Orphan Black Podcast

Orphan Black [39:27m]: Download

John Mayo, (of ComicBookPage.com), Kay Kellam (of PopArtsPlace.com), Linda Chan and Erica Chan (of MikeTheFanBoy.com) talk about the first two seasons of Orphan Black. The entire discussion contains spoilers for the first season and much of the second season.

Time Codes:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Spoiler filled discussion
38:57 Wrap up
39:27 End of episode.

Links:
Orphan Black @ IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234222/
Orphan Black @ BBC America: http://www.bbcamerica.com/orphan-black/
Discount Comic Book Service: http://www.DCBService.com
Comics Podcast Network: http://www.comicspodcast.com
League of Comic Book Podcasts: http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league/

Email us at TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com

Join the discussion on our forum at: http://forum.comicbookpage.com

This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page feed and website: http://www.ComicBookPage.com

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Z Nation – Premiering Sept 12 on SyFy and Space

Z Nation – on SyFy and Space

In Z Nation, three years have passed since the zombie virus has gutted the country, and a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood. Although the antibodies he carries are the world’s last, best hope for a vaccine, he hides a dark secret that threatens them all. With humankind’s survival at stake, the ragtag band embarks on a journey of survival across three thousand miles of rusted-out post-apocalyptic America. Z Nation stars Harold Perrineau (“Oz,” “Lost”) Tom Everett Scott (“Southland,” “Beauty and the Beast”), DJ Qualls (“Supernatural” “Memphis Beat”, “Perception”), Michael Welch (“Twilight” trilogy), Kellita Smith (“The Bernie Mac Show”) Anastasia Baranova (“The Darkness II”), Russell Hodgkinson (“Big Fish”) and Keith Allan (“Rise of the Zombies”).

One of the Space panels I enjoyed greatly at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto was the Z Nation panel with actor Tom Everett Scott and writer/producer Craig Engler.

The panel included a brief trailer for the show, which was more graphic than most shows I tune into. As tempted as I have been to try watching the Walking Dead, for instance, zombies and gore are not in my wheelhouse, but listening to them talk about the show, I found myself wanting to tune in, even if I do spend portions of the episodes covering my eyes.

This is planned to be a show about travelling across the country, and by the sounds of it, they will not have a slow plodding journey. They described a plot intensive show, with well thought out details for the Zombies, the virus that creates the Zombies, how the Zombies exist, and how those who are not Zombies are surviving in this new world. In short, by the end of the panel someone who does not normally watch this genre of show but had come out of curiosity was ready to tune in.

As an added bit of fun, one of the characters, Citizen Z, has a twitter account up and running, and among other things he is giving advice (and taking advice) for surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. You can tweet with @CitizenZNation. Citizen Z is alone, in the arctic, with enough food to feed a hundred people for a year, and plenty of power, and access to satellites, giving him a global perspective on the Apocalypse… but who does he have to talk to??

A&E Cancelled Longmire – Tis Sad But True

Just two days after we posted a review of the first Longmire novel (The Cold Dish) by Craig Johnson word came that A&E, the network broadcasting Longmire, had chosen not to renew the show, despite the fact it was the cable networks highest rated scripted show. Like a shot heard round the world, the announcement went out under the headline “Breaking News” from many who cover the entertainment industry, like the Hollywood Reporter, who came close to that level of emphasis, making it the lead story in their e-mail bulletin that day.

Basic Longmire_ Why such surprise? Such emphasis? Admittedly the season three finale averaged an audience of 3.7 million, and many viewers had not found the show. Yet, the flip side of that coin is the fact local movie theaters had commercials for Longmire airing before major summer tent pole / blockbuster movies. That meant the network was promoting and supporting the show, right?

The sad reality is the audience numbers had slipped since Season 2, when in my humble opinion the show had a more interesting through-season arc. One of the greatest strengths of Longmire is the friendship between Henry Standing Bear and Walt Longmire, and during Season 3 they were forced to be apart for several episodes with rare contact. While that allowed for some interesting revelations, and some character development, it meant that a lot of the fun and sparkle that audiences looked forward to seeing on the screen each week was missing.

Perhaps even more important that a slight slip in the ratings however, is that the younger audience, the ever-talked about 18-49 demographic that advertisers are so convinced spend more money, dropped off by 45% during Season 3.

