Tagged: NBC

Review: ‘Heroes’ Season 3 Premiere

Those of you who left [[[Heroes]]] after the debauchery that was season two may want to make a return to the show for this season, because if the first two episodes were any indicator, this season is going to be exactly what comic book and TV fans alike have been waiting for.

Where we left off

The virus from the second season was contained by the heroes. Adam (the immortal man) was taken away by Hiro, while Nathan, Peter, and Matt decided that it’s time to tell the world exactly who they are. Right before Nathan’s big “outing”, he was shot by a mysterious man and presumed dead. Sylar escaped the clutches of Elle and the company, only to realize that his powers were coming back. Nikki went on a quest to save her cousin Monica from evil drug dealers when she was trapped in a building when it exploded. Finally reaching Suresh, Maya, the girl with the power to kill people when she cries, begs him to help her get rid of her powers. All this while Noah (HRG) is captured and put into custody by the Company, and Claire is safe in Texas, for now.

What’s changed

Between the backlash that the show received online from the fans, and the untimely writers’ strike, this show went through quite a few last minute changes, cutting the season in half with only 11 episodes. Originally, the plan was to have Sylar off the series for a while, while actor Zachary Quinto worked on J.J. Abrams’ [[[Star Trek]]], but due to the episode cut, they were able to work around his schedule, and have Sylar back in full swing for this season. Many other things were changed due to the negative response the show runners got from the fans.  One big change for this season was a lack of superfluous characters. The “Spanish wonder twins”  —   Maya and her dead brother — were a big problem for the online community, and Maya’s role will take a whole new — and far less whiney —  turn this season. Also, Nikki’s cousin Monica, who had the ability to mimic any action she saw on TV (much like any 11 year old boy) will be completely gone this year, and whether she’s even mentioned in dialogue or not is still unknown (ie. “Boy, things have been quiet here ever since Monica left to fight crime in Ireland”). Along with those changes came new character arcs, which may or may not fall in line with the consistency of the show. For instance; the “my two dads” storyline in which Suresh and Parkman took care of the child Molly, will be abolished. In fact, Suresh goes through a whole new metamorphosis this season, both physically and emotionally.

Finally, the biggest change in the show, and the best element of the two-part premiere; the pacing and revelation of the plot. A major problem with the series in the past was that it took six episodes for anything noteworthy to actually happen. In the first two hours, we get more questions answered and action-packed moments than you could ask for. Of course there will still be bigger questions to be revealed at a later episode, but you can thank the formula of modern hour-dramas for that.

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NBC Freshens Viral Experience for new Shows

NBC Freshens Viral Experience for new Shows

The season premier for Heroes is Monday and NBC promises their website will feature more micro-sites.  These specialized areas are promised to delve into secrets revealed on air, plus more graphic novel material, more cast commentaries and more webisodes beginning in December. In October, a special heroes vs. villains social network launches.

Meantime, the paperback edition of Saving Charlie, the sole Heroes tie-in novel, is also now on sale. DC’s second collection of Heroes webcomics will be out November 19 and collects all the comic material based on the second season.  Creators for the 272-page collection include Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, Duncan Rouleau, Christopher Zatta, Mark Sable, Mark Warshaw, Christine Boylan, Chuck Kim, Harrison Wilcox, Pierluigi Cothran, Jim Martin, Timm Keppler, DJ Doyle, Staz Johnson, Michael Gaydos, Tom Grummett, Ryan Odagawa, Jason Badower, Travis Kotzebue, Marcus To with a cover from Gene Ha.

Hoping to generate good will for the remake of Knight Rider, NBC is offering the ability to investigate the back stories of some of their favorite characters, play an all-new KITT game and interact in Attack KITT and the KITT cave.

The peacock network has also freshened the Office website as the Dunder Mifflin Infinity social network will feature new branches, new tasks and new prizes. Additional new features include Meredith’s blog, Angela and Andy’s wedding planning microsite, a Serenity by Jan microsite and a second installment of webisodes slated for November debut.
 

