MONDAY, 28th

HUGE: The jokes write themselves, honestly. Series premiere. (9pm/ABC Family)

TUESDAY, 29th

RESCUE ME: There are only 10 episodes this season, so we expect a lot to happen and fast! (10pm/FX)

WEDNESDAY, 30th

TOP CHEF DC: The chefs must put together a classic picnic for the most important and influential people in Washington: The Capitol Hill Interns. (9pm/Bravo)

THURSDAY, 1st

ACE OF CAKES: Nine seasons, 100 episodes and enough cake to feed the whole world several times.  (10pm/FOOD Network)

FRIDAY, 2nd

AMERICA CELEBRATES JULY 4^TH AT FORD’S THEATRE: The Obamas celebrate America’s independence alongside the likes of Kelly Clarkson, George Lopez and… Lionel Richie! (9pm/ABC)

SATURDAY, 3rd

DOLLY CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF DOLLYWOOD: Did you know Dolly Parton is Miley Cyrus’s godmother? Make of that what you will. (8pm/Hallmark Channel)

Merlin Review: Sweet Dreams, Camelot

I’ve found it hard to concentrate on anything but the World Cup for the past couple of weeks, so imagine my surprise when I realized that television programming doesn’t revolve around soccer games and there is, in fact, a brand new episode of Merlin to review!

If you’ll recall, Morgana officially went to the dark side and “disowned” Uther, though she still lives in the castle with him and pretends to be his loving and faithful ward for appearance’s sake. Camelot’s latest enemy, Morgause, shows up at the right time and recruits Morgana (her half-sister, though Morgana doesn’t know it) to help her bring about Uther’s downfall. Morgana agrees, but she doesn’t know exactly what she’s agreeing to.

Morgause has reawakened the Knights of Medhir. Legend has it that these knights were put to sleep some 300 years ago after their sorceress leader was killed. It would take another sorceress, Morgause, to bring them back to life and assist in Camelot’s downfall.

Arthur and Merlin are sent to investigate the building where the knights were known to be “sleeping.” A village person insisted he had seen smoke rising from the top, a sign that the knights were back. Sure enough, Arthur and Merlin get their first encounter with the Knights of Medhir at this place, but they manage to escape.

Back in Camelot, though, Morgause’s plan is being put into action and everyone is falling asleep: the townspeople, the guards, servants and even Uther. The only one not affected by the enchantment is Morgana. Arthur and Merlin remain unaffected too when they initially return, though how long they can stay that way is tested once the magic begins working on them.

The Knights of Medhir and Morgause arrive in Camelot shortly after the boys and begin searching for Uther’s sleeping body. Arthur, Merlin and yes, even Morgana, hide Uther to keep him safe. Merlin manages to sneak away at one point to ask the dragon for advice. The dragon almost refuses to speak until Merlin promises that he’ll free him from his chains sooner rather than later. Comforted by this, the dragon tells Merlin that Morgana is the source of the sleeping enchantment (though she doesn’t know it) and the only way to stop it is by killing her.

The final few minutes can only be described as very intense and emotional as Merlin resigns himself to poisoning his friend in order to save Camelot. While Morgana is slowly suffocating from the poison and realizing what Merlin has done to her, Morgause senses her half-sister’s distress and rushes to her aide. Morgause says she can save Morgana, but she must know what poison was used. Merlin bargains with her: stop the sleeping enchantment or he won’t tell her the poison.

Morgause accepts defeat and lifts the enchantment. She vanishes into thin air, still holding Morgana in her arms. By the episode’s end, we don’t know if Morgana is alive and where she is, though we can assume she must still be living.

Colin Morgan really took things to a whole other level in this episode with his acting and I applaud everyone for a brilliant episode! I finally feel like the series is going somewhere, though of course it happens in the second to last episode. The season finale is just a few days away, and it seems dark times are coming to Camelot…

Season 2, Episode 12: The Fires of Idirsholas (aired June 25, 2010)

For more on Merlin, click here.

Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and SyFy.

