Jone Dome: Comic Con Exclusive – Black Dynamite TV Show Panel

Comic Con Special. Ference and Poptimal.com’s Movie Editor Jamal Henry discuss the new Adult Swim show Black Dynamite Panel at this Year’s Comic Con.  (Available on iTunes)

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Show Credits:

Written & hosted by: Ference & Jamal Henry
Venue: Odysea Bar @ Hilton Bayfront

 

(If the show does not play using the link at the bottom of the page, you can download it: Download|Podcast Alley)

Comic-Con 2011: Dorothy of Oz Panel and Press Room – Patrick Stewart’s Comic Con Debut

The Oz books are perhaps the most well known American fairy tale and Dorothy of Oz seeks continue the adventure through this magical world where tin men, witches, and flying monkeys exist. Dorothy of Oz is an upcoming feature animated film based upon the book by Roger S. Baum, great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, the writer of the original classic The Wizard of Oz.

The story picks up the day after Dorothy Gale gets back to Kansas from Oz only to find her home devastated by the tornado. Soon after though she is sent back to Oz, her friends needing help as an evil Jester looks to take over the land. We will get to see both familiar and new characters in the film as Dorothy, Toto, and company set off on a new quest.

The film is produced by Summertime Entertainment and it boasts an impressive voice acting cast including Glee’s Lea Michelle as Dorothy Gale, Dan Aykroyd as the Scarecrow, Kelsey Grammer as the Tin Man, James Belushi as the Cowardly Lion, Hugh Dancy as Marshall Mallow, Megan Hilty as the China Princess, Oliver Platt as Wiser The Owl, Martin Short as the Jester, and last but not least Patrick Stewart as Tugg.

Musician Bryan Adams contributes his songwriting skills on the film’s soundtrack. Dorothy of Oz is also a musical, Michelle and Hilty’s singing abilities being featured throughout the movie with new original songs written by Adams and Jim Valance.

Stewart, who is a favorite amongst many of the attendees at Comic-Con for his iconic roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series, made his debut at the convention through this animated film. The crowds greeted the actor with immense applause and even sang happy birthday to him. Stewart recently turned seventy-one. Despite one minor incident with a costumed man asking to have butt sex with Stewart (who graciously remained silent and kept his composure), everything else went smoothly.

On the panel, Stewart and co-star Hilty talked about their love of voice acting on animated films, experiencing creative freedom to give as large of a performance as they can. Hilty, who is primarily known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in Broadway’s Wicked, was also excited to have a role in Oz that she could genuinely call her own. She explained that while playing Glinda was an amazing experience, it was definitely a challenge to step into a character that was already established by another actor (Glinda was originally played by Kristin Chenoweth). As Hilty put it, there hasn’t been a China Princess played before.

We had the chance to talk to Stewart after the panel and the actor spoke about his love of animated films, citing Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki as one of his favorites. As a child he loved to watch Tom and Jerry as well as The Jungle Book.

“As a child I loved cartoons and animated movies, yes my brother and I saw all the Disney movies. As I said on the panel right now, animation is the area of film where the most exciting advances are being made and indeed the most exciting work. There is such a diversity of work in animation. I’ve become a particular fan of Japanese anime, the work of Miyazaki in particular is extraordinary.”

He also explained how he got into the mindset of his character Tugg in Dorothy of Oz. “My character starts out as a tree and so I had to think about well if I were a tree how would I talk and you know a little bit about his personality. He’s old, kinda tired and a bit disgruntled,” he said.

The film doesn’t come out in theaters until next year but in the meantime you can catch Stewart as the voice of Avery Bullock on American Dad.

 

Images courtesy of Poptimal.com and Summertime Entertainment.

Comic-Con 2011: Ringer Press Room: Reintroducing the Femme Fatale

Thanks to an extremely devoted fanbase, the magic of syndication, and iconic portrayals in roles such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Kathryn Merteuil from Cruel Intentions, for even the most casual pop culture followers of my generation, Sarah Michelle Gellar and the term “femme fatale” are indelibly linked.  With her new show Ringer coming to The CW Network, Gellar is poised to not only introduce the femme fatale to a whole new generation of fans, but push the boundaries of what we expect from The CW Network.  We had the opportunity to sit down with Sarah Michelle Gellar and the creators and cast of Ringer at Comic-Con 2011 to discuss the impact that they believe the show will have on The CW and pop culture as a whole.

Ringer tells the story of identical twins Bridget and Siobhan (both played by Gellar) who we come to discover lead complicated lives to put it mildly.  When Siobhan disappears, Bridget takes over her life to try and uncover the truth of her disappearance, and quickly finds herself confronting both her own dangerous past, as well as that of Siobhan.  Needless to say, this is not the typical fare that we are used to seeing on The CW, but as Ringer co-creator Eric Charmelo remarked, the network was eager to embrace the “neo-noir thriller” format for their lineup: “they recognized it as a noir and a serialized thriller and they owned it and let us revel in it.”

In staying true to the show’s noir tilt, the pilot episode included almost a full season’s worth of twists and turns, and both the creators and the producer indicated that while the series will occasionally pull back from the “breakneck” pace set by the pilot, it is important to include at least one moment in every episode that will have people breaking out the twitter hashtags: “We call it our gasp moment,” said producer Pam Veasey. “We want a moment where everyone goes “gasp” so that you can have a conversation about ‘they didn’t do that,’ ‘did you see that?’ That’s really important to us.”  “And just when you think you have things figured out we’re going to throw a wrench into the equation and take it on a completely different tangent,” added Charmelo.  Plot twists and cliffhangers aside, the writers are looking to tell a story that at its heart is a character study of twin sisters and the nature of sibling rivalry, with elements of self-discovery, redemption, and of course, revenge seasoning the recipe, all themes that should resonate well with fans of other shows on The CW Network.

