Grey's Anatomy, Season 6 Promo

Well, its official: The new season of Grey’s Anatomy now has a shiny premiere date and now we at least know exactly how much longer we have to wait. The magical date is Thursday, September 24 so be sure to tap that into your calendar of choice. The time and place is of course 9/8c on ABC. So that leaves us with about four more months of suffering before we can finally find out exactly what happens with George and Izzie. They do love to torture us, don’t they?

Source: greysanatomynews.com

Fringe, Complete First Season on DVD

Starring:
Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop

Special Features:
Fringe: Deciphering the Scene on Every Episode
Dissected Files / Unaired Scenes
The Massive Undertaking Docupods on Select Episodes
Unusual Side Effects: Gag Reel
Roberto Orci's Production Diary
Gene the Cow

The Details:
The following is the official description of the series:

"Teleportation. Mind control. Invisibility. Astral projection. Mutation. Reanimation. Phenomena that exist on the Fringe of science unleash their strange powers in this thrilling series, co-created by J.J. Abrams ('Lost,' 'Alias'), combining the grit of the police procedural with the excitement of the unknown. The story revolves around three unlikely colleagues – a beautiful young FBI agent, a brilliant scientist who's spent the last 17 years in a mental institution and the scientist's sardonic son – who investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as "the pattern." Someone is using our world as an experimental lab. And all clues lead to Massive Dynamic, a shadowy global corporation that may be more powerful than any nation."

"Fringe: The Complete First Season" is not rated.

Mini-Review:
I started watching "Fringe" when it first aired. I caught the first six episodes, then they started piling up on the DVR and I missed the rest. (My wife, on the other hand, continued watching the whole series.) I liked the show well enough, but there was nothing that particularly compelled me to keep watching. It wasn't like "Heroes" or "Lost" where some bigger story was unfolding and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Yes, "Fringe" has a bigger underlying mystery, but it takes a lot longer to unfold. I guess I wasn't patient enough.

If I had to describe "Fringe" to the uninitiated, I'd say it's a new take on "The X-Files." In each episode our FBI heroes take on a new, bizarre, unexplained mystery. Mulder and Scully are combined into FBI Agent Olivia Dunham who partly 'wants to believe' and partly is skeptical. She is teamed with a mad scientist and his estranged son. Each week they come upon a freaky murder mystery, investigate it, discover that their mad scientist was somehow involved in its development, then catch the bad guy. It definitely followed a formula. "Fringe" takes pride in the fact that each event is somewhat based on real science or real legend. They like to have a degree of believability in the scientific horror that takes place whether it be recovering images from the eye of a dead body or accelerated aging or bio-engineered mutants. However, for every reason it might seem probable, you could think of 10 reasons why it couldn't possibly happen. I think that's part of the peril of hanging your hat on believability and it often backfires on them as the mysteries become more and more outlandish.

"Fringe" does have a very strong cast. Anna Torv is great as Agent Olivia Dunham. She's tough, no-nonsense, and by the book. She's a bit of a tomboy as we almost always see her in a suit, but she's still feminine and attractive. Torv is a great leading lady. Torv is also an Australian, so I'm impressed she pulls off a convincing American accent. Joshua Jackson is also good as Peter Bishop, Walter's alienated son. His constant sarcasm can potentially turn the audience off, but he manages to walk that fine line between being annoying and appealing. John Noble has the best role in the cast as Dr. Walter Bishop, the resident mad scientist. I have no idea how a character could be such a master of medicine, physics, and every other scientific field. But Noble also pulls it off while getting the added bonus of acting eccentric and partially insane. Lance Reddick is also good as the stone faced Agent Phillip Broyles. But especially notable is a season ending cameo by Leonard Nimoy as a crucial character in the "Fringe" mythos. His appearance alone is enough to get people like me to tune in to Season 2.

I think if you enjoyed "The X-Files," you're a prime candidate to enjoy "Fringe." This show should get you through your Mulder and Scully withdrawals. Pick up this DVD and catch up now before the second season begins.

The bonus features are smeared all over this 7 disc DVD set. Each episode has a brief featurette showing some behind the scenes footage of the making of the episode. Three episodes have commentary by the crew (Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman, etc) but none of the cast. There are also deleted scenes, a gag reel, a featurette on the visual effects....and the cow. I'll also add that the lenticular cover is pretty cool looking, though I wish there was some explanation for the frogs, leaves, seahorses, and other icons that accompany each episode.


