SouthLAnd Season 2, Ep 2: Butch and Sundance

Unfortunately, life's been rather busy lately, hence my lateness on reviewing the newest episode of SouthLAnd. It's been nearly a week, and I finally have a chance to sit down and put my thoughts to paper. Boy oh boy do I have a bunch of them. I'm looking at the notecard I was scribbling all my notes on, and it's covered front and back with my almost legible chicken scratch.

The Return of SouthLAnd!! Season 2, Ep 1: Phase Three

It is with a great deal of excitement that I sit down to write this blog post. It's my first write-up of SouthLAnd in almost a year, and I couldn't be happier sitting here after watching the first new episode of the show in almost as long. I've spent the last several weeks positively giddy with anticipation, and all that waiting has finally paid off.

After an intermission that felt like it would never end, it is my pleasure to say that the best "cop show" in history is back on the air. After its short first season (all 7 episodes of it), NBC canceled the show, citing that it was too expensive to continue producing. I ranted at length about NBC's lack of intelligence in previous blog posts, but really, their idiocy turns out to be TNT's gain. And it works to the benefit of fans of great TV everywhere.

SouthLAnd is back, and it is better than ever!

Southland, Ahoy!

Thanks to Twitter, I've discovered that there's an entire community that has been in existence fighting to save the coolest cop show around. It's kind of refreshing to know that I wasn't the only one on the planet who thought the show was TV equivalent of a double-decker sundae topped with yummy strawberries. And whipped cream. On a hot day in the dead of summer. Now I'm just making myself hungry.

In any case, Ben McKenzie, the man behind Ben Sherman (my favorite character from the show), did an interview with Twitter's @TVShowGirl where he discusses what it was like transitioning between stations, what's coming up in future episodes, and even dressing up like Jay Leno for Halloween (no, really... it even includes a bloody hands joke!).

Check it out. Good stuff (and mostly hilarious too).

Southland Coming in January

Some positive news for your evening.

We're slowly getting details about Southland's return on TNT. Here's what I know so far.

Southland will be returning in January on TNT. They will be airing the entire series so far (season 1, which we saw on NBC, and the episodes that were filmed for season 2 prior to the cancellation) before moving into new episodes. So, for those of you who are new to the show, tune in and find out why it's easily the best cop show on TV. One of the best shows in general, actually.

Mark it down folks, Tuesday January 12, 10/9c. And while you're at it, check out TNT's new website for the show. There's nothing up quite yet, but I bet there'll be some cool stuff soon.

And, there's a fan club too for you to feast your eyes on. Slash on over.

Where is Southland?

So, readers of this blog may remember that last year, I was thoroughly enjoying myself watching NBC's Southland - a real and gritty show about Los Angeles cops, a show about people with little fluff to speak of. In any case, the show was supposed to have its season 2 premiere in late September. NBC decided to push the premiere back to October 23, citing wanting to not get the show lost amidst the umpteen hundred other shows coming out in September. That seemed all well and good, but October 23 came and went, and I still have not seen the premiere for my favotire damned cop show. Dammit.

Nobody seems to have any news about a new proposed start date, at least not that I can find.

EDIT - Well, I found it. Please forgive me while I jump up and down and throw a tantrum. NBC has axed the show.

Insert tantrum throwing here along with many, many very bad words directed at the IDIOTS in charge at NBC. IDIOTS! $%@$#%$@^@%^@%^@#$%@#$%@#$^^%&@#$%&#$%@#$!$%.

I am mad beyond words at the moment, so truly mad. I hate, hate, HATE it when I get emotionally invested in a show then it is canceled. Southland, Arrested Development, October Road, and countless others over the years. This is why I stopped watching TV in the first place. They can leave senseless drivel like Law and Order on the air, but theyfinally come out with a real cop show with real characters... and they ditch it after giving it a small go. Pardon my French, but FUCK THAT.

It is slightly heartening to see that NBC appears to be shopping the show around to some cable networks, so maybe we'll get to see the show on a network with the cajones to make it work. In the meantime, fuck NBC. I knew there was a reason that I stopped watching shows on that network a looooooong time ago.

So, on the off chance that somebody from the show happens upon this blog, I'm rooting for ya.
If somebody from another network happens to read this, pick this show up - it's gold!
If somebody from NBC sees this, eat shit.

That is all.

EDIT - We will get to continue watching Southland, as TNT has picked up the broadcast rights from the dingbats over at NBC. Look for it to come back sometime in January. Thanks to Jason for finding that for me!

