It is a wonderful time to be alive and a Halloween/Horror enthusiast. You can't flip through the channels without seeing a zombie, werewolf, ghost, or vampire anymore, and I love it. Oh how I wish this were the case in my days of childhood. I may have turned out even more dark and twisted than I am now.... but I digress.
Here is my list of things on the Boo Tube that you should not miss, or should be catching up on.
The Walking Dead
Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’sThe Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers,Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.
This is one of the best things on TV right now. If you happen to have missed it, start digging now for the shows on the net or on DVD. I was a big fan of the graphic novels but the show blows me away. This will satisfy the desire of any horror, zombie, drama, or apocalyptic fan.
The River
The beloved host of The Undiscovered Country, which brought the wonder and magic of the natural world into our homes for so many years, has disappeared in the wilds of the Amazon. Gone for six months now—and believed by many to be dead—his emergency beacon went off two weeks ago. Now Dr. Cole’s wife and frequent co-host of The Undiscovered Country, Tess, has begun the search for her husband. With the help of her son, Lincoln, and crew members Lena Landry, Emilio Valenzuela and his daughter Jahel, and Captain Kurt Bryndilson, Tess is looking to be reunited with her husband and save the rest of his missing crew.
Documenting the journey will be Dr. Cole’s long-time friend and collaborator on The Undiscovered Country, award-winning Producer Clark Quietly, and a team of renowned camera operators including AJ Poulain.
But the search for Dr. Cole may provide more questions than answers. Where have he and the missing crew been? What mysteries of the uncharted Amazon did they capture on film? Can this family that was torn asunder six months ago be miraculously reunited? The world holds its breath as we wait to find out just what became of Dr. Emmet Cole and his crew.
To me, it is a mash up of LOST and Urban Legends whisked together and thrown into the Amazon. I feel it has great potential as episodes deal with a ghost ship, vengeful spirits, and stealing a person's soul by taking their picture. You will want to watch it from the beginning to get the full effect, but luckily ABC has the episodes available On Demand and on their website.
Face Off
Face Off is a competition/elimination series exploring the world of special-effects make-up artists and the unlimited imagination that allows them to create amazing works of living art. The contestants are tasked with elaborate feature challenges including executing full body paint make up on models and creating their own horror villain. Challenges incorporate effects make-up, andinclude a wide range of skill sets including prosthetics, 3-D design, sculpting, eye enhancers, casting and molding. Each episode involves incredible reveals of the competitors' finished work, and the drama of one contestant being sent home by the panel of expert and celebrity judges. It all culminates in one winner and one grand prize: $25,000 in makeup supplies, the 2012 Toyota Camry hybrid, and $100,000!
To determine who emerges victorious, Syfy has signed three-time Academy Award winner Ve Neill (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands) and Hollywood veterans Glenn Hetrick (Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files) and Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld, Independence Day, Resident Evil: Extinction) as Face Off's judges. Actress McKenzie Westmore hosts the series, bringing poise and a rich history to her role as part of the Westmore family, whose name is synonymous with the makeup effects field.
I really enjoyed Season 1 and Season 2 is even better. The things this group is able to pull of in a matter of hours leaves me absolutely envious! The season finally it next Wed so you have time to watch them all from the beginning, if nothing more, to just see the creations each week.
Once Upon a Time
Emma Swan’s life has been anything but a fairytale. A 28-year-old bail bondsperson, she’s been taking care of herself since she was abandoned as a baby. But when Henry—the son she gave up 10 years ago—finds her, everything changes. Henry is desperate for his mom’s help and thinks that Emma is actually the long, lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yes, the actual Snow White and Prince Charming. Even stranger, Henry believes that Storybrooke, the sleepy New England town he calls home, is really part of a curse cast by the Evil Queen, freezing fairytale characters in the modern world with no memory of their former selves.
There is something about this show I keep coming back for. I think it is the story book heroes and villains from childhood shoved into modern times with modern problems that keeps my interest up. The evil queen is truly evil and I find myself wishing somebody would just take her head off with an ax every week. I also find myself torn with Mr Gold (aka Rumpelstiltskin). One episode I hate him, the next I am his biggest fan. If they can keep the twists and curve balls coming, I will be enjoying this show for a long time.