Of course, nothing resonates more with fans than the attachment of Sarah Michelle Gellar to the project, and the creators knew from the outset that for the type of show they were creating, Gellar would be the perfect fit: “We were so inspired by old noir films and neo-noirs from the past 10 to 20 years that we just kept seeing the fabulous femme fatale, and when the script was given to Sarah we just said ‘yes!’, we’ve got the blonde, with the red lips, who can act!” said co-creator Nicole Snyder.

Thankfully, the show also fit perfectly into what Gellar was looking for in her return to television as well: “…you wait for the right opportunity, and I had been looking for what that was.  Being in Los Angeles and being able to get home to put my daughter to bed at night is a really nice feeling, and I started to miss the family experience that you get on a television show.”  Gellar also remarked that she is looking forward to gaining a new generation of fans with this series, and that even though the “twin” concept has been explored recently on some other popular TV shows, the quality of the stories that the writers have come up with will set this show apart in the minds of viewers.

When asked about the difficulties that playing a dual role can present, Gellar seems to be taking it all in professional stride, explaining that, “The funny thing is that when we were doing the pilot, the shortest days I had were the ‘twin’ days.  Once you have it, you kind of have it; there are no stunts, usually, when you’re playing opposite yourself…yet.  Wardrobe certainly plays a part in it, but I sort of boil it down to its simplest form which is Bridget’s story is a story of redemption, and Siobhan’s story is a story of revenge.  As long as they’re constantly in the back of my mind, it’s pretty easy to be any character.  It’s no different than the preparation that Nestor [Carbonell] will do to play Machado: what is my character doing, what is his purpose, why is he here and what does he want, and any actor preparing for any role pretty much does the same thing.”  Despite describing herself as “that person that yells at the television screen” when plot lines stray too far from reality, as an actress and producer of Ringer, however, Sarah deliberately divorces herself from the script writing or modifying process, recognizing that she is “not a writer, and never fancied myself one,” and fully willing to trust the judgment of the creative team behind Ringer to present authentic storylines.

Rounding out the Ringer interviews, we had a chance to speak with the three actors who will play a large role in the series: Nestor Carbonell, who plays Victor Machado, Ioan Gruffudd, who plays Andrew Martin and Kristoffer Polaha, who plays Henry.  Each actor’s character on the show is intimately involved with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character on some level, and they all gave their views on the potential for a show such as this, its place within the pop culture universe, and the abrupt shift to The CW from CBS:

Nestor Carbonell: “Now, there’s so many niche markets, that you really have to appeal to a certain group in a very specific way now, not a general way, and it’s so important I think for the show runners’ voice to be seen and their stamp to be seen on a particular show so it doesn’t look derivative, and it really speaks authentically to what they’re trying to do.  I think in this particular case, Nicole and Eric are very particular about keeping sort of the tone of a film noir and a serialized thriller that you’re not really seeing right now on TV, and maintaining the integrity of that.  Hopefully people will see the authenticity of it.”

Ioan Gruffudd: “It’s a very exciting journey that we’re embarking on, it’s a show that you, the audience, are in on a very massive secret from the very word go, and I think that’s enough of a hook for everybody to tune in every week.  It’s a bit like a Greek tragedy; you’ve been told something at the very beginning and now we’re going to see how it all plays out.”

Kristoffer Polaha: “The [CBS] audience tends to be…like Blue Bloods is pulling in the average viewer [of] 65 years old on a Friday night.  This show, however, I think is going to pull in people that are Buffy fans, so that puts you in the 30s and early 40s, but it’s also going to pull in people that are in their early 20s and teenagers, so I think demographically it fits The CW so much better than it would have on CBS, and it gives us a chance to really run with something, whereas with CBS, if it aired and didn’t get a 17-share in the first two weeks, all our jobs would be in jeopardy.  Now, it’s almost like ‘sky’s the limit, have fun,’ and again the writers are just really smart and they’ve sort of paved the path of some interesting story lines, so I think it’s a great marriage.

Clearly from the top down, everyone involved in the Ringer project is excited by the potential for success provided by the source material, the installed Gellar fan base, and the switch to what is seen as the hipper and younger CW Network.  With filming of episode two underway, and three seasons of continuingly evolving material already bouncing through Snyder and Charmelo’s minds, it appears that Sarah Michelle Gellar’s homecoming to television and The CW in particular will be a must see event this fall.  With the anticipated success, however, two dilemmas remain: instead of being closely identified with Buffy, new fans will now have to decide whether to refer to their new icon as Bridget or Siobhan, and how will the writers sneak in a Freddie Prinze, Jr. cameo with two love interests already on the show?  I’m sure, however, that these are “problems” the cast and crew will gladly embrace.

Ringer airs Tuesdays this fall on The CW.

For more Comic-Con coverage, click here.

