Tin Man (Miniseries)

DG is a waitress from a small town in Kansas. She lives with her parents. She tries hard, but she has trouble fitting in. She listens to her parents fantastic stories about another land. A freak storm blows up a tornado and events lead to DG and her mom and dad being separated in a strange land called the ‘Outer Zone’ or the OZ. DG recognizes the land from her father’s stories. DG must find her parents during her search she finds she has much more to do.

I overlooked this Syfy Miniseries when it came out because I thought it would be just another Wizard of OZ remake trying to upstage the original. What I have found is that this is its own movie. The story line is roughly based on the original Wizard of OZ but is very different and quite fun. It might not be the greatest movie for very small children but many of us big children really liked it.

Available On: Tv.com, Amazon, Netflix

Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Raoul Trujillo, Kathleen Robertson, Richard Dreyfuss

Crossing Jordan (TV Series)

Jordan Cavanaugh is the only child of a widowed and retired ex-cop. She is a forensic pathologist who can’t help getting involved in the cases of the deceased victims she sees in front of her everyday. She is a rule breaker when it is necessary, and is very direct when dealing with people. Dr. Jordan works in the Boston morgue with a crew of unique individuals who are all great at what they do.

I don’t have the foggiest idea how I missed this show when it first aired. Crossing Jordan is a forensic procedural drama. It is well acted, and well written. It is fun to watch.

Cast includes: Jill Hennessy, Miguel Ferrer, Ravi Kapoor, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Valentine, Jerry O’Connell

Available on: Netflix, TV.com, TV Muse

Foyle’s War

Christpher Foyle(Michael Kitchen) is a Detective Chief Superintendant in Hastings, Sussex, England during World War Two. As such he fights against crime that frequently takes advantage of the war-time condition such as pilfering, the black market, profiteering and murder. Foyle is assisted by Detective Sergeant Paul Milner(Anthony Howell) and a driver named Samantha Stuart(Honeysuckle Weeks).

I really enjoy Foyle’s War. It must be quite a challenge to make films about the past when it comes to sets, props, wardrobe and slang used at the time(or banter for you Monty Python fans). I am impressed by the job these folks have done making season after season always maintaining a high level of attention to details even when it comes to the background of shots, especially when shooting outdoors. That is representative of the overall quality of Foyle’s War.

The Official Foyle’s War Fan Site

Cast includes: Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Anthony Howell

Available on: Hulu Plus, Google Play, Yidio, Netflix

Destination Truth

Destination Truth is a series about Josh Gates and his team heading out all over the world to try to document a paranormal or cyrptozoological report. They used night vision, thermal imaging, EMF Meters, audio amplification devices etc. Usually each episode contains two targets. Once done with an investigation they return to their base and review the evidence collected sometimes with the help of experts from outside the team. The team members changed several times over the 5 seasons but the people were always did a really good job in the show.

Destination Truth ran from June 6. 2007 and the last season began July 10, 2012 and it was great fun. Not so much for finding their latest cryptid, monster, or paranormal target but for the cultures and locations they visited. Josh Gates and crew always interacted with the people and participated in their culture and listened to and appreciated their beliefs. I enjoy Destination Truth and watch the episodes over and over. Wonderful entertainment!

Team Members Included: Josh Gates, Erin Ryder, Kyle Wheeler, David D’Angelo, Katy Murakami, Adam Butler, Tristant Icaza, Richie Fung, Drew Adams, Allie Boettger, Hank Braxtan, Casey Brumels, Ron Carlson, Gabriel “Gabe” Copeland, Jael de Pardo, Rey Delgado, Vlad Garcia, Bicha Gholam, Lindsay Gillette, Tony Gonzales, Shawn A. Goodwin, Naomi Grossman, Araceli Haldeman, Sharra Jenkins, Chris Lore, Mike Morrell, Bobby Pura, Dan Ramirez, Nick Scown, Star Seifert, Ian Shorr, Erica “Shush” Shusha, Vanessa Joy Smith, Michael “Ponch” St. Hilaire, Evan B. Stone, Jarrod Tomassi, Jed Udall, Rich Velazquez, Rex Williams, Eric Wing, Ali Zubik

Guests who appeared on the show: Jason Hawes – TAPS investigator,Grant Wilson – TAPS investigator, Steve Gonsalves – TAPS investigator. Dave Tango – TAPS investigator, Jael de Pardo – investigator, Robb Demarest – GHI investigator, Dustin Pari – TAPS/GHI investigator, Barry Fitzgerald – GHI investigator, Kris Williams – TAPS/GHI investigator, Allison Scagliotti – actress Warehouse 13

Available on: Amazon, Google Play, VUDU, Netflix

White Collar

Who has the skills necessary to catch art thieves, con men, grifters, and forgers? How about somebody who is better at their own game? FBI comes to this conclusion and gets just the man released into their custody from prison. Neal Caffrey is released to FBI Special Agent Peter Burke to help with an investigation. It is immediately clear that Neil and his contacts are valuable assets although a little unorthodox and hard to control, and the FBI enters into a deal where Neil is on monitored work release with the FBI to assist in White Collar crime.