More Random News

So, they're already talking about both Gambit and Deadpool spinoff movies. Don't believe me? Check it out here. I'm down for both, assuming they can find a way to take the shitstorm of crap they dished on the Deadpool character back and do it correctly this time. And bring Ryan Reynolds back as Deadpool. 

It's with a heavy heart that I tell you Kings has been cancelled. I am tremendously sad that more people didn't start weatching that show. NBC will air the remaining episodes later this summer. It will be on again Saturdays starting June 13 and will run through its remaining episodse. :(

Heroes has avoided the NBC chopping block for now. NBC has renewed the show for next season, though they are debating how many episodes it will be. They also renewed Southland (YAY!) and Friday Night Lights (another YAY!)

All you Chuck fans out there can breath a sigh of relief, since NBC has confirmed that this cult hit is being renewed as well. 

Southland - Ep 3: See the Girl

Preface: It is hard to find pictures of this show, because a search for "Southland pictures" yields a ton of results for Southland Tales, a movie starring The Rock and Stiffler.... and not nearly as cool as a similarly-named TV show. Anyway...

I'm just giddy every time I watch this show. Yes, I know, I'm almost a week behind on this one, but damn, it was still great. 

The more I watch the show, the more Ben and John grow on me. This was really their episode, and as they continue to grow as characters and as people, my interest in them does likewise. This episode gives us some more background as they compare their fathers and their level of bastard-ness. The final scene introduced Ben's father and was just a great TV moment as he wordlessly turned and walked away. And the bombshell that was John's revalation of his father's crime... wow. This show defines epic TV. More people should be watching it. 

Perhaps more interesting than Ben and Joe individually is the dynamic that exists when both are together. They are slowly developing a firendship, becoming true partners rather than just having a trainer/trainee relationship. I can't wait to continue to watch this develop.

This episode barely had time to run through the other characters. Lydia made a few spot appearances, but other characters like Sal and Sammy made no showing at all. We got plenty of the ever-annoying Dewey (who was supposed to be retiring after episode 2, but I guess not) and Wade, the actor who got pulled over in episode 1. I'd like to punch him in the face in theis episode. It may not sound great, but there have to be some characters that I don't like, right?

Oh, and whoever the basketball player was should be smacked. I'd hit somebody like that... in the face, with a shovel. 

Anyway, check out the newest episode over at Hulu. Tune in tomorrow (well, technically later today) for my thoughts on Heroes Volume 4 and the season finale that has everybody talking (well, at least where I work everybody is talking). As usual, my opinion is quite the opposite of those I've heard so far. Until then.

Southland - Ep 2: Mozambique

I need to write this. I wasn't going to, but I finished this episode and I just need to share it. I absolutely cannot believe how great this show is. This is quickly climbing the list of my favorite TV shows. What's so exceptional about it? Like any TV show worth the time to watch it, it's the characters that make this show work. They are unbelieveably deep, moreso than I had first realized when I posted about the first episode, and they have me craving more. I canNOT wait until next Thursday so I can see another episode.

My favorite character thusfar is Ben Sherman (as played by the rather talented Ben McKenzie), a rookie cop in his first days on the job. He's training under John Cooper, the hardass training officer who's showing Ben the ropes, what the force is like in the real world. The interactions between the two, particularly the way Ben reacts to the gruff way that Joe treats him, are just awesome. There is some heavy-duty acting going on in this show, and it pays off in really bringing the characters to life like few shows can. I find myself kind of rooting him on, willing him to succeed in the face of a hardass partner who doesn't really like him, at least on the surface. In the second episode, we learn why Ben is such a great shot, and his story actually made me sad, I felt for him, and that's a huge deal for me, seeing as I rarely actually feel for fictitious characters. It also brought back memories of a few comments Joe made in the first episode, and Ben's reaction to those comments suddenly make a lot of sense. Great writing (and acting).

The other really awesome character in the show is Detective Lydia Adams (played by the lovely Regina King). She's got a strong personality and fits the role of a detective well, but she also has a soft side that's endearing. She's kind of this humanizing figure, reminding us that these cops are really people too. In Mozambique, she fights for the mother of an abandoned child, and it's truly heartwarming to see it happen.

Oh man, I am pumped about watching this show again next week. This show is kind of what I keep wanting Law and Order to be, and it pulls it off so well, it's a bit hard to describe. So, I'll stop trying. You can watch Mozambique right under this paragraph (courtesy, as always, of hulu.com). Also, for those of you who missed the pilot episode (what were you thinking???),  you can see that here.