Popping Off with Hells on Wheels

AMC has proved that bringing cinema to TV hauls in the viewers.  The network has brought us some fantastic TV in Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead and has laid the foundation down for another hit series.  Hell on Wheels - written by John Shiban and Mark Richard - takes us to the building of the transcontinental railroad.  Post Civil War strife is embellished with whiskey, filth, steel beasts, prostitutes and an anything but ethnic friendly vernacular.  

The railroad makes for a perfect melting pot for all walks of life and the casting done for this series was pretty on point.  The “builder” of the railroad is - more correctly stated as the face and greedy, low-life Senator - Thomas “Doc” Durant (Colm Meaney).  Durant is fighting the bank for loans to make the endeavor across America as the leader of the Union Pacific Railroad.  Pressed towards failure but ever relentless, Durant represents the crude business men of the late 19th century looking to weasel every dollar possible out to become wealthy.  

Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) is an ex-Confederate soldier and the spotlight of the cast.  Mean mugged and pretty eyed, this soldier is fighting with his own losses from the war.  Hunting those that took his family away from him, Bohannon has stumbled upon Hell on Wheels - which is actually the name of the town set up while building the railroad - and can’t leave until he takes care of some things.

The rapper Common has a role in Hell on Wheels as freshly emancipated slave Elam Ferguson.  Segregated from the white folks, the African-Americans must stick together - even though their new freedom sometimes has them turn on one another.  Elam has mysteriously - even luckily - stumbled upon the good graces of Bohannon and Durant and these men seem to have a flourishing future together.

The town is made of tents and never stays anywhere too long.  Despite the nomadic lifestyle, the town manages to have a bar, brothel, sheriff, tax collector and a church (where, by the way, the Reverend has taken an Indian under his wing to adapt him to “white culture”).  Basically, if this town doesn’t have what you’re looking for than you’re looking for something not from from post Civil War America. I’m saying the representation is like the cast - pretty on point.

The fear of Indian raids is fanatical throughout the camps and town.  The war between Native Americans protecting their sacred lands and the white man seeking out manifest destiny is another well represented aspect of this new series.  The western genre brings a charming new feel to TV that seems to be overrun by vampires and werewolves nowadays.  

AMC has emerged as a new front runner for TV hits.  Well done cinematography coupled with good writing and entertaining viewing has become their trademark.  Although Hell on Wheels most likely will not share the same lime light seen by Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the character developments and relationships seems to be of a depth that can grab and captivate an audience for awhile.  And just when things may seem to get a little dull in the plot line, expect gunslingers to take over and bodies to drop.  Similar to The Walking Dead, I wouldn’t get attached to many of the characters because the road they travel doesn’t promise good fortune.

Bluebell's Finest

The whole concept of a small-town, doe eyed girl who moves off to the big city, with even bigger dreams, and an even smaller set of belongings, has become somewhat of a stock plot in modern television. Bringing a refreshingly unique twist to this is CW11’s dramatic rom-com series, Hart of Dixie. The show takes place in the quaint, fictional country town of Bluebell, Alabama. It is here that our protagonist-feisty, loquacious, New York native-Zoe Hart is found, after inheriting half of the local medical practice. Zoe’s decision to pack up her fast-paced city life for the comparably sluggish, yet comical, town of Bluebell is fueled by her rejection for a surgeon fellowship, along with the shocking reveal that half of the practice was left to her by her, previously unknown, biological father.

There are no strangers in Bluebell; if the townspeople don’t know you, then they sure know your business. This perky, small-town community primarily consists of generations that grew up together. They are never short on kindness, or sweet tea, and their charm is as potent as in their preceding generations. Though it seems that this southern hospitality is not extended toward their new town resident, and medical practitioner. Zoe blows into town like a hurricane, bringing with her a fresh waft of big city air, and a ten-piece luggage set. Local residents don’t take kindly to this fast-talking interloper, and make no efforts to conceal their distaste. Dr. Brick Breeland, who ran the practice with Zoe’s father, outright refuses to work with her. This traditional, hardheaded, single father of two, tells her if she wants to practice medicine she’d better pack her bags because she did not have the skills to work there. Brick’s ‘lovely’ daughter Lemon, normally the embodiment of all things sweet, turns absolutely sour at Zoe’s arrival. Lemon jumps into scheming to get this intruder out of her town, and more importantly, far away from her fiancée George Tucker. The rest of the town eyes Zoe curiously, as she tries desperately to avoid familiarizing herself with town customs.

