Shutter revives the Stephen King, George A. Romero horror anthology Creepshow as a limited 6-episode television series. Season 1 features 12 stories (2 per episode) of werewolves, ghosts, monsters, and cursed objects. And a number of big name actors guest star, including Tobin Bell, Jeffrey Combs, DJ Qualls, Tricia Helfer, and David Arquette. Additionally, several members of the cast and crew from the original films return to contribute, such as Stephen King, Tom Savini, and Adrienne Barbeau; making for a nice passing of the torch/seal of approval. Also, the comic book motif from the original film is brought back and used especially well to transition between and set-up each story. However, some the CGI effects aren’t so good and a couple of the stories fall flat. Still, overall Season 1 of Creepshow recaptures the macabre humor and fiendish chills of the cult film.
The Frankenstein Chronicles continues into a second limited “season” of 6-episodes as John Marlott returns from the dead. After being reanimated, disgraced former Inspector John Marlott goes in search of his creator and stumbles upon a series of murders of local clergymen. The plot’s a little hard to follow at first, as there’s a time jump between seasons and most of the characters and plot threads from the last season are dropped – requiring some adjustment to the new characters and settings. Still, the story ends up being rather interesting and the writers do a good job at building the mystery and intrigue. And the performances are also pretty strong. Yet while The Frankenstein Chronicles delivers a fairly solid second season, it doesn’t seem to be fulfilling its potential.
Netflix presents the limited series The Frankenstein Chronicles, a period crime drama. When a body of mix matched body parts sown together washes ashore in London a special investigator is assigned to find the culprit. Sean Bean leads the cast and delivers a fairly strong performance. And the writers do a good job at creating intrigue and suspense. Also, the sets and costumes look and feel remarkably authentic. Yet with only six episodes the series doesn’t really have time to develop many of the characters or plotlines. Also, given the dark subject material, the show can get a little gritty and gruesome. The Frankenstein Chronicles shows promise, but Season 1 is rather weak (due mainly to its limited run).
The Originals’ third season is full of shocking twists and thrills that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats. When a prophecy predicts that the Mikaelsons will fall (one by friend, one by foe, and one by family) the Klaus and Elijah sire clans come to New Orleans to offer their aid, but the Mikaelsons soon discover that the clans have their own agendas. It’s a very interesting expansion of the series vampire mythology and introduces a number of new characters. However, it comes at a cost, as several series regulars and cast members are written off; which can be heartbreaking at times. But as intriguing as some of the plot lines are, after three seasons the storytelling has become a bit formulaic, with the same twists and betrayals happening over and over again. Still, overall Season 3 of The Originals is incredibly compelling and explores exciting new territory.
Stephen King’s epic apocalyptic thriller The Stand is brought to television as a four part miniseries. When a plague wipes out 99% of the population a number of survivors begin to receive mysterious dreams calling them to Boulder, Colorado, to begin anew, but a rival community rises up in Las Vegas lead by the demonic Randall Flagg. Featuring Gary Sinise, Laura San Giacomo, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Shawnee Smith, Matt Frewer, and Ed Harris, the cast is quite impressive. Yet the performances aren’t very good, and neither are the production values. The storytelling’s also rather weak, failing to capture the dyer tone of this apocalyptic tale. The Stand clearly has an ambitious vision, but it’s unable to deliver on it.
From Netflix comes the captivating religious documentary series Mysteries of the Faith. Broken into four parts, several prominent relics of the Catholic Church are discussed, including the Crown of Thorns, the Holy Grail, the Holy Face, and the Holy Cross of Brazil. While there’s some discussion about the authenticity of these objects, the main focus is on the cultural and spiritual meaning that the relics have and the lore that surrounds them. Numerous religious leaders and scholars are interviewed, as well as some of the people who have had moving personal encounters with the relics. However, a couple of the episodes have some awkwardly transitions as they move from topic to topic, and the lore behind some of the relics is rather scant. Yet despite having a few weaknesses, Mysteries of the Faith is a fascinating look at some of the most sacred objects in all of Christendom and the effects that they’ve had on the faithful.
In its second season The Originals delves deeper into the Mikaelson family and resurrects old feuds. After reclaiming control over New Orleans, Klaus discovers that his dead mother and brothers have crossed over from the Veil and are inhabiting the bodies of witches, and that it was his mother who put a death sentence on his child. At times the plot can get a bit confusing with all the body swapping, but it also allows for some interesting story arcs and adds an extra degree of mystery. Plus, it enables the show to bring in fresh new actors to play the Mikaelson characters; in particular Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Rebekah does an incredible job. Season 2 of The Originals has an ambitious vision that, while not completely pulled off, makes it extraordinarily exciting and compelling.
The Vampire Diaries’ sixth season delivers exciting new adventures as the show expands its mythology to include new realms and new types of supernatural beings. This season Elena and her friends struggle to adjust to living in a magic free Mystic Falls; meanwhile Damon and Bonnie find themselves stuck in a mystical prison world that’s perpetually repeating the same day (May 10, 1994) over and over again, and is home to a psychopathic witch from the Gemini Coven. Additionally, there are some interest character subplots, including Matt being torn between his friends and a new vampire hunter that’s come to town, Caroline dealing with her mother’s terminal cancer, and Enzo vowing to ruin Stefan’s life for giving up on Damon. Candice Accola and Ian Somerhalder really standout this season, and give some incredible performances. The writing is also rather good; as it deals with the show’s complicated mythologies especially well and brings several character arcs to a close. And, the season finale is quite powerful. The Vampire Diaries has come a long way in six seasons, and now stands poised to take the next step in its evolution.
