Extended Trailer: The Flash

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that they were making a show about The Flash. However, I didn't realize that it had already gone into production and that there were promos and clips already available. I have never read The Flash so I am not familiar with this character at all. The show is from the producers of Arrow, which makes me a little wary, since I am not a big fan of that show. Granted, I have only seen a few episodes and have been meaning to give it another try. This extended trailer is pretty long and gives you a good idea about the tone of the show. I support all comic book endeavors even if I am not info them because it hopefully just opens doors for more of them. I'll give this one a chance. I am not sure about that running around the tornado thing though. I kept thinking he should just run into the guy controlling the tornado to stop it but I am sure there were other circumstances...

The Flash hits television screens everywhere this fall.

Trailer: True Blood Season 7

The seventh and final season of True Blood premieres on June 22. I am way, way behind on this series even though I finished all of the books. I don't know exactly what's been going on in the show but, from this trailer, it looks like a battle is coming. Even though it's pretty campy, I still enjoy the show and all of the man candy it provides. I am kind of bummed that it won't be on anymore but it had a good run. Now that a bunch of seasons are on Amazon Prime, I may finally catch up.

Is anyone tuning in for the premiere this weekend?

TV Trailer: Constantine

I  had no idea that NBC was producing a Constantine television series until a few weeks ago. Constantine is based on the DC Comics series Hellblazer. I read a bit of Hellblazer in high school and enjoyed it. There was a pretty bad movie adaptation years ago with Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz that I admit I have a soft spot for. It wasn't very good but I love me some Rachel and Keanu.

This trailer looks promising though. This Constantine actually looks like the Constantine from the comics which is a small good sign and the themes look pretty true to the comics. I reserve full judgement until after I watch a few episodes but I am looking forward do this one. Constantine comes to NBC this fall.

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Liv's Current Obsession: Why I Love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Frequently, I find myself thanking Alethea (@frootjoos) over at Read Now, Sleep Later for introducing me to new television series.  Two of my favorites are Murdoch Mysteries from Canada and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries from Australia.  I seriously think she has everyone watching these.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries takes place in Melbourne in the later 1920's, one of my favorite time periods.  It features actress, Essie Davis as the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, who fights injustice and solves murders with the help of a great cast of characters, a gold-plated pistol, and a dagger hidden under her skirt.  Shouldn't all heroines have a little something tucked away in case of a dangerous situation?

Miss Fisher is a great character, and far ahead of her time. She is glamorous, and fashionable, and yes, saucy. Here are some of the reasons I love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries....

1.  Miss Fisher has an incredible wardrobe.  While I love the dresses the women wear on Downton Abbey, Miss Fisher puts them all to shame.  She has such a great sense of style and the confidence to pull it all off.  Plus, I love all of her hats and hair accessories.    
 

2.  Miss Fisher often ignores what is socially acceptable. - In the first episode, you come to meet Miss Fisher's friend Doctor Mac.  There are certain behaviors that are socially acceptable in every time period, and one of the things that I appreciate about Miss Fisher is that she stands by her friends regardless of how society views them. 

Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 2013

Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas

Just a few more days until Christmas and I am spending the day cleaning and watching a marathon of Hallmark Holiday Movies.  There are some that I tape and watch over and over again and others that I delete after one viewing and maybe watch again if they show up on one of the marathon movie days.  I realize that each of these movies will touch different people in different ways, but here are my thoughts on the 2013 Hallmark Original Holiday movies....

The Thanksgiving House (Premiered November 2, 2013)

Blurb from Hallmark Website:
A woman buys a house in Plymouth, only to discover that the very first Thanksgiving took place on the property. As a result, she finds herself in a battle with a local handsome historian who wants to tear down her house to study the site. Stars Cerina Vincent and Lindsay Wagner. 

What I liked about it:  I almost missed this movie.  I was out of town for Thanksgiving and had to go online to set up my DVR. When I finally got to see this one, I was glad I didn't miss it.  I really liked the main characters, Mary Ross and Everett Mather.  I just kept rooting for Mary and Everett to get together. Everett embodies small town hope and good will, while Mary has been hurt in the past due to her parents' divorce.  Also, viewers will love to hate Mary's arrogant city boyfriend and the local community gossip blogger.

Watch it again: Yes! I was glad I recorded this to my DVR.  Since it was a Thanksgiving-theme movie, it did not receive the same replay as other movies.

