Monday, 10/25
In Treatment; HBO. 8 and 8:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
Thintervention (Bravo; 9 pm). Season Finale.
Dead Set; IFC. 11 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.
This British mini-series airs the next five nights.
In other parts of the world Big Brother is a "big thing". The British version of the show found itself ripe for a "new take" with this mini-series (not affiliated with the actual Big Brother) that explores the lives of the houseguests-- who have no idea the outside world has been overrun by zombies. Until a live eviction episode...
Make this another case where I hate my current cable provider-- Charter Cable-- for not having IFC as a channel. I get a little bit OnDemand, but the f-ing time it's available is, like, three days. Lame.
Tuesday, 10/26
Melissa and Joey (ABC Family; 7 pm CST). Mid-season Finale.
Wednesday, 10/26
Friday Night Lights; Direct TV. 8 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.
The final season begins here-- and then reairs on NBC next year.
Recommended.
Thursday, 10/27
Project Runway (Lifetime; 8 pm). Season Finale.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX; 9 pm) finally addresses an issue they've avoided all season so far with loose clothing and blocking that keeps viewers from seeing Kaitlin Olson's baby-belly when a Halloween mystery is presented: who knocked up Sweet Dee?
The Fairy Jobmother; Lifetime. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Career specialist Hayley Taylor helps families find work.
Friday, 10/29
What Not To Wear; TLC. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.
The prem features Facts of Life star Mindy Cohn getting told "what not to wear".
Sunday, 10/31
The Walking Dead; AMC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
And it's finally here; the show I've most looked forward to this season.
Based on Robert Kirkman (with artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard)'s comic book series about some of the surviving humans in a world overrun by zombies. It's a fantastic series about the human experience; love, life, how/why to "go on" during troubled times... And if you don't want to really watch a show that may make you think a bit, that's okay: there are plenty of zombies and death and surprises to keep you entertained. There is a heavy body count to the comic, so we can only assume that many of the people we meet on the show will eventually be killed as well.
I'm not a horror fan, but I am a lover of great storytelling and the man who brought the comic to the screen-- and directed the 90-minute pilot-- is Frank Darabont, who also directed such films as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. So I think the "great storytelling"-thing is taken care of.
But Darabont knew a good thing when he saw it, so he made sure Kirkman was on-board as a consultant-- and has assured fans that while the show won't be a slavish adaptation of the comic book, the comic will be the backbone to the show. The show may diverge and tell a story we didn't read-- but it will always come back to the source material.
So, the show opens as the comic did: Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes gets into a shoot-out and is injured. He wakes up in a hospital and finds it abandoned. He struggles to make his way through the mess of the hospital in search of anyone who can tell him what's going on. He finds no one, so he decides to return home to make sure his wife and son are safe. On his journey home, he finds decaying creatures; some of whom are still able to move-- and want to do him harm.
I urge you to give this show a try-- and watch the first three eps or so, so it gets a fair shake-- and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And this season is only six episodes, so it's not a gigantic time investment.
So, let's go over this again: Robert Kirkman. Frank Darabont. Producer Gale Anne Hurd. AMC, which has an almost Pixar-like ability to choose the highest-quality shows to air. Premieres Halloween night.
Sounds like a winner...
Highly recommended.
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