TV Review: Justified – First 3 Episodes

Give Timothy Olyphant a cowboy hat and a hip holster and you’ve got gold. Which makes the casting of Olyphant in the FX Channel’s new series “Justified” as close to a sure bet as you’ll get in the sometimes muddy world of TV. Based on the character Raylan Givens by American crime novelist Elmore...

February 24th, 2010 | Read More

TV Review: Human Target Pilot (Comic-Con ‘09)

Mark Valley is Christopher Chance, a freelance bodyguard at the center of FOX’s new action-adventure show Human Target. Unlike his comic book counterpart, from which the show is based, the TV version of Chance does not, in fact, assume the identity of his employees. Instead, Chance blends into...

July 25th, 2009 | Read More

TV Review: Dark Blue Pilot

Despite the title, and the somewhat familiar premise, TNT’s new cop show Dark Blue is not, in fact, a TV version of the Kurt Russell cop movie of the same name from 2002. The show is yet another product of uber producer Jerry Bruckheimer (the CSI franchise), and stars Dylan McDermott (“The Messengers”)...

July 11th, 2009 | Read More

TV Review: Leverage Season 2 Premiere

The boys (and girls) are back, as Season 2 of TNT’s original series Leverage kicks off next week, July 15. The Season 2 premiere picks up with former insurance investigator turned Robin Hood criminal mastermind Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) and his merry band of (somewhat) reformed criminal posse having...

July 10th, 2009 | Read More

TV Review: Burn Notice Season 2 Premiere

Shortly into the “Burn Notice” Season 2 premiere episode, Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) is caught enjoying a cup of java in the apartment of the show’s hero, Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan), to which Sam comments (something to the effect of), “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.” I share...

July 12th, 2008 | Read More

John Adams (2008) TV Mini-Series Review

Historians have, for two centuries, portrayed the men who signed America’s Declaration of Independence as proud figures standing alone in their greatness and grand ideals. Many of the documentaries about history spend a great deal of time on the momentous events that defined the course of history...

June 9th, 2008 | Read More

The Andromeda Strain (2008) TV Mini-Series Review

Science-fiction movies have a few rules they generally must adhere to in order to be considered “science” fiction. First, they must revolve around a science, whether that’s physics, astronomy, biology, quantuum mechanics, geology or any of a multitude of fields of study. Really good...

May 28th, 2008 | Read More

TV Review: Life Pilot (2007)

“Life”, and its male lead Damian Lewis, are goddamn fantastic, which probably translates into the show having a very short shelf life on network TV. Shows this good just don’t last, which speaks more to the crappy taste of the American TV public than to the cast and crew of “Life.”...

September 27th, 2007 | Read More

TV Review: K-Ville Pilot

For a moment there, I considered writing a longer review for FOX’s new crime/buddy cop show K-Ville, but after seeing the pilot, and finding it lacking, I’ve decided to take the lazy route. Which is unfortunate, because from everything I’ve seen of the show before actually seeing the...

September 18th, 2007 | Read More

TV Review: Prison Break Season 3 Premiere

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) is back in the joint, but big bro Linc (Dominic Purcell) is not, and it’s up to Linc to find a way to break Michael out. Or maybe not. It appears that Michael being held at the notorious Panamanian prison Sona was no accident, and that certain parties wish him...

September 18th, 2007 | Read More

The Kill Point: Episode 1-2 (2007) TV Review

One thing I’ve come to learn from Spike TV is to expect the unexpected. I’m not a regular viewer of any current programs running on their schedule at the moment, but some of you may recall the recent “Blade” spin-off based on the seemingly popular New Line franchise. To be perfectly...

August 10th, 2007 | Read More

TV Review: Bionic Woman (2007) Pilot

If you think about it, adapting “The Bionic Woman” to contemporary times makes sense. (Curiously, the new version is simply called “Bionic Woman”, minus the “The”.) Who actually remembers the bionic woman? Everyone remembers the bionic man, of course, but the woman?...

August 1st, 2007 | Read More

Firefly: Unaired Pilot (2003) TV Review

In the very narrow world of rabid fanboys, Joss Whedon’s name gets uttered with the same reverence as Bruce Campbell (of the “Evil Dead” movies). Having been responsible for two of the more influential “teen geek” shows in recent years (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”...

April 29th, 2005 | Read More

Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars (2004) Mini-Series TV Review

Part One: It’s back. “Farscape” resurfaces after a year’s absence, ushered back to life by fan outrage that was so loud The Powers That Be at the Sci-Fi Channel (which owns the show) saw fit to grant the makers of the series 4 hours (plus commercials) to tie up all loose ends...

October 17th, 2004 | Read More

Generation X (1996) Movie Review

Long before the X-Men made a splash on the big screen, Marvel Comics tried things on a smaller scale with a television film based on a spin-off of the X titles. They made a very wise decision, and the result signals the beginning of Marvel’s rise as a theatrical force to be reckoned with. Breezy...

October 2nd, 2004 | Read More

King Solomon’s Mines (2004) Mini-Series TV Review

So sue me, but I didn’t know “King Solomon’s Mines” was a TV mini-series before watching it. Had I known, and considering my general aversion to TV mini-series (what, I gotta wait multiple nights to see how it all ends?), I wouldn’t have bothered. As it stands, “Solomon”...

September 20th, 2004 | Read More

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) Movie Review

Most people barely remember this offering, which aired back in November of 1978 and was never repeated again. There’s a reason for it being kept under wraps, mostly because it wasn’t exactly “Star Wars”‘ finest hour and proved to be a colossal embarrassment to the fledgling...

August 31st, 2004 | Read More

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998) Movie Review

Things weren’t always so good for Marvel Studios. Several years before they were making big budget blockbusters, they were reduced to cranking out television films for the Fox Network. A fair effort went into bringing Nick Fury, the famed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, to life, but even so it never truly...

August 18th, 2004 | Read More

Justice League of America: Pilot (1997) TV Review

After the disaster that was “Batman and Robin”, DC Comics tried to regain face with a live-action television pilot of their popular super team, the Justice League of America. Unfortunately, the finished product only made matters worse and was quickly shelved, never to see the light of day....

August 8th, 2004 | Read More

Ultraviolet: Mini-series (1998) TV Review

Episode 1 (of 6): “Habeas Corpus” (July 26, 2004) Although I’ve heard some very good things about the British vampire show “Ultraviolet”, I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical. After all, the British aren’t exactly known for their genre shows. Oh sure, they’re...

July 26th, 2004 | Read More