Pete’s Christmas (Premiered November 8, 2013)

Blurb from Hallmark Website:
A young 14-year-old boy named Pete has the worst Christmas Day ever, only to find that he must repeat the day again and again until he gets it right. Stars Bruce Dern, Zachary Gordon, Bailee Madison, Molly Parker and Rick Roberts. 

What I liked about it:  Repeating the day over again until you get it right is a frequent plot device.  It can be done well or it can be really annoying.  Pete's Christmas is an enjoyable and humorous version.  Pete's a great kid and, as he tries to figure out how to make it all come together, there are a lot of mistakes but also a lot of laughs.  Pete and his family grow throughout the movie, and of course, there is the mandatory happy ending.

Watch it again: Yes, if you can find it.  This one didn't seem to run as frequently as others and unfortunately I didn't tape it.

Snow Bride (Premiered November 9, 2013)

Blurb from Hallmark Website:
When a reporter encounters the eldest son of a famous political family at a mountain retreat, she winds up pretending to be his girlfriend over Christmas so he can save face with his family. Should she secretly expose newsworthy scoops about the famous family in order to save her job, or trust that she's falling in love for real? Stars Patricia Richardson and Katrina Law. 

What I liked about it:  I had to watch this one in parts.  I am not fond of certain deception plots and if I don't really connect with the characters, then I tend to lose interest.  The movie was super predictable, which I expected.  It was easy to see what would be the big conflict standing in the way of the two characters getting together.  However, about halfway through, I found myself really liking Greta (the undercover gossip reporter) and Ben (the rich son of a politician) and wanted to see them together.  I was surprised by how much I liked Ben's family, who were nothing like I expected. I did find myself wanting to see Ben's mother (who is now a widow) to find her own happy ever after ending, too.

Watch it again:  This is probably a one timer for me, but if it is on, I may tune in again.

A Very Merry Mix-Up (Premiered November 10, 2013)

Blurb from Hallmark Website:
Alice thinks she is heading to her fiancé’s hometown to meet his parents and spend the holidays, but a mix-up at the airport lands her at the wrong home. However this “wrong” family is just her sort of people and she quickly forms a bond with them, especially with the handsome son, Matt. When she visits the "right" house, will her destiny take a detour? Stars Alicia Witt. 

What I liked about it:  This movie had all of the makings for a potentially great romantic comedy in theory.  The main character accidentally finds herself in the wrong home for the holidays after a series of mix ups.  Of course, the family she meets is her ideal family.  There is also a tie in with time, fate, and a romantic story tied into a special clock. I usually like movies like A Very Merry Mix-Up, but for some reason this one did not grab me.

Watch it again:  Maybe. I liked it but I found myself skipping it to watch others.

New Footage: Veronica Mars Movie

Oooh there's some new footage from the Veronica Mars movie. This is the high school reunion scene and I think it looks pretty awesome. Cannot wait for this one next year!

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'Tis the Season for Guilty Pleasures

source

Holidays bring out all kinds of emotions in people. It also reveals everyone’s favorite holiday traditions. Whether it is the types of food people eat for Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner, when you can start playing Christmas music (before Thanksgiving or not until after), how you hang your stocking or what decorations go on your tree, most people have something they must do every year.

As a child, there were certain holiday cartoons and movies that I had to see every year. It just wasn’t Christmas if you hadn’t seen How The Grinch Stole Christmas or Charlie Brown Christmas Special. I still enjoy those specials but as I got older, I found myself getting wrapped up on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching a holiday romantic comedy or family movie with a mug of hot chocolate.

12 Dates of Christmas (2011/ABC Family)

Before I knew it, this turned into my holiday guilty pleasure. I am particularly fond of the romantic movies you find on the Hallmark Channel, but I will also search out what movies are showing on ABC Family or Lifetime. Some years, I start early in the holiday season and watch a lot of them. Other years, I am lucky to catch the reruns between Christmas and New Year’s. This year, I started early, really early. Hallmark started running the movies at the beginning of November. I had to get over the fact that these movies started a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Usually I wait until after Thanksgiving to start in on the Christmas movies. Not this year. 

The Christmas Ornament (2013/Hallmark)

What’s so special about these movies?

Christmas With Holly (2012/Hallmark)*

Everyone of these movies - funny or sad - are predictable. You know when you watch a holiday movie that it is going to have a happy ever after ending. When there is no guarantee in real life that there will be a happy ending, it is nice to know that the characters in the story will get their wishes fulfilled, or their damaged relationships repaired, or a new beginning. Sometimes, it is a bit of everything.

