TV Review: Legend of the Seeker 1×1 & 1×2

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Non-Spoilery Review

Legend of the Seeker on the outside might look like just another Xenia or Hercules-style show (which isn’t entirely a bad thing in my opinion) that’s way too campy to be taken seriously (point in fact all three shows are produced by Sam Raimi). Yet the show has a surprisingly awesome cast, beautiful shooting locations and a story line that is compelling and, at times, complex. If you enjoy fantasy odds are that you’ll really enjoy Legend of the Seeker, which is based very loosely on The Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Since I watched both episodes together we’ll review the first two episodes together. More spoilery review about the pilot episodes “Prophecy” and “Destiny” after the cut.

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Win Dinner with Edward James Olmos!

EJOCalling all Nuggets! Here’s your chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to dine with Edward James Olmos. Frakkin’ awesome, right? But we’re not just going to bestow this honor on anyone. You’ll need to fill out the “Viper Pilot Application” form so that we know you qualify for consideration. You will be asked to answer 10 questions. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1) Knowledge of Battlestar Galactica TV series as displayed in the answers
2) Creativity in formulation of answers
3) Clarity of thought in presentation of answers.

So grab your gun and bring in the cat. Good hunting!

Click here to find out more: http://www.ugo.com/battlestarcontest/

Why You Should Be Watching Eastwick

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The ABC drama, Eastwick, centers around three women who live in the town of Eastwick. They’re quite ordinary when we first meet them, though each has a very distinct personality. Weird things begin to happen when Bun, the head of the Eastwick Historical Society, is attacked by army ants.

This happens on the day that Darryl Van Horne moves into town. Darryl is a very wealthy, charming, and mysterious newcomer. He moves in and takes an instant interest in the three main ladies, who I should probably introduce now.

Roxie is the blonde bombshell, even if she is a little older. She’s dating a younger man, probably to make herself feel younger. Roxie is an artist. She has her own store, where she sells her bizarre creations. She has a daughter named Mia. After Darryl comes to town, she starts to have strange but psychic dreams. She also seems to have the power to make things happen by just wanting it. There is some sort of footnote to that power, though, because not everything she wants happens. My theory is, it has something to do with how bad she wants it.

Roxie also has a vision of someone killing her, then the person in her vision shows up in town. She decides the vision must be wrong and agrees to rent Jamie, the Johnny Depp look-a-like, the apartment above her shop.

Joanna is a shy and awkward newspaper reporter. Her best friend is named Penny and works at the paper with her. She has a crush on the newspaper photographer, Will. She always stumbles and says inappropriate things when talking to Will. After Darryl arrives, however, she is able to look into a man’s eyes and tell them what to do. Better yet, they do it. Joanna uses her charms on Will, but then wonders if he really likes her. Joanna also starts to investigate Darryl, and comes up with some very interesting and unbelievable information.

Kat is a mother of five and married to Raymond. She’s a registered nurse and is always taking care of everyone else. Raymond is very controlling and they start to have problems when she begins hanging out with Joanna and Roxie. Kat grows a backbone and lets Raymond know he can’t tell her what to do anymore, or maybe the lightning did that. Kat can control the elements, or so it seems. She may or may not be divorcing Raymond. That’s up in the air.

Eastwick is really entertaining. I’ve heard people compare it to Desperate Housewives with magic. It’s also very mysterious. You know the ladies have powers, but why or where they came from is unknown right now. I think everyone should check out this very interesting drama. It’s actually different from anything on television right now, and a nice change of pace. Also, it’s just a lot of fun.

Must Watch this Fall: White Collar

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USA’s New Original Series White Collar – October 23 at 10/9c

whitecollarTake one part smart, one part funny and add in a dash of charm and you have USA Network’s newest series – White Collar. I received a screener copy of the pilot and wasn’t sure how I’d enjoy the series. I shouldn’t have been worried, the show is endearing, clever, smart and enjoyable!

White Collar is a show that fits in well with USA’s other smart shows – Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, and Royal Pains – without being a clone of those shows. It follows the unlikely partnership of a FBI agent and a high-class thief named Neal Caffrey. The G-man, Peter Burke (played by Tim DeKay) is our middle-class hero who is comitted to his work. Caffrey is the effortless con man, who seems to be able to get anything he wants.

Matt Bomer, who many of you know as Bryce from Chuck, brings his sexy/snarky self to the role of Neal Caffrey, a character who is a mixture of The Saint and Frank Abagnale Jr. He plays off of his co-start, Tim DeKay (Carnivale) at a level that you usually don’t see in a pilot of a TV series. The back and forth between DeKay and Bomer seems like it’s come from years of working together, not a few weeks. And that’s the heart of why I loved the pilot for White Collar – there’s a great relationship between the actors (even the secondary characters interaction with the main characters is believable and fun to watch).

This was one pilot that I couldn’t stop watching. I was never bored, nor did I feel the story dragged at any point. I was kept enthralled with the story from start to finish. I also loved some of the fun camera angles and editing choices that kept the show feeling fresh. Especially watching Caffery deal with his new role and seeing Burke deal with his new partner. Despite the differences between the two both men have points of similarity that makes their conversations interesting.

