TEST1 2018

MULTIPLE MANIACS ARE ON THE LOOSE IN THIS DIABOLICAL INSTALLMENT OF “TERROR IN BLACK AND WHITE” Sometimes the scariest monsters aren’t invaders from another planet or creatures stitched together by a mad scientist; they’re other people. You know, seemingly ordinary folks like you and me…except for one big difference: their need to kill. This installment of TERROR IN BLACK AND WHITE brings you face to face with three suspense classics from an era long before Investigation Discovery brought murder into our homes 24/7.  You’ll meet a bedridden woman who wishes she had cut the cord, a truly twisted sister and the ultimate momma’s boy. Lock your doors…it’s going to be a bloody night. SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948)  DIRECTED BY: Anatole Litvak SCREENPLAY BY: Lucille Fletcher (based on her 1943 radio play of the same name) STARRING: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey and Ed Begley ORIGINAL US RELEASE: September 1, 1948 by Paramount Pictures. In SORRY, ...

CLASSIC SILVER SCREEN MONSTERS ARE ON THE LOOSE IN THIS INSTALLMENT OF “TERROR IN BLACK AND WHITE” When fans of classic black and white horror films are asked what they love most about the genre, monsters are usually at the top the list. Iconic creatures like Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolf Man come to mind immediately. It seems only fitting, then, that this opening installment of TERROR IN BLACK AND WHITE is dedicated to three of our favorite creepy creatures. We’re about to unleash one pissed off alien, an aquatic beastie with a thing for the ladies and the original Bridezilla. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD) DIRECTED BY: Christian Nyby SCREENPLAY BY: Charles Lederer (based on the 1938 short story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell, Jr.) STARRING: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer, Robert O. Cornthwaite and James Arness ORIGINAL US RELEASE: April 27, 1951 by RKO Radio Pictures. Something has fallen fro...

OVERPRAISING A FRUSTRATINGLY FLAWED PILOT DOESN’T DO TV VIEWERS (OR FEMALE SUPER HEROES) ANY FAVORS AIRS MONDAYS AT 8PM E/P ON CBS The good news: SUPERGIRL doesn’t totally suck. It’s no ARROW or THE FLASH but it is more fun than that torpid Marvel clunker AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. The bad news: SUPERGIRL is on CBS. Everything has been run through their de-fanger and given a sanitizing scrub-a-dub; a process perfected by the official network of “TV That’s Never Thinky.” It’s not quite DC-CSI, but the opener plays it too safe and isn’t worthy of the overpraise being heaped upon it by some critics. While everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, we’re all spinning our pearls of wisdom off the same pilot. It was “leaked” online months ago and subsequent episodes have not been made available for review. So, right off the bat, let’s stop pretending SUPERGIRL is the first coming of She-Christ or a significant feminist milestone. It is neither of those things and ignoring a host of...

A GORGEOUS SECOND FULL PROMO REEL REVEALS A CREEPY NEW YEAR’S TREAT FOR “SHERLOCK” FANS When SHERLOCK executive producers Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue teased an upcoming episode set in the Victorian era, fans at San Diego ComicCon went wild . If the first full trailer for this stand-alone special is any indication, the excitement is most definitely justified. It’s packed with lush, creepy visuals and just about everything else you’d hope for in a retro outing of this modern TV classic.   In keeping with tight-lipped tradition, the BBC is holding their cards close to the vest. While short on specifics, it’s clear that  Moffatt intends to  make good on his desire to explore the more gothic and ghostly tales in the Holmes lexicon. While these stories might land with an anachronistic thud in the slick, contemporary world of SHERLOCK, putting Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the way-wayback machine is a stroke of genius.   On October 25, the BBC reveal...

RYAN MURPHY COMMITS YET ANOTHER TV HATE CRIME WITH A FLACCID “COMEDY” THAT’S DEAD ON ARRIVAL AIRS TUESDAYS AT 9PM E/P ON FOX (NEXT-DAY STREAMING ON HULU) Full disclosure: I despise Ryan Murphy and pretty much anything that bears his prissy paw prints. GLEE was a one-season wonder that quickly wore out its welcome and AMERICAN HORROR STORY is currently the single most reprehensible piece of violent junk on any network, broadcast or cable. Don’t even get me started on mercifully short-lived THE NEW NORMAL. Murphy is full-tilt prickish and insanely self-impressed; a pompous gas bag enabled by PC media mavens and “if it’s queer we must like it” roboqueens who give a pass to almost anything he does simply because his pendulum swings gay. Me? Not so much. In SCREAM QUEENS , when he’s not ripping off the vastly superior work of others, Murphy goes dumpster diving to borrow from his favorite source: Ryan Murphy. It’s a vulgar, mean-spirited mess cobbled together from the worst bits ...

NEW “STAR WARS: TFA” TRAILER PACKS ENOUGH PUNCH TO CRASH TICKET SITES AND FREAK OUT RACIST DARK SIDE   As it turns out, the newest trailer for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS hews remarkably close to what appeared (and didn’t appear) in the poster art released Sunday. Indeed, it looks like the left hand knows what the right hand is doing at Disney/Lucasfilm marketing. That means shot after shot of eye-popping battle action, Stormtroopers up the ying yang, more Han, more Chewie, a “blink and you miss it” Leia reveal…and not so much as a glimpse of Luke. Let the conspiracy theories (and whining) begin!   Featured prominently throughout are Daisy Ridley (playing a scrappy scavenger named Rey) and John Boyega (as Finn, a Stormtrooper experiencing a crisis of conscience). Ridley shows she can handle a blaster with the best of them, continuing a long tradition of director JJ Abrams rightly favoring female characters who don’t need a man to complete them (or fight their battle...

WITH SNAGGLE-FANGS BARED, DEBDUSA UNLEASHES HER INNER KRAKEN. WHERE’S PERSEUS WHEN WE NEED HIM? When you stockpile Toni Home Perm solution and use it as often as meth-heads suck on a glass pipe, all those noxious fumes are bound to cloud your judgment and reasoning. In the case of DNC Chair DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ , the damage goes much deeper than a fry job on her poorly coiffed rat’s nest. Debdusa has always been viewed as an evil monster by those on the right. It’s something she’s well aware of and openly relishes. She feeds on their hate like a feral cat set loose at a buffet station of poached Evangelical canary. Debdusa is also an equal opportunity political beastie with a reputation for going Gorgon on anyone who questions her authority. Just ask DNC Vice Chair Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the latest Democrat to draw the ire of this power-mad harpy. Gabbard is a decorated combat veteran and rising star within the party. She’s also two things Wasserman-Schultz is not: respected ...

NBC CAN CLAIM BRAGGING RIGHTS TO THE BEST NEW DRAMA ON ANY BROADCAST NETWORK THIS FALL AIRS MONDAYS AT 10PM E/P ON NBC (NEXT-DAY STREAMING ON HULU) Over the course of the past few seasons, Comcast-owned NBC has amassed a spotty track record when it comes to scripted drama. In addition to the last vestiges of the venerable LAW & ORDER franchise , there have been numerous high profile flops like SMASH , ALLEGIANCE , CONSTANTINE and THE SLAP . The network is also home to inexplicably popular junk like THE BLACKLIST and inexplicably renewed howlers like MYSTERIES OF LAURA . That’s why my expectations for BLINDSPOT were set pretty low. Boy, was I wrong. This cracker jack thriller starts out firing on all cylinders and never stops. What makes BLINDSPOT such a pleasant surprise is how deftly each episode navigates a potential minefield of pitfalls and face plants. In less capable hands, this is one of those “high concept” hours that could have flown off the rails. Instead, creator ...