Grimm
Grimm is a new drama series inspired by the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales.Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli, "Turn The Beat Around") discovers he is descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as "Grimms," charged with keeping balance between humanity and the mythological creatures of the world.
As he tries to hide the dangers of his new found calling from his girlfriend, Juliette Silverton, (Bitsie Tulloch, "quarterlife"), and his partner, Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby, "Lincoln Heights"), he becomes ever more entrenched in the ancient rivalries and alliances of the Grimm world.
With help from his confidant, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell, "Prison Break"), a reformed Grimm creature himself, Nick must navigate through the forces of a larger-than-life mythology, facing off with Hexenbiests, Blutbads and all manner of ancient evils, including royal lines dating back to the original profilers themselves, The Grimm Brothers. Reggie Lee ("Persons Unknown") and Sasha Roiz ("Caprica") also star.
I have really been riding the fence on this one. The premise is a bit shaky but the story line is sort of interesting. I find it hard to believe that the world is full of monsters only the Grimms can see, but there are a few right under his nose that he cannot.... The story line has kept my interest up to now as has the friendship with the main character and the "werewolf" friend he has teamed up with. This really has the potential to turn rotten fast so I will be interested to see how this season shapes up. Especially with our hero going up against a "dragon" in the next episode which is really just a fire breathing man with a dragon head (bleah!)
American Horror Story
American Horror Story revolves around the Harmons, a family of three who moved from Boston to Los Angeles as a means to reconcile past anguish. The all-star cast features Dylan McDermott as “Ben Harmon,” a psychiatrist; Connie Britton as “Vivien Harmon,” Ben’s wife; Taissa Farmiga as “Violet,” the Harmon’s teenage daughter; Jessica Lange in her first-ever regular series TV role as “Constance,” the Harmon’s neighbor; Evan Peters plays “Tate Langdon,” one of Ben’s patients; and Denis O’Hare as “Larry Harvey.” Guest stars for the series include Frances Conroy as the Harmon’s housekeeper; Alexandra Breckenridge as the Harmon’s housekeeper; and Jamie Brewer as Constance’s daughter.
Season two is not slated to grace our TV until much later in 2012, but this is a good time to watch season 1 if you missed it. Totally on the edge of your seat thrill ride that will leave you saying, "What just happened?"
There are also a couple of shows that need to be put down with a quick shot to the head. Here are some that are still shambling around in the dark begging for a bullet.
Being Human (BBC/Syfy)
I was a big fan of season 1, both the BBC and Syfy versions. Unfortunately the BBC version has gone off the deep end and killed off two of the main characters and even changed the whole direction of the show. It reminds me of Dr Who meets Terminator now.
The American Syfy version is just getting silly. The notion that if you invite a vampire into your house and then sell the house, while he is inside, to another person would cause the vampire to burn like in the sun.....retarded. I predict we will see both of these go to the grave very soon.
Lost Girl
This show is just lost to me. The sooner Syfy loses it , the better. Bad acting, weak story line, and boring action just killed this for me. I think the only reason it hangs on is the near nude scenes and the girl on girl kissing. Even M says that they could have found a more attractive succubus to keep our attention. The sooner that the hundreds of teenage boys get over the soft core porn side of this show, the sooner it can truly become a Lost Girl.
Ghost Hunters International
This is one ghost hunt that needs to end. This team has changed so much, you expect to find a completely different person in charge every week which makes it hard to keep up interests.
With Grant leaving Ghost Hunters, the best thing Syfy could do would be to cut the dead weight from both teams, and form up just one Ghost Hunters show. Maybe with the extra bodies they could go to a location and stay a couple of days rather than a few hours. People that live in a haunted house may report one or two paranormal events a week. It is silly to think they could find something in 4 or 5 hours.
I really do not care about ghosts on the other side of the planet and talking to people that need subtitles to understand. Let's find some good old American ghosts right here in the USA where average people could actually drive to and visit themselves.
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