Katee Sackhoff Gains New Series

Katee Sackhoff Gains New Series

Katee Sackhoff will star in a new series created by Chris Levinson, Lost and Found for NBC according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Battlestar Galactica star had originally been contracted with Universal Studios and NBC to become a regular on The Bionic Woman should that series make it to a second season.  Instead, it was a ratings and writers’ strike casualty, freeing her for other work including a stint on the next season of Nip/Tuck.

Once she completes her work on the BSG telefilm, now shooting in Vancouver, she will go to work on the Dick Wolf production which will cast her as an LAPD detective who is punished for clashes with authority and sent to work on John and Jane Doe cases.

Levinson developed the show for the 2006-07 development season finally received a cast-contingent order from the network last month.  Sackhoff’s casting moves the show to a guaranteed pilot.

 

Television Notes

Television Notes

Seth Green chatted with Entertainment Weekly about his forthcoming projects including joining the cast of NBC’s Heroes this season. He and pal Breckin Meyer and “starting on set Monday. I’m a really big fan of the show, and I kind of begged for a long time to see if there was anything I could do.” He also confirmed that a second Star Wars Robot Chicken special is in the works. Carrie Fisher will be participating. Meantime, Fox will be rebroadcasting the season premier of Fringe for those who missed it or forgot to set their DVRs on September 14. To round out the full two hour slot, they will preview the first four minutes from the September 16 episode plus sneak an extended scene from 20th Century Fox’s feature The Day the Earth Stood Still, opening December 12, and a preview of the two-hour November TV movie 24: Redemption. “>Entertainment Weekly about his forthcoming projects including joining the cast of NBC’s Heroes this season.  He and pal Breckin Meyer are “starting on set Monday. I’m a really big fan of the show, and I kind of begged for a long time to see if there was anything I could do.”

He also confirmed that a second Star Wars-themed Robot Chicken special is in the works.  Carrie Fisher will be participating.

Meantime, Fox will be rebroadcasting the season premier of Fringe for those who missed it or forgot to set their DVRs on September 14 from 8 p.m – 10 pm.  To round out the full two hour slot, they will preview the first four minutes from the September 16 episode plus sneak an extended scene from 20th Century Fox’s feature The Day the Earth Stood Still, opening December 12, and a preview of the two-hour November TV movie 24: Redemption.

NBC and Apple Kiss and Make Up

NBC and Apple Kiss and Make Up

NBC released an announcement indicating their problems with Apple and iTunes are over. Beginning immediately, their top 10 programs will be available for download and season passes can be purchased for most of their series. This applies not only to the Peacock network but its USA Network, SCI FI Channel, Bravo, Sleuth and NBC News channels as well. Oxygen, Telemundo, Mun2 and NBC Sports will be added later.

With the debut yesterday of iTunes 8, the shows will be available in standard ($1.99) or HD ($2.99) formats. Older series can be seen for $.99 each while some can be had for free. Among these shows will be The A-Team, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Miami Vice, Kojak, and the original Battlestar Galactica.

NBC Universal is offering one free episode from each of their top series, available in either SD or HD, on the iTunes Store for the next two weeks. The premiere episodes of upcoming series, such as Knight Rider, My Own Worst Enemy and Kath & Kim will be available on iTunes a week before their broadcast premieres later in September and October, with subsequent episodes available the day after broadcast.

‘Heroes’ Season Debut Details

‘Heroes’ Season Debut Details

With Heroes returning for season three on September 22, NBC has released official descriptions of the first two hours.

Here’s NBC’s description of "The Second Coming": "The first chapter of Volume 3: Villains kicks off moments after shots rang out, as the shocking identity of Nathan’s (Adrian Pasdar) assassin and the reasons why the Texas press conference had to be cut short are revealed–immediately throwing Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Matt (Greg Grunberg) into unexpected, uncharted territory.

