First Look at Luck

HBO has released it's first behind the scenes of their newest original series, Luck. The show stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. Here's the video via YouTube:

Game of Thrones

Tonight, HBO premieres it's newest original series Game of Thrones. The series is based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels. Like all HBO series, you can expect no small detail left undone and a strong budget to back the production.

I'm curious about this show only because of so much promotion HBO has put behind it. I not quite sure what the show is about other than it will take on fantasy elements and appears to take place in medieval times based on the short previews I've seen. HBO never does anything half-ass and have known to support shows with gigantic budgets (Rome, Deadwood and more recently Boardwalk Empire).

I have high hopes that the show will be everything you'd want from the fantasy genre; sex, violence and the battle between good and evil. Going in with no knowledge may be a risk, but I'm sure I'm in the majority. As always, high hopes and fingers crossed.

An Idiot Abroad

On Saturday night, the Science Channel provided the stateside premiere of the documentary, An Idiot Abroad. The basic premise involves Karl Pilkington, a close minded Englishman, visiting the Seven Wonders of the World with only himself and a camera crew. Executive producers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are so enthralled with Karl’s truly unique and hilarious vision of the world that they sent him on this expedition.

The first episode found Karl traveling to China to see the Great Wall of China. Karl’s observations on cuisine and bathroom etiquette in the Far East are absolutely entertaining. This premiere episode is part 1 of 8 in which Karl will travel around the world and experience a variety of cultures and traditions. If you haven’t heard of Karl, don’t be dissuaded from giving this show a try. I promise you will laugh and also think about things differently once you hear Karl’s view of thinking. Not only entertaining, but informative. Give it a go!

Mr. Show and others coming to IFC

Variety is reporting that HBO original series Mr. Show and Larry Sanders will be re-airing on IFC. Great news for anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing these ground breaking comedies.

Full story: http://bit.ly/fus3p7


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The Walking Dead

When AMC launched their newest original series,The Walking Dead, in October I had mixed feelings. Part of me thought we were getting another series that involved fictitious characters, like True Blood. And with that came the similar format and ensemble of characters. But as we approach the finale of this first season I am happy to say my initial thoughts are unfounded.

Unlike True Blood, the Walking Dead is a case study on the human behavior in dealing with the unknown. We are drawn into this zombie populated world with little idea how everything began and feel as helpless as our protagonist felt after waking up in an abandoned hospital.

The show's first season will come to a close this Sunday with plenty of questions still to be left answered. The show has already been picked up for a second season with more gore and zombie attacks to look forward to. While that aspect makes the show suspenseful, the true action comes from the daily interactions between the survivors. Continuing to build off these tensions is a recipe for success.


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The Amazing Race - Season 17

As of this posting, we have only 5 episodes left of this season's edition of The Amazing Race. I've been an avid viewer of the show the past 4 or 5 renditions and while the premise is essentially the same, it's the competitors who you become attached to and end up caring about.

This year has a had a couple great teams, including the father/son team of Michael & Kevin and the laughable A Cappella Ivy league grads, Connor and Johnathan. Both have been eliminated and we are currently left with 6 teams remaining.

So now it's time for predictions!

Here is my submission for the team I want to win and the team I think will win:

Want: Gary and Mallory
Will: Nat & Kat

Remember, CBS, Sunday nights at 8pm EST. Check it out!

Hell's Kitchen - Season 8 Predictions

The eight iteration of Hell's Kitchen debuted on Wednesday night, surprisingly quick considering that season 7 finished up over the summer. Nevertheless, Gordon Ramsey is back again and if you've seen the show before there's really nothing new going on.

We do have a new maître d’ but no word on whether the old one, Jean Phillipe, simply got tired or his punishment was through. Some may grow tired of Chef Ramsey's antics, I find them riveting and I'm always excited to see which new contestants will challenge Ramsey.

I've enlisted my friend Meghan to give predictions on who we think will end up as the final 2 chefs competing for the grand prize at the season finale. I'll allow Meghan to give her choices and reasoning first:

Jillian
"She's proven herself to be a pretty strong cook, I know it was only one episode but she's fairly consistent."

Louis
"Because he looked normal."

My picks:

Nona
"She's feisty and Chef Ramsey usually wants someone who will stand up for themselves and can be molded in his image. She's a wildcard."

Rob
"He was under the radar in the first episode and it seemed like everyone else got spotlighted for doing something wrong. He's got experience and doesn't act like a fool."

Images courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Company