REVIEW: "Outlander" Season 1

Historical romance novels are hard to transfer to the screen, as the material may seem uniquely cheesy and predominantly female-oriented from the start (not that there's anything wrong with that of course). But in the age of Game of Thrones, when fantasy period pieces have suddenly become not only viable but increasingly popular, Ronald Moore, showrunner of Battlestar Galactica, has taken the bestselling Outlander book series by Diana Gabaldon and turned it into sweeping, romantic, cinematic and stunningly addictive television. I ate up the first season like it was ice cream and can't wait to do it again- even if it's a guilty pleasure that might make you blush if watching it with other people (hint: this show uses its Starz platform to give us some of the longest and most explicit sex scenes on television, bordering on soft core porn), if you're at all prone to this material you will be hooked by the end of the first episode.

Our heroine is Claire Randall, a 1940's English war nurse played by the Irish newbie Caitriona Balfe, a sensitive, warm and intelligent screen presence. After the war ends Claire reunites with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies) for a second honeymoon in the Scottish highlands, which are swamped by mythical forces beyond explanation. As a historian, Frank conveniently details the history of the land and his own family ancestry before Claire is suddenly swept up in the magic, falling through the legendary stones and through time to end up in the same place circa 1743, two hundred years earlier. As in all fantasy stories like this, you have to accept the premise for what it is- Moore doesn't bother to get too technical with the details and the show's all the better for it. Claire is a modern (well, 1940's modern) woman "out of time" who must navigate her way through the dangerous and brutal period where she finds herself trapped. She comes in contact with all sorts in the Scotland of the 1740's, when the English redcoats routinely terrorized the Scottish highlanders, and though she manages to make herself useful with the people she comes in contact with (her profession as a nurse may as well make her something akin to a wizard in this era), she must avoid the ever present threats of accusations of witchcraft, being an English spy, and of course, rape.

Rape is an ever present threat, a common trope in historical romance novels, and the show doesn't shy away from showing what was the major, constant fear for all women in a somewhat barbaric time. The violence on the show is extreme, comparative to Game of Thrones but at times much more excessive due to the lengthy scenes and far more realistic sadism of what was supposed to be in fact, the actual world of the 18th century as opposed to the medieval fantasy setting where dragons and white walkers roam. This was a real, very primal, very dangerous world for women in particular, but also men, as the show reminds us. Balfe narrates the series in a style that gives it the feel of a novel, as we hear her constant thoughts and reactions to the world around her. And I haven't even gotten to what will be the major attraction of this show and likely a breakout star from it in the form of Jamie Fraser, Claire's savior and eventual lover and second husband, played by the 6'3, red-headed, muscle-bound scot Sam Heughan, the long-suffering, brave and devoted hero who lives to love, rescue and please his soulmate Claire, as all the best romance novel heroes do. Heughan and Balfe have electric chemistry, and as the show and the books are ultimately about their star crossed love and evolving relationship, the casting of the pair was always key to the success of the series. They knocked it out of the park here, as everyone who watches this will be heavily invested in their romance and adventures together, and in love with Heughan by season's end (actually not even that long- girls, we'll all in by episode two).

The two leads carry the show with tremendous ease and sizzling spark, which they need since those sex scenes I mentioned really do take up a major part of the season and are key to investing in the relationship. Much like The Affair, I do wonder if the heavy focus on the romance means that the audience for a show like this is limited to mostly women, but that's not even a drawback as far I'm concerned. I guess I'm just warning the guys out there that this may not be for them, but it's definitely for me and for any other women who want to get lost in the romance of period Scotland and 6 foot tall hunks who'll ride to your rescue if ever you need it. Which Claire does, constantly, even though she's a capable and feisty heroine, but hey this is practically an alien planet she's living in and when you're always being pursued by one Captain "Black Jack" Randall, sadistic ancestor of husband Frank (and played in a dual role by Menzies) things are going to get ugly and out of control fast. Special mention here to Menzies, actually- the leads are fantastic, but Tobias Menzies as the redcoat Randall is a villain the likes of which I don't believe I've ever seen on television or film for that matter. He inhabits this brutal, yet still layered monster of a man in a fierce, commanding performance that will terrify you, haunt your dreams, and yet still dare you to take your eyes off of him every time he's on screen. Forget the rest of the show if it's not your thing- it may be worth watching for this character alone. It's an astounding, unforgettable portrayal.