South Park attempts to get back to episodic adventures in its twenty-first season. Yet while it’s far less serialized than previous seasons, there are still a couple of ongoing story thread; such as Cartman’s dysfunctional relationship with his girlfriend. And despite their pledge to avoid the low hanging fruit of Trump jokes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone can’t help but to throw some shade his way. The sociopolitical satire continues to be smart and edgy, taking on victim culture, political correctness, and several pop-culture trends. However, they push the raunchiness a little far in a couple of episodes, and if one’s not hip to the current trends, a lot of the humor will fall flat. Season 21 of South Park isn’t that bad, but it’s nowhere near the highs of the early seasons.
As outrageous and provocative as ever, Season 18 of South Park delivers some fun laughs. Especially topical, the season addresses the controversy over the NFL’s Washington Red Skins, drones, Freemium gaming, and YouTube commentating. Additionally, the episodes are surprisingly serialized, with continuing story arcs throughout the season; such as Randy secretly moonlighting as the pop singer Lorde. And the comedy is outlandish and incredibly funny (for the most part). Still, it gets rather vulgar at times, really pushing the TV-MA rating. Also, a lot of the jokes are contingent on knowing the pop culture references and current events being spoofed. Irreverently entertaining, South Park: Season 18 continues the series’ trademark brand of social satire.
From the History Channel comes the biblical epic The Bible, a ten part miniseries covering both the Old and New Testament. Starting with Noah and the Flood, the episodes proceed to tell most of the major, well-known bible stories; Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses freeing the Hebrews, King David, Samson defeating the Philistines, and of course Jesus’ ministry and crucifixion. However, some of the Old Testament episodes seem kind of rushed, squeezing in two or three stories per episode. And there’s a kind of reverse whitewashing, making the characters as racially diverse as possible (despite most of them being Jewish) and Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a de facto 13th apostle. Yet for the most part, it stays remarkably faithful to Judeo-Christian tradition. The production values are really quite good (better than a lot of other biblical television dramas) and the writers do an impressive job at condensing the major events of the Bible and constructing a connecting narrative that flows rather well. A powerful and inspirational miniseries, The Bible delivers a spiritual message that still resonates with audiences.
The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals, delivers a compelling and action-packed first season. The show follows the original vampire clan, the Mikaelsons lead by the vampire/werewolf hybrid Klaus, as they move back to New Orleans to reclaim their ancestral home from a new vampire clan lead by one of their former proteges, Marcel; meanwhile the witches in the French Quarter make a deal with the Mikaelsons to protect Klaus’ unborn hybrid child in exchange for liberating them from Marcel’s oppressive rule. It’s a very rich and fascinating world that’s set up, which is separate and district from The Vampire Diaries (though there are a few crossover events). Additionally, the series does an impressive job at creating morally ambiguity, so that it’s constantly in question who’s good and who’s bad. Incredibly well-developed, Season 1 of The Originals is able to stand apart from The Vampire Diaries as its own show full of interesting characters and exciting stories.
Without the Originals The Vampire Diaries hemorrhages in its fifth season, but after some false starts it eventually recovers. The story arcs follow the mythology of the doppelganger; in the first half of the season Stefan’s doppelganger Silas reveals that the doppelganger lines stretch back thousands of years (created as part of a witch’s curse), and he precedes to coerce the Salvatores and Elena into helping him become mortal. And in the second half of the season, a sect of witches known as Travels attempt to end the doppelganger line and undo unnatural magic; which will bring an end to vampires and werewolves. Unfortunately these plots take a while to get any traction, and there are several subplots that don’t work out; like Elaine and Caroline going to college, and the Augustine Society. Still, the episodes are full of intrigue and introduce some exciting new characters. Additionally, the series crosses the 100th episode milestone with a powerful episode that wraps up one of the longest running story arcs of the show. Season 5 of The Vampire Diaries is a bit of a letdown, but continues to develop the characters and the mythology in interesting ways.
New showrunners come in and completely ruin Castle in its eighth (and final) season. Castle and Beckett’smarriage is broken up as Beckett seeks to protect her loved ones from a secret investigation that she launches into a crime syndicate that murdered her former FBI team; meanwhile Castle re-opens his PI business to work cases with the NYPD and win Beckett back. The break-up plot is incredibly dumb and just becomes more infuriating as it goes on. And although Beckett is supposedly promoted to precinct captain, nothing really changes as she pretty much continues on in the same role. There is, however, one good change to the show with Castle’s daughter becoming an associate in his PI business. The tone of the series also takes a downward turn, though not as one would suspect. In spite of the dark and serious themes, the show becomes more comedic with Castle at his most fanciful and goofballish (which is another problem). A series killer, Season 8 of Castle is complete garbage that fans rejected in mass and is best forgotten.
Season 19 of South Park delivers plenty of laughs and is as culturally relevant as ever. After Principal Victoria is removed for making insensitive remarks she is replaced by PC Principle, a no-nonsense authoritarian who’s intent on forcing South Park to embrace a progressive attitude about race, gender, and privilege; meanwhile Mr. Garrison make a run for president when South Park becomes overrun with immigrants. As usual show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take on current hot button political issues, including Yelping, gentrification, internet news ads, ISIS, and Trump’s presidential run. And there’s a lot of serial storytelling, with several themes and story arcs building over multiple episodes. However, the clever satire and outlandish comedy can sometimes get spoiled by some of the more crude and irreverent jokes. Yet while it goes a little too far at times, overall South Park’s 19th season is a lot of fun.
