstanding guest actor in a drama series

Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
BD Wong, Mr Robot
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
Brian Tyree Henry, This Is Us
Gerald McRaney, This Is Us
Denis O’Hare, This Is Us

Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series

Wanda Sykes, Black-ish
Carrie Fisher, Catastrophe
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Angela Bassett, Master of None
Becky Ann Baker, Girls

Outstanding guest actress in a drama series

Cicely Tyson, How To Get Away With Murder
Laverne Cox, Orange Is The New Black
Shannon Purser, Stranger Things
Alison Wright, The Americans
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale
Ann Dowd, The Leftovers

Outstanding Children's Program 

Girl Meets World 

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 90th Celebration 

Once Upon A Sesame  Street  Christmas 

School of Rock 

Star Wars Rebels 

The Lookback : DCOM solves a mystery

The Flashback    Disney 

         It's time to take a look at another Disney Channel Original Movie, why? That's apparently a thing we do here. (We have an appearance to keep)  The last Disney Channel Original movie lookback we did was  the "lost one" known as "Northern Lights"  (you can read that here) this time we are looking at one that D.C at least acknowledges existing.

           Editors  Note:  This is honestly on my list of favorite Disney Channel movies in a list of 8 it would be at like 6.

           "Get a Clue" came out in June of 2002 starting Lindsay Lohan , who was finishing up a Disney contract (alright then) .


    There are spoliers in this look back so....

    Lindsay plays a 13 year old girl named Lexy Gold  who lives in New York City (the movie is filmed in Toronto , the NYC of Canada, they are both the biggest cities in pop in their countries)  and her family seems to be well to do.     The movie also starts perennial Disney Channel star,  Brenda Song, who plays her best friend named Jen.  

This movie knew the future ... of internet calling it knew/copyright Disney

         Lexy's Dad is a newspaper reporter   who works for  The New York Times  and he starts his appearance in the movie reading his competitor (The Washington Post?)  The Daily Examiner (Oh)  in speaking of  that news paper  apparently Lexy got an article in the paper  about her teacher being friends with each other. (what kind of paper is that?)   Also their mother exists, but she's leaving on a business trip. 

"Well it's been fun being here for like 5 minutes, but the check cashed and  I am out of here" / copyright Disney. 

              Lexy and Jen go to a private school  and everyone knows she's in the paper. (Nice to know teenagers used to read the newspaper)    Everyone knows the teachers are in love or something now too. (Darn teachers being all in love...)   There is one kid who is not happy about her "journalism" that's a kid named Jack Downey  who happens to be the editor of the school paper that Lexy is an advice columnist.  (Also he has a great editor name)   

Is in love with our main character? Find out at ten after Lassie/Copyright Disney 

       Lexy over hears Ms. Dawson and Mr.Walker , the two teachers, arguing after her apparently breaks up with her. (when will the press learn?)    What could go wrong?  

Oh Crap.... he's missing, also playful headline /copyright Disney

          The next day ,  Mr.Walker is missing and his car is found in the river. (Hey you got your mafia movie in my Disney Channel movie)      This also starts our mystery.    Miss Dawson seems to be suspect in his disappearance since Lexy told the detective about Miss Dawson and Mr.Walker's disagreement.   Lexy decides the logical thing to do is to do some solving herself.  (That meddling kid)  She decides to team up with Jack to solve the case (kids).  (Also I think we got some romance in our murder Disney Channel Original movie) 

     

Her sister has knowledge of spy stuff and likes spy stuff so we got spy movie in our mystery movie./copyright Disney

         Jen and Gabe decide  to also help in the mystery, and Gabe can help because he loves close to Miss.Dawson.  (NSA:The Movie)    Lexy and Jack go to Brookyln to check out Mr.Walker's house  and snoop around. (Yeah, that's legal).  In this movie we find out what Mr.Sheffield ( Charles Shaughnessy) has been doing after "The Nanny"  or in this movie he's called detective Meany. (really? oh Mr. Sheffield)  

Detective eh?  /Copyright Disney 

   Fun Fact:   Shagughnessy also played in the Disney Channel movie "Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire" that one came out in 2000.  

       Anyway detective Meany, catches them snooping in Mr.Walker's home.  Lexy says he's not a real one because his clothes are too expensive for an NY detective. (well then)   She finds out more about  Jack , including that he lives in Brooklyn  and has a brother in the Navy.   The two of them find out using Mr.Walker's old computer that he gave to Jack, that his real name wasn't Orlando Walker but Nicolas Petrossian. (dun dun dun) .    Also yes there's a buregiong at least friend ship between the  Lexy and Jack.   They visit    Mrs. Petrossian , the mother, (played by Sylvia Lennick)  and we find out Nick's not dead.   Apparently Mr.Walker faked his disappearance because of Lexy's news story and he was faking the Mr. Walker act  because he was a banker who was framed for embezzlement. (Well changing your name and running might not look good either,also we got a man who faked his own death on a Disney Channel Movie)  

Ha that headline /copyright Disney

         We find out  Det. Meany is  the man who framed Mr.Walker at the bank. (Oh Mr.Sheffield...) Their sting operation does work as well and they have to find that man also known as  Falco Grandville. (Well that's a name)  They catch  Grandville and we get a nice wrap up the  case.  