Outlander is genre television done to perfection, even if it's material that will appeal to a certain kind of audience and not necessarily be for everyone (whether you just can't handle the violence or are not prone to the love story), but for the people it's meant for, again, it's like your favorite snack food that you just can't stop eating. Call it a guilty pleasure, but I'm guilty as charged and don't care who knows it. Bring on Season 2.

Grade: A

Clive Owen Returns in Promo for 'The Knick' Season 2

Yay! One of my favorite shows of last year is coming back for Season 2 starting October 16th! I seriously can't wait- you guys need to check this show out if you haven't seen it yet.

REVIEW: "Orange is the New Black" Season 3

The third season of Orange is the New Black stayed remarkably consistent with the quality of the first two years, and though it lacked a compelling ongoing storyline comparable to Piper's first year adjustment to the prison or Vee's reign of terror in season two, the return to the more humorous nature of the first season helped the more episodic storytelling this year to be just as entertaining as ever.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Orange this season, I will say that for the first time, as the show dispensed with some of the series regulars in favor of more exploration of the smaller side characters, we do get a taste of the acting limits in the massive ensemble the show has employed in a way that we hadn't seen before, perhaps with good reason. The true value of Taylor Schilling's Piper as the lead of the series seemed to assert itself as more necessary than the show may have realized, and not just Piper as a narrative device to introduce us to this world, but Schilling as a good actress more than capable of carrying the series and multiple storylines in a way some of these other actors probably are not. For example, this year saw the early exits of fan favorite Natasha Lyonne's Nicky, and Matt McGorry's Bennett, and some new focus on characters who were extremely minor in the past, like Chang, Norma, Leanne and Flaca, now getting their own backstories and ongoing prison arcs.

And every single one of those backstories and arcs were essentially unneeded, as far as I could tell. I'm sorry, but Norma running a prison cult couldn't have been a sillier subplot this season, and Flaca's mistaken arrest for selling phony drugs didn't do a thing to develop her character or make her at all interesting in the present day. I'm not saying they've reached the limit on interesting characters who reside in the prison walls (I'd still like to see flashbacks for Maritza and Yoga Jones, for example, but since the actresses singled out this year also didn't leave much of an impression on the material they had to work with...let's just say it made me think the original regulars were regulars for a reason).

But enough with the negative- this season was filled with fantastic moments alongside some irrelevant side stuff. The "Mother's Day" premiere episode was among the best the show has ever done, and the recurring season long theme of motherhood worked wonders for some of our best characters, most perfectly the relationship between Daya and Aleida, which culminates as Daya finally gives birth to her baby and wonders whether to keep the child given her circumstances. Another outstanding plotline this year belonged to Pennsatucky (or Tiffany Doggett), whose relationship with Boo continued to develop and who had been sidelined last year only to come back with a subtle and layered performance from Taryn Manning, who proves she can handle whatever she's given, as she battles the darkest part of the season- the recurring attentions of a predatory prison guard who sets his sights on her with tragic consequences, made even worse by Tiffany's revelatory backstory. (Hint to the show: Taryn Manning deserves as much screentime as possible and she's got a great character to work with who justifies the extra focus).

Taylor Schilling herself was given lighter material this season, as she resumes her passionate, love/hate relationship with the returning Laura Prepon's Alex, and then takes it upon herself to become a panty-producing prison "godmother," as it were, but Schilling's handling of all this once again proved that she can handle dramatic and comedic subject matter and ace all of it, making me notice that while we may spend some filler time with people like Leanne and her silly Amish flashback story, Piper alone is interesting, even when she's selfish and self-absorbed, and her brother Cal adds to riotousness with a bigger recurring role this year as her partner in crime in the outside world (much easier to spend time with than Larry, who's now thankfully gone). How can she produce panties you might ask? Well, that brings us to the actual throughline of the season, which was the takeover of Litchfield by a private corporation, a situation produced by new administrative head Caputo (Nick Sandow) in order to save it, and who becomes a co-lead this year as he battles the new owners and their designs on the prison, which involve giving out sludge for food to save money, using the prisoners to make the lingerie in question, and hiring new guards with no training, which endangers the inmates in ways both anticipated and not.

