Mid-week This N That

I have a love/hate relationship with holidays and vacations. I love the time off, but I hate the first day back to work. Even if it’s only one extra day, why does it feel like the workload multiplies five times more than normal when you return? The good part about a Monday holiday is that when you get back to work the next day, you’ve already bypassed the dreaded Monday.

The new issue of TV Guide featured some of the finales that just wrapped up, and a guess at what’s ahead. Do you notice that they actually don’t say anything about anything?

NCIS



This one looks the most intriguing. The way it sounds, they’re going to have Ducky in a different capacity, rather than the Chief Medical Examiner. For some reason, that makes me think of the Maura/Dr Pike scenario on Rizzoli & Isles, where Pike was quite incompetent & Maura had to keep him on his toes. What I’d love is for Torri Higginson’s character, Dr Jordan Hampton to take over that role. She would be a familiar face that regular viewers would remember. Maybe they’ll promote Jimmy Palmer and just have Ducky around to be a supervisor.

Speaking of NCIS, I noticed yesterday that there’s already a 2013 NCIS wall calendar available. Looks like I’ll be grabbing that, since I didn’t have anything new for this year - no CSI, Sanctuary or Stargate (bummer)

CSI


Drama, drama, drama. First of all, it was announced before the season finale that George Eads has already re-signed for season 13, so there goes any suspense as to whether Nick leaves or not. Then there’s DB’s kidnapped granddaughter, and someone trying to kill Julie. Can you say ‘overkill’? Do the CSI writers even know how to write a story that doesn’t include a CSI-in-peril? I have to admit, all of the over-the-top drama really makes me think I just might not even decide to watch season 13.

Rizzoli And Isles

The new season of Rizzoli & Isles begins next Tuesday. Can we please just skip ahead to episode two where the girls finally kiss (okay, not literally - unfortunately) and make up? I really don’t like my girls angry with each other.




Saving Hope


A new show to look forward to is Saving Hope, featuring Stargate SG-1 alum, Michael Shanks.

Continuum

Speaking of Stargate alums – I had a chance to finally watch the pilot episode of Continuum. After just a couple of minutes, I was totally hooked. The main lady reminded me of Clarice Starling (from Silence of the Lambs), and it was great to see some other familiar faces – like Tony Amendola and Lexa Doig. Another familiar face was Erik Knudsen, whom I remember from both Saw II and the tv show, Jericho. The only bad part is that Tony was only a brief guest star to begin the show.


Looking further ahead to the fall shows, I just saw today that Robert Patrick has been promoted to 'series regular' on the upcoming "Last Resort" on ABC. That might make it more agreeable for me to watch

Coming in just over a week, Hallmark has what looks like a great movie on the way

Hannah’s Law features Danny Glover, Billy Zane, Kimberly Elise, John Pyper-Ferguson, and more








The synopsis for the movie:
A frontier town is fueled by crime and corruption until a strong-willed heroine and her friends, including legendary lawman Wyatt Earp and gunfighter Doc Holliday, take a stand for justice. “Hannah’s Law,” premieres on Hallmark Movie Channel Saturday, June 9th.

Finally, on a music note –
I had a chance to take my first listen to Brandi Carlile’s new album, Bear Creek, which will be released next Tuesday. It may be a bit folksier than some of her previous stuff, but I love it. I could have used a couple more folk-rock tunes, though. “Raise Hell,” “hard way home,” and “keep your heart young” are amongst the highlights. Be sure to check it out.

This N That Thursday

Well, it's almost two weeks into the new year and still no word on whether they're going to bring us a season 5 of Sanctuary (aka The Life & Times of Helen Magnus). I really, really want to see more of the new Sanctuary that we caught a glimpse of at the end of season 4. Plus, how can there be anything worth watching on tv if Amanda Tapping isn't on? I heard the other day that Syfy was going to be adding more "unscripted" series to their lineup. Oh joy. There's more reason for me NOT to watch tv.

I just can't get into "reality" or "unscripted" junk on tv. I've only actually watched a few of them throughout the years - the "Police Women..." series on TLC and just recently "Alaska State Troopers" on NatGeo. I'm really waiting for the day that reality shows are out, and we get back to real, worthwhile programming.

Speaking of...

I just saw the press release for the upcoming schedule for original movies on Hallmark Movie Channel. It looks pretty decent.


GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: THE MEASURE OF A MAN, a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Saturday, January 28 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Luke Perry and Stephanie Von Pfetten. The story of a fair and favorable Circuit Judge who is hellbent on justice as he travels to a Wyoming territory that is being terrorized by a gang of thieves, and runs into an old flame in the process. As he sets out to help the town find and prosecute the murderous bandits before they strike again, a series of long-kept secrets are revealed about their identities, making the case all too personal to the judge, and testing his limits of loyalty.