"With his powers partially restored, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) decides a visit to Claire (Hayden Panettiere) could give him a boost. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee) are charged with safeguarding a family secret that could split the planet apart and discover that the path to a grim future starts with shady speedster, Daphne (guest star Brea Grant).

"In New York City, thanks to Maya (Dania Ramirez), Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) makes a startling breakthrough that could change the world–or just destroy his. And who is Tracy Strauss?"
 

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NBC Gives ‘Chuck’ Vote of Confidence

NBC Gives ‘Chuck’ Vote of Confidence

Before the second season of Chuck could debut on September 29, NBC today gave the series an order for the “back 9,” meaning a full order of 22 episodes has been given to the sophomore series.

Producer Josh Schwartz told Kristin Dos Santos at E!online, "We are thrilled and totally surprised by the pickup. We’ve had a great partnership with NBC from day one and to have them show this kind of confidence is really inspiring. I’m also really excited for Chris Fedak who deserves so much credit for the quality of the show.

"In terms of the rest of the season, we had big plans for the season finale last year that were cut short by the strike. To know we can go forward this year is really exciting.

"You will see more romance from some unexpected pairings…Couples you would never imagine. And yes, there will be a wedding coming, and it will be awesome."

Chuck Season One will be released on DVD from Warner Home Video on September 16 while the WildStorm original miniseries based on the series continues with the third issue now in print.
 

‘The WB’ Returns With Smallville

‘The WB’ Returns With Smallville

Remember The WB? Time-Warner’s attempt to copy Fox’s entry into network television. It birthed some of our favorite shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Supernatural. Then they merged with Paramount’s UPN network to create The CW. The history gives me a headache.

Well, The WB is back. This time it’s Time-Warner’s answer to NBC and Fox’s Hulu online network. Before I get another headache explaining that, let’s just say we can watch some of our favorite shows online for free and leave it like that.

The big one for comic book fans is Smallville, the hit show that depicts Clark Kent’s life before becoming Superman. You can even share episodes, like the pilot episode I added to the bottom of this page.

I could also mention that Buffy is on there as well, but it’s also on Hulu. Here comes that media business headache again. Owww.

 

 

DC Bringing ‘Chuck’ to Comics

The long delay ’til the next season of NBC’s Chuck gets a bit of a reprieve this summer when DC Comics — via the Wildstorm imprint — releases a six-issue Chuck comic book miniseries.

From DC’s solicit, it sounds like the series will be trying to expand the scope of the TV series, which has a little thing called "budget" hemming it in.

From the solicit:

The hit NBC television series comes to comics as Chuck Bartowski and his friends are about to take the world by storm—literally! From series co-executive producer Peter Johnson (Supernatural: Rising Son) and series writer Zev Borow joined with artists Jeremy Haun (The Leading Man) and Phil Noto (Jonah Hex) comes an adventure too big for television!

In this globe-trotting, action-packed adventure, Chuck will see many exotic locales, dodge numerous bullets, and be tortured by the world’s greatest…tickler?

This sounds fairly similar to the globally expansive central storyline to last year’s Heroes graphic novel, another NBC-to-DC synergistic development. (Check out the haiku review of Heroes, another ComicMix greatest hit.)

Call me cautiously optimistic about this one. I really like the premise of Chuck, and I enjoyed the first few episodes. But things became very repetitive very quickly, and the gaps in logic became too unfathomable even for a "fun" show. Still, it has the chance to be this generation’s Get Smart, and that’s nothing to sleep on.

ComicMix Radio: Back In The Flash

ComicMix Radio: Back In The Flash

It’s a new direction for The Flash, a boat-load of second printing variant comics, and no less than two Katee Sackoff DVDs that hit the stores this week. We’ve got your new comics & DVD rundown, plus:

— Marvel and FX cook up a movie deal

— NBC courts Christian Slater

— It’s in the cards for Speed Racer at Topps

—  And we feel so generous that here is a hint for today’s new trivia question that is worth an  exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant — and you win by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

It’s all a click away, so just press the button!

 

 

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