Twelve Trees of Christmas (2013/Lifetime)

Each of these movies make you smile, and laugh, and cry, and smile again.

Let It Snow! (2013/Hallmark)

And these movies remind us of simpler times, and small towns, and family, and what’s really important. They remind us that life goes on and that things can be good again.

Matchmaker Santa (2012/Hallmark)

Another thing I love about these movies, the actors and actresses are almost like old friends. I have often seen the same person playing Santa in more than one of these movies. Certain actresses will turn up as the mother or grandmother in several movies or the quirky wait staff/hotel owner/neighbor will appear in multiple movies. I even noticed the same music (and I am not talking about Christmas music) used in two of the movies.

Holidaze (2013/Lifetime)

As we lead up to Christmas and New Year’s, Thuy and I will be posting some reviews of our favorite Holiday Movies and Novellas. As we share some of our favorites, stop by and let us know what movies and holiday stories are your favorites and why?

Check out the upcoming movie schedules on the following channels:
Hallmark Holiday Movie Schedule:  http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/
It's a Wonderful Lifetime/Lifetime Holiday Movie Schedule:  http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/its-a-wonderful-lifetime
25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family: http://abcfamily.go.com/specials/25-days-christmas

*Random note from Thuy that Christmas with Holly is based on the book Christmas At Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas. You all know how much I love Lisa Kleypas. Therefore I recommend this one.

Trailer: Bitten

I must have been hiding under a rock to not have known that Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series was being made into a television show. The first promo for the show has just hit the interwebs. I actually have not read this series yet so I can't comment on much on it. Shows on Syfy are notoriously bad but this one looks like it may have potential. Anyone excited about this? Does it look faithful to the series?

Bitten starts in Jan on Syfy.

For more info, keep an eye out for updates at http://www.syfy.com/bitten.

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New Poster + Trailer: Mob City

I am a big fan of noir and am super excited about Mob City, Frank Darabont's new LA noir series for TNT. Drew Struzan (of Indian Jones and Star Wars fame) recently created a new poster for Mob City. What can I say? The poster looks awesome and so does the show. Darabont has a good track record and I am really hoping that Mob City lives up to my expectations.

P.S. - Simon Pegg is in this. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I cannot wait!

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Current Obsession: Veronica Mars

So today I am going to talk a bit about one of my current obsessions. This past weekend my friend came over with her DVDs of Veronica Mars. I know, I know - where have I been on this time? The Veronica Mars train came and went and even funded a movie, and I still hadn't seen it. I would say that my only excuse is that I am probably the worst TV watcher ever. While most people can plow through a season in a weekend or a week, it'll take me months or even years to finish a show. I don't know what it is except that a TV series seems like such a time commitment while a movie can be consumed in a couple of hours.

Anyhow - she came over and we proceeded to watch 3 episodes of VM back to back. To you TV champs this probably seems like nothing but, to me, that's at least 3 weeks worth of episodes. As everyone predicted, I do love it. It's really smart and funny without being too unbelievable. The mysteries are plausible (for the most part). And I love Veronica! She's a serious spitfire and I love watching her in action. She is smart but also makes mistakes and owns up to them. The supporting cast also excellent and I love her dad and Wallace especially. I really want to know who killed Lily, too.

It's also really fun to watch the show because so many actors have made appearances. So far I've seen Jessica Chastain, Leighton Meester, Aaron Paul, Adam Scott, Melissa Leo...and I am sure more will appear.

That's my mini gush over Veronica Mars. It's nice to find something that lives up to the hype. It's also just fun and not super intense or dramatic. Hope you all enjoyed a peek into what I am currently obsessed with.

Previous obsession: Orphan Black
So not obsessed with: Fringe (seriously I don't understand why people love this show so much. The characters make terrible decisions and the plot barely advances from one episode to the next. I just don't get it.)

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images copyright Warner Bros. Television

Comic-Con 2013 Spotlight: Television

Hi and welcome to my Comic-Con spotlight on television. If you missed it, I highlighted some of my most anticipated book reads from Comic-Con earlier in the week. Today I am focusing on television. 

My friends know that I am not the most avid television viewer. It'll take too long to explain but I am just really terrible at watching television in a timely manner and it's actually worse when there are a lot of episodes available on DVD or online. The idea of a hundred episodes of something is so daunting and I end up watching one episode every few months. Terrible, I know. But I do like television and am hoping to get caught up this summer on some shows. Even though I was only able to do a few TV panels this year, there were definitely some shows that caught my attention. Some are new series and some are returning. Let's see my picks.

