Copper Returns to BBC America June 23rd!

The premiere announcements just keep on coming today! First, HBO's True Blood was announced for June 6th, then AMC's The Killing for June 2nd and now one of my favorites of last year, BBC America's Copper for June 23rd. 

Joining the already stellar cast of Tom Weston-Jones, Kyle Schmid, Anastasia Griffith, Ato Essandoh, Franke Potente, Kevin Ryan and Kiara Glasco will be Donal Logue, and OZ costars EamonnWalker (currently starring on Chicago Fire on NBC) and Lee Tergesen (seen on ABC's Red Widow). A mini OZ reunion!

The first teaser trailer about Det. Corcoran (Weston-Jones) seeking justice for those living in the Five Points area of New York City in 1865 will air during tomorrow's premiere of Doctor Who on BBC America, so be sure to tune in. 

According to the BBC America website, "The trailer features an Iron and Wine cover of the 1854 song "Hard Times Come Again No More," which you can hear exclusively at RollingStone.com NOW!"

Here's a refresher from my first review about Copper (Click the link for the full text):

I was really looking forward to the premiere of Copper, and I wasn't disappointed. It's not often that one episode can provide such insight into so many characters, but that's what we got with "Surviving Death."

Because the case hit so close to home for Detective Kevin Corcoran, there was very little time wasted in discovering to what lengths he would got to solve a case, what his friends and colleagues thought of him and what  his determined and moral investigative techniques inspired in those he met along the way.

Corcoran is a man, above everything. Needing the comfort of a woman, he isn't above seeking it at the local brothel. He chooses a brothel run by a smart business woman who doesn't exploit the situation for her own gain and remains true to that one woman, Eva. His partner and friend, Francis Macguire also frequents the establishment but Molly doesn't have the same soft spot for him that Eva has for Corcoran. She's always leaning in for a kiss in the hopes of engaging Corcoran and speaking of him and his missing wife while laying with Francis. It would do her good to be happy with what she has, as Macguire doesn't take well to people talking about Corcoran and his misfortunes. More of that loyalty Corcoran inspires.

Lindsay Lohan -- Still Drinking, Despite Rehab Sentence | TMZ.com

TMZ won't let me comment on their site...so to hell with them. I'll comment on my own site. This girl is in a bad place, but not so bad that I haven't been there already. Anyone who hasn't been 28 and thought the world wasn't at their feet is lying, and add millions (even if it's on bank statements only) is a nut. So, here's what I was trying to say to TMZ when they decided my comment was just too much to take. Give me a damned break.

Since the TMZ staff member who wrote this article is afraid to report under their own name, maybe they'd like to talk about their drinking at the age of 26, or 25 when this was all taking place. I'll be happy to tell you where I was. Drunk. Every night. Caught and paid the price. But, lucky me, I wasn't an actress. And, apparently, neither are you. If TMZ wants a real reporter willing to report about the realities of people the age of Lindsay and her peers, give me a call. Otherwise, shut the hell up. She makes a lot of mistakes, but rarely are they life threatening. Just frigging stupid. She needs friends, not court. How often do you hear about a dude in the similar situation? Do you seriously think there ISN'T a dude in the same situation? Damn.

Lindsay Lohan -- Still Drinking, Despite Rehab Sentence | TMZ.com:


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Notes from the Nashville Paleyfest Panel

Seriously people, I'm talking notes jotted as the panel played on. Enjoy...or not!

Callie Khouri

She's on an incredibly steep learning curve whether she wants it to go on or not.

Regarding Connie, “I had no idea if she could sing, but I knew she had the hair.”

Charles Easton

“I loved the singing, I've always wanted to do that. Without the singing, I don't think I would have gotten a role this good.”

Hayden had her head pressed outside the door while he auditioned, and he knew the cheerleader who had saved the world and all that. That's nothing more that an actor would like to hear than Hayden Panettiere saying “that was so good!” while clapping.

Connie Britton

Was she intimidated by the singing? “Um...yeah.” That was also what was really exciting, being able to dive into that challenge as an actor.

She thought, If I'm ever going to sing, I should probably do it with T-Bone. “And the rhinestones. I really like the outfits.”

Hayden Panettiere

Hayden grew up in New York and everybody thought she was crazy to be a country music fan. Callie said it's the biggest country music market in the world.

“To run across a role that combines the two, there are no words that can describe the two. I thought, something's going to go wrong here.”

Hayden has incredible stage fright. To play a character who's songs really do tell her character arc as well, and taking control of it.

Sam Palladio

“My gran used to bring me to singing lessons and tap lessons. I don't know why I just said that. That was embarrassing. The things you'll say in front of two thousand people.”

“To combine my two loves in a character who has such a great journey....is such a dream.”

Sam jumped the whole casting process and never met Clare before they first sang together. The first sang “If I Didn't Know Better” and it just kind of worked.

They expected they would have to rearrange the song because Sam wouldn't be able to hit the high notes, but he pulled it off without any changes.

Clare Bowen

She's a classically trained singer, and T-Bone told her not to second-guess herself.

“I read Scarlett and I just absolutely fell in love with this beautifully written creature.”

Jonathan Jackson

“When I got the script, I immediately fell in love with the whole show. I don't even care what character I'm looking at, I just love the whole thing.”