Longmire-TV-2012-Season-1 I can not help but wonder if the folks at FX who put Justified on the air have watched Longmire… this is their chance, with one more season of Justified coming to audiences in the not too distant future, what a double feature of entertainment that would be! An hour of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) style justice as he goes after Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) down in Kentucky, followed by an hour of Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) and Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) doing what they do best in Absaroka County, Wyoming!

After one of those movie theater promotions I mentioned aired while I was at Guardians of the Galaxy with John Mayo of ComicBookPage he asked me after the movie, “anything like Justified?” and we had a good talk about the two shows, and just how much they had in common, and how different they are – the two would compliment one another nicely for an hour of Justice served up with a little old-fashioned attitude and style.

And for those who were paying attention to how Season 3 of Longmire ended, we were pretty well guaranteed to get some more guest appearances from Gerald McRaney who was knocking our socks off as Barlow Connally, father of Deputy Branch Connally (Bailey Chase).

All of the articles I have seen confirm what I first heard, the folks making Longmire are shopping it around, with hopes a fourth season will indeed be made and air, so maybe my dream of some fantastic justice nights on FX is not as crazy as you think.

A few links that might be of interest:

PopArtsPlace.com’s Review of Craig Johnson’s The Cold Dish
An Article at BreitBart.com titled: Why A TV Network Would Cancel it’s Highest Rated Drama – with a few good theories to discuss, by John Hayward
Deadline.com Article: Longmire Cancelled by Nellie Andreeva

Haven – Season 5

Season 5 of Haven starts on SyFy Thursday Sept 11, at 8/7c, and in Canada on Showcase it premieres a week later, Thursday, September 18 at 9pm ET/PT.

Haven, based on the novella, The Colorado Kid, from author Stephen King, follows former FBI agent Audrey Parker, who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven, Maine, and soon discovers the town’s many secrets – which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.

For those who have been watching Haven since it originally came on the air in July of 2010 this is a show that has covered a lot of story points, with characters who have grown and evolved in countless ways, some for the better… some… well… true to life, not everyone always makes the right or best choice.

If you have not yet had a chance to watch all of Season 4, you still have a few days, and as so often happens in the modern world, fear not if you failed to record an episode or two, the show is available on DVD as of Sept 8, 2014. Season 4 was packed with revelations and turning points, if you watched early on and wanted to learn about Audrey, Season 4 is a great season to watch.

Season 4 left viewers with questions galore. Central character Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) has spent years trying to figure out who she is and why she can not remember her past, only to be presented with a past her friends may not like. Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) has been by her side through so much already, how much more can he stand by her through?

The trailer below is from the end of Season 4… might contain spoilers if you haven’t watched the last half of Season 4!!

As Season 4 ended major changes had taken place, Duke (Eric Balfour) and his girlfriend Jennifer (Emma Lahana) were both in peril, we had discovered Vince (Richard Donat) and Dave (John Dunsworth) were a lot more complex than we ever could have imagined when Audrey first met them in Season 1, and Season 5 might well contain an entirely new set of troubles, which is saying a lot for a town that considers *the Troubles* something to gloss over and turn a blind eye to on an almost everyday basis.

For those who have watched all of season 4, and want a little temptation of what season 5 holds, here is a trailer from SyFy:

I thought Season 3 had left us shaken up… Haven had just been hit by a major meteor strike, with damage all over town, and Audrey (Emily Rose) and Duke (Eric Balfour) had vanished into thin air (the Barn) leaving an injured Nathan (Lucas Bryant) marooned in Haven. Season 4 of Haven picked up six months after the events of Season 3 and kept audiences guessing for much of the 13 episode season, which included William (Colin Ferguson of Eureka), a handsome mysterious stranger, whose secret agenda lead him to Audrey (Emily Rose), and thus Haven.

Dwight (Adam Copeland)

So what could have us sitting even further out on the edge of our seats? Word that Season 5 was greenlit not for 13 episodes like Season 4 — but 26, with 13 slotted to air in 2014, and 13 more in 2015!

Haven is a great show, in large part because of the people who fill the town of Haven. Many we only see once, or maybe just twice, but some, like Dwight (Adam Copeland) come in briefly, and somehow, end up becoming an ever increasing part of the show until you look back and try and remember what the show was like before he was a part of it, and realize you can not actually recall when he joined the cast, because he simply, gradually, moved into town.

SyFy Channel’s Haven page has a series of photo galleries to walk you through the key events of each season and give a refresher on all you need to know. Feel like it’s been a while since you watched Season 4 — or Season 1 for that matter? Surf over to SyFy Channel, and check out their starter kit(s).