Source: Comingsoon.net

A Second Opinion: Least Promising Fall Shows

Last week the five major broadcast networks outlined their new fall schedules and previewed clips of new series for advertisers at their annual upfront presentations. After taking a look at these clips myself, I’ve compiled a list, divided into what’s most promising, what’s roughly in the middle, and what looks horrible. These aren’t reviews per se, they’re just immediate reactions to very brief footage – I’ll re-evaluate after I’ve screened the pilots later this summer. First up, least promising of the bunch… Alex O’Loughlin fans, please don’t hurt us?
100 QUESTIONS (NBC)
Buzz was that NBC was high on this comedy before its upfront presentation and that it was being touted as “the next FRIENDS.” Highly doubtful, and I’m pretty sure the laugh track was the only thing laughing during the dreadfully unfunny trailer.
BROTHERS (FOX)
Starring former New York Giant Michael Strahan…plays former NFL player Mike Trainor, who returns home to help his brother’s struggling restaurant business. CCH Pounder from The Shield and Carl Weathers also star as their parents. Strahan does fine, but what would really be great is if the whole thing didn’t feel so strained and dated.

THE DEEP END (ABC)
GREY’S ANATOMY with lawyers. Because it refuses to stop.
THE FORGOTTEN (ABC)
A band of amateur detectives work to identify victims and solve their murders. Looks like a COLD CASE lookalike CBS passed on – and with good reason.
HANK (ABC)
Kelsey Grammar plays a CEO who loses everything in the stock market, forcing him and his family to relocate to suburban Virginia. It’s the recession comedy of the year: humble, and kind of cheap.
HAPPY TOWN (ABC)
I demand a moratorium on prefacing previews with “from the network that brought you [insert cult favourite here].” Just because you mention TWIN PEAKS, doesn’t make this murder mystery set in a town Where Bad Things Don’t Happen Twin Peaks. Got it?
MELROSE PLACE (The CW)
Sydney Andrews, of the original Melrose, inexplicably survived her seemingly fatal death and has returned to collect rent from a whole new gaggle of tenants, which include Ashlee Simpson-Wentz in her return to TV. Like the 90210 remake, it seems to lack the balance of soap and melodrama. Needs a Heather Locklear sooner than later.
PAST LIFE (FOX)
Honestly, it’s the silliest sounding show I’ve heard in a while. About “an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before,” I couldn’t decipher from the clips previewed whether this reincarnation drama was a joke or a sadly mistaken idea for a procedural.
THREE RIVERS (CBS)
MOONLIGHT’s Alex O’Louglin is a star dammit! It’s great CBS is so enamored with him, but could they find a role any more thankless than as a surgeon at a organ transplant hospital? I don’t even like him that much I know he deserves better than this.
TRAUMA (NBC)
It’s THIRD WATCH, with a bigger budget (so more explosions) and about paramedics. Already I’m feeling medical drama fatigue.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (The CW)
Twilight = icky. Twilight x Dawson’s Creek’s Kevin Williamson = slightly less icky, but still pretty icky.
[Source: Aleks Chan, TV Addict]

24, Season 8

24 is currently on hiatus and will be returning for its eight season. Its set to return on Sunday January 17, 2010

Episodes 8.01 and 8.02: Title Unknown (Season premiere)
Airdate: Sunday, January 17

Episodes 8.03 and 8.04: Title Unknown
Airdate: Monday, January 18

Episode 8.05: Title Unknown
Airdate: January 25, 2010

Dimitri: Eastern European, in his mid 30s to mid 40s, he is an enforcer for our "European Godfather." Dimitri is introduced in Episode 5 and will return in Episode 8 where he has an intense encounter with Jack Bauer. Cannot be any taller than 5'11" and should have a slight Eastern European accent.

Episode 8.06: Title Unknown
Airdate: February 2010

Battlestar Galactica vet Callum Keith Rennie, who played Leoben Conoy on the sci-fi series, will be joining his former co-star Katee Sackoff on the new season of 24, premiering in January 2010. Callum, who also had a recurring role on Californication and played Harper's Island killer John Wakefield, will be playing Vladimir Laitanan. Co-exectuive producer Brannon Braga describes the character as a Russian syndicate mobster who debuts around episode six or seven. "We love this actor," says Braga. Expect Vlad to team in some way with 24's other new villain, Eastern European mobster Bazhaev, played by "Das Boot" actor Jurgen Prochnow.

Episode 8.07: Title Unknown
Airdate: February 2010

Episode 8.08: Title Unknown
Airdate: February 2010

Mistaken identity man: 30's Caucasian, he is a drug dealer who is mistaken for another character by a sniper. This character should be very fair in coloring - ie blonde,or red hair, blue eyes or even albino if possible - anywhere from 5'10 to 6'. Mehran: Middle Eastern, in his mid 20s to mid 40s, he is the leader of operatives in an Islamic country working against the President (Anil Kapoor). Mehran is very charismatic but dangerous. Introduced in one scene in Episode 8, this character will be in multiple episodes. [Dimitri from episode 8.05 returns and] he has an intense encounter with Jack Bauer.

[Source: SpoilerTV ]