Images courtesy of Poptimal.com.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Bridget and Siobhan), Kristoffer Polaha (Henry), Executive Producer Nicole Snyder Sarah Michelle Gellar (Bridget and Siobhan), Kristoffer Polaha (Henry), Executive Producer Nicole Snyder	Sarah Michelle Gellar (Bridget and Siobhan), Kristoffer Polaha (Henry) Sarah Michelle Gellar (Bridget and Siobhan), Kristoffer Polaha (Henry)	Executive Producer Pam Veasey and Ioan Gruffudd (Andrew Martin) Executive Producer Pam Veasey and Ioan Gruffudd (Andrew Martin)
Kristoffer Polaha (Henry) and EP Nicole Snyder Kristoffer Polaha (Henry) and EP Nicole Snyder	EP Pam Veasey EP Pam Veasey

Comic-Con 2011: J.J. Abrams’ and Jonah Nolan’s Person of Interest

The dystopian worlds created in the respective works of science fiction master Philip K. Dick and social satirist George Orwell have served as appropriate source material for numerous adaptations of the authors’ views of totalitarian government and invasive surveillance.  From Blade Runner to Minority Report and 1984 to Animal Farm, the commentary on modern society’s decreasing levels of personal privacy and freedom at the hand of an oppressive authority remains relevant today. This fall, screenwriter Jonathan “Jonah” Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) and Bad Robot Productions brings the Thought Police to CBS’ fall schedule with the new thriller Person of Interest, starring James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), Michael Emerson (LOST) and Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

Person of Interest focuses on John Reese, an ex-CIA hitman (Caviezel) who teams up with Emerson’s reclusive, billionaire genius, Finch, to help prevent crimes before they happen using algorithms and high-tech surveillance techniques Finch created. Unlike Minority Report, however, Person of Interest takes place present day and doesn’t focus on capturing the perpetrators themselves, but rather thwarting their imminent transgressions.

At Comic-Con’s press junket for the upcoming series, Nolan, Emerson, Caviezel and Henson were all on hand to discuss the paranoid nature of today’s culture the show references, as well as the bridge between its ties to science fiction and the fear-mongering propaganda satirized in its predecessors’ material.

“I’ve always been interested in themes of memory and paranoia, revenge,” Nolan acknowledged. “With this, we get to explore a little bit more of the ideas of the modern surveillance state and the sort of steady creep of that into everything.”

Emerson agreed, saying viewers will have the opportunity to assess the dichotomy between the show’s more conceptual elements and its startling realism.

“It seems that it will be a show where you go in thinking, ‘Oh, well here’s a piece of science fiction,’” Emerson said. “And then after a while you’re going to have the creeping sensation that it’s not fiction at all, and that everything that’s so fantastical that we’re talking about in the show might actually already exist. And be in the hands of who? The government? Google? Someone else without a name? So, yeah, I guess it lives on the cusp of science and science fiction.”

Nolan described the eerie parallels of working on the show within the very environment to which it refers.

“When we went to go shoot the pilot in New York, you begin to realize how many cameras there are, how many ways the government now has for keeping an eye on all of us. It’s getting a little strange,” Nolan admitted. “So the show has a science-fiction aspect to it, but I think, as Michael said, it’s more science fact, and it’s closer than we think it is.”

Person of Interest is more than a Big Brother riff on the post-9/11 information age, however. Elements of The Fugitive are also prevalent as Henson’s character, police officer Carter, is perpetually on the search for Caviezel’s Reese after he evades arrest with the helping hand of Finch. For Henson, the opportunity to star in a television series after a successful string of film roles is one she had to carefully consider.

“It had to be something really special. And then when you get a phone call from Jonathan Nolan, personally, that’s like, ‘Okaaay,’ and he wants to work with you, he wants to write for you, that’s like a no-brainer,” Henson said, adding, “And then with J.J. Abrams’ stamp on it, you can’t go wrong.”

Henson acknowledged the incessant chase Carter will have to continue as the series progresses, and gave some insight into her character’s determination.

“She’s basically like the [Tommy Lee Jones] character in The Fugitive,” Henson said. “The cop chasing down the fugitive, that’s basically who she is … She’s a good cop. She wants to get the bad guy. She’s a good, clean, by-the-book cop. She served two tours in Iraq, so there’s some complication and some darkness there I’m sure they will get to at some point. I’m hoping they make her go undercover while she’s chasing her person of interest … I’m kind of excited and scared at the same time.”

Caviezel’s character has a complicated darkness of his own, which the actor says serves as a catalyst for his unlikely turn as a vigilante.

“At the beginning of the show, you see him … headed in a place of hopelessness,” Caviezel revealed. “He’s very self-reliant and has done some things that violated things that run deep in him. He’s looking for a purpose – and maybe doesn’t know it – that would be justice.”

As for Emerson, his breakout role as sometime villain Ben Linus on LOST had reporters wondering if Finch will exhibit the same kind of mysterious agenda that keeps viewers guessing his motive. According to Emerson, Finch’s intentions are likely rooted in positive ground, but his reclusive nature provides a challenging transition.

“I think he’s a good man, probably a shy one,” Emerson said. “He’s a computer genius and a billionaire, but not the one who was a spokesperson. He’s the one who was always spending the late nights at the lab and didn’t care to address the stockholders’ meetings and stuff. Someone else took care of that, and now I think he’s maybe uncomfortable having to take a leadership role, especially a private one as a vigilante. So, I think he’s conflicted.”

Person of Interest is the kind of intellectual, action-packed, dramatic thriller that tends to find a core fanbase with relative ease, but even Nolan noted the unpredictability of the show’s overall success on a mainstream, major network like CBS. Rather than focus on numbers, Nolan said he instead chooses to create his material from what he feels tells a story that speaks to him, and then hopes the viewers will follow.

