'Doctor Who: The Snowmen'

For all intents and purposes, Christmas night’s Doctor Who episode The Snowmen was about introducing the Time Lords new assistant, Clara Oswin Oswald. And there was no explanation as to how this Clara is connected to Oswin Oswald, seen in the season opener Asylum of the Daleks. And in many ways, that was the least of my interest, mostly because showrunner Steven Moffat and Clara actress Jenna-Louise Coleman have said that the mystery of the new companion will be played out for the rest of the season, which (sadly) will not begin airing until at least April. 

The things I wanted answers to where sort of glossed over, and so it just may be my sense of storytelling versus today’s way of putting a bunch of action on the screen so no one realizes the story is lacking a certain something. If I had not watched the prequel segments released online, I would have never been told how or why Vastra, the Silurian we saw in last season’s A Good Man Goes to War, was living in 1892 London with her wife, the human Jenny. In that brief clip, she explained to the Scotland Yard detective that she was awoken after workers expanding the underground train disturb her sleep. The episode itself never really address this, and if you look at The Snowmen as sort of reboot or tabula rasa for new viewers, why not?

Same goes for the Sontaran, Strax (who ends up kinda of stealing every scene he’s in with his one-liners).Up until this episode, because Strax had died in a Good Man, it could be assumed that The Snowmen was happening before the events of last year’s episode. But it was confirmed that this episode does take place after those events, and that Strax’s death had been reversed: “He gave his life for a friend once. Another friend brought him back.” But that was all we were going to get, as the circumstances of how this occurred are not fully explained. Still all three are scheduled to reappear in at least two more stories this season, so we may get a real explanation. 

And why 1892? Why did the Doctor choose to become a curmudgeon and spend his days in Victorian London. And how long was he there, because he had enough time to refurbish the TARDIS control room.

Another issue I had was with Doctor Simeon, played by Richard E Grant. Like a lot of villains created lately for this show and other franchise –in particular, Star Trek- they have failed to make the villain interesting or really evil. They end up just doing horrible things in pursuant of their goals, but they’re never truly bad in the same way the Daleks or The Weeping Angels are. Simeon is cold, calculating man –in the opening part of the teaser, set in 1842, it is discovered he is an orphan- but what makes him different from the other villains, beyond someone who has come under the influence of the Great Intelligence that use a form of mutant telepathic snow to create a physic bond with people. 

Grant spends most of the episode just staring and giving everyone the stink eye, though when given a chance to perform, he does well. The voice of the Great Intelligence was Ian McKellen and that was a wonderful win for the series itself. 

Otherwise, I found the special to be charming, with Coleman coming out swinging in her role as the curious Clara. She is so different from the Amy Pond (actually, she reminded me a lot of Martha) that it clearly shows showrunner Moffat wanting to put the both Amy and Rory firmly in the past –even though the episode has many nods to them, with the Doctor wearing Amy’s glasses and the double meaning of the pond- by giving us such an interesting character and an interesting mystery of who she really is: the impossible girl. Still, I could do without the snogging.

For long-time Doctor Who fans, they’ll know that the Great Intelligence is an enemy the second Doctor encountered in 1967’s The Abominable Snowmen and its sequel in 1968, The Web of Fear. It should be noted that the Doctor gives a map of the 1967 London Underground on the biscuit tin to the Great Intelligence during the course of his plans, so it is possible that this story now could be seen as a prequel to those serials -the Doctor remarks that the Underground is also a "key strategic weakness in metropolitan living.” In those two serials from that era, the GI use intimate knowledge of the Underground to have their robotic Yeti attack London.

ABC yanks '666', CBS renews 'HIMYM' and TNT cancels 'Leverage'

Despite canceling 666 Park Avenue, ABC was going to air all 13 episodes they ordered. Part of the reason was timing, the alphabet network did not want to launch a new show in that timeslot so close to the holiday season -plus some of their mid-season offerings were not ready. But eroding ratings forced their hand, and ABC yanked the show off the schedule, with it's remaining episodes to be burned off in the summer.To fill that Sunday slot until at least February, comedies Happy Endings and Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 will air there for three weeks beginning January 6 (and the January 27th slot is being filled with a Hallmark TV movie). ABC is double-pumping those sitcoms, as they'll continue to air new episodes in their Tuesday timeslots as well, which means Apt 23 will have completed its 19 episode order. Endings will have four episodes left in their third season pick-up. It's expected that neither of these shows will be back for the fall of 2013.

 

CBS has struck a deal to bring back How I Met Your Mother back for a ninth and -probable- final season. With all the actors contracts up, along with most of the creative folks, including creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, there had been a mounting fear that this current season -its eighth- could be its last. Part of the reason for the early renewal was if CBS was going to pull the plug, both Thomas and Bays said they needed to know before the end of the year because they would need the time to set up the conclusion to the shows elaborate mythology. Plus there had been some speculation and a lot of apprehension on the part of actor Jason Segel, who's film career is skyrocketing, whom appeared not willing to commit for another season. But much like the cast of Friends, these actors are fairly tight-knit. It's a good bet that CBS backed up the money truck, and all the actors got a nice bump in pay.

