THE COMMONER’S VIGIL, AND A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON POP CULTURE

I don’t watch TV during the week unless there is some kind of emergency, like a terrorist attack.

But I do watch on the weekends sometimes. To me TV was an utter wasteland for many decades. But in the past few years, maybe even for a decade or so now, it has undergone a real Renaissance.

That being said here are some of my favorite new shows. (I won’t mention shows I have watched awhile over time.) Yes, I know these might not be new shows to you, but they are all new to me as I don’t watch TV a lot (too busy) and so I might just now be seeing them for the first time.

I recommend them all.

FORGED IN FIRE – really, really appeals to the blacksmith and tool maker in me which I get form my old man. I love this show. I love the blades and weapons they create. And observing the techniques they employ.

THE SELECTION – really, really love this show and it gave me several very good ideas for the physical training program I was already developing called The Roman Way, which you can read more about on my other blogs. I am writing a book and training manual for the Roman Way. I liked the psychological aspects of the selection best however, even moreso than the training methods employed. A couple of the instructors I really like too and tow of them reminded me of buddies of mine.

EMERALD CITY – beautiful, without a doubt. The story meanders however and it is kind of more of a chick show to me. But I really like the Wizard of Oz and the displays of “magic.”

SIX – a little overemotional and overwrought to me, as far as the character depictions of the operators. Too much of an intent to hyper-dramatize for modern audiences. But the stories are awful good and the missions often solid. But still the emotionalism too often fucks up the outcomes. Which, personally, I would not allow. But it’s only TV.

TABOO – the best damned man show I’ve seen, maybe, ever… As in ever. In my whole freaking life. I can’t recommended it enough. This is a real work of art. High Art.

and, one of the shows I’ve watched before but which I am really, really looking forward to returning soon, THE EXPANSE.

Aside from the original STAR TREK it is, without a doubt, the best science-fiction television show I’ve ever seen in my life. Extremely good and incredibly solid.

GOOD ONES

My two new favorite TV shows are Channel Zero: Candle Cove and Dirk Gently Holistic Detective.

Superb efforts.

Candle Cove may be the spookiest TV show I’ve ever seen in my life. Spooky and actually scary at times (I don’t spook or scare easy but last night two scene son that show actually made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end) not morbid or just a stupid hack and slash violent juvenile show.

I really, really like the fact that most of the show takes place in broad daylight and seems utterly mundane in background and atmosphere yet still there hangs a foreboding sense of darkness and dread over most everything. The dichotomy is fantastic.

Plus I have enjoyed researching the background internet and YouTube history of the show. Actually, before this show I had never heard of a Creepy Pasta.

As for Dirk Gently I find it to be one of the most original shows I’ve seen in a long, long time (admittedly I watch little TV, but this is one of the shows I do watch). Plus I really like the way he works as a Dick. Dirk. whatever…

And it greatly amuses me.

 

JON SNOW AND CONSEQUENCES

THIS SNOW DON’T MELT, OR HOW THE RED WOMAN MAY HAVE GAINED A SOUL BY REALLY TRYING

Yeah, well Kit, it’s not like nobody saw through it. It was as transparent as transparent aluminum..

What interested me most was not the Resurrection, saw that coming the moment you were killed. What was really interesting was the way.

I was right about the Red Woman. She was obviously different than all the other followers of the Lord of Light.

But is she now? She was obviously remorseful about her “failure of vision and foresight” (though who else might be resurrected in some odd way – Stannis – were all her visions false, or all true just in unexpected ways) though is she remorseful about her pagan sorceries and human sacrifices? Maybe so. Has she now learned a lesson? Will the Resurrection move her to becoming a Priestess of Light and not just a man and child burner, and a demon-birther? We’ll see I reckon. If she is really changed, and if so, exactly how.