White Collar is a generally light-hearted USA Network program that is fun to watch. I like the characters especially Mozzie, Neil’s friend and colleague. White Collar began October 2009 and the last season premiered November 2014.

Cast includes: Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, Marsha Thomason, Tiffani Thiessen, Natalie Morales, Hilarie Burton, Sharif Atkins

Available on: VUDU, Google Play, iTunes, Netflix

The X-Files

The X-Files is the section of the FBI that deals with unexplained phenomena. The unexplained include creature reports, conspiracies, time anomalies, UFO reports and many other situations. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate the X-Files and over time and many episodes uncover many incredible situations and do their best to deal with them.

 

Witches of Eastend

Two sisters discover they have magical powers. Their aunt arrives and their aunt and mother together reveal to them that they are actually witches. Learning about their powers presents many challenges in both their public and personal lives. When an evil adversary from the distant past attacks the situation escalates and the family’s situation becomes even more difficult as well as becoming dangerous.

This is a fun show if you haven’t seen it. This show is quite heavy on the characters’ relationships and a bit light on actual action. I enjoyed the show don’t get me wrong but a little more doing and a little less talking would have been good. For instance there is a love triangle that goes round and round through the entire series.

Cast includes: Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Rachel Boston, Daniel Di Tomasso, Eric Winter, Christian Cooke

Available on: Amazon, Google Play, Netflix

Hit & Miss

Hit and Miss a British television show about a transsexual woman assassin named Mia. She finds out she has an 11-year-old child from a previous relationship before she began MTF (male-to-female) transition, and his mother is dying of cancer. Upon receiving the notification Mia goes to the smallholding where her son and two other siblings live. She finds out she is too late and the mother has died. She is then left to decide what her next course of action is.

The series is well done. What was a surprise was how well they incorporated the unique challenges transsexuals face. The acting is very well done. The plot is well thought out. I expected a big deal to be made about the gender identity issues, but it really didn’t. I enjoyed the series and would recommend it.

Cast includes: Chloë Sevigny, Peter Wight, Jonas Armstrong, Vincent Regan, Ben Crompton, Karla Crome, Reece Noi, Jorden Bennie, Roma Christensen

Available on: Netflix.

Castle (TV Series)

Castle is an ABC police procedural comedy drama. It is about a top selling novel author who has killed off his main charactor and is looking for inspiration for a new novel and character. With his rich-guy author popularity Richard Castle(Nathan Fillion) is able to get into the NYPD to shadow some detectives. There he hooks up with detective Kate Beckett(Stana Katic) and begins his observations where he tries not to interfere but…

This is a very fun long running show.You know it is popular when it makes it to daytime TV reruns while it is still filming new shows for prime time! I like all the actors in this but I confess I originally watched because of Nathan Fillion and my Browncoat affiliation but continued watching on this shows merits which are many. If you like Nathan Fillion in this try clicking here.

Cast includes: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn, Jon Huertas, Tamala Jones, Seamus Dever, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Penny Johnson Jerald

Available on: ShareTV, Google Play, VUDU

Bones (TV Series)

Bones is about the foresic anthropology department of the Jeffersonian Institute(Based on the Smithsonian Institution). The main character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, is loosly based on forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs. The scientists help the FBI solve criminal cases(usually murder naturally) using forensic science to search for clues. The characters and their personalities and relationships are a big reason for the show’s success. The show has plenty of action, and emotion but is usually upbeat and fun. I really like the episodes with Bi*** Gi***** from Z* **p as a **an**a a few seasons in!

At nine years and counting if you haven’t followed this show you’d have a lot of catching up to do! This is one of the best shows Fox has ever presented. The characters have gone through a lot of changes and the actors have done a fantastic job. The attention to detail forensically and with the sets and props is nothing short of amazing. I get a huge amount of enjoyment out of Bones and that is good because it is on a lot where I live. I am however bound to say the scenes in cars with the characters touting the car company break the flow of the episodes although they are likely quite lucrative. Bones is a great show.

Cast includes: Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin, Eric Millegan, T. J. Thyne, Jonathan Adams, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley, John Boyd

Available on: Netflix, Hulu, FOX