    

 More after the jump 

Not A Peanuts Lookback : Peanuts

Peanuts

      We are taking a short break from our Peanuts lookbacks until the next time we do them (September, since we started this every other month pattern),so I thought it would be interesting to talk about other "Peanuts" related media. In this case "Peanuts".

   "Peanuts" is a French cartoon that started in 2014  produced by Normaal Animation, and airs on French television and has now also expanded to other countries , like the United States.  It is based off the comic strip.

        The series is presented as shorts so each episode is not long or feature length. The ascetics of the cartoon  is very much like a moving comic strip. Backgrounds are static and feautre color changes ,and transitions are modeled after comic strip panels. 

        The characters look as they do and the style of animation  again gives it feel  of the comic just in motion and not having to read speech bubbles.   The episodes work with the strips for example there's an episode of Linus running for class president (much like You're not Elected Charlie Brown) and it takes it's materiel from the arc of Linus running  in the strip from. 1964 (even more than the special did) 

   It pretty much takes those strips line for line and puts them  in a little different order and spotting but still line for line. 

That's terrifying a little

                 The series keeps that Peanuts comic feel very well  and like I stated is faithful to its source.  (Though, I   Think it wouldn't have been made if it wasn't.)   The length works since not all the strips had long arcs in the first place and it's kind how "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show" worked. 

  Here is a sample of the episodes Thanks to Cartoon Network (US) youtube page. 

   There's not too much else I can say about the series, all I have to say is check it out and see what you think. I think it's pretty good and works it's source materiel well. 

Fox Fall Premiere Dates

FOX  TVLookFall2017 Primetime 

   FOX has released it's Fall premiere dates .  First , Fox has set their new dramedy series "Orville"  with two  episodes before the official fall television season starts.  They are also giving it another push by having it come on after  NFL on Fox double headers on September 10th and 17th.  Fox's official premiere week starts September 26th.

   Sunday September 10th
   8PM   The Orville (Series Premiere)

  Sunday, September 17th
  8PMET  The  Orville (Series Premiere)

   Tuesday, September 26th
  8PM ET Lethal Weapon
  9PMET  The Mick
 9:30PMET   Brookyln  Nine Nine

  Wednesday, September 27th
   8PMET Empire
   9PMET   Star

   Thursday, September 28th
    8PM ET Gotham
    9PM  ET  The Orville (Time slot premiere)

     Friday, September 29th
     8PM  ET  Hell's Kitchen
    9PM   ET  The Exorcist

Sunday, October 1st
7:30 PMET Bob's Burgers
 8PMET  The Simpsons
 8:30PMET  Ghosted (Series Premiere)
 9PMET    Family Guy
9:30PMET  The Last Man on Earth

 Monday, October 2nd
  8PMET Lucifer
  9PMET Gifted (Series Premiere)

 
Press Release after the jump

The Lookback : Scorch

The Flashback 


         It's about time we didn't write about something animated for a second we need real  live action  human flesh television.  It's time to dip into some short lived television:  TV series that didn't last long enough to be really remembered or it goes into cult status.  Is 3 episodes short-lived enough?

        That brings us to a series  from CBS that came out in 1992, it ran  just 3 episodes.  "Scorch" is about a dragon who is 1300 years old and took a 100 year sleep and woke up in 1992. ( I guess when you are 1300 years old you have to sleep long)  Let's look at the first episode. (Hey ! I saw you, trying to leave)

     

Hmm good thing  I bought that 200 year calendar 

         After the theme song, the series starts dragon-free with a man and his building manager are talking to each other.  His name is Brian Stevens  and he has an eight year old daughter named Jess, she wakes up  after having a bad dream about monsters changing her , and her father does the classic there are no monsters bit.  Guess what happens next?

                            A) Nothing 

                            B) What do YOU think happens Next?

                            C)  Duh, Dragon 

                            D)  Commercial break 

                                       To be fair that's not really a monster, per say.  

             Brian sees the dragon freaks out and his daughter freaks out and then we find out the dragon talks.  He also says of course dragon's talk. (Well yes, it was in that TV special).  The dragon says he over sleep for 100 years, family's gone ,got struck by lighting and now cant' fly. (he's had a bad century)   Jess asks her father to keep the dragon , at least until he can fly. 

                   

            The  next morning, the dragon tells Jessica that his name is Scorch (Title drop)  and  the viewer gets to find out that Jessica's mother is with her new husband. (At least she's not dead?)   Brian  is going to be auditioning for the part of weather man.  Oh the show takes place in New Haven. (Not many shows take place in New Haven)    

Hmm not good , that lamp pulled the room together.

       Brian takes Scorch to his audition  and  when the boss finds Scorch and Brian convinces him that Scorch is a dummy. So he gets hired. (glad that worked) This series also has John O Hurley  in it. 

Hey there, you might remember from such shows as...

                Brian gets his first broadcast that same day and it goes strange. Scorch doesn't like the job because of John O Hurley's anchor character. Jessica convinces Scorch to stay because she doesn't like moving so much.  (awww)  

      Well it's a short lived series, but this post doesn't have to be  short, so let's head to episode 2 after the jump.