Tag Archives: NBC

NCIS – New Orleans

Which NCIS do you belong on?

Which NCIS do you belong on?  Take the quiz on the CBS site and find out!

NCIS, which originally spun off of JAG, is adding another spin-off this season in the form of NCIS: New Orleans, which will premier Tuesday Sept 23 on CBS, after NCIS kicks off it’s 12th season.

Fans of NCIS other spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles will have to wait until Monday Sept 29 to find out if Sam (LL Cool J) and Callan (Chris O’Donnell) survive last season’s cliffhanger which had them trapped in a submarine.  I expect the 6th season of Los Angeles to start off with some tense moments as the rest of the Los Angeles team works to rescue these two beloved characters, because while the show could technically continue without them, and the show has proven itself willing to kill off characters (think Dom played by Adam Jamal Craig), and write characters out (think Nate played by Peter Cambor), Sam and Callan are simply too great to see end here and now.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCISLA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCISLA_CBS
Instagram: NCISLA
CBS Tweet: https://twitter.com/CBSTweet

Cast of NCIS: LA on Twitter:

Chris O’Donnell @ChrisODonnell
LL COOL J @LLCOOLJ
Daniela Ruah @DanielaRuah
Eric Christian Olsen @EricCOlsen
Barrett Foa @BarrettFoa
Renée Felice Smith @ReneefSmith
Miguel Ferrer @Miguel_J_Ferrer

As for NCIS, in its original incarnation, the season premiere looks like it will revolve around McGee (Sean Murray) and Gibbs (Mark Harmon) on a mission to Russia where they are forced to go off the grid.  Given how much fun the show had in an episode not too long ago where DiNozzo was off grid in Europe and the team had to find inventive ways to get in contact with him and help him make it back to safety this has lots of great potential for action, story, and humor — especially given the pairing of McGee and Gibbs in this off grid situation.

Official CBS Website: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ncis/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCIS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCIS_CBS
Instagram: @ncis.cbs
CBS Twitter: http://twitter.com/CBS

Cast of NCIS on Twitter:
Michael Weatherly @M_Weatherly
Sean Murray @SeanHMurray
Pauley Perrette @PauleyP
Rocky Carroll @RockyCOfficial
Brian Dietzen @BrianDietzen
Emily Wickersham @EmilyWickersham

When it comes to NCIS: New Orleans, what we know about the cast and show really comes from the two-part back door pilot that aired during NCIS last season.  I for one am delighted to see CCH Pounder join the cast full time as the medical examiner.  She was wonderful in those episodes, in a character full of spark and charm, with unique flavor.

Fans of JAG may recognize Zoe McLellan as Petty Officer Coates who joined the show in 2001 (Season 7) as an Aide to the JAG.  Here she will be playing Special Agent Brody, a different character but again she lights up the screen and charms the audience.

NCIS New Orleans

NCIS New Orleans

Website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCISNewOrleans
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NCISNewOrleans
CBS Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CBSTweet

Cast of NCIS New Orleans on Twitter:

Scott Bakula     @ScottBakula
Lucas Black     @TheLucasBlack
CCH Pounder    @CCHPounder

Stand Up To Cancer 2014

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The Stand Up To Cancer press release says so well what they are about, and what is going on tonight.  Normally we avoid the copy and paste approach with press releases… but in this case, the details matter too much, and we want to get it exactly right.

 Friday, September 5th (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT) Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), will stage its fourth biennial fundraising event.  Robert Downey Jr., Melissa McCarthy, Steve Carell, Sofia Vergara, Ben Falcone, Kevin Bacon, Anna Kendrick, Tony Goldwyn, Dave Grohl, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Gad, Giada De Laurentiis, Jaime King, Mira Sorvino, Joe Manganiello, Jordana Brewster, Alison Sweeney, Amanda de Cadenet, Charlie Wilson, and Diem Brown, will be part of the star-studded appeal to help build public support for SU2C’s groundbreaking translational research that can provide patients with new therapies to save lives now. They join previously announced participants including Gwyneth Paltrow, Katie Couric, Reese Witherspoon, Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Jon Hamm, Kiefer Sutherland, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Mark Harmon, Rob Lowe, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tony Hale, Dane Cook, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Marg Helgenberger, Matt Passmore, Rob Riggle, Italia Ricci, Ethan Zohn and Bree Turner. Special musical performances include: The Who, Jennifer Hudson, Lupe Fiasco & Common, Ariana Grande, and Dave Matthews Band.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions will co-executive produce the September 5th broadcast, live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.  ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, along with ABC Family, American Forces Network, AXS TV, Bravo, Cooking Channel, Discovery Fit & Health, E!, Encore, Encore Espanol, EPIX, ESPNEWS, FOX Sports 2, FXM, HBO, HBO Latino, ION Television, LMN, Logo TV, MLB Network, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, Palladia, Pivot, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, Starz, TNT and VH1 are donating one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising special on Friday. In addition, the show will stream live on both Hulu and Yahoo.

Instead of the traditional phone bank staffed by celebrities, the September 5th telecast will feature a “digital lounge” on the set, hosted by Yahoo News Global Anchor Katie Couric. Stars in the digital lounge will reach out to viewers via phone, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms through an exciting new campaign called “We’re Calling You” that SU2C’s supporters can sign up for at werecallingyou.org.