It takes a bit of time before the people of Bluebell feel at ease around Dr. Hart and allow her to treat them. In time, Zoe throws her “need to get out of this town” attitude out the window and for the first time sees her patients as real people, in some cases even friends. By the end of the first season, a definite change is seen in Zoe. She still possesses her witty, stream of consciousness manner of speaking, but she finally begins to embrace this new slow-paced life. Along with the help of her friends- Mayor Lavon Hayes, her grungy bad boy neighbor Wade, and Lemon’s fiancée George-Zoe discovers a part of herself that had grown quite fond of the small-town country life in Bluebell.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "The Gang Gets Quarantined"

It’s rare to see the four younger members of the gang cooperating on one single project, yet “The Gang Gets Quarantined” starts off with them working together on an a cappella rendition of Philly music group Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly”. Dennis is the leader of the group, claiming everything sounds “horrible”, and that they need a lot more work if they are going to win a chance to open for the R&B group at their upcoming concert. This, naturally, turns into an argument within the group, with the others thinking they are harmonizing greatly. This is when Frank bursts in, claiming that this year’s flu is spreading through Philadelphia like wildfire. The gang becomes panicked, for, as Dennis questions, what can’t you do when you’re sick? “Sing”, the gang fills in, much to Dennis’ dismay, as he hoped to answer the question himself. They are left with one option, to place themselves into quarantine.

Frank is the most adamant about the rules of this quarantine, forbidding Dee from ordering a pizza, for pizza men are the prime carriers of sickness. After all, “They’re going house to house, handling money, and banging lonely broads!” The gang becomes irate when Dennis demands that they also refrain from drinking alcohol, in an attempt to save their vocal chords.

The second day of the quarantine arrives, and Mac, Dee, and Charlie have taken to developing a backstory for their group in order to help sway the judges of the vocal contest. They settle on being stuttering war veterans from the south, who are also carnies, for one reason or another. As they continue to add layers to their story, Frank comes out with a found pizza box. Dennis plans to get to the bottom of this, as he picks up the phone to call the pizza place to figure out who placed the order, which he claims the place says the name left was Spiderman. Frank then tells how he cut the chords to the phones after they began the quarantine, which leads Charlie to the realization that Dennis must be Spiderman. This culminates in a characteristic speech from Dennis, where he claims that he has such control of his body that he can go from flaccid to erect on a whim, which Mac instantly backs up as fact, for he’s seen it. For breaching the quarantine, Dennis is locked into the bathroom against his will.

Frank starts to throw away food and shaves his head, and comes to an epiphany where purity comes from total hairlessness. Mac and Charlie go for a food run, wearing bubble boy suits that Charlie and his mom used to wear when he was younger, with his mother’s being equipped with a pouch in the helmet for her booze. Mac tears his while showing Charlie his dance moves, and Charlie promises to not tell Frank. Back at the bar, Dee is caught eating food and drinking beer that she had stashed in the ceiling of the office, which gets her placed into quarantine with Dennis, who looks very sick. Frank starts getting super into hand-sanitizer, rubbing it all over his arms. Shortly after, Mac is put into quarantine as well after he sneezes and panics, with Charlie yelling to Frank all about his breach. He is followed by Charlie, who voluntarily places himself into the bathroom after Frank attempts to shave his head. He sees Dennis, who is far sicker than before, and nonchalantly proclaims “Oh, you’re going to die, dude”. Charlie determines that if he’s going down, he’d rather go down drinking, as he produces three bottles of bleach that he has filled with whiskey. They all sit down and drink together, and naturally a few hours later are all feeling better. It turns out that none of them ever had the flu, and were simply suffering from alcohol withdrawal, where they realize that they are all alcoholics. Charlie reveals that he had a key to the door the entire time, and they go back into the bar to find a trail of slime. They follow it to find Frank, down his underwear, hairless, and covered in sanitizer, crawling around the ground pining for pureness. When they bring him to the hospital, they find out that the concert has been cancelled due to the members of Boyz II Men coming down with the flu. Naturally, the gang leaves Frank to go drink back at Paddy’s, which is where they belong. 

