evolution creations » TV

T.I. Road to Redemption – A surprising production from MTV

evo — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Once in a while, a TV station like MTV who has previously been known to do nothing but reality shows that are geared to the lowest common denominator and of the poorest taste considering the day and age that we live in, will break through and provide something to the viewing audience that really shows that it’s a station that not only has star power through it’s ability to command any Hollywood star, but also to leverage those contacts to produce something really worthwhile.

I don’t say this often, as I have come to think of MTV as the filth that has become the degeneration of our generation and future generations to come, but there is a new show that my wife DVR’ed the other day that I reluctantly watched today, that is T.I.’s Road to Redemption.

What makes this interesting is the story behind this series. Apparently T.I. was brought to trial by the ATF for possession of weapons that were in violation of his previous felony conviction. With this, if the Federal government won a conviction, he could face up to 30 years in prision for those possessions. Apparently he made a deal with them that before March/2009, he would complete 1000 hours of community service–if he was able to do this, he would only face 1 year and 1 day in prison–if he failed to do so, he could face the full term. Obviously it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that the decision he made was clearly the best one, but wasn’t so obvious was his move to have MTV produce a show where he goes after 7 teens at risk to the streets and to help them understand what they are doing and the life that they can come to expect.

I have to admit, although I don’t agree with T.I.’s life decisions, to take the extra time on top of his 1000 hours of community service, to help these troubled kids, really gives me hope that Hollywood hasn’t been completely lost to the scum that is what we believe it to be. With people who are too into themselves and what’s in it for them, instead of looking out and using their star power and influence to help those who would be their fans and people who can be influenced by direct interactions with them.

I’ll be interested to see how things progress in the future shows, but for now after watching the first episode, I am impressed and give T.I. credit where credit is due for the work that he is doing. If he is able to complete this community service and have any impact on the kids he is helping, that should earn him a pass to get out of jail free. That is more than what you can say others in similar positions in either Music or Film have done for kids who are clearly at risk.

Lord of the Rings on TV–Legend of the Seeker

evo — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:30:00 +0000

In what has to be one of the most interesting new shows to come onto the landscape, The Legend of the Seeker, I thought was originally just an off shoot of the Lord of the Rings series. But in reality, the show has many unique qualitites to it, and after watching what has already been broadcasted for season 1, this is a show that I think will be in it for the long haul. The story is unqiue and there is a dynamic between the two main characters that I think viewers will be drawn to. The wizard has a sort of quarky complex to him that reminds me of Doc Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy. The show picks up again in January, but you can catch all the episodes from Hulu:

http://www.hulu.com/legend-of-the-seeker

Another show bites the dust–My Own Worst Enemy

evo — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Another show that we watch each week, My Own Worst Enemy, we just found out is also getting cut from the NBC lineup. I have to admit, that this one didn’t really catch me off guard, as the story was a very confusing story to follow, and it was unclear as to what the NBC folks were going to do to carry out a story line now that Slaters character seemed to be able to function with being woken up either as Edward or as Henry.

Stargate Atlantis runnings its final course–The Sanctuary to the rescue!

evo — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Many moons ago I wrote a blog regarding this show, and I have to admit, I thought this would be one of the legacy StarGate francises to last a decade or so. No so true as it turns out. The final series episode will air 2 weeks from now on the 9th of January 2009.

Let’s hope that the final two episodes are memoriable and put the show to rest in the right way, as we can recall so many times before where series finalies leave the fans wanting for me. Take Startrek: Voyager, searching for years for a way back home, only to wrap up in a short few episodes a magical way using some Borg transdimensional conduit that will take them from the Delta quadrant to the Alpha quadrant? Or Startrek: DS9, where the buildup to the Dominion/Cardasian and Alpha quadrant had been massing for months, only to end in a massive and wanting space battle? We’ve seen this happen before, and I’m just hoping that in this case, the writers and producers of the show take stock in what this francise means, and what it means to fans, and do the right thing.

On the other hand, there is another show that shows a lot of promise, The Sanctuary with one of the friendly faces from the Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis series–Amanda Tapping. I was curious when she left Atlantis as I thought her role was just developing, but now it makes sense for her to get her own show and really define herself apart from what she was doing in the Stargate realities. The show is somewhat confusing for those who are just picking it up for the first time, but stick with it, as the show really grows on you!

The Avatar: The Last Air Bender – Finally over

evo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:38:00 +0000

For many months, we have waited and waited–and WAITED for Nickelodeon to do something with the show: The Avatar: The Last Air Bender. This was in the beginning a first for an American cartoon shop, as the style and story were more similar to their Japanese counterparts, than they were to typical American toons. This is part of the reason why this show, in my opinion, caught on so quickly.

Quickly isn’t always the best, as this was seen as the release of episodes from season to season and within a season began to slow at an extrodinary rate. So much so that you began to wonder are they going to keep it going?