The struggles of running a prison for profit is interesting, especially with the real world implications it involves and Sandow is great as the well-meaning but long suffering Caputo, who wants to help both the staff and the inmates but finds himself often on the other side of the business, but it's just not quite as intriguing as Vee and her villainous plotting within the prison and among the various subgroups last year. Still, I give the show a lot of credit for drawing attention to this issue at all, which is important and not nearly given enough voice in the public. Maybe Jenji Kohan does want to make a political statement here, on top of all the raunchy, comedic moments that stand out as the memorable ones of the season (Healy and Red's weird, unrequited romance and Lorna's ultimately requited one with with a new guy she finds while wooing pen pal suitors). And did I forget to mention two of the best season long subplots? Suzanne and her smut novel that becomes a prison sensation leading to her finding an actual, real life love interest (awww!) and Cindy's quest to convert to Judaism for the kosher meals ultimately culminating in a genuine and touching moment as she realizes in front of a rabbi that she does want to be changed for the better. This is a show with so many great moments and great characters that even the irrelevant subplots are quickly drowned out by the great ones, and whatever missteps I found here that didn't exist for me in the first two years were more than made up for by all the classic scenes that added up to a very good season indeed. I just love this show, guys.

Grade: A-

CBS's 'Supergirl' Unveils New Poster

Here she is, Superman's cousin and the first female centered superhero show to debut this fall on CBS. I'm actually a little curious about this show, but I'm still wary, simply because I've had a longheld bias against CBS in general. I can't explain it, really- I'll give a show on Lifetime a chance in an instant (UnReal is one of the best new shows of the year, people), but if you tell me something I may want to check out exists on CBS I hesitate. The last show I gave a chance to on the network was Joan of Arcadia, so yeah, it's been a while. This is from the same team that's been doing the CW superhero shows Flash and Arrow though, so I feel an obligation to at least sample it. I probably will, but it'll feel weird doing so. Supergirl premieres October 26th with Glee alum Melissa Benoist in the title role.

REVIEW: "Veep" Season 4

Although I love Armando Iannucci, and I was a complete devotee of his previous series The Thick of It, I've never been the world's biggest Veep fan, chiefly because the characters are so incredibly vile and awful that I find myself rooting against them at every turn and basically cannot stand to see Selina win at anything.

I've continued to watch it because the show does occasionally manage to make me laugh in spite of itself, simply because the insult humor and delicious contortion of language isn't something you'd hear out of the mind of anyone else. But you can imagine how it felt to watch an entire season of Selina Meyer, the world's most despicable person, now ascended to the highest office in the land, a feat that she pulled off by accident of course, but nevertheless, she's now the world's most powerful person in the show's universe and boy, is that horrifying. I almost couldn't get over the very idea of it, which made me want to vomit in my mouth every time we cut to her in the Oval Office. Interestingly, the season of Selina's presidency made her somehow even worse that I was expecting (and my expectations were pretty high that she'd repulse me at every step), as she displayed once again, now more than ever, zero competency, zero sympathy, zero compassion and not an ounce of character, as she glories in her power while screwing up at every turn.

It was almost enough to make me tune out, but as always, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' incredible acting saves the day, as I cannot imagine anyone else ever being able to pull off such a horrible character and still manage to impress you with the sheer range of ways in which she expresses her awfulness. Julia is the Queen of Awfulness, people and that in itself is something to be admired in a strange way (I guess all those years on Seinfeld honed her chops for this role, especially the weirder, later seasons). Also, the supporting cast this time out really shined, as both Dan (Reid Scott) and especially Jonah (Timothy Simons) stepped up to the plate with some fantastic one liners and in Jonah's case, a storyline where he was relentlessly sexually harassed by prolific guest star (on anything) Patton Oswalt, and then mocked mercilessly for it the rest of the season. Jonah himself is not any more sympathetic than most of the characters on this show, but Simons somehow managed to turn him into the highlight of the series this season, as I was always ready to cut back to any one of his scenes of humiliation, played in a pitch perfect tone and matched with a fitting sidekick in the form of last year's annoying Richard (Sam Richardson), a character I never thought was funny at all, but now paired with Jonah, is also somehow reinvented as an amusing foil.