And how will that influence the Truth of her real mission, what she is hoping to accomplish, and everything else that lies underneath her shell? The shell of her necklace that is…

Game of Thrones: Kit Harington breaks his silence — Exclusive

BY JAMES HIBBERD • @JAMESHIBBERD

Game of Thrones

Posted May 1 2016 — 10:03 PM EDT

This story contains a major revelation from Sunday’s Game of Thrones episode “Home.”

Jon Snow has returned to the land of the living.

As fans of HBO’s Emmy-winning hit Game of Thrones have now learned, Kit Harington’s murdered fan-favorite character Jon Snow was revived at the end of Sunday night’s episode. The Lord Commander was resurrected by the sorceress Melisandre, a reveal that caps 10 months of worldwide speculation following Snow’s death at the hands of his Night’s Watch brothers in last year’s finale.

During an in-depth interview exclusively with EW, Harington spoke about his incredible journey shouldering the show’s biggest secret. Actors typically only have to perform while in front of the camera. But to protect the Jon Snow twist, Harington was asked by the show’s producers to deliver an off-camera performance too — the role of an actor who departed a series that’s become a worldwide sensation.

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The first thing Harington wants viewers to know after seeing his revival: “Sorry!” the 29-year-old says in the above video excerpt. “I’d like to say sorry for lying to everyone. I’m glad that people were upset that he died. I think my biggest fear was that people were not going to care. Or it would just be, ‘Fine, Jon Snow’s dead.’ But it seems like people had a, similar to the Red Wedding episode, kind of grief about it. Which means something I’m doing — or the show is doing — is right.”

RELATED: Game of Thrones: 17 Biggest Changes from Books to TV

For months EW has been working on a top-secret cover story on the extraordinary behind-the-scenes tale of Jon Snow’s death and resurrection — including an exclusive conversation with Harington.Subscribe to receive the issue in digital format and exclusive online access the moment the story is posted. Or buy the issue right now here. Follow @jameshibberd for updates – and check out our recap of “Home” now. More coming Monday on the shocking episode, including our Game of Thrones podcast, where we’ll break down “Home” — plus talk about our Harington interview.

Check out our exclusive cover below.

LUKE CAGE – THE FORGE

Netflix Original Series ‘Marvel’s Luke Cage’ Adds to the Cast

Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Frank Whaley and Rosario Dawson join the series!

• Sep 16, 2015

“Marvel’s Luke Cage” has added four important characters with Misty Knight, Shades, Rafael Scarfe and Claire Temple. The series will be streaming everywhere Netflix is available in 2016.

• 

Simone Missick to star as Misty Knight

MoreI

Simone Missick (“Ray Donovan”) has joined the cast to play popular character Misty Knight, a Harlem police detective who is determined to learn the truth about Luke Cage.

“We know fans have waited years to see Misty Knight brought to life, so we had to find the right actress,” said Executive Producer/Marvel’s Head of TV Jeph Loeb. “Simone blew us away with her performance as the strong-willed cop on a mission.”

• 

Theo Rossi to star as Shades

MoreI

Theo Rossi (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Bad Hurt”) has joined the cast as Shades, a ruthless criminal with ties to Cage’s mysterious past.

“Theo Rossi is a swiss army knife–no matter what you bring to him, he has a tool for it–and he’s playfully unpredictable,” said series Executive Producer and Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. “His Shades will be someone you hate to love.”

• 

Frank Whaley to star as Rafael Scarfe

MoreI

Frank Whaley (“Ray Donovan,” “Pulp Fiction”) has been cast as Rafael Scarfe, a hard-nosed NYPD detective who partners with Misty Knight in their Luke Cage investigation.

“Frank Whaley has a wiry intensity that he’s imbued in Det. Rafael Scarfe,” said Coker. “He’s a great counterpart to Misty, and a wonderful actor.”

• 

Rosario Dawson reprises her role as Claire Temple

MoreI

Actress Rosario Dawson, celebrated for her work in “Top Five,” “Sin City,” and “Kids,” will reprise her role from “Marvel’s Daredevil” as nurse Claire Temple. Her blossoming friendship with Luke Cage will have a major impact on both characters’ lives.