“I always write with the same audience in mind, and that audience is kind of me,” Nolan admitted. “I’m basically trying, in anything I’m working on whether it’s TV or film, trying to come up with the film or TV show I always wanted to watch. I don’t think you can guess what people will like, you really have to come from a more natural place and then hope your taste is shared with enough people to keep going. “

With the pedigree and compelling elements behind Person of Interest, it sounds like Nolan won’t need to implement any Orwellian fear-mongering tactics to capture his audience. But he might know when you’re watching.

Don’t miss the series premiere of Person of Interest, Thursday, September 22 at 9/8c on CBS.

Check out more of Poptimal’s Comic-Con coverage here.

Images courtesy of CBS/IMDbPro and Erin Biglow for Poptimal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comic-Con 2011: The Cleveland Show, Oh I Mean Family Guy

I’d love to tell you all about what’s coming up next in the world of Family Guy and American Dad. About what Alex Borstein thinks of her role as the homicidal Stewie Griffin’s much loathed mother, Lois, and this hilariously funny tidbit tossed out by Patrick Warburton who voices the character of Joe. I’d love to tell you all about how the cast is just as hilarious and smart as their hit Fox series, I really would, but unfortunately I wouldn’t know. Because in the press room at San Diego’s 2011 Comic-Con, due to poor planning and a restricted time schedule, the cast and crew of these shows were shuffled out of the room before even a proper introduction was done.

I’m not sure what exactly we were supposed to get out of this experience, or even why they decided to continue with this charade. But suffice it is to say that I never got to speak with one of the main stars of either Family Guy or American Dad. That being said I am glad to tell you that about what’s going on with the cousin series of these two shows, as producer and star of The Cleveland Show Mike Henry was able to make it over to our roundtable to tell us about what’s going on with the Brown Family. Because Henry still voices several lesser characters on Family Guy he was able to give us a little information about this show which we were meeting for, but for the most part this article’s all about Cleveland.

Starting off as a guest star on Family Guy when the show first premiered in 1998, Henry moved up to the position of main cast member providing the voices for several characters including ardent Chris admirer Herbert, Stewie’s on-and-off again maid Consuela, and most noticeably one of Peter Griffin’s best friends and family man Cleveland Brown. With the success of Cleveland, Henry’s character moved on from Quohog to his own series The Cleveland Show, but Henry still remains a part of Family Guy through his role as producer and, arguably, his lesser known voice roles.

Describing what’s coming up next on Family Guy, Henry teases us that he’s most looking forward to the upcoming episode where Stewie gets lost and ends up at Consuela’s house. Henry doesn’t go into detail for what exactly we can expect, but if you know Stewie, I bet it will be something fierce, and awkward, and probably a little crazy. Which, if you face it, is why we love our Family Guy.

While it may be fun to get lost every week in the lives of the Griffins, Henry admits that he doesn’t know what he would do if he ever had to live among the characters of Spooner Street. Saying that he wouldn’t survive well at all, Henry laughs as he reveals that he’d probably have a better chance with Cleveland and friends.

“I’d be his best friend,” Henry tells us about living with Cleveland Brown.

The Cleveland Show is set to return with new episodes and guest stars including, Henry tells us the very talented Rosie Perez who’s taking on an unimaginable role, a Cleveland-hater. (Gasp!) “Everyone loves Cleveland,” Henry says, before telling us about Perez as the new next door neighbor and possibly the only person in this imaginary world who doesn’t. For some reason, as shocking as it is, Perez’s character doesn’t get along with Cleveland and proceeds to make his life a nightmare. When asked what he’d do as Cleveland’s BFF to even the score with Perez, Henry pauses a minute and laughingly tells us he’ll have to think about it. (By the way, we’re still waiting for that answer…)

Describing the difference between Family Guy and Cleveland Show, Henry tells us that while Family Guy is more positioned for adult comedy, The Cleveland Show tries to appeal more to families.

“On our show, we’re trying to make it a little bit younger of a show,” Henry says. “I have young kids and not that I’m trying to write for them but we’re trying to be more of a family show.” To suit the family environment, Henry says that they don’t go for the hardcore jokes and rely more on laughs that younger and older fans can appreciate. “The first season of Cleveland Show was really finding its voice, coming off of Family Guy.” Henry tells us about looking back on the show’s first few episodes. But by the second half of the first season, Henry says that he feels the show has begun to find its feet and its own brand of humor. And judging by the success of this show, I bet fans will definitely agree.

Photos by Keshaunta Moton for Poptimal.com.

Comic Con 2011: Robot Chicken Takes the Stage

I don’t know what I’d actually do if I met a robot chicken. Well, cyborg really, but I’m not sure that really matters. Part of me undeniably says, “You’ve got to teach that chicken to tap dance.” Another part reminds me that I can’t dance, tap or otherwise. So, I guess with all that said I’ve decided if I ever do happen to meet a robot/cyborg chicken, I’m going to pretty much let him do whatever the heck he wants.

It turns out the folks at Cartoon Network and Adult Swim have the same idea, and thus Robot Chicken returns for another season of sketch comedy animation show that pokes fun at pop culture. Friday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con, the writers and creators of Robot Chicken held conference in the press room to talk about what fans can expect from this new season. In the press room were co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senrich, head writer Tom Root, voice talent Breckin Meyer, as well as writer Zeb Wells.