For those who don’t follow Japanese anime, you typically find anime fall into:

12 episode
24 episode
52 episode
100+ esisodes

Given the number of episodes that the Avatar had and the power of the story, it would have been easy in my opinion for them to take this toon and carry it on for 100+ episodes. What American tooners aren’t use to are story arcs, arcs that divert from the main story line and come back or not, and intertwin and unravle and all kinds of things! This is what makes shows like Naruto be able to continue on for 250+ episodes with no sight in end as to when they will be done. Now keep in mind, that within those episodes there are episodes that you just want to pull out your hair and think to yourself, OMG won’t they bloody end these things!

But nonetheless, the show is now over. In an impressive last 4 episodes regarding Sozens Comet, the show came to a peaceful ending with most of the loose ends wrapped up. It’s what I would consider to be a fairy tale ending. Nothing compared to the heart wrenching ending that say shows like Full Metal Alchemist have, things that have reply values of LESS than 1! But are nonetheless AWESOME anime that are at the top of my all time favor list.

Ghost Whisperer – Diamond in the Ruff

evo — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:29:00 +0000

As many of you may have thought like me, Jennifer Love Hewitt never really seemed to me like a serious actress. I always imagin her in roles such as:

Recently she’s done a bit more interesting roles, such such films as:

But I have to admit, what really got me, was how good both the show and her acting has been in the CBS hit show: Ghost Whisperer.

There are a few things that make this show stand up against other shows such as Medium. The biggest difference is the fact that on Medium Patricia can see visions that the afterlife presents to her either in dreams or visions that she has. Jennifer on the other hand, sees ghosts in realtime and can interact with them while they are concentrating their energies to make themselves appear to her. There have been a few frustrating times whereby they need to get a critical statement across to her and they have vanished–kinda makes you wonder how free as a bird they really are.

Nonetheless, the show has gained a lot of credibility in my book, and I would urge everyone to go out and purchase the seasons or DVR it from CBSHD. It’s on my wish list, so feel free to link through it, and purchase them via Amazon (gotta love them!).

The one annoying bit, but at the same time is a bit interesting is the fact that she always seems to wear outfits that you would think would both be uncomfortable, cause others within her quiet little town to look at her like she was a prostitute or something, as they are all quite revealing. Also throughout the show it seems like her breasts are about to pop out at any moment and in certain camera angles you get a glimps of more than you would expect, or see her running and it appears that she’s not wearing a bra! Needless to say his is a bit provacative, but will draw in the male crowds! On the flip side, her husband in the show, Jim, is certainly not without his benefits, and there are situations where he is topless and demonstrating just what a fire fighter/paramedic’s physical attributes would look like. My wife has commented on this several times as we watch the show together.

Regardless from these little bits that might distract you from the show, the acting is top notch and the stories, both in the episode itself, as well as the story arches that CBS has chosen to go with to tie in multiple stories together, has really given me a reason to watch the show. I do have to say that CBS, while I don’t want it for much else, the shows have been top notch!

Lipstick Jungle – Just a like or like enough?

evo — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:11:00 +0000

As most who know me know that I’m someone who reluctantly got dragged into watching Sex and the City with my wife back when it was “hot”. And as much as men these days would say that those types of shows are for women only, similar to shows like ‘The View’ or ‘Opera’, I say, men alike, we can watch these shows and take marvel in the drama just like the next gal. Sure we won’t understand all the little aspects of the show that are inside jokes for women alike, but nonetheless, a good show.

So the creator of Sex and the City recently came to light on NBC with a show called ‘Lipstick Jungle’. Now I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of this show to begin with–first let’s consider this. If the creator of Sex and the City focused on a show that takes place in New York City, and stars women of varying degrees of success, but still highlighting the power roles that women hold, and who are encumbered by odd and sometimes twisting sexually based circumstances, what could the next series offer that is different? Surprise, surprise, based in New York, power women, sexually charged issues–but there’s a catch, there is something different about this show! You know, I haven’t quite figured out what that is, but there is. So for all those who are wondering, this is a GREAT show so check it out!

Medium

evo — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:56:00 +0000

Finally Medium is back from the dead–ok bad joke! But still this has to be one of the best shows on TV, and given that the writers strike seems to have a big impact on this year’s shows, we take what we can get! The question becomes what happens to Allison? Will she get back to work with Manuel and Scanlon? What will happen to the DA who replaced Manuel? Time will tell folks!

Entourage – Sad News

evo — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:22:00 +0000

So I was scouring the internet to see when one of my favorite shows, Entourage, was going to be returning from a cliff hanger of a season end–turns out that they might not be bad until the Fall 2008 season!!!! How can this be!

You wonder how much of this has to do with the writers guild strike, but again you wonder what other impact this is going to have on the 2008 TV season. All of these shows are now 3-4 months behind their production timescales, will they have time to recover? Will TV be reruns for 2008! OH NO!