“We are thrilled to have Rosario in another one of our television series,” said Loeb. “Her performance as Claire Temple in Marvel’s Daredevil was astonishing and we can’t wait to see her shine in Marvel’s Luke Cage.”

It was previously announced that Mike Colter (“Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” “The Good Wife”) will play the charismatic lead character, Luke Cage, in the series. Mahershala Ali will play his archrival Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes. Cheo Hodari Coker (“SouthLAnd,” “Ray Donovan”) will write the series’ first two episodes in addition to serving as showrunner and Executive Producer along with Loeb.

After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City. But he is soon pulled out of the shadows and must fight a battle for the heart of his city – forcing him to confront a past he had tried to bury.

“Marvel’s Luke Cage” is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/tv/25106/netflix_original_series_marvels_luke_cage_adds_to_the_cast#ixzz3m1bryjnR

BRAVE NEW WORLD – ALLTHING

Syfy and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television developing Brave New World series

BY JENNIFER MAAS • @JMAAS421

ENLARGE PHOTO

Posted May 5 2015 — 6:16 PM EDT

Before dystopian future novels were all the rage, there were many classic tales predicting a dark future for mankind. Syfy and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television will soon pay tribute to one of the most famous and acclaimed of those works: The network and production company announced Tuesday that they’re developing an adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

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The novel was first published in 1932. It’s set in a future world that lacks poverty, war and disease—but where mind-altering drugs are distributed, and free sex and increased consumerism are the norm. Most disturbing of all, people no longer reproduce; instead, they’re genetically created in “hatcheries.” Those who refuse to conform are sent to “reservations.” All this, though, is about to change when one “savage” bucks the system and threatens the entire social order.

Modern Library ranked Brave New World fifth on a list of the 20th century’s 100 best English language novels. “Brave New World is one of the most influential genre classics of all time. Its provocative vision of a future gone awry remains as powerful and as timeless as ever. Promising to be a monumental television event, Brave New World is precisely the groundbreaking programming that is becoming the hallmark of Syfy,” said Dave Howe, president of Syfy and Chiller, in a statement.

Syfy and Amblin have collaborated before on Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken, which received an Emmy for Best Miniseries in 2003.

Amblin Television’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (The Americans, Falling Skies, Under the Dome) will executive produce, along with Les Bohem (Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken), who will also pen the screenplay. Universal Cable Productions will act as the studio.

X-FILES

The X-Files Revival Closer Than Ever

• 
• By Jay Jayson03/21/2015

The X-Files revival is inching ever so closer to an official green light from Fox, according to sources for TV Wise.

In January, Fox revealed that they have had conversations about bringing back The X-Files. Not much was known at that time, but Fox did say they were planning on bringing back creator Chris Carter and the show’s stars David Duchovny and Gillain Anderson. Since then, Duchovny and Anderson have both expressed interest in reprising their roles as Agents Mulder and Scully.

TV Wise is reporting that Fox is planning to order a shortened season of The X-Files – less than 10 episodes. Which is similar to what the network did with Keifer Sutherland’s 24, however, it had 12 episodes. The Daily Mail claims that it will be six episodes, but TV Wise says the number still hasn’t be determined at this time.

TV Wise claims that the revival will clear up unresolved plot lines that the original series and the two films that followed never did. They add, Chris Carter will write the scripts and serve as the executive producer.

The reason for the short order? One of the main reasons is said to be scheduling.

The feeling was that it would be easier for the always in demand Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny to schedule a block of time to shoot the revival with a short order. The duo, who were always committed to doing more X-Files, have, sources say, agreed to reprise their roles. It is understood than an offer has also gone out to Mitch Pileggi. Other key cast members will also return.

The X-Files ran on Fox from 1993-2002 and earned 21 Emmy nominations.