The new season of Robot Chicken isn’t set to premiere until October 23rd, three whole months away. Teasing what fans will have to look forward to in the upcoming season, the creators reveal that finally the chicken will have his way.

“I’ll say that the hundredth episode that we’re doing is pretty epic,” says co-creator Matthew Senreich. “I think it’s airing January 15th. For the first time we had to take a look at our chicken and our scientist and who these characters are that are in every episode that we never really do much with… The chicken will break loose.”

Fans who find that particular tease an unbearable torment won’t even have to wait until the six months mere-average fans must abide because starting October 25th, the creators reveal, the ENTIRE second season will be available on DVD. This includes the nine unaired episodes of the season.

When asked about the creative process of the show, the group revealed that they’re pretty much nothing that they can’t do as Adult Swim has given them carte blanche over what appears in the show. But don’t think that they take this for granted as the creators said that they have their own vetting process to sort of sift through the unworthy. But even then sometimes a good idea goes so bad that it earns its shamefaced team an Emmy nom. The clip in particular, well let’s just say it involves a couple of colorful characters. But keep in mind while you may not be able to see the disgust in black and white, trust me, it was there.

“We did an Avatar sketch,” Root says, “and we wrote this R&B jam called ‘Blue Rabbits F*cking.’ I had high hopes when it was written and then when it was recorded it sort of went to this new level.”

“And it was submitted for an Emmy,” Senreich says, “I don’t know if it was bad that we submitted it.”

But like all things great, comedy is in fact a trial and error kind of process. First you start off with a couple of short, brilliant ideas, rework them until they’re barely adequate and finally fine tune and tweak them until they’re one level above crap which of course is what you air. I’m pretty sure Root was joking when he said that their creative process was to dump all the good writing in the trash. Although that would really be unexpected and as the creators tell us, they sometimes like to throw the curveball to their audience. For example, the writers admitted to throwing a dramatic piece into an episode, saying that fans are unlikely to abandon the show for one short dramatic piece. And that seems to be true considering how wildly fans greeted their appearance at their Comic-Con panel.

No, I think as long as the creators keep cranking out more of that stuff called Robot Chicken, which by the way you can order at some restaurant in L.A., and not to mention offering NINE episodes in advance, I think that everything will be just fine.

The fifth season of Robot Chicken airs October 23rd. And if you can’t wait for the rest of the season to air, which go ahead and admit it, you can’t, the Robot Chicken 5th season DVD is due in stores October 25th.

Photos by Keshaunta Moton for Poptimal.com

White Collar Review: Introducing Agent Clinton Jones

Agent Clinton Jones usually spends a lot of time in the surveillance van, but this week he breaks out and kicks ass in this Jones-centric episode. We even get to know this good guy a bit more—he was in the Navy, went to Harvard Law and was almost married, plus we see his apartment!

The episode picks up where we left off last week with a stunned Sara looking at the treasure cam on Neal’s laptop. Neal returns to his apartment and immediately senses something’s amiss. After some discussion, she ends their relationship saying, “Neal, you live in the clouds. And I live on West 69^th.” She kisses him goodbye and leaves. Afterward, a crushed Neal looks as if he may be second-guessing the treasure.

Later Peter and Neal walk and talk, discussing their breakup in typical fashion. Neal tries to convince Peter he’s okay with it. Jones heads home from the van to get some rest but instead finds an intruder in his apartment. There is an intense fight and Jones ends up shooting the intruder in the shoulder. Agent Jones is a badass! I want to see him in action more often.

After the fight, Peter and the FBI arrive at Jones’ apartment. Jones explains the intruder was trying to take a postcard sent by one of Jones’ old Navy buddies, Jimmy Wilson (Jayson Williams). Neal quips, “cryptic postcards from old friends mean trouble.” As Neal is examining the postcard, he notices that there is a microdot under the stamp.

Jones: “Break ins. Mercenaries. Secret Messages.”

Neal: “Just another day huh?”

Peter: “Welcome to life outside the van.”

Jones explains his relationship with Jimmy—they haven’t spoken in five years, since Jones went to Harvard Law after his tour of duty and Jimmy stayed in the military. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s wife, Isabelle (Rochelle Aytes), is at the FBI to give her statement to Diana. The team notices as Jones and Isabelle share a very awkward hello and she calls him CJ. Jones reluctantly fills them in—he and Isabelle almost got married. Yet, she’s now married to one of his oldest friends…definitely breaking some friendship rules there.

Isabelle mentions a man with the alias, “Striker”, assigned Jimmy to his recent assignment at a mine in South Africa. Also, the microdot from the postcard showed a hidden annex on a map of a mine in the same area. They decide they must track down Striker to find Jimmy.

Diana reports to Peter that DC art crimes has a potential hit on a Cezanne painting from the u-boat manifest. Neal secretly records the video of this meeting on his cell phone and later shows it to Mozzie, who reads Peter’s lips about the Cezanne. Mozzie is determined to find a way to sell the art from the treasure without tipping off the FBI.

The FBI learns the manager of the mine was murdered after she reported something suspicious. Barrett Dunne, Jimmy’s employer, is holding a reception for active and retired military personnel—they decide Jones will attend with Isabelle to try to identify Striker. At the banquet Jones, looking extremely dapper in his Navy dress whites, and Isabelle discover Striker is Commander Henry Van Horn (Brady Smith).

Sidenote—guest star Brady Smith is Tiffani Thiessen’s husband in real life.

