Category: TV

The Shield: Predictions Please!

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Next Tuesday, FX will air the final episode of “The Shield.” I’m proud to say that I’ve been a fan of the show since episode one of the first season. I’m equally proud to say that I’ve turned on several friends and family members it as well. If you’re a fan of the show, I’d love to hear how you think it will end. There’s been a lot of speculation among devotees of the show. Some of the more interesting predictions include:

  • Mackey will get away clean. [I really don’t see this happening.]

  • Mackey will die. [I tend to think not.] He will be killed by Ronnie. [Wouldn’t that be a twist? Mackey killed Terry Crawley because he was going to “rat out” the Strike Team and that’s exactly what Mackey did to Ronnie.] He will be killed by Dutch. [I’m not convinced Dutch will live — see below.] He will be killed by Shane. [Nah.] He will be killed by Mora. [Nah.] He will be killed by Corrine or Cassidy. [I just don’t see it.] He will be killed by Armenians. [That could happen if they discover that Mackey sold them out to the Feds.]

  • Dutch will be killed by the serial killer kid. [Boy, they sure are foreshadowing it. It would be shocking to see Dutch as he lays dying come to the realization that the kid had outsmarted him. I like Dutch though and hope that he doesn’t kick the bucket.]

  • Shane will be killed by Mackey. [Possible and at one point I really wanted to see that… not so much now though.] He will be killed by Ronnie. [Very possible.] He will turn himself in for a deal to spare Mara. [Another possibility.]

  • Claudette will die. [If watching Mackey get immunity didn’t kill her, I don’t think that she’ll just drop dead now — but you never know.] Claudette will lose it and kill Mackey. [Boy, that would go against everything she has stood for since the show started… so I don’t think so.]

  • Ronnie will go to jail because of Mackey’s confession. [Possible.] Ronnie will run. [More likely — and then he may be caught and go to jail or be killed.]

  • Cassidy will be captured and raped/tortured or killed when the Aremenians find out that Mackey double-crossed them. [Boy, wouldn’t that be a twist? Mackey becomes the cause of his daughter’s ruined life. THAT would be worse than prison.]

  • Corrine will be killed by Mackey when he learns that she ratted him out and in turn he ratted out Ronnie to save her from a non-existent charge. [I don’t see Mackey killing any of his family members.]
I think that Mackey will survive but be forced to live with the fact that the events that he put into motion caused him to lose his job and his family. There’s an outside shot that Mackey will die, but I hope that he goes out with some dignity if it happens. I think things look grim for Shane and his family. Mora may survive, but I think Shane is going to die. Ronnie will have to run to survive and I’m not convinced he’ll make it. Dutch may be in a serial killer’s crosshairs and it would be shocking for him to become a victim. I hope he is smarter than that. Claudette has been the moral compass of the show, but I’ve got a bad feeling in regard to her character. I think we may discover that Shane killed the female cop in order to get away. Dani should end up alright. Same for Billings and Julian. I’m not so sure about Aceveda.

So let’s hear your predictions! Then we’ll come back next week and see who came closest to getting it right.

The Night Gallery

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Say the name Rod Serling and most folks will come back with “The Twilight Zone.” And rightly so. “The Twilight Zone” was a classic sci-fi series that still holds up fifty years later. Although not as well known, Rod Serling’s “The Night Gallery” was his follow-up series which premiered on NBC five years after the cancellation of “The Twilight Zone.”

The conceit of “The Night Gallery” was that Serling would come out and talk about a painting on display in the “Night Gallery” and the teleplay, either an original story [many by Serling himself] or an adaptation of HP Lovecraft, Richard Matheson or another sci-fi or horror writer would follow. The paintings always related to the story that followed. It was a cool idea and I loved the show when it originally aired. [Keep in mind this was the early 70’s and I would have been 11 or 12.]

I’ve been watching episodes on RTN lately and I hate to say it, but many don’t hold up near as well as older episodes of “The Twilight Zone.” Part of the problem could be that “The Night Gallery” episodes in syndication are often cut or expanded to meet the half hour time slot.

