NBCs not so impressive fall

Alright, NBCs turn. Their fall line-up is definitely not what I would call strong, but there are a few standouts. So, without further delay....

First up is one that is near and dear to me on a few levels. Grimm comes from David Greenwalt, who worked on Buffy before he helped to create Angel. That is a pretty damn good pedigree so I am willing to give this show some room to breathe. The trailer shows promise but it also shows a little bit of cheesiness. The show follows a descendent of the same Grimms that were responsible for all those stories that kept you up late as a kid. The catch is, all those stories are real and the only ones who can see the monsters for what they really are are the Grimms. This one is definitely not for everyone.

Next up is NBC's version of jumping on the Mad Men bandwagon. The Playboy Club is exactly what it sounds like. It is the story of the playboy club in Chicago and the lives of the girls who work there and the men that frequent the club. It has all the swagger needed to pull it off. But there just seems something holding me back from getting excited. I just can't put my finger on it.

Carrying on with NBC's theme of any thing you can do, we can do “better”, is Smash. Despite the blatant “we wish we would have thought of Glee first” vibe this radiates, I am high on it. The cast is full of A-list talent and the Broadway setting is much more mature than high school. And between Debra Messing, Angelica Houston and Katherine McPhee, I am getting a little excited about this one.

Now on to something funny. Up All Night should be amazing based solely on cast. With Will Arnett and Christina Applegate in the lead roles this should be a hit, and the trailer supports it every step of the way. The two seem to have instant chemistry and this show could turn out to be the big winner among some very mediocre sitcom offering from NBC this year.

This next one is a must watch for me purely based on the fact it is as original idea as I have ever seen on TV. It's kinda tough to explain this one, but it has me more excited than just about any other show coming this fall.

And finally another COLOSAL miss in the sitcom department. Don't get me wrong, I love Laura Prepon and Chelsey Handler is a funny woman at times but this series feel about ten years behind the times. Depending on a laugh track to tell the audience went out a while ago and while some shows are still truly funny and have a laugh track, this is definitely not one of them.

"Wake" up time

So, I realize that a large part of the people reading this missed Alan Wake completely. Who can blame you? It was released the same day as Red Dead Redemption, which went on to win numerous game of the year awards. It was pure misfortune for Remedy and Microsoft that Red Dead was moved to that day, overshadowing what in my opinion is one of the greatest “action-thrillers” ever in the interactive entertainment medium.

 

I'm here to let you know if you haven't played it, it's time. As long as you own an Xbox 360 at least. Wake was one of the first games ever shown as an Xbox 360 exclusive and then seemed to fall further and further to the wayside as it's development went longer and longer. Yet the game that was realeased, although no longer as graphically impressive as it once seemed, was well worth the wait. Remedy crafted a great story wrapped around what was truly fun and somewhat original game play.

Here's the tough part. I really can't say much about the games story since what makes it so great is the discovery of that story. The outline is this. You are Alan Wake, go figure right, who is a writer with a little bit of a writers block problem. You head to a small town in the pacific northwest to find some peace and hopefully find your writing voice again. Upon arrival strange thing start happening that lead to the disappearance of your wife. The rest of the story unravels from there. I am going to leave it at that as the story unwinding is what truly makes Alan Wake exceptional.

The minute to minute game play is tons of fun and does a good job adding tension to the overall game. Light is the name of the game here, therefor your greatest weapon is your flashlight. Although the light alone won't destroy the baddies it is needed to weaken them to the point your weapon will. That is the game play in a nutshell. I know it sounds simple enough, but Remedy paced the game so well and packed in enough different situations to keep it fairly fresh throughout. Add in one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a game and you have something special.

Overall, this is a game you should play. In fact after writing this, it's a game I am going to play again. The reason I am bringing it up now is that rumors are circling of a new Alan Wake game. Remedy supposedly said it is not Alan Wake 2 and it is supposed to be downloadable. I for one can't wait to get back to the world. I'm sure we will hear more at E3 in a few weeks. So before we do, take this opportunity to get caught up on the story so far. It's worth it.

As always if anyone has any ideas of something you would like me to cover here I am open to suggestions. If you likes what you read please share it with others through all those cool social media do-dads at the bottom. Leave a comment or email me at Jlove89@msn.com, or follow me on twitter @Jlove89. Thanks!

Sherlock is this weeks "movie"

So this weeks “movie” is actually a TV show. The reason I'm putting it up as a “movie” is that each episode is about an hour and a half long and there are three episodes, you do the math. Sherlock is a show produced by the BBC that takes the worlds foremost detective and his Dr. Watson and gives them a modern spin. Created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss the show manages to bring a dark and realistic tone to what has often been portrayed as a kids story. Moffat, who is best known for his work on the newest iteration of Doctor Who, has managed to make the old knew again through the creation and writing of two very deep and interesting main characters.

Our Dr. Watson is played by none other than the man that would be Bilbo, Martin Freeman. In fact Freeman just took a break from the set of The Hobbit in order to shoot another three episode run of Sherlock. Watson, a disabled veteran of a recent war, is struggling through life like anyone else would be in that situation, until he meets Holmes, who brings some excitement back to his life. Freeman plays the part to a tee, and will without a doubt be emerging as a world-wide superstar when The Hobbit releases.

 

On to the main attraction. And this one is worth the price of admission. Benedict Cumberbatch, go ahead read it again, is absolutely mesmerizing as Holmes. Out of nowhere he has become someone to watch based solely on this series. He will most likely be familiar in some way to some of you seeing as he has been in quite a bit. But you have never seen him like this. This role seems tailor made for him. He manages to capture the sympathy and disdain of the audience that the character requires, all while managing to make it seem like a day at the amusement park. It is worth it to watch Sherlock just for his performance.

 

So if you haven't picked it up yet, I'm a fan. The writing is smart and clever, the acting is spot on, and the characters are literally classics. I don't think you can go wrong with this one. You can find Sherlock on Netflix streaming, and you should. Enjoy.

As always if anyone has any suggestions of something you would like me to cover here I am open to suggestions. If you likes what you read please share it with others through all those cool social media do-dads at the bottom. Leave a comment or email me at Jlove89@msn.com, or follow me on twitter @Jlove89. Thanks!