Warner Bros Has Gotham PD Inspired TV Show Lurking In The Shadows

Even though Warner Bros is moving on from the Nolanverse on the big screen, that hasn't stopped them from finding a way to continue it on the small screen.

The studio is prepared to hire a writer to tackle a Gotham PD inspired television show that would essentially take place between the aftermath of The Dark Knight and before the return of Batman in The Dark Knight Rises. The story would involve the pressure on Gotham's finest to take control of the city during Batman's hiatus from crime fighting. 

Not much is known about the project but Jonah Nolan is said to be playing a role similar to what Marc Guggenheim is owning on Arrow and Greg Berlanti is set to do on Flash. There is no word on what network the show could possibly be featured on but logic would indicate that CW would be a likely destination.

You wonder if the Ed Brubaker/Greg Rucka Eisner and Harvey award winning series Gotham Central could used as inspiration for the tv show. "The series pitted the detectives of Gotham City’s Special Crimes Unit against the city's greatest villains — in the shadow of Batman himself."

Lindsay Lohan Hosted "Chelsea Lately" For Some Reason

Self depreciation goes a long way towards forgiveness. This is what Lindsay was hoping for when she guest hosted Chelsea Lately. She went on stage and openly discussed her substance abuse and stint in rehab. Some thought she was bold for taking the stage, I am sure it took courage, but this is all about cleaning up a shattered image.

Judge for yourself, video below.

"Cirque du Soleil" Coming To North American Homes For First Time

Gravitas Ventures, a leading distributor of independent films and documentaries to the theatrical and Video-on-Demand (VOD) marketplace, announced today that they have finalized an agreement to exclusively distribute a variety of Cirque du Soleil programs via transactional, subscription, and ad sponsored VOD.  Over 100 million people have seen Cirque du Soleil performances live and now over 100 million North American VOD households will have direct access to Cirque du Soleil content on demand.
 
The programs will include performance specials featuring the live shows as well as behind-the-scenes documentaries that highlight the creative process of a Cirque du Soleil show.  Titles are available for the first time to a North American audience on VOD.
 
Melanie Miller, Vice President of Acquisitions & Marketing, said: “Having been enamored since my first Cirque du Soleil performance nearly 20 years ago, I am thrilled that Gravitas will bring such awe-inspiring art into the VOD marketplace.  This partnership with Cirque du Soleil is integral to the relationship with our VOD consumers as we strive to consistently offer them premium content not available elsewhere.”
 
Tracey Errico, Director of Programming & Distribution at Cirque du Soleil, adds, “We are excited about our new relationship with Gravitas as it will enable us to extend the live show experience and bring additional content to viewers who will now have the opportunity to watch Cirque du Soleil programs for the first time on demand, at their convenience, and on the platform and device of their choice.   In addition, Gravitas will be showcasing certain programs based on shows that are no longer performing live and hopefully this will be exciting for our fans and new viewers alike.”
 
The first programs will be available on August 6^th with “KOOZA” and “A Thrilling Ride Through KOOZA,” and both are available for pre-order now on iTunes at

• KOOZA - http://bit.ly/11adrPo
• A THRILLING RIDE THROUGH KOOZA - http://bit.ly/13U31Ae

 
Additional programs will continue into September as part of a Season of Cirque du Soleil, which will include four other specials:
·         DELIRIUM
·         HATCHING (a documentary on the creation of  OVO)
·         FLOW: A Tribute to the Artists of O
·         The Mystery of Mystère

Trailer for Ricky Gervais' Derek

If the intention of Derek, the new comedy series from Ricky Gervais premiering September 12 on Netflix, was to not be funny, then mission accomplished. He's just never been someone I've taken to besides his stints hosting the Golden Globes.

But I realize I'm in the minority here. For the rest of you, enjoy the trailer.

'Dexter' Final Season Recap - A Little Reflection

Not bad.

That sums up my impression of this week's Dexter, which puts us halfway through the show's final season.

A lot of storylines upped their ante this episode including Quinn not getting the Sergeant position, Masuka realizing his daughter isn't after his money, and Deb finding out her boss, Elway, has feelings for her.  The biggest uptick of all though - besides Dexter and Deb getting seemingly 'back together' which I'll get into later - was the development of Dexter Jr. aka Zack Hamilton who went from being on Dexter's table (literally) to being taken under Dexter's wing.

We learn throughout the episode that Zack was indeed the one who killed his father's house maid (also his mistress) as well as the fact that Zack has a sick infatuation with blood, like our favorite anti-hero.  Dexter - already under the impression Zack is the maid's killer - sees this and while befriending him, learns the kid plans on killing his father's other mistress as well.  Dexter of course intervenes, and is about ready to kill little Zack Hamilton, before he realizes Zack is exactly how he was at that age: a yearning serial killer (something Dr. Vogel had notated to Dexter earlier in the episode when we find out Zack his being treated by her as well and wanting to teach him 'the code').  Dexter lets Zack go free and suddenly we have an idea of where this rumored 'spin-off' might be going.

While there was also the development of a relationship between Dexter and Cassie (who I think is getting the ax soo enough), things are seemingly A-OK again in the Morgan household with Deb and Dex enjoying steaks and beer again.  Kind of surprising considering just two episodes ago one wanted to kill the other, but hey, this season has been kind of up and down anyway so why not?

Oh and I forgot just one last point: the return of Hannah McKay!

Common, who was expecting in the last scene of Deb and Dex just enjoying coffee that Hannah was going to show up after poisoning their drinks?