Psych (USA) is coming back for its final season later this fall. I have been a fan of this show from the beginning. I think it's just so funny and it's the kind of show that I can watch at any time and still enjoy. My friend and I stood in line Wed night for the midnight screening of the musical episode. It was a long line but totally worth it. The cast came and said hi at each theater and they gave us popcorn, soda and candy. If you have never seen this show, do yourself a favor and give it a try. I think almost all of the seasons are on Netflix streaming and Hulu right now.

Orphan Black (BBC) is a new show from BBC America. I think it's only had one season so far. I have several friends who have been urging me to watch this sci-fi thriller about clones. I actually have the first disc in my Netflix queue right now. Orphan Black was all over Comic-Con with a big presence at the BBC booth and its own panel. I wasn't able to make the panel but I heard it was great and I am looking forward to catching up on this show. 

Intelligence (CBS) is a new show from CBS. Another spy-type show, it's about a man (Lost hottie Josh Holloway) who is the ultimate spy. A man whose mind basically has a computer in it. He can access the internet, databases, satellites, etc. all inside his head and at a second's notice. Once Upon A Time alum Meghan Ory is the badass Secret Service agent assigned to protect the US's most valuable asset. I actually did make this panel. Josh Holloway is adorable (though you knew that). There are a lot of spy shows out there right now and I don't t know if this one look particularly unique. Marg Helgenberger plays Holloway's boss and she plays things a little too seriously at times. But it wasn't bad and I could see myself tuning in when it airs this fall.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (ABC) is a spin-off of the popular show Once Upon A Time except it's about Alice In Wonderland. I love all things fairy tales and Alice especially and I really wanted to go this panel. However, I knew it would have taken getting in line in the middle of the night and hours of waiting to get into this one. It looks great though and I am really looking forward to it.

Bob's Burgers (Fox) is an animated show about a family that owns a burger restaurant. I've only seen a few episodes of Bob's. I am a huge fan of the show Archer and the main voice actor on Archer is the voice of Bob in Bob's Burgers. I decided to sit in on the Bob's panel since it was right before the Archer panel. I had a great time at this panel and the clips they showed were hilarious. Jeffery Tambor even showed up to ask a question. It's going to be fun catching up on this series.

Those are my Comic-Con television picks. Are there any other great shows that I need to watch? Let me know in the comments below. :)

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Hannibal - Trailer

Hi, everyone! I am totally copying my friend Bookyurt in posting this trailer. I had no idea that a Hannibal television show was even happening. And on NBC no less. It's no secret that I am a big fan of the macabre and scary, and this looks intense. I am really not sure how they are going to get away with this on network TV. But, if the trailer is any indication, it looks like they are not going to shy away from the scary stuff. Plus, it has Caroline Dhavernas (Wonderfalls!), Hugh Dancy, and Mads Mikkelsen in it. I am in.

Anyone else looking forward to Hannibal? First episode airs Thurs April 4 on NBC.  

 

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Dexter Early Cuts

Season 7 of Dexter premiered on Showtime last night. I am woefully behind on Dexter. I think the last season I saw was the one with John Lithgow. I know that a ton has happened since then and I really am planning to catch up. But, for everyone who's already up to speed, I wanted to spotlight the Dexter Early Cuts animated webisodes that came out over the summer.  It's my understanding that they supplement the storyline to the series. The artist doing the images on these webisodes is David Mack, one of my all time favorite writers/artists. He does really amazing watercolors and collages in his comics. David has his own character (Kabuki) and has worked on runs of Daredevil, Alias, Green Arrow and a whole lot more. He's also working on the covers to Dark Horse's new Willow comic book series. 

So if you like Dexter, definitely check out the webisodes. Trailer for Early Cuts down below. 

 http://www.sho.com/sho/dexter/video/webisodes

*All images belong to Showtime/Dexter. 

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Downtown Abbey - Season 3 Trailer

Oooh - the Season 3 trailer for Downton Abbey is out! I am sadly very behind in my Downton Abbey but that doesn't mean that I am not excited about a new season. It just means more for me to watch. And Shirley MacLaine is being added to the cast this season. The costumes look fab looks like there is going to be a lot of drama. :)

Anyone else out there a Downton Abbey fan? Are you excited for Season 3?

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