I couldn't stand anything having to do with Selina until about halfway through the season, when Hugh Laurie's Tom James showed up to be her new running mate, and of course becomes more popular than she could ever be, showing her up at every turn with his charisma and (comparative) competence in relation to Selina and her team of idiots. His addition gave some of the characters leeway to actually notice Selina's vileness, culminating in an Emmy-worthy breakdown scene from Anna Chlumsky's Amy, who launches a vitriolic (and genuine) diatribe at her boss over how terrible she is in every possible respect, thus quitting her administration (however temporarily it turns out to be) and giving verbal onscreen confirmation of my own anger, which acted as a kind of primal scream therapy to endure the rest of the season. A later episode that duplicates almost every bit of Iannucci's inquiry episode of The Thick of It is far too uninspired for me to relish the glorious dialogue like most critics did (Thick of It did it better), and as always, I simply cannot ever buy that a president as blundering, unlikable and unelected as Selina could even come close to winning the White House in her first election, but I will say that the constitutional crisis the writers come up with to justify that outcome is sufficiently clever enough to leave me wondering what's going to happen next (she can't stay president forever, right? I mean, the show's called Veep for god's sakes).

Armando Iannucci has announced that he is leaving the show, and this was the last season to bear his name in the writing, which is fairly alarming, considering that, much like Aaron Sorkin, he's a showrunner who has always been extremely hands on and involved in every creative aspect of his series. The decision to continue the show without him may prove to be consequential in some major ways (could they actually soften up Selina, as Americans are wont to do, without Iannucci around to keep it as cynical as possible?). I'm a little curious as to how the show will fare without him, so I'm still in, but Veep continues to be something that alternately amuses, infuriates, and repulses me, often many times in the same episode. If I were ever somebody to actively hate-watch a show, this is probably the one, because for some reason, I still can't quit it.

Grade: B-

'Fargo' Season 2 Shows Off a Spectacular Cast

Nick Offerman, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Wilson, Bruce Campbell, Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Brad Garrett...need I say more? This awesome full trailer for the second season convinces me more than ever that this show probably did not implode the way True Detective did in its sophomore outing. I can't wait until it premieres in October- looks fantastic.

'The Flash' Gets a New Suit for Season 2

Today, the new costume for The Flash was released ahead of Season 2 (not premiering until October), but I have to admit, I'm not one of those people who obsesses over all the little upgrades to the costumes. As far as I can tell, the only difference between this suit and last season's is the emblem in the center, which is now white instead of red under the lightning bolt. I guess that's exciting because that's the way the Flash's costume has looked since the 1950's, but I'd be happier if they did something about that chin guard. It's always looked kind of funky to me.

New Look at Netflix's 'Narcos'

Netflix is releasing a new series called Narcos, about the rise of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. It looks kind of like American Gangster, following the bad guy and the cop on his trail, but the subject would make good material for any movie or series, obviously. Narcos comes out in August.

New 'X-Files' Teaser Brings Back the Score

That's really the best part of this new 16 second bit here- who doesn't love hearing that refrain again, right? The X-Files miniseries premieres on January 24th, 2016.

'Game of Thrones' Leads the 2015 Emmy Nominations

The Emmy noms are here everyone! Lots of surprises today, including my very favorite and for me, totally unexpected, nod for Tatiana Maslany!!!!!! She did it! After two seasons of being utterly snubbed, she now gets for the nod! For the show's worst season of course, and for the one year where submission tapes will no longer matter as much, because they've opened up the voting, but still, guys. She's in. Justice at last. Other nice things were Parks and Recreation making it back into comedy series for its last season, Jim Parsons snubbed for even a nomination after winning four years in a row, and all the love for Transparent, including Gaby Hoffmann (awesome). Not so nice things? Well, The Americans was shut out everywhere except for a writing nod, Justified was completely overlooked, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was embraced (yay!) everywhere except for Ellie Kemper (wtf?), who practically IS the show, and the switch to drama completely screwed over Orange is the New Black (as I always knew it would), with the show declining from 12 noms last year to just 4 this year. People, it's a black comedy and it cannot compete against the other dramas. Here's the list of the major nominations:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA

• Better Call Saul
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• House of Cards
• Mad Men
• Orange Is the New Black

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
• Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
• Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
• Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

• Claire Danes, Homeland
• Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
• Taraji P. Henson, Empire
• Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
• Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
• Robin Wright, House of Cards

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

• Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
• Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
• Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
• Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
• Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
• Christine Baranski, The Good Wife

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
• Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
• Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
• Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
• Michael Kelly, House of Cards
• Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

• Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
• Rachel Brosnahan, House of Cards
• Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder
• Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
• Khandi Alexander, Scandal
• Margo Martindale, The Americans

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

• Alan Alda, The Blacklist
• Michael J Fox, The Good Wife
• F. Murray Abraham, Homeland
• Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards
• Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex
• Pablo Schreiber, Orange Is the New Black

OUTSTANDING COMEDY

• Louie
  
• Modern Family
  
• Parks and Recreation
  
• Silicon Valley
  
• Transparent
  
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Veep

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
• Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
• Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Anthony Anderson, black-ish
• Louis C.K., Louie
• Don Cheadle, House of Lies
• Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
• Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
• William H. Macy, Shameless
• Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

• Niecy Nash, Getting On
• Julie Bowen, Modern Family
• Allison Janney, Mom
• Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
• Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
• Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
• Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Anna Chlumsky, Veep

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Adam Driver, Girls
• Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
• Ty Burrell, Modern Family
• Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Tony Hale, Veep

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

• Gaby Hoffmann, Girls
• Pamela Adlon, Louie
• Elizabeth Banks, Modern Family
• Joan Cusack, Shameless
• Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
• Tina Fey, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Mel Brooks, The Comedians
• Paul Giamatti, Inside Amy Schumer
• Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
• Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live
• Bradley Whitford, Transparent
• Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

REALITY SHOW HOST

• Tom Bergeron, DWTS
  
• Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night
  
• Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
  
• Cat Deeley, SYTYCD
  
• Anthony Bourdain, The Taste

REALITY SHOW COMPETITION

• The Amazing Race
• Dancing With the Stars
• Project Runway
• So You Think You Can Dance
• Top Chef
• The Voice

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show
• Jimmy Kimmel Live
• Last Week Tonight
• Late Show With David Letterman
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

LIMITED SERIES

• American Crime
• American Horror Story: Freak Show
• The Honorable Woman
• Olive Kitterridge
• Wolf Hall

TV MOVIE

• Agatha Christie’s Poirot — Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case
• Bessie
• Grace of Monaco
• Hello Ladies: The Movie
• Killing Jesus
• Nightingale

LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

• Felicity Huffman, American Crime
• Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Queen Latifah, Bessie
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
• Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
• Emma Thompson, Sweeney Todd

LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

• Timothy Hutton, American Crime
• Ricky Gervais, Derek Special
• Adrien Brody, Houdini
• David Oyelowo, Nightingale
• Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge
• Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

• Regina King, American Crime
• Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Angela Bassett, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Mo’Nique, Bessie
• Zoe Kazan, Olive Kitteridge

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

• Richard Cabral, American Crime
• Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Finn Wittrock, American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie
• Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
• Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall

Looks like the voters responded very well to Better Call Saul (a little prematurely, imo), and decided to give David Letterman some farewell nominations, but overall, I think this might be Game of Thrones's year to take the top honors. There's no clear alternative in drama unless they decide to go back to Mad Men (possible, as it increased its haul this year from last), and there's a couple of precedents for overdue cultural phenomenon shows finally winning in their fifth seasons (24, The Sopranos). As for comedy, Modern Family was actually shut out of writing and directing for the first time ever, so there's now evidence of real fatigue with it (thank god). So with Transparent having the most nominations (with 11) and Veep on its heels with 9, I'm thinking it could be Transparent, given the cultural wave it's riding on at the moment as well. We'll see on September 20th, when Andy Samberg hosts the Emmys.