Finally, TNT has cancelled Leverage after five seasons, making the announcement late on Friday -maybe they hoped no one would notice? It's final episode will air on Christmas Day. 

AMC picks-up 'The Walking Dead' for a 4th season -though showrunner Mazzara departs

For many viewers of AMC’s hit drama The Walking Dead, they might not care about who’s running the show, as long as they get zombies being killed in creative fashion. For some, the personal drama between the characters is distracting from the zombie violence. But for others, like me, I find it troubling when a hit series like The Walking Dead starts going through showrunners like waiters in a restaurant. I mean, this is a show that is not only breaking ratings for cable television, it’s also regularly beating everything on broadcast TV as well. 

In a dual announcement, AMC announced that the show will return for a fourth season, but showrunner Glen Mazzara –who replaced creator/showrunner Frank Darabont halfway through season two- will depart. Much like Darabont’s departure, Mazzara is leaving for creative and a “difference of opinion.”

"My time as showrunner on The Walking Dead has been an amazing experience, but after I finish season 3, it’s time to move on.  I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn’t get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey." – Glen Mazzara

Of course, this has happened before and will happen again. But AMC has a track record of losing creative showrunners from their hit shows. While Rubicon, created and exec producer by Jason Horwitch, was not a huge ratings hit, the critics loved it the show. But he departed during the production of its first and only season. And just recently, Hell On Wheels showrunner John Shiban was sort of forced out at the end of season two before the cable net announced a third season pick-up.

Eventually, we might get a reason for the departures, though it’s not too much a leap of logic to assume that it has to do with whether a show will be character driven or plot driven. And perhaps, even as horror novelist Stephen King has noted that the “zombies have lost some of their scare appeal,” this is what concerns the cable net. Still, King adds that the “continuing tale of human survival in Apocalypse America is still fascinating.” For any showrunner on a commercial network needs to balance that commercial aspect –the fickle viewers and a demographically dictated mantra - with the social commentary it’s also trying to weave through the show. Also, serialized shows have an even more difficult problem insomuch as they need to move the show forward each episode while fighting an audience that may not see the series every week and don’t want to make the effort of figuring things out. Episodic TV is easy, but continuing drama’s face an uphill battle with the network, the audience and the showrunners whom all seem to want different things. In the end, AMC is paying for the show, so they do get the final word.  But it does seem disingenuous of them to force out showrunners on a series that is such a huge hit ratings wise and a critical darling.

'Muppet' sequel news, 'Moument 14' heading to the screen, Franco out of 'Dawn', Bryan Singer to help revive 'Twilight Zone'

Just after Modern Family’s Ty Burrell was cast in The Muppet sequel, word has come that Ricky Gervais is in negations to lead the film after Jason Segal announced that he was not returning. The European-set film begins production in January, with a December 13, 2013 release date. James Bodin returns as director. 

It’s been described as The Breakfast Club set after the apocalypse, but in the age of studios swallowing any young adult content out there hoping to find a worthy series to follow up successful franchises like Twilight and Hunger Games, it’s no surprise Reel FX and Andrew Adamson’s Strange Weather have acquired the rights to Emmy Laybourne’s post-apocalypse trilogy Monument 14. It’s about a group of teens who are trapped together in a chain superstore and face the prospect of life, death and love and hate while the world as they know it ends right outside. The first book was released last June with its follow-up, Monument 14: Sky On Fire, to hit bookstores in June 2013. Brad Peyton, who helmed Journey 2: Mysterious Island will adapt and direct. While no studio is attached, Reel FX is a company that launched a development and production slate in 2010, and then they finance the development of projects and then take those packages and places them with studios. 

James Franco does not expect to return for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, as he says changes at the studio and a new director (Matt Reeves replaces Ruperert Wyatt) will probably mean his arc is finished in the new take on the classic movie franchise. He told MTV News: “I was going to be a small part of the next one. There was a moment when Rupert Wyatt was going to direct the second one. A lot of the human characters that were in the first movie were dead in the sequel that Rupert was going to direct. But there was one scene, between Caesar and my character, maybe even just like on a video that was left behind, but then a lot of things happened, like [former Fox co-chairman] Tom Rothman who was a big part of the first movie, left. Now Rupert’s not a part of it so I don’t know. My guess is I won’t be in it. Nobody’s talked to me since Rupert left.”

One of things that interested my about Madame Vastra –the Silurian we met in A Good Man Goes to War- was how she got stuck in Victorian London, met Jenny and interacted with the Doctor. Also, I was curious how Sontaran Commander Strax arrived there as well and how it all tied them to that story from last season, considering that these adventures must take place before that season six episode. Or so I thought. Now it seems this story takes place after the events of A Good Man Goes to War. In the prequel clip, we learn why Vastra is there, and in a recent posting I noticed that the explanation of Starx's survival after being killed at Demons Run, is that he's been resurrected by a "friend" of the Doctors. I'm curious who that "friend" is, though. Hope they'll explain that, but those answers may have to wait until 2013, as all three are scheduled to return again in episode 11, The Crimson Horror and the currently unnamed season finale.