I recently discovered this site dedicated to “Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.” It’s chock full of information about the series with everything from episode guides, to misconceptions about the series to a gallery of paintings used in each episode. If you have any interest in Rod Serling or “The Night Gallery” you should check out the site. It’s even more fun than some of the episodes it covers!

The Shield: "Parricide"

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As the final season of The Shield heads to a conclusion, I find my self wondering how it will all end. Whatever happens, the main characters aren’t walking away happy. Two of the characters in the photo above, from the first episode of season one, are already dead. Mackey’s family is falling apart, his job and pension hang by a thread and his best friend has become his worst enemy.

Another Strike Force Team member could die in tonight’s episode which Capone over at Ain’t It Cool News calls the best and most gripping installment yet. And that’s saying a lot. Maybe too much in fact. And for once I refused to read Capone’s invisatext spoiler warning on how the episode ends.

ST Covered by EW

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I’ll bet it’s not to hard to guess what will be the cover story of next week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly. That’s right, ZONErs, the new “Star Trek” movie will get the EW main feature treatment. The issue hits newsstands this Friday and will contain exclusive set visit photos.

I’m a huge fan of the original “Star Trek” in whatever form, tv series, cartoon or movie. I never gave any of the other incarnations of “Star Trek” more than a occasional glance. I am looking forward to the new movie though. It’ll be interesting to see if the magic can be recaptured. Perhaps the Entertainment Weekly cover story will give us a hint.

All Time Best SciFi TV

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Entertainment Weekly recently posted their selections for the Twenty Greatest Sci-Fi Shows of All Time. You know how I love lists, so I decided to play along. Using just shows from EW’s top 20, I came up with my top five:

5. OUTER LIMITS (1963-1965) Truthfully, I don’t remember all that many episodes. Considering that I was just five years old when the show premiered and seven when it went off the air. What I do remember is that I loved staying up late [well, it was late to a five year old] to watch the show with my mom. And it had that classic opening… “We control the horizontal…” I’d love to re-visit some of the episodes again. RTN are you listening?

4. THE SIX-MILLION DOLLAR MAN (1974-1978) This was “must-see” tv for all kids my age. Who wouldn’t want to be Steve Austin? Who could forget that dramatic opening of the test flight gone wrong, the horrible crash, and then… “We can rebuild him. Make him stronger… faster” and cut to Lee Majors running in slow motion? I’m really surprised this show hasn’t been updated for the big screen. Of course they’d probably have to call it “The Six Billion Dollar Man.”

3. LOST (2004 – Present) I’ve been riding the Lost wave since the premiere and haven’t missed an episode. I’m glad the show has an end date in sight not because I’m not enjoying it, but because I want to feel that a definite story is being told. If too many mysteries keep being thrown at us and few are resolved, it would grow old. Now there’s little chance of that.

2. STAR TREK (1966-1969) I’ve talked about my love for the ORIGINAL Star Trek many times. In fact, I was a little surprised that I didn’t rate it number one. How can that be? It’s just not logical.
1. THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959-1964) I was six years old when The Twilight Zone went off the air. It was another of those shows that I used to love watching safe on the couch. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve seen some of the classic episodes. Any time the SciFi channel runs a TZ marathon you can count me in!

RIP: Don LaFontaine

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Don LaFontaine died yesterday at the age of 68. You might not know his name, but I’d bet you would recognize Mr. LaFontaine’s voice. He was consider the voice-over king, and rightly so. What else would you call the man behind over 5,000 movie trailers, the in-studio announcer for the Academy and SAG awards, and whose voice could be heard on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network?I’m going to miss hearing his iconic voice booming, “In a world where…” and I have to tell you movie previews are going to be a little less fun… “In a world where Don LaFontaine no longer resides.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Rushing to a Very Dark Place

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James Hibberd, a senior reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, posted a spoiler-free review of the first eight episodes of The Shield’s final season.Here are a few snippets that really stood out for me:

  • …gives viewers exactly what they want.
  • Some old faces return to tie up loose ends…
  • … the highly effective premiere…
  • …Vic Mackey immediately seeking retribution against his longtime partner Shane Vendrell.
  • …the Strike Team devolving into a cannibalistic game of survival.
  • …hugely suspenseful…
  • …leaves viewers impatient for each new episode.
  • …Mackey… his every move to save himself only sucking him further down.
  • On “The Shield,” we are rushing to a very dark place.
  • … “The Shield” has returned to demonstrate how serialized television is done.