DUKE, a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Saturday, April 28 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C, starring Steven Weber, Sarah Smyth and Allison Hossack. A disabled veteran abandons his wife and young daughter soon after returning home from war, feeling like nothing but a burden. For ten years, his relies on his faithful canine companion, a compassionate Border Collie, as his only family. But when the dog suddenly gets deathly ill, he anonymously drops him off at a vet clinic, never expecting a chain of events and a kindhearted doctor will soon bring him back in touch with his estranged daughter after so many years.

LAKE EFFECTS, a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Saturday, May XX, 8 p.m. ET/PT/7C, starring Jane Seymour, Ben Savage, Sean Patrick Flanery, Casper Van Dien, Scottie Thomas, Jeff Fahey and Madeline Zima. A high powered attorney on her way to the top reluctantly returns to her childhood home on the enchanting Smith Mountain Lake to attend her father’s funeral and help her sister and mother settle the family estate. While there, Sara’s love for the lake and the townspeople is reignited, and with the help of her father’s ever present spirit, Sara looks inward, discovers the importance of love and family, and gives her all to save the family’s beloved home.

HANNAH’S LAW, a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Saturday, June 9 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C, starring Sara Canning, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Billy Zane and Greyston Holt. In the old West, a tough-as-nails bounty hunter hunts down the outlaw who brutally killed her family a decade earlier with his dangerous gang. With help from her friends, including the two men who are competing for her heart, she enters a dramatic showdown where a powerful secret is revealed about her family that will suddenly alter her lifelong course for revenge.

ALWAYS A BRIDE, a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Saturday, July 21 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C, starring Kellie Martin and Ethan Erickson. Straight-laced Jordan Brady is all set for a low-key bachelorette weekend in Vegas until she wakes up after a late-night out and discovers she married celebrity Matt Swift by mistake. Jordan works as fast as she can to annul the marriage, keep her engagement intact, and fight off a barrage of unwanted press. But she finds herself more confused than ever when she starts falling in love with the movie star she’s married to instead of the fiancé she thought was her perfect match.

Now those sound a lot better than all of the unscripted/reality nonsense, doesn't it?

ETA:
I just saw the promo pics for Season 2 of "King". Now I just need to find out when S2 begins.

"Love's Everlasting Courage" premieres on Hallmark

September 17th brought the premiere of "Love Begins", the first of two prequels in Janette Oke's "Love Comes Softly" series. That movie attracted 2 .9 million viewers. (See my review here)

This Saturday, October 1st, brings the second prequel, "Love's Everlasting Courage", as Clark’s beloved wife, Ellen, dies from scarlet fever, he and his daughter, Missy, must find a way to survive this hardship while also saving the barren land from drought. With love and support from family and friends, Clark and Missy endure.




Clark's parents are played by Cheryl Ladd & Bruce Boxleitner, and bring a nice addition to the story in arriving to say and help Clark & Missy recover from their loss. One thing that draws my ire is that they take away one of my favorite characters (and I don't mean Nancy McKeon or Jere Burns from the first prequel!)

"love begins" Saturday on Hallmark

I was given the opportunity to watch a full-length screener of the upcoming Hallmark Channel Original movie, "Love Begins", which airs this Saturday, September 17th.

"Love Begins" serves as the first of two new prequels to award-winning author Janette Oke’s book series, "Love Comes Softly" and iconic hero Clark Davis. The movie stars Wes Brown, Julie Mond, Nancy McKeon and Jere Burns.




Wes Brown is Clark Davis. His dreams of seeing the world are put into jeopardy after he and a friend start a fight which damages a local cafe. Through a plea deal with the Sheriff (Jere Burns) and café owner Millie (Nancy McKeon), Clark works off his sentence as a farmhand for the Barlow sisters, Ellen (Julie Mond) and Cassie (Abigail Mavity).

Before watching this movie, I was unfamiliar with the "Love comes softly" series. It was Nancy McKeon's participation that caught my initial interest. Even though she didn't have a large role, I still enjoyed the rest of the cast. Wes Brown's character, Clark Davis, reminded me of a cross between Dermot Mulroney & James LeGros' characters in "Bad Girls". After getting the chance to watch this, I realized that I need to go back and check out the rest of this series to see what I've missed.

"Love Begins" airs Saturday, September 17th on Hallmark Channel. Brown and Mond also star in the second prequel, "Love’s Everlasting Courage", which will air on Saturday, October 1st.