It was also a pleasant surprise to see Mark Sheppard (Firefly/Battlestar Galatica/Dollhouse) in a guest role. His role is fun, if briefer than I would have liked (I think this pulls Sheppard’s ‘bad guy’ role up to the double digits).

In all, this is a series I can see jumping to the top of my “must watch” list and I think you should see it too.

Learn more at USA Network’s website by clicking here.

TV Review: Glee Pilot Episode (Director’s Cut)

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Watch on Hulu || Buy Pilot – Director’s Cut on Amazon || Watch Glee on Fox, Wednesday Nights

Forget what preconceived notions you have about Glee if you haven’t seen it yet. Sure it’s a high-school show with music, which may lead you to believe it’s a Highschool Musical clone, but the exact opposite is true. Glee is one of the tightest, most refreshing pilots I’ve seen in a long time – and the director’s cut even more so. On a recent trip to Wal-mart I picked up the Director’s Cut DVD ($5) and was extremely pleased with it.

Glee is one of those shows that just makes you smile, but don’t take that to mean it’s a fluffy romp – the characters have a lot of inner angst and torment and high school to deal with. Despite only having an hour to set up 11 characters (and some minor ones), Glee doesn’t fall fall with adding depth and character to most of the main cast (regrettably not Tina, who I think could easily be my favorite character). And it’s not just the kids who have problems, the main characters are also fraught with real life issues (including the main character, Will Schuester played by Matthew Morrison).

The Director’s Cut only has a couple extended scenes that aren’t in the original cut, but worth the watch. One of them is Matthew Morrison’s performance of Leaving on a Jet Plane, which is hauntingly beautiful.

With an infectious combination of songs, dances and a cappella moments used in addition to the musical scoring make Glee a show that can lift your spirits and have you singing all night long.

Tonight’s the second episode of Glee, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

What to Watch This Fall: CBS’ Three Rivers

I love Fall, changing of the temperature, crisper nights to snuggle up and watch some good TV. After a long hard Summer of “barely anything on” it’s great to see a lot of your favorite shows coming back and, of course, have the opportunity to fall in love with some new shows!

One of the shows that you may want to tune into is CBS’ new medical drama – Three Rivers. Three Rivers goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons that make it all happen. Actors Alex O’Loughlin (The Shield and Moonlight) and Katherine Moennig (The L Word) star as part of the elite surgical team that – in addition to being doctors – must deal with donor families in their darkest hour, while managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients.

According to an interview with Alex O’Loughlin, the show is based on a real life surgeon and Alex got to spend a lot of time researching the role in an actual hospital. I love when shows delve into the realism behind the drama. and Three Rivers seems to be a show with heart. The preview clips I watched on CBS showed a sense of humor, drama and, of course, the medical procedures.

Seems like a great series for anyone who has enjoyed ER, and misses the show now it’s off the air. I’ll be tuning in, how about you guys?

Three Rivers premieres Sunday, October 4th on CBS. You can view the preview here: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/three_rivers/

Now You Too Can Have a Mad Men Bed

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Need even more of the Mad Men? Buy Mad Men on DVD and Blu-Ray on Amazon.com!

clubfurniturestore_2070_6200201Tired of the boring old headboard (or lack of) that you have on your bed? When you watch Mad Men are you really staring at Draper’s headboard and thinking, “man that would be great to lean against and read?” Then you, my friend, are in luck.

Now available at ClubFurniture.com is the Tufted Draper bed inspired by the hit TV show Mad Men. I personally would love a Inara style bed inspired by the cult-TV show Firefly, but this one is rather nice and retro.

To ease any uncertainties about purchasing furniture online, clubfurniture.com offers a 30-day in-home trial. If customers are not completely satisfied with their bed or any other piece of furniture, they can contact clubfurniture.com within that time frame to return the piece(s) and receive a refund. Purchasers also receive a full bed frame and workmanship warranty.

So, check it out, and buy one for yourself. Sorry the actual Don Draper is not included.

TV Review: Project Runway 6×1 “Welcome to Los Angeles”

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Watch Project Runway on Lifetime, Thursday nights, 10 pm et/pt.
Buy Project Runway: Season Five on Amazon.com

On the whole, I despise reality television. Yet, there’s something about actual creative people competing that seems entirely different than people trapped in a house shouting at each other (sorry Heidi). So when Project Runway went through the trauma of switching networks from Bravo to Lifetime, I missed it.

But now it’s back, and in my hometown! Yay!

While I was not worried about the move to LA, I was curious to see if it would change the show’s feel any. Anyone who has visited LA’s garment district knows it’s a lot different than New York’s. Plus, downtown LA is a much different than downtown New York. As much as I love the Fashion Institute, the designers should be at a beach house somewhere. Thankfully they do get to run around LA some it looks like.

Season 6 Ep 1 “Welcome to Los Angeles”
Rating: [rating:3.5]
Quote of the Episode: “I don’t watch the red carpet. I don’t differentiate between different color carpets.” – Malvin Vien

Spoilers after the cut.

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