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ rises to the occasion after ‘The Avengers’ rescue New York

Superheroes have been dominating the movie and television market. From “Smallville” to “The Amazing Spiderman,” these iconic characters have flown, swung, and hammered their way into popular media and capture both comic book junkies and newcomers alike. So it was of no surprise to anyone when Marvel announced its new show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” which brings the cameras into the confidential business of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its agents as they travel out and solve cases after the events of “The Avengers”. The first episode premiered on September 24, 2013 and has since rolled out four episodes. As proven by the episodes thus far, the operative team “bus” doesn't need assistance from a hammer-wielding god of Asgard or a sarcastic billionaire and corporation owner in order to stay afloat.

In a world where the existence of heroes and fearsome creatures has been revealed thanks to an incident occurring within the Big Apple, S.H.I.E.L.D. continues its covert missions in an attempt to protect citizens from the freaky discoveries made behind the scenes. Clark Gregg returns to the division once again as Agent Phil Coulson, post-Brush With Death. He shortly becomes a field operative once more and assembles a small team of agents, including Skye (Chloe Bennet), the snarky but warm computer hacker and the New Girl of the team, Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), the Black Ops Specialist with great talent but horrible people skills, Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), the Ex-Field Agent leaping back into the fray, Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), the witty Engineering Specialist with great proficiency in weapons technology, and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), the clever Life Sciences Expert with knowledge of both human and alien life. Together on an extravagant jet embedded with state-of-the-art technology, the team flies out and faces complicated issues like people with incredible powers gifted to them by frighteningly volatile substances, powerful substances capable of feats such as breaking all laws of gravity, and miracle eye surgeries gone horribly wrong. (If you ever become blind and have someone offer to give you eye surgery to bring back your sight, make sure that person isn't going to turn you into the puppet of an evil organization later.)

Each hour-long episode hooks viewers in with a new mission and displays the operatives accomplishing their goals step-by-step. Despite the fast-paced intensity, “S.H.I.E.L.D.” still takes time to develop the characters’ relationships with one another in a satisfying manner. Hacker and new agent Skye ends up being taken under seasoned agent Ward’s wing as his student; Agent Coulson and Agent May frequently address one another regarding past experiences and even bicker on various issues that arise within the episode. Last but not least, Caestecker and Henstridge as Fitz and Simmons often share witty banter towards one another, all while they’re either scanning the burned down remains of an apartment building for clues or performing a squicky but life-saving eye operation on a rogue agent. To top it off, each episode thus far has ended with hints on the plot of the next mission and foreshadowing that there is more to Agent Coulson’s fake death than people are admitting.

With the way the Whedon brothers and Maurissa Tancharoen are handling a well-known fictional espionage and law enforcement agency while adding well-executed contemporary spins, it is no wonder why ABC chose to pick the show up for a full season of 22 episodes. This means that Marvel fans can expect more action-filled, suspense-driven missions that grow increasingly complex and dangerous with each episode. If the large amounts of foreshadowing and visions of an overarching plot aren't enough, then the sure-to-come cameos, such as Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury in one episode, should be enough to at least spurn interest in those that enjoyed “The Avengers”.

And in the midst of odd times, maybe Captain America will check in every now and then.

Anything is possible...