Back to the recap—outside of the banquet, Peter notices Jimmy, who says, “no one can protect me,” drops a bullet and runs away.

At the FBI office, DC art crimes sends pictures of the Cezanne painting and it is not from the u-boat manifest. After this, Neal tells Mozzie that he believes Peter still has the manifest. He heads back to the FBI office that night to check it out, but Peter is still there and they end up discussing the case—they realize the bullet Jimmy dropped is filled with a mineral from the South African mine. Peter and Neal deduce that they are smuggling the mineral in other countries to avoid taxes.

Next, Peter wants to have a face to face with Van Horn. Van Horn is one cocky individual! He really gets under Jones’ skin and I can’t say I blame him. But Jones then says to Peter, “so how are we going to get this guy?”

Peter gets a wiretap for Van Horn’s cell phone and walks out of his office. This allows Neal to snoop in Peter’s office and makes a copy of a key using his gum. From the gum, Mozzie is able to make a real copy of the key and he believes it is for a somewhat new wall safe. They plot to break into the Burke’s home and find the safe. Before they go their separate ways, Mozzie asks Neal “what’s keeping you here?” Cut to Neal walking into his apartment and sadly looking at Sara’s luggage that she left behind. Instead of staying there, he goes to Jones’ apartment and they drink, talk, and bond.

Jones: “What does having it all mean to Neal Caffrey?”

Neal: “Never having to worry about money. Doing something that’s meaningful. Being surrounded by people I care about and respect. That’s pretty much the dream.”

Jones: “Screw you…you’re already living the dream. You’re the damn dream with a tracking anklet.”

Isabelle surprises Neal by showing up at Jones’ apartment. Neal leaves the two alone and she apologizes for getting Jones involved. They end up kissing but they stop when Jones’ phone rings. It’s Peter letting them know that Barrett Dunne has kidnapped Jimmy.

Peter reveals that they intercepted an email about the kidnapping. Van Horn is holding Jimmy at the Barrett Dunne building. Neal is going to pose as a Commander in the Navy to try to locate Jimmy in the building before the FBI shows up with the warrant. He also will be wearing a gadget that will clone Van Horn’s security card so Neal can freely search the building.

The plan goes smoothly and Neal, who looks handsome in the Navy dress whites (no surprise there), believes Jimmy is being held on the 9^th floor. Peter and the FBI serve the warrant and begin to search the building. At the same time, Van Horn plans on leaving with Jimmy and disables the elevators plus jams the radios so the FBI can’t communicate with each other. He also notices Neal on his security cameras, tracks him down, and begins shooting at him with an arrow gun. Van Horn chases Neal through the building and corners him but luckily Jones shows up first to arrest Van Horn. Jones then finds and releases Jimmy. Later on, Isabelle and Jones share a private goodbye.

At the office, Jones agrees to a stakeout for that night with Peter. Neal calls Mozzie to alert him that their plan to break into the Burke’s house is a go. Moz takes Elizabeth out to an art gallery while Neal gets into the house. With Satchmo trailing him, he finds the safe in the Burke’s bedroom, cracks it, and finds the manifest plus a picture of all of them at the FBI office.

His phone rings and it’s Peter calling to check on Neal. Peter offers to talk with Neal about Sara and their relationship. Then Peter says, “I think you deserve some happiness. Whatever I can do to help you with that let me know.” They hang up and Mozzie calls to see if the manifest was in the safe. Neal obviously looks torn but shocks me by lying to Mozzie and saying the manifest wasn’t there.

Looks like what Jones said to Neal earlier about choices, that they are “sacrifices and inevitably that means giving up something you want for something you want more,” must have gotten to him. I’m happy to see Neal choosing his relationships and life in NYC over running away with the treasure.

Wow! This is without a doubt the best episode of the season so far. Jones needs to get out of the van more often! Sharif Atkins was phenomenal! Heading into the homestretch for this summer season. Two episodes left! And next week, my favorite White Collar villain, Matthew Keller (Ross McCall) returns.

Season 3, Episode 8 “As You Were” (original airdate July 26, 2011)

White Collar airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA Network.

Images courtesy of David Giesbrecht  and USA Network.

 

Hell’s Kitchen Review: Sears Of A Clown

After last week’s services that had the chefs running around like idiotic chickens with their heads cut off, the remaining fifteen cooks should have been walking on eggshells this week. Of course, egos and attitudes took center stage and the loud mouths couldn’t zip it as usual, but it’s only making it easier for Chef Ramsay to weed out the weak.

The Hell’s Kitchen clown car stopped by at the crack of dawn to scare the crap out of the cooks as they slept. It seems the punishment is getting more severe and an early morning wake up service from a gaggle of clowns is traumatizing at any age. The clowns were only a precursor for the pint-sized challenge that was in store for the contestants later that day. Because the blue team had lost three of its members so far, Ramsay demanded that someone from the red team volunteer to switch sides. After a smart deliberation, the red team thought it would be best to split up the two most irritating females of the group, Elise and Carrie. For the sake of reality television, Ramsay wouldn’t let that happen and bypassed their decision in favor of one of their best teammates, Natalie.

The teams were asked to make two simple dishes, pasta and quesadillas, at the request of the fussy diners which happened to be children today. Stupid decisions were made by the women’s team like trying to send out burnt food and thinking that they’d actually get away with it. Once again, Elise couldn’t bite her tongue when it came to Carrie, only bringing the team dynamic down further causing them to lose the first challenge. Following Ramsay’s rules and communicating properly is of grave importance here and disrespecting Gordon’s kitchen only gets you one thing: comeuppance. While the blue team was treated to a day out at Medieval Times, the losing wenches were left to clean up the sticky dining room and prepare for the dinner service later that evening.