Hung Season Premiere – Sun. 10:00pm (EST) on HBO

Poptimal.com is exited about the premiere of Hung on HBO tonight.  Check out this clip before the fun starts tonight:

Syfy Finds A ‘Haven’ In Its Summer Lineup

For those television enthusiasts who enjoy a little paranormal activity mixed in with their procedural crime dramas, you can now quit lamenting the absence of Fringe and focus on Syfy’s new summer series Haven, premiering July 9. Based on Stephen King’s novel The Colorado Kid, Haven takes place in (where else?) a sleepy Maine community of the same name, where FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) has been sent to investigate the murder of a townie ex-con. As she furthers her analysis, Audrey discovers Haven isn’t the picturesque New England enclave she had originally thought. The residents slowly begin to exhibit supernatural powers that pique Audrey’s interest and eventually lead her to discover the possible connections between Haven and her past that she never knew existed. With the help of local cop Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), Audrey’s assignment in Haven turns out to be an extended education — in both the metaphysical and in herself — she never expected.

During a recent press conference call with Haven stars Rose and Bryant, as well as executive producers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn, the enthusiasm over Haven’s potential as another successful series for Syfy was palpable, but no one could deny the obvious comparisons to its predecessors. In addition to Fox’s current occult fave, the aforementioned Fringe, pioneering classic The X-Files also serves as an obvious referential point for Haven, of which the cast and crew are well aware.

“The gauntlet is sort of laid before you,” admitted Rose, in regards to the high expectations for Haven given its forerunners. She and Bryant have remained optimistic about their chemistry on the show evoking that of Mulder and Scully, however, with Bryant joking that Audrey and Nathan are “the next beautiful and classic [television] couple,” and Rose adding that “the natural banter” between them helps adhere to the winning formula. Indeed, both actors agreed their respective characters display a juxtaposing set of personality traits that end up feeding off each other to provide strength where the other has weakness. Rose and Bryant described their characters’ similarities to Mulder and Scully as a gender-reverse, saying Audrey is more akin to Mulder’s open-mindedness while Nathan adheres to Scully’s skepticism. An interesting fact about Nathan revealed in the pilot is his inability to experience physical pain, which Rose said helps mirror their relationship and personal backgrounds. “Audrey doesn’t want to feel anything emotionally, while Nathan can’t feel anything physically,” she said, helping disclose Haven’s desire to not only match, but also transcend a familiar archetype.

In addition to similar sci-fi models helping lay a precedent, the basis of King’s novel provides a contextually riveting stepping stone from which the show can jump off and carve its own niche in the genre. Rose said reading The Colorado Kid induced such a visceral response from her that, upon reaching the story’s climax, she involuntarily “threw it across the room.” Ernst added that the “two sides” to many of King’s stories follows suit with the overall vibe of Haven. One side is a “creepy crawly” layer of supernatural affinity, and the other provides a “real world” aspect that showcases “cool characters” and their “lives going sideways” as the normal and paranormal inch closer to collision. Dunn elaborated, saying Haven intends to “use the supernatural element to highlight the characters” and garner more emotional involvement from viewers, helping bridge the gap between spooky and sentimental.

Dunn and Ernst also share writing credit for the pilot, a partnership Bryant said is clearly a creative match – he went as far as to say the two are “like Siamese twins,” who share a vision in blending “the absurd and the mundane” in their storytelling. The duo is clearly detail-oriented in their creative pursuit, evident in Ernst’s statement that he and Dunn “already know the last episode of the series,” whether it occurs at the end of the first season or tenth. Noting a desire to maintain the show’s watchability among the unique characters and storylines, Ernst also said there will be an “ongoing mythology” throughout the course of the series, but each episode will stand alone to help future viewers catch up easily. That way, he declared, one could “jump in episode six or 16,” and still find themselves encapsulated by the strange goings on in Haven and the even stranger people who live there.

Don’t miss the series premiere of Haven Friday, July 9 at 10 p.m. EST on Syfy.

For more television reviews, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Syfy, Chris Reardon, and Eric Cogden.

Entourage Season 7 Premiere Tonight 10:30 (EST) on HBO

Poptimal.com is exited about the premiere of Season 7 of Entourage on HBO.  Check out this clip before the fun starts tonight:

« Previous Page — Next Page »