SPARTACUS: GODS OF THE SAND
SWORD AND SANDALS DRAMA
STARZ FRIDAY 22:00
Spartacus: Blood and Sand was a hit for Starz, then actor Andy Whifield got sick and had to bail out. Now this six-part series is a prequel. It has the same John Hannah (partner from all the Mummy movies) and Lucy Lawless (Xenia) as husband and wife who buy warriors for the games. The new “god” is Gannicus (Dustin Clare), a handsome gladiator who knows this and proves that he is a killer in the arena. It’s a guilty pleasure just like before, only seedier. I hope he does well, but he has nudity, wear and tear, and a lot of carnage. If you like the movie 300, you’ll love watching this one.
PRIMITIVE
Science fiction
BBC, BBCA
SATURDAYS 21:00
This BBC show could never be made in the US with all the changes without being cancelled. It is about a group of scientists who investigate prehistoric and futuristic anomalies. Gone are Nick Cutter’s (Douglas Henshall) team leader Stephen Hart (James Murray), Nick’s friend and bodyguard Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), a government PR. Cutter’s evil wife, Helen Carter (Juliet Aubrey), the leader of the second team, Danny Quinn (Jason Fleming), and Sarah Page (Laila Rouass), an Egyptologist. Who’s left? Just three Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts), comic book-loving Cutter student and inventor, Abby Maitland (Hannah Speriatt), herbalist and zookeeper, and team leader James Lester (Ben Miller).
The new people are Matt Anderson (Cirian McMenamin) the last leader of the team, Jess Parker (Ruth Kearney) computer genius and only 19 years old, and Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig, Star Trek Deep Space Nine). Are you still with me? True Primeval fans can figure it out, but it’s confusing. Writers Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines are amazing at keeping the show ever-changing but still interesting. It premiered for season four when the previous three stars, Danny, Abby, and Conner, are lost in an anomaly for a year, but manage to return without Danny and with new unit changes.
THE LAYER
FANTASY/DRAMA
2 HOURS OF FILM
NBC
SERIES MONDAY, JANUARY 17 AT 9:00 p.m.
The pilot for The Cape is actually two episodes together. In the fictional Palm City, police corruption is rampant. Honest cop Vincent Faraday (David Lyon) is framed for murder and allegedly killed by cops. He is saved by Max Malini (Keith David, Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick) leader of a circus of bank robbers who is Vincent’s mentor and tries to clear his name by stopping crime and becomes The Cape because his son loves comics. with the same name. The villains are pretty creepy Peter Fleming (James Frain True Blood), who is a billionaire (like Lex Luther) who owns the Ark to clean up crime, but is also Chess The Cape’s nemesis. Vinnie Jones (X Men 3) as Scales, Chess’s henchmen with a terrifying ending. The pilot is good if you like superheroes and the music is very heroic. He has a lot of potential if he sticks around long enough.
I LOVE THAT GIRL
SITCOM
TVONE
MONDAYS AT 9:00
This is a funny, black, sexy comedy and that’s the way it should be for Martin Lawrence as executive producer. Tyana Jones (Tatyana Ali, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) works with her father Delroy Jones (Phil Morris, Jon, Smallville’s Jon Martian Manhunter) as a real estate agent. It is also important because this is TVOne’s first original programming, which shows black entertainment. I hope it will be a successful drama.
v
SCIENCE FICTION/DRAMA
TUESDAY ON ABC 9:00 PM
Red Rain, V’s premiere episode was so exciting!!! Anna (Morena Baccarin) shows her leaders, the most people on earth, who is in charge. She is getting slimier as the story continues. FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) is determined to stop her, but she must be just as manipulative and secretive as Anna. I think the show is better. I know action hounds want slam-bang action. Me too, but I think it’s going to be action-packed. There are rumors that the show is cancelled, but I hope it isn’t. The TV show should be called Who Do You Trust? Looks like you can’t trust anyone here, V or humans!!!
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
SPORTS THEATER
TUESDAY ON FX 22:00
If you saw the FX commercial where they said “do they have the movies?” They also have the most cutting edge series types in regular cable. The Shield, Rescue Me, Damages have good cast and good drama. Now they’re doing a boxing series called Lights Out. I wish they could make an African-American series as good. Holt McCallany is Patrick (Lights) Leary, a boxer who wants to retire but, for financial and medical reasons, must do things he doesn’t like to stay afloat. He can either be a doting father or a seedy criminal!! Mr. McCallany has been around on film and television, but this is his first leading role and he’s very good at it. The series also shows that public figures are targeted, used and abused, and human. The question comes down to the viewer: do you want to see Rocky or The Fighter every week?
HUMAN BEING
SUPERNATURAL DRAMA/COMEDY
MONDAY SYFY 9:00 PM
This show is a remake of the BBC TV show of the same name, but with a different cast of course. It consists of a vampire, Sam Witwer (Smallville, Doomsday), a werewolf, Sam Huntington (Jimmy in Superman 2006), and a ghost, Meaghan Rath (Canadian actress). They are not human but they want to live like normal people. It is well written like its British counterpart with better special effects. The problem is that it looks so much like the original series, why watch the new version?