     Once Upon a Time is at it again, this time with a very interesting spinoff focusing solely on the inhabitants of Wonderland.  I had my doubts about Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as Once Upon a Time had already visited wonderland, and introduced us to the Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts.  Besides Alice what more did they have to offer? I can answer only with this, "Anything is possible in Wonderland."
     From the beginning, this show breaks some expectations by showing a calm environment when a giant crater explodes out from the ground, and out comes our favorite and familiar blue and white dress.  This is our rabbit hole, not a small hole next to a tree or behind a bush, but a crater formed in the ground spewing soil and grass everywhere.  From there a very young Alice goes home to tell her father, but then flash forward and he's tired of her "Wonderland" so off to the Asylum with her.  The first half of the pilot is heavy with flashbacks, all to set the narrative for Alice, and her Genie.  Any Once fan will go to town with that bit of information, as we already know in Once they are very skilled at combining our favorite Disney characters together, even in the most unexpected ways that we may not have thought of.  In a very unsurprising twist, they fall in love.  In a very surprising twist we see Alice in a very different light, similar to Snow White in Once, Alice is a bad ass.  I thoroughly enjoyed the two scenes where she defeats  red soldiers, and asylum doctors displaying that our little Alice has not only matured, but through her years in Wonderland learned to defend herself as Wonderland is not the safest of places, with the Red Queen and Jafar running around.  Are we connecting some dots now? Genie...Jafar, something tells me we are in for a treat here in Wonderland.
     The very interesting thing about this spinoff is that it takes place in Present day, at the same time as our main characters from Once upon a Time are in Neverland. (But that's a story for another day.)  This means that the Queen of Hearts, is dead, and the Mad Hatter, is no longer the Mad Hatter he used to be.  Interestingly we get a small glimpse of Storybrook here.  When our friendly Knave comes to town on a stormy night for a drink, and up comes a White Rabbit in the middle of the store, crater and all.  This brings the question in mind how were the occupants of Wonderland not transported to Storybrook? The Mad Hatter was, the Knave is here, but why not the Red Queen or Jafar?  Will we be seeing more of Storybrook? I think so.
     My expectations were more than shattered with this pilot, as I will easily tell you I did not anticipate this kind of storytelling here.  The atmosphere expands far beyond the Queen of Hearts garden, from Once Upon a Time, we now see a dark forest, boiling water with floating islands.  And who didn't enjoy the inside of the Asylum, it was the perfect place for our main character to be in at the moment.  It showed her broken, not just in the head, but in her heart.  This dark environment showed one with no hope, and this fit accurately with how our main character felt.  I was absolutely "seeing things" with Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, very good things, I only wish that it continues in this very interesting direction. Two left....

Feminist Borer Story

American Horror Story has out-done any and every show I’ve ever obsessed over. The first two seasons were riveting, jaw-dropping, boundary pushing, and completely addictive. Season one tackled issues including homophobia, rape, mental retardation and ablism, school shootings, adultery. Nothing was too risque for Ryan Murphy. The second season went even further (which viewers likely had no idea was possible). We saw more graphic and vulgar scenes of homophobia, rape (of both males and females... very progressive inclusion, Murphy), mental illness, and also threw in racism, a mad Nazi scientist, and two heathen nuns (one’s just an alcoholic, the other one is sex-crazed and demonic). Also, there was a kickass musical scene where electro-shocked Jessica Lange sang The Name Game and I fell even more deeply in love with her than I already was.

You can only imagine my excitement for Coven. Especially when I found out it was to be set in New Orleans and centered around witches. WITCHES ROCK. They’re the coolest. They’re sexy and badass and magical and badass and vengeful and they sport all black all the time and they’re so badass. Now, try to imagine my disappointment when I watched the pilot episode and Jessica Lange had a line referencing Facebook and Twitter. There was also dubstep and a frat party. I could try to blame it on the fact that the show is set primarily in present-day, however the first season was as well and did not contain any of these disappointments. The elements of the Asylum plot that were set in present day were equally as fucked up and terrifying as the segments in the 60s.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for bitchcraft. If you ask me, witches were the real first-wave feminists. But I’m having a difficult time buying into this plot. It isn’t nearly as eerie, disturbing, or offensive as the first two. Actually, I take that last part back. It isn’t as politically incorrect, but it is certainly more offensive. For one, I feel like the writers have lost all progressive perspective.  There is a hint of race and class warfare, but it is shadowed by teenage sappiness and cultural jokes that appeal to the most socially unconscious audiences.

I hoped that the second episode would restore my faith in the show, but 10 minutes in it became clear that this would not be promising. Honestly, how many fat jokes is Gabourey Sidibe going to make? The first one wasn’t funny, so why haven’t you stopped while you were already behind, Murphy? Also, was Emma Robert’s bra and panty cameo necessary? (Hint: no). And what is this, Disney? True Love’s kiss resurrects Evan Peters? Yawwwwwn. The only part of “Boy Parts” that I even remotely enjoyed was the sexual tension between Lily Rabe and Taissa Farmiga while they discussed the lyrical genius that is Queen Stevie Nicks.  