The Shield Goes Out in Style

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FX has announced that the season/series finale for The Shield will air on November 25th. The good news is that the network is planning events to make the send-off special. There will be a retrospective with a roundtable discussion with the cast and crew. The official The Shield website has already posted exclusive new clips, photos and more. You can see them here.

The Shield’s Final Season

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Isn’t that a cool poster?

I am so ready for the final season of The Shield. It’s not because I’m looking forward to the series to end. I’m not. In fact as the final season draws to it’s ultimate conclusion, you just know that I’ll be wishing that there was more to come.

I’ve been with The Shield since the first episode of the premiere season. I’ve never missed a single show. It’s been a great ride. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Remembering “The Immortal” [2008]

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Maybe it’s due to some of the programming on RTN. Maybe it’s because of posts by Ivan Shreve at his Thrilling Days of Yesteryear site. For whatever reason, lately I’ve been thinking about tv shows that I enjoyed as a kid. Regular readers know that I was a fan of “The Wild, Wild West,” the original “Star Trek,” and shows like “The Jack Benny Program,” “The Honeymooners,” and “The Twilight Zone.”

Another series that I really enjoyed was “The Immortal.” Christopher George played Ben Richards, a man whose blood made him immune to disease and aging. Richards was on the run from thugs hired by an old billionaire who knew that repeated transfusions from Richards would extend his life. The show premiered in September of 1970 and lasted for one season of fifteen episodes.

I haven’t seen it, since it went of the air, but I sure do remember thinking it was great stuff. Of course I was eleven and sometimes things don’t age well. Then again, maybe “The Immortal” would fit right in with “The Wild, Wild West,” the original “Star Trek,” and shows like “The Jack Benny Program,” “The Honeymooners,” and “The Twilight Zone.”

 

Need a Ride?

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Ridelust.com charts their picks for the 50 Most Famous Cars from Movies and TV. Looking at the list I’m surprised that my #2 choice didn’t show up anywhere! How in the world could Marion Cobretti‘s custom 1950 Mercury not make the list?Oh well. Using just their choices here are my top ten:

10. 1970 Dodge Charger from The Fast and The Furious film. Fun movie and a fun car!

09. 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 fastback from Gone in 60 Seconds. I didn’t care for the movie at all. I am a huge fan of Mustangs though. In fact I owned a sweet little 72 Mustang back in high school. I did love that car!

08. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and The Bandit. It seemed that everyone wanted a Trans Am back in the late 70’s. They were cool for a while, but then kind of went the way of disco.

07. 1981 DeLorean DMC 12 from Back To The Future. Who wouldn’t want a car that could be cleaned with a brillo pad?

06. 1973 [heavily modified] Ford Falcon XB GT from Mad Max. Hey, the year 2012 will soon be here, so I may need that car!

05. 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 from Miami Vice television series. Heck, I’d even push my jacket sleeves up when driving it.

04. 2054 Lexus CS from Minority Report. All of my previous choices have been heavily influenced by the movie/tv show that the car appeared in, except for #9 and this one. This car is just too cool looking not to want… despite the movie just being okay.

03. 1974 Ford Gran Torino from the Starsky and Hutch television series. There was a time when everyone wanted one of these. People with other makes of cars had the Starsky and Hutch stripe painted on them. I believe that John Beatty would have even given up his beloved Charger for this bad boy.

02. 1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial from The Green Hornet television series. Who wouldn’t want a car that Bruce Lee used to drive?

01. 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept Car from the Batman [1966-1968] television series. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now, If I was a rich man, this would be my ride.