In the on-stage digital lounge, Katie Couric will tap into the Facebook Mentions Box, which allows supporters to share their connection to cancer and receive real-time responses from celebrities. Other celebrities in the digital lounge will participate in Facebook Q&As, using their own pages to respond live to fan questions.  Facebook and Instagram will also have a presence on the star-studded red carpet on September 5th with a photo experience that will capture the stars as they make their way into the Dolby Theatre, sharing those images and videos with fans. All of this, and much more, can be followed on Stand Up To Cancer’s social media feeds (facebook.com/su2c | Instagram: @SU2C | Twitter: @SU2C).

In addition to Facebook, an array of digital and social media platforms and influencers— ranging from Shazam, reddit, Nerdist, Tumblr, Yahoo, Hulu, AOL, and The Huffington Post— are helping support SU2C this year.

For the first time, there will be a Canada-inclusive co-broadcast of the 2014 telecast, which will air simultaneously on all four major English-language Canadian networks: CBC, City, CTV and Global, along with Canadian services AMI, CHCH, CHEK, Fight Network, Gusto TV, Hollywood Suite and TLN. All funds received from the Canadian general public during the broadcast will be directed towards the creation of collaborative research teams, as well as education and awareness programs conducted in Canada.

The first three SU2C telecasts took place on September 5, 2008, September 10, 2010 and September 7, 2012, and were made available to more than 190 countries. To date, more than $261 million has been pledged to support SU2C’s innovative cancer research programs. Since 2008, SU2C has funded 12 “Dream Teams” of researchers and two translational research teams, as well as 26 young innovative scientists whose high-risk, potentially high-reward projects are aimed at ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death worldwide.

There are times when it seems competition and the free market reign supreme, but Stand Up To Cancer is a prime example of an industry pulling together as one united force in opposition to something that touches lives daily throughout the world.  As they say on the StandUpToCancer website:

1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. We can change these odds.

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San Diego’s Comic-Con International – Through the Lens

Here’s a quick glimpse of some photos taken while walking around before preview night.

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TNT’s Legends has an eye-catching wrap on the Marriott beside the Convention Center, easily seen from a variety of vantage points the face becomes clearer as you move from one side to the other.  Yeah, they got me, I’ll be tuning in next month!

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Gotham City was still being built — but from what I saw, it has a very impressive skyline!

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With more buildings yet to come!

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ABC’s Resurrection and Once Upon A Time both have HUGE banners on the side of Petco Park.  Walking across the bridge from the Hilton Bayfront to the Petco Interactive Zone (the parking lot for Petco) you begin to realize the Resurrection banner has a side panel to it.

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I don’t know what impressed me more, the covered bridge the folks from FOX’s Sleepy Hollow built, or the water beside it, which I am 99% sure is a chalk drawing, and yet you can’t see the paint for the parking spots under the drawing!  Yes, I want to pay a visit to the Village of Sleepy Hollow before the weekend is out.

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Norton by Symantec and the X-Men are offering a chance to help us take control of our future… and next to them is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Not far away are Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, and a cosplay make-up booth sponsored by Courtyard by Marriott.

1-DSC01514 1-DSC01457Ah, the Blacklist!  Tin Fish has been themed up this year, and with quotes like that, how could I not be amused?  Especially when, as always, the food is tasty, and convenient?  (Yes, that’s the convention center you see in the background.)

Crisis

By: Kay Kellam
Crisis on NBC

This 13 episode single season show is well worth a watch.  Many may refer to it as a show that was cancelled after one season, but that is by no means a fair statement.  It would be better referred to as a single season event series, that had a well thought out arc, with a well teamed set of lead characters, FBI Agent Dunn (Rachel Taylor) and Secret Service Agent Finley (Lance Gross).

In fact, those few details, may well explain why the event was destined to last only one season.  The plot in and of itself was designed to arc through one season, but equally important is the fact that there are very few situations that would realistically justify the teaming up of an FBI agent and a Secret Service Agent.

While final episode of the season provided several interesting possibilities for future seasons, and let the audience know that there was indeed more that could happen, and this was no one trick pony, the simple fact remains that the story was pitched to the audience as a single Crisis.  And it delivered.

From week to week we followed these two agents as they sought to find the kidnappers, retrieve the missing children and safely return them to their homes, and find out why they had been taken in the first place, and why the kidnappers were forcing their parents to go on a variety of missions in order to secure the safe return of their children.

The plot contained twists and turns along the way that made sense, and very rarely was the audience left shaking their head saying, “but that’s just not possible.”  It was a show that played fair, and kept the viewer coming back to see what happens next.

If anything, the only time the audience wasn’t treated fairly, was when they were told because there would be no second season of episodes, the remaining episodes would be burned off instead of airing in the same scheduled slots on the usually weekly basis.  It was as if the network forgot they had implied from the very beginning that this was a single season Crisis, and were disappointed with the audience for being happy with what they were getting.

Then again, this is an American TV show, and we are in America… we expect to go for season after season.  We are not accustomed to a 13 episode arc that tells the story of a miniseries in the style of a season, trimming away any fat, sparing no time for filler episodes but instead making sure every episode is used to its fullest.

Kudos to whoever developed the relationship between the Finley and Dunn characters.  Theirs was a believable partnership, born of necessity and a situation neither character would have ever wanted to be in, over the course of those episodes they grew, developed and evolved in a believable manner.

This is a show worth taking the time to marathon through, because even after you know who the kidnapping mastermind is, even after you think you know what his goal is, you still have more questions you want to answer, you still want to see the kids ALL get home safely, and until every last kid is home, the Crisis quite simply, isn’t over.

Fans of One Tree Hill may recognize James Lafferty as the science teacher Mr. Nash, while fans of Pacific Rim and The Unit will recognize Max Martini.