Will I stop watching? Absolutely not. This is my show and I will stick by it, even when I don’t like/agree with it. I still have hope that I will get the AHS I know and love back, but this disappointment is going to be hard to shake. Save the pop culture references and light humor for Glee. We want gore, insanity, darkness, terror. And bring back the social critiques. You were on the right track with killing off the rapists, but Build-A-Boyfriend? Not so cool. So far the most gruesome scene of the series has been the opening of the pilot, when we enter Madame LaLaurie’s torture chamber (that Minotaur was TWISTED!). Very useful in drawing audiences in, but you’ve got to keep us terrified to keep us watching. I want my heart to pound with anticipation and my blood to boil with social injustice. That’s the AHS I signed up for and devoted myself to.

Boy Parts: A Set Up for an Amazing Season

And just like that, the witchy “sisterhood” that Cordelia has been striving for was thrown out the window.

Within only a few minutes of “Boy Parts,” Zoe cracks under the pressure of the detectives and spills the beans about their part in the bus accident, and even worse, their powers. But have no fear, Fiona comes into rescue the two juvenile witches by spitting in two glasses of water (yuck) and forcing the two policemen to drink it. After the loogie was swallowed, she was able to erase their minds and save the day! But not without throwing Zoe and Madison against the walls first and telling them that the only thing they have to fear in the whole damn world is her. And that was only in the first 20 minutes of the episode

It’s safe to say a lot happened in this weeks past episode of American Horror Story: Coven. After last week’s episode we thought we had lost two characters forever, but boy are they back.

Gator Girl saved two of “god’s innocent creatures” and in return killed two of god’s not so innocent ones. I thought we weren’t going to see Misty Day ever again after those awful people burned her at the stake, but low and behold, she has risen again. I’m pretty excited to see her performance in this season after last season’s terrifying possession in Asylum, and after this episode, it’s clear that her character is not quite all there…again.

Kyle/Zoe’s dead boy toy has been brought back to life, but seems to be missing a lot of motor function and self-control because of it. He also has new body parts! After Madison and Zoe making their own perfect boy by picking and choosing which parts were acceptable, they cast a spell to bring him back, but think they aren’t successful. Not surprisingly, Madison leaves Zoe behind when someone who works at the morgue comes and finds them, leaving Zoe to fend for herself with a still dead Kyle. Zoe got caught because she didn’t have enough sense to NOT hide out in the open! But have no fear, dead Kyle became undead and beat the crap out of the guy.

But like I said before, he’s not the Kyle he used to be…as in he can’t really talk, or move his body in a way that looks comfortable or humanly possible. Zoe has no choice but to trust in Misty Day, who slathers crocodile excrement all over his newly sewn together body parts to heal him. Did I mention this show is disgusting?

Voodoo Queen. Ah yes, the all-powerful Marie Laveau (whose name is too much like Madame LaLaurie in my opinion, which keeps on confusing me). This sassy woman is the same one from 180 years ago who put Madame LaLaurie in her coffin. She has perfected the whole immortality bit, which is exactly what Fiona has been searching for. So, Fiona pays Marie Laveau a visit, where we learn a bit more about the witch history, and how those who practice voodoo and those who practice witchcraft do not get along. Shocking, I know.

Queenie, the Queen. Well, she is in my opinion. After a flashback that led to us learning about her past, it’s safe to say Queenie is badass. With her witty lines and comebacks, “Bitch, I will eat you,” being my favorite so far, it’s safe to say she is one of my favorite characters this season. I’m very excited to see her storyline develop in the future.

Random Hubby? I can’t forget to mention Cordelia’s husband who basically came out of nowhere.  We find Cordelia and said husband at the doctor’s office where they learn she basically has a hostile womb that will not let her conceive. So of course, they turn to magic, which will almost undoubtedly, (in my mind) lead to some sort of abomination of a baby, much like season one. I wonder if the show will progress that far into the future to see what Cordelia gives birth to, and if it is human.

A few new plots were established in this episode, but at the end, I was left wanting more, more, more (now)! There are still so many unanswered questions, such as how Misty Day survived, and what on earth Marie Laveau is going to do with that creepy minotaur guy, aka her lover. Oh god that was gross to see. But, we must all be patient, because this show likes to wait until the end to reveal all of its answers, if it answers every question at all.