‘The Last Ship’ Premieres Sunday on TNT
The Great Adam Baldwin,who can’t seem to star in anything that doesn’t rise to the level of a cult classic (“My Bodyguard,” “Firefly,” “Full Metal Jacket,” “Chuck”) co-stars in a brand new TNT drama series produced by Michael Bay. The show premieres this coming Sunday on the 22nd and the concept is intriguing:
Their mission is simple:
Find a cure.
Stop the virus.
Save the world.
When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet’s population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction.
From Michael Bay, the last ship, starring Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra and Adam Baldwin
Here’s the series trailer and a link to the website:
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“The Last Ship” is based on the 1988 post-apocalyptic novel of the same name. The show’s pilot was helmed by feature director Jonathan Mostow, the man behind three terrific action films: “Breakdown” (1997), “U-571” (2000), and “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003). Jack Bender, one of the most experienced directors in television, took over the next two episodes.
Best of fall, this is a 10-part series or season (depending on renewal), which is in that sweet spot for potentially great television.
PlayStation Poised to Leapfrog Xbox in Race to Launch Original Drama
Streaming, streaming, streaming… The race is now on between two video gamers to produce the first buzzy drama available exclusively through their consoles.
Microsoft’s Xbox seemed to be in the lead after announcing in 2012 that they had hired a director of programming and announced a slate of programs in development.
PlayStation, however, has the power of Sony behind it, so as of now they are leapfrogging over Xbox with a superhero drama called “Powers,” which will premiere this December.
Xbox has already launched a soccer-themed reality show and has six other shows in production; a dozen more are in development.
How is cable going to survive this onslaught of new programming available to most everyone outside that $100 a month cable bill? I just don’t see how that’s possible. Maybe if the economy gets better… but Obama’s utter failure to manage the economy has created a lost decade where young people have not only found cheaper alternatives but learned that they can live without cable entirely.
The demographics are all for streaming and against cable.
TV Violence Makes People More Afraid Of Crime, But Not Afraid There’s More Crime
A new study shows that the more violence there is on television, the more people become afraid of crime. They don’t mistakenly believe there’s more crime happening in the world, they just become more afraid of becoming victims of crime.
How exactly is this a bad thing? Not wanting to be a victim is a good thing, correct?
If increased violence on television created vigilantism or made people irrationally afraid to go outside, that would be a negative. But there is nothing wrong with adding deadbolts to you doors, alarms to your windows, and a snub-nosed .357 under the bed.
The bad thing would be if people were living with a false sense of security.
Something I’ve never understood is this quaint idea of living in the type of community where no one locks their doors. I guess not locking your doors represents some kind of statement, but it is not something that is difficult to do or remember. And the consequences of not doing so can be unthinkable.
In those days when I was just starting out on my own, I spent a few years living and working in one of the most crime-ridden and dangerous areas of Milwaukee. Today I live in the kind of place where you don’t have to lock your doors. But I still lock my doors. And other than bars on the windows, I still employ all the habits learned the hard way in the big bad city.
Regardless of where you live or how you live your life, the world is a beautiful place that can become a terrible place in the blink of an eye. TV reminding people of that is what you call a public service.
Joan Rivers Blasts Lena Dunham’s ‘Naked Fat Ass’
I’m not the biggest Joan Rivers fan in the world but at least she’s willing to go where other comics aren’t. I can tell you for a stone-cold fact that Lena Dunham is a sacred cow in Hollywood and that people who want to are afraid to criticize or mock her (and for good reason). This, despite the fact that her HBO show “Girls” is a persistent ratings flop.
Rivers, bless her, goes there:
Rivers calls the HBO star the “first fat girl naked on the television,” saying that television viewers watch her show with “their hands over their eyes.” If Dunham is free enough to “have her fat ass on display,” she writes, why isn’t she “free enough to have a f-ing salad once in a while?”
Rivers adds that if she has to see Dunham’s “ass, boobs or tattoos” again, she wants HBO charged with crimes against humanity.
She also takes Dunham to task for being “boastful” during a women’s event where she claimed to be a “pioneer” for women in Hollywood while standing in front of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
That last charge is especially damning.
What drives me nuts about Dunham is the same thing that drives me nuts about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: America’s ThoughtLeaders blow these low-rated leftists up into phenoms they aren’t.
If all you did was watch the media, you would think at least half the country tunes into these shows, when the truth is that less than 2% of the population does. Rush Limbaugh is 5 and 10 times the star Dunham, Stewart, and Colbert are, but gets nowhere near the play among our cultural overseers.
Frauds deserve to be taken down a notch more than most anyone else, and Dunham, Colbert, and Stewart are frauds and then some…
It’s all smoke, mirrors, and politics. Period. None of it’s real. Speaking of that…
Jay-Z/Beyonce Tour Tickets Not Selling Well
From what you see in the media, you would think that a tour featuring The Perfect Power Couple would sell out like water in the desert at noon in July. But according to Grantland, Obama’s BFFs, Jay-Z and Beyonce, are struggling to put butts in seats for their new “On the Run” tour.
In another crack in the kingdom walls, the joint tour hasn’t been selling very well. None of the shows have sold out, and the large stadium venues are, frankly, too big. There are 11,000 tickets on StubHub for the Meadowlands show. Why aren’t people running to the On the Run Tour? Some sources speculate that the public is suffering from power couple fatigue[.]
Of course it could also be that no one can afford the tickets. If you are a spread-the-wealth/tax-the-rich Democrat charging an average $342 per ticket, you might want to back a president whose economic policies actually work, as opposed to a failed president whose policies rob your fans of jobs, opportunity, and hope.
Just a though JayBey!
Quick Hits
Jay Leno to Receive Mark Twain Comedy Prize
Mark Ruffalo Says Marvel is Considering New ‘Hulk’ Movie
‘Bourne 5′ Bumped to July 2016
EMMYS: Some Of This Year’s Series Contenders Are Gorier Than Ever
‘Batman V Superman’ Rumors: Lex Luthor is a Monster for Facebook Generation