Children’s night continued and Chino and Gina were at least relieved from the hellish kitchen heat for one dinner service, acting as waiters for the dining room. Natalie has been the angel of organization that the blue team had been praying for and her constant checking in on the other chefs kept the blue team running smoothly most of the night. Of course, it wouldn’t be Hell’s Kitchen if no one was degraded and Chino caught the brunt of it with his illegible service tickets. That was nothing in comparison to the red team who kicked the night off by making wrong, unordered entrees and further delayed sending out any food to the hungry diners. Carrie proved herself to be more than just an annoyance when she decided to send practically raw pan-seared lamb up for Gordon’s consideration, which of course then led to the red kitchen being promptly shut down. In a lesson of humility, the red team was sent dragging their feet from table to table to apologize in person for the lack of food coming from the kitchen. It was only a matter of time before it would be the red team’s turn to send someone home.

Amanda was chosen by her team because of a brief snag she encountered on the fish station during dinner service, although the team truly didn’t want her to go home. Carrie, on the other hand, was the other name the red team was itching to expunge from the roster and she was chosen as well. Ramsay’s third surprise choice was Jennifer, who had been sharing the meat station with Carrie and who he felt was partly to blame for the horrific service. The girls each stated their case as to why they should be allowed to stay in Hell’s Kitchen and, when all was said and done, shockingly Amanda was forced to give up her chef coat. I guess it would be silly to think that Carrie would go home now when the fun is just beginning. Sadly, I don’t think Hell’s Kitchen and it producers are keeping her around for her cooking abilities.

 

Season 9, Episode 4: 14 Chefs Compete (originally aired July 26, 2011)

For a look at this episode through Chef Ramsay’s speculated perspective, read “Gordon Ramsay’s Diary” by Keith Kuramoto.

Images courtesy of FOX.

Comic-Con 2011: Pacey Yourselves, Fringe Fans. He’s Back.

Unlike *some* fictional people who will go unnamed, I haven’t forgotten about one Peter Bishop. In fact, I’ve found him. At Comic-Con. Sitting right next to me. Who’d have thought?

The unannounced surprise of the Fringe panel at this year’s Comic-Con was the appearance of Joshua Jackson, whose character, Peter, essentially disappeared into oblivion at the climactic end of the season finale, remembered by no one except the audience.  Jackson arrived at the Comic-Con panel in full Observer garb, but now has quick changed and looks as if he just lost a bet to Jay Leno. Taking in his 110%, from top-to-tail denim outfit, it’s the only possible explanation, right? He artfully dodges, instead referencing his more show-based attire. “I like the Observer theory, obviously,” he chuckled of his personal Peter-theory, motioning to his Canadian Tuxedo. “I think that would be a super-cool way to bring Peter back to the show.” Normally, putting the fate of an actor’s character in a state of flux is a scary thing for the talent involved, but Jackson was actually heavily involved in choosing the fate of Peter. “It was something that we worked on together. This was one of the rare times that we built the idea together and it was something that I was all for. To be the culmination of Peter’s story, it had to be that big. The most noble sacrifice you can make is to sacrifice yourself for someone you love.”

Peter’s absence was not lost on the rest of the cast either. “Walter would still be under some condition of approval that he’s doing a good job,” explained the deep baritone of John Noble. “Particularly with Olivia. So it would be a very dysfunctional relationship where he desperately needs her approval. Which of course I’m only suggesting.” Noble is also not without his own theories behind Peter’s disappearance. “As far as I’m concerned, I think that Peter as a child existed; otherwise, why would we have split the universes?”

And really, you can’t talk about the two universes of Fringe without talking about the character alternates, of which the actors have an important if not altogether popular perspective. “The first thing you’re taught as an actor is to never judge the actions of your character and to just fight their cause,” Anna Torv said, as though defending her best friend. “The alternate Olivia isn’t bad at all.” The intricacies and complexities of these universes could have been met with resistance, but Torv feels fortunate that the show continues to stick to its guns. “The fact that they stuck with it…I’ve thanked the studio, the network, the writers, for not just giving us a taste of the alternate universe.”

While the future remains uncertain, the cast is not want of pitching their ideas. “Anything that doesn’t freeze the characters in time,” Noble confided, not meaning the analogy literally. “Human beings have growth and if [the characters] didn’t grow, I think we would cease to be as enthusiastic about them as we are. Last season was a big example of that.” While you can bet that the showrunners won’t be opposed to that idea, any others are going to have to take a back seat. The aptly titled season premiere, “A Sort-of Homecoming,” alludes that if some or all of the characters don’t know what will come of Peter, at least the audience will. “We’re going to try and recontextualize the show and turn a new chapter,” Producer J.H. Wyman explained, grounding the hyper-science of the show in an emotional reality. “If someone you grew up with didn’t exist, what impact would it have on your life? The fact that they’re not there, that they never taught you something.”

Producer Jeff Pinkerer confirmed the creative direction. “These are themes that have constantly come up in the show and now we get to dramatize it because the influence he has had on these people’s lives have now never happened. The complexities continue into the new season we tried to make the differences matter and not just be arbitrary. Most of the changes will have a historical or emotional connection. We wanted to be specific, so it was a careful selection. But it’s not ‘nothing ever happened.’ Everything did happen, they just have no concept of it…and you’ll find out the repercussions of those things now not happening.”