All I'll say is this: this better be going somewhere or else it's going to look like the writers threw her into this season for more shock factor than story purpose.  I mean really, besides Rita, what other Dexter lover interest has come back for a 2nd season?  Exactly.

Notes:

• Poor Masuka.  Not only does this guy get a shitty storyline for the show's final season, but his daughter now wants nothing to do with him.  Maybe he'll at least get laid before seasons's end?

• Kind of messed up that Batista pushed Quinn for the Sergeant position only to give it to the token black...er I mean Detective Miller.  Maybe now Quinn will bust that Nora Rivera case wide open (even though Dexter already solved it).

• Not much Dr. Vogel this week...OK.

• So Elway has the hots for Deb.  Pretty much saw that one coming.  Not too sure if it will go anywhere though.  Nice to see he caught his brother-in-law red handed though.  POS deserved it.

Grade: B

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Poster

Joss Whedon (MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) shows us not all heroes are super with MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D.  He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown.  That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual – of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

Executive Produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) comes Marvel’s first live-action TV series, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

Warning: These Office Auditions May Cause Head Explosions

You always read those little BS factoids on IMDB and think, "Huh, well isn’t that interesting?"

Adam Scott auditioned for Jim back when The Office was shaping up, during those dark days when the Internet in its infinite wisdom decided it was already garbage before even seeing it (How times have changed!) Huh, well isn't that interesting?

Reading that trivia is one thing. Seeing the Parks and Recreation actor perform the lines is another as you'll see in the video below. Seth Rogen as Dwight? Good Lord! Eric Stonestreet as Kevin? So, so wrong. Kathryn Hahn as Pam? More of an attitude, less dead span than I'm used to seeing. Bob Odenkirk as Michael? OK, I guess. The afore-mentioned Scott and John Cho feel the strongest impression of what could have been.

'Dexter' Final Season Recap - This Little Piggy

Note:  My apologies for not getting this recap up sooner as I've been on vacation this week.

Funny enough, just now before writing this, I came across a recap of this episode on Entertainment Weekly's website which notated how we're almost halfway through the final season of Dexter and everything feels more of the same.

It's hard not to agree with that sentiment.

Everything so far as felt just kind of 'typical'.  There are no higher stakes shown this year (yet), and it looks by the end of this episode things between Deb and Dex are back to normal.  I'll explain.

After Deb tries killing Dexter via a car accident into the river (then saving him), we find the two in a psycho-therapy session with Dr. Vogel.  Dexter shows a side to himself we've really never seen before which is that of a pissed off, hurt individual.  He screams at Deb telling her how she could have made his son an orphan and how he's 'so fucking happy for her' that she feels better about herself.

Meanwhile, this mediocre killer of the season, Yates, ends up kidnapping Vogel not too long after her session with the Morgan siblings which brings the two together to save the good ol' Doc.  In a not so surprising turn of events, Dex and Deb arrive just in time to save the day and Yates is made into a permanent under-the-bed fixture.  At this point, the duo who seemed to hate each other by the beginning of the episode or are seemingly both chummy chummy again.

Updates on a few other storylines going on this season worth mentioning (but aren't seemingly getting anymore interesting) are stated below:

• Masuka is suddenly under the impression his new found daughter is out to get him for money and wants to hire Deb and Elway's firm to investigate her.
• Quinn is caught in a predicament of who will get the Sergeant position with the all-of-the-sudden important character of Smith (though this resolution is pretty much spoiled in the preview for next week's episode).
• Finally, a new storyline is developing with a murdered maid (was she mentioned last week?  I don't know, that's how boring this plot point is) which leads Dex coming face-to-face with the apparent teenage version of himself (so stupid).
• Oh also, Dex looks like he's getting laid soon with his new neighbor, Cassie (what's the point of this?)

 I know I usually ad notes for each episode but I'm going to go on a little rant regarding this season that will pretty much sum up my thoughts of this episode.

This is the final season of Dexter.  A show that became the cornerstone of Showtime's network.  It deserves better than this.

For one, this last season was rushed into production so it could help launch the network's newest drama, Ray Donovan (which by the way, if you keep running promos every friggin second for this damn show before and after a Dexter episode, you are going to turn off viewers to watch, like myself).

Also, there are rumors there is going to be a spin-off series centering around Debra.  Really Showtime?  You're going to sacrifice the quality of the show that launched your network so you can promote the hell out of a annoyingly advertised new show and hopefully launch a not-so-needed other one?

And here I thought only the film industry had gotten greedy...

Grade: C+

Sherlock Series 3 Teaser Trailer is Short on Details & Length

Less than 30 seconds, this teaser trailer for the third series of Sherlock gets the point across. Sherlock Holmes is back.

How did he survive that fall? How will his friends, and the world, react to his return? What else lies in store once the status quo is set back to normal? Time will tell. But you know everyone around Sherlock has changed since his "death." Watson has a 'stache!

Rashida Jones & Rob Lowe Leaving Parks and Recreation

When a comedy series has all the right people, both in front of and behind the camera, hard to find anything better. No matter how your week has been (good or bad), there will always be those set of characters with all their foibles you've come to know and love to look forward to. But the inevitable is bound to happen. Someone will move on to greener pastures and that core group will never be the same. That trend sadly is not immune to Parks and Recreation.

Reports Buzzfeed, Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe, playing the perspective roles of straight-woman Anne Perkins and the over-eager Chris Trarger, will leave the NBC comedy. The actors, whose current story arc involves the two trying to conceive a child together, will exit in this forthcoming season's thirteen episode.

It might not LITERALLY be the worst news ever. But it is pretty close.