Gene Roddenberry deserves a lot of credit for social victories that Star Trek achieved in the 1960’s, but The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) is the template for what was later created by Roddenberry. Why this series remains one of best drama shows of that turbulent era is what Rod Serling achieved, something no network thought he could do in a series, something very much commercial but had a social commentary woven into it. Sure, most went over the heads of the audience and sponsors then, it wasn’t until the show was in syndication, thus repeated again and again, did many see the true genius of The Twilight Zone. And while, like Star Trek, there was to be other science fiction shows with moral codes sewn in, Serling’s original show remains the first. And after fifty-three years, Twilight Zone remains popular as ever, with the Syfy Channel airing a marathon of episodes every New Year’s Eve.Now there is going to be another attempt at resurrecting the franchise on TV, as director Bryan Singer and his production company is close to signing a deal with CBS TV Studios on a reboot. Though no network is attached, it’s clear that since CBS owns the rights to the property and aired the original series, as well as the 1985-1989 underrated revival, it will end up there.There is still a chance we’ll see a big screen reboot as well, as Warner Bros is still actively working on that project that has director Matt Reeves attached to, with a script by Jason Rothenberg.

'Teen Wolf' actor Colton Haynes lands on the CW's 'Arrow'

We all know season one of MTV’s Teen Wolf was much better than season two. Part of the problem was there seemed no clear direction for the characters anymore. All the best parts that made the show so much better in season one, the relationships between Scott and Stiles, Derek and Stiles, Stiles and his dad, Scott and Allison, Stiles and Lydia, Scott and his Mom were pushed to the side lines in favor of a muddle mythology that you knew how was going to end when former Battlestar Galactica actor Michael Hogan arrived in episode one. You knew from the start that he was a prick and unredeemable so it made his mustache twirling more annoying than you would expect. 

 

I also had issues with actress Eaddy Mays, who played Allison’s un-approving Mom. She was so cold, such a stereotype of a frigid woman –though Scott’s mom can be on the opposite end of that spectrum, I guess- that there was no emotional loss when she is bitten and has to kill herself before she turns in a werewolf.  By the end of the season, you were almost clapping with joy she was doomed. Now that the series has been picked up for a super third season of twenty-four episodes (versus the 12 for the first two), and is relocating to Los Angeles after spending two years filming in Georgia, it has lost a main character, as Colton Haynes has landed a recurring role on the CW’s Arrow as the leads side kick, Roy Harper. It had been known that Haynes, who’s past modeling expiernece (especially in a widely known gay-teen magazine that lead to some controversy when publicists threatened legal action to online sites that showed those pictures) helped the shows success, was not pleased with the direction of his character of Jackson took in the second season. The actor was sidelined it seemed for most of the season as he became, in Haynes words, a “jerk with a messed up emotional situation due to the fact that he is a lizard man.” 

While Haynes departure should not affect the series as whole (his arc gave him an out at the end of the season), he did spend a lot of time out of his clothes (along with Tyler Posey and Tyler Hoechlin), which pleased the fanbase of women and gay men. And that will be sadly missed. Still, I’m guessing Arrow will give him a chance to show off that genetically lottery winning body, while also giving him a chance to grow as an actor (and probably a pay bump as well). As for what I hope season three does is return to the best aspects the show had for season one, which were the inter-personal relationships between the characters. Sure, it’s not the smartest show on TV, but it seemed clear in season one that producers and writers were having much more fun with the archetypes, and then that was thrown out for season two. Like many fans, I would like to see the Stiles (Dylan O'Brien) and Derek relationship grow. The actors have such chemistry, and whether they do a straight bromance (or gay) storyline or not, the two work very well together and that should be exploited. If they want to make this a chessier version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'm fine with that, just utilize your talent better. The show is already an improvement over most of MTV's scripted shows, why not make the characters a little more three-dimensional?

For season three, the show will add Charlie and Max Carver in recurring roles as twins Ethan and Aidan, a pair of alpha wolves. The Carver brothers were last seen on the later seasons of Desperate Housewives when that show jumped five years into the future between season four and five. Soap actress Felisha Terrel will arrive to play the series’ first female alpha werewolf, while Australian actress Adelaide Kane will arrive in Beacon Hill to play a character connected to the pack with in the town. 

One final thought is will the production keep the continunity of the location when the series begins filming on season three here in Los Angeles. As noted, they filmed in Georgia (though the series is set in California) during the fall and winter, when there was a lot of cold weather and rain. That is something generally missing when filming here. The only way to maintain that, I guess, would to film up state, like in Santa Rosa which would resemble the same sort of terrain and weather of Georgia.