Hayden was impressed with his audition and said “you're totally getting this role.”

He has been singing and writing music since he was 11. (Something you'd never have known watching him grow up on General Hospital as Lucky!)

“Everything he touches has a presence in it that is just powerful, beautiful and amazing.” of T-Bone

Other bits:

What's going to happen with Deacon and Rayna?

Charles Easton says “We have this deep abiding love and she's the one for me.” Throughout it all, the mess, the trouble and the turmoil, where we just sit there we can feel it again. It's always right there.”

“It's a very grown up relationship. It's people who have a lifetime and a history together. As actors it's so fun to play because it has depth and dimension together.” “There's always just this foundation between the two of them.”

When the moderator mentioned there's also a deep dark secret there, with Maddie's father? Connie screamed, “He's right here! He's right here! What is WRONG with you??”

Callie: “That's the one thing about being really behind on our scripts.” Not knowing what's going to happen next.

Charles: “I love not knowing. I have no ability to play ahead on what's going to be happening.” “Also what you want to know is going to relieve that tension for why you're going to watch again. Will you please relieve that tension? No.”

Connie said she overheard Hayden saying for an upcoming episode, “What costume do I have to wear in this episode? You know I'm naked the whole time.”

Hayden on Juliette: “I really do believe she's got it in her heart to do the right things. She just goes about it in the wrong way and is so mean.” Juliette's role will be looking at rekindling her relationship with her mother and taking her career into her own hands. And, some clothes might come off in the meantime.

Gunnar and Scarlett: Says Sam, “Gunnar is in a really emotional place right now and Scarlett is being that emotional bedrock for him right now.” Clare, “I think most of it was done on the couch.”

Clare also said, “One of the wonderful things about the way they are being written is the layers and the way they are folding over. They have grief right now. When that happens it puts in front of you someone who you might lose and how much you care about that person.”

Just thought I'd share with you some of the things I thought were interesting from the panel discussion. Thanks to Paleyfest and Livestream.com for bringing it to us live!

TV Fanatic Applauds Switched at Birth for its All ASL Episode

If you read The Huffington Post, you might have seen their piece on the all ASL episode of Switched at Birth titled "Uprising" on one of their TV Replay segments.

In the piece they noted that TV Fanatic applauded Switched at Birth for reaching outside its -- and viewers' -- comfort zones with its all ASL, and virtually silent, episode.

It was a difficult hour to review and so cleverly done that it was well worth the effort put into it.

The compelling ABC Family hit drama about two girls switched at birth and the challenges they face as they tackle all of the complexities that come with blending their two families swept the key targets in all demos in Monday's cable ratings.

Full coverage of the show and virtually all other TV related content can be found at TV Fanatic. Follow everything else I have to offer TV Fanatic by clicking HERE.

Zero Hour Could Have Been A Great Show....

When I first saw the pilot for Zero Hour last summer, I loved it. The combination of mystery, thrills, historical facts, fiction and conspiracy theories really excited me. It was a pilot episode so the possibilities were endless.

At the end of that pilot episode, Anthony Edward's character, Hank, comes across his doppelganger  dead in a plane from World War II in a frozen wasteland in full Nazi dress before the credits roll. Really, how wrong could things go after that? I was left breathless. Sure, I'm a geek. I like history and the idea that we can relive it through ridiculous plot lines and the lives of the people thrust into the middle of them. Sue me.

Red flags were raised pretty quickly upon watching the second episode of Zero Hour. The biggest was the tedious reminder that Hank's wife was kidnapped. Yeah, we got that right away due to his constant screaming "my wife!" at, to and in front of various people and for varying reasons. At no point did voicing the fact make it any more relevant to viewers. Viewers were given nothing to go on before she was missing, so buying their love was a stretch. 

Finding out Hank was a reincarnation or relative or someone during WWII, who also happened to be a Nazi (with a tremendously horrible German accent) didn't add to the intrigue, but instead made it more comical. If he had been a nasty Nazi, at least it would have been believable. I could have bought Hank somehow fighting against himself decades after the fact, but that wasn't the case.

Otherwise - the Nazi ties, the Einstein and Catholic tidbits - could have made for an interesting puzzle for everyone to solve. Just seeing Einstein film footage on television was kind of cool. Incorporating it into a television show was fun. Too bad we didn't have some footage of the Apostles to fill in the gaps....

Anyway, the missing link was characterization. The characters were weak. Not just weak but completely blank. Without background or reference of any kind to engage us or make us give a flying shit that they were even struggling with life and death situations, we couldn't care if Hank found his wife, and that was his motivating factor Without a deep and integral connection, any series is dead in the water. 

So, Zero Hour will be replaced with episodes of reality series like Wife Swap and some other crap I've never watched. I can guarantee those losers do anything they can to tug at your heart strings and drag you into their pathetic lives. 

That's the clincher. No matter how disgusting it might be or how low a reality show might go, if they drag you down with them at least they have you on the hook. Zero Hour tossed the hook in the water without any bait. 

If viewers don't care what happens to the characters, they won't tune in no matter how interesting and compelling the story surrounding them might be. 

PS - I've seen the fourth episode and the story, while not the characters, would have taken a deliciously exciting turn at that point. Damned shame the people weren't better written into it to make y'all want to watch!