Fringe excels at dangling the proverbial carrot in front of its fans, keeping them hanging on wondering what, exactly, is going to happen next. Season three’s finale is perhaps the most grandiose, shocking example of that methodology and one that will continue into next season. “I love going to work every day,” beamed Wyman. No doubt, so do Olivia, Walter, and the rest of the gang. If only they could remember why…

Don’t miss the fourth season premiere of Fringe, this fall on FOX.

For more Poptimal coverage of Comic-Con 2011, click here.

Images courtesy of Poptimal.com and FOX/IMDbPro

Joshua Jackson (right) Joshua Jackson (right)	John Noble, Anna Torv (left to right) John Noble, Anna Torv (left to right)	John Noble, Anna Torv John Noble, Anna Torv
Joshua Jackson Joshua Jackson	Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole (left to right) Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole (left to right)	Joshua Jackson Joshua Jackson
	Jeff Pinkner, J.H. Wyman, Executive Producers (left to right) Jeff Pinkner, J.H. Wyman, Executive Producers (left to right)	Lance Reddick Lance Reddick
Seth Gabel, Lance Reddick (left to right) Seth Gabel, Lance Reddick (left to right)	Joshua Jackson, John Noble Joshua Jackson, John Noble	Joshua Jackson, John Noble Joshua Jackson, John Noble
Fringe Comic-con Panel, moderated by Damien Holbrook of Entertainment Weekly. Fringe Comic-con Panel, moderated by Damien Holbrook of Entertainment Weekly.	Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Anna Torv, J.H. Wyman, J.J. Abrams (left to right) Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Anna Torv, J.H. Wyman, J.J. Abrams (left to right)

Friends With Benefits Review: Surprisingly Honest

Anyone else feel a little bit confused that Friends With Benefits was being released so soon after No Strings Attached, a film with exactly the same premise? I know I was, but I also knew I would see the film because, well…Justin Timberlake.

You can never have enough, seriously.

That being said, I ended up finding a new and, in my opinion, much more honest story in Friends With Benefits.

Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is an up and coming creative designer running his own website. When GQ needs a new creative director, they hire Jamie (Mila Kunis) to bring him in for an interview. Dylan is reluctant to make the move from Los Angeles to New York City so Jaime shows him around the city she loves and, in the end, convinces him to make the move.

Since she’s the only person he knows in the city, the two become friends along the way. One night they’re watching a cheesy romance together and, as often happens between two ridiculously attractive people, they end up in bed together.

Of course, not until after they promise they want nothing from the other person besides sex.

The initial sex scene is hilarious, as Jamie coaches Dylan through a few things and the subsequent montage keeps up the honesty of the sometimes (often) strange things that happen when people spend hours in bed together. I can’t spoil it for you, but there are some very funny conversations that these two hold between the sheets.

They decide to stop having sex and go back to being friends when Jamie announces she’s ready to start dating again. She meets a doctor and begins a relationship. Dylan tries meeting women as well, but none of them are doctors. Or sane, really.

When the doctor turns out to to be a total douche and her mother (Patricia Clarkson) ditches their 4th of July plans, Dylan invites her back to L.A. to spend the holiday with his family. They take to Jamie, and as they put more and more pressure on Dylan to tell them why he insists the two of them are just friends, he snaps and blurts out that she’s too much of a head case.

Jamie, of course, overhears this and runs back to New York. She ignores his calls and texts for weeks on end, and when he finds her in person she tells him she heard everything. He responds that she’s acting like his girlfriend when they were just friends, but she reminds him he didn’t act much like a friend either.

I’m not spoiling much to tell you that eventually he comes to his senses, realizes that she’s more than his best friend, and makes everything right.

In spite of the fact that I pretty much just described the plot of many a romantic comedy, Friends With Benefits has more in common with solid favorites like When Harry Met Sally than some in recent memory. It utilizes both New York and Los Angeles to its advantage, using the cities to describe the characters who live inside them. They also employ the flash mob phenomenon in NYC more than once, which is a lovely addition. It’s rare for a director to get that a setting can be a character in a romantic comedy, but Will Gluck recognizes the significance of one person growing up in NYC and one in LA (not to say that stops him from tossing about cliches in order to get some laughs).

The characters of Jamie and Dylan have great substance and walk a believable journey from beginning to end. They don’t expect us to believe Dylan is emotionally unavailable, or that Jamie has issues with expecting a fairy tale, simply because they say so. The writers take the time to weave in backstory, to show (not tell) us the legitimate walls they’ve erected, and so it’s that much more believable when they start to come down.

One of my pet peeves (and most people’s) about romantic comedies is the unbelievability of the situations, or the relationships themselves. Often I leave a movie wondering what one earth the characters even saw in one another. I believed Timberlake and Kunis as a couple from the moment they became one, and their struggles were recognizable. Their issues are ones I’ve experienced, that we all have – that moment when someone gets close, starts to poke holes in the defenses that are keeping our hearts safe, and our first instinct is to slam the door shut.

Another piece of the puzzle that worked well for me was the comedy. While I laughed at No Strings Attached (it was very funny), even the humor in Friends With Benefits came across as raw and real. It was vulgar and inappropriate at times, but it could have been a day in my own life, in anyone’s. Woody Harrelson played a gay friend of Dylan’s, and man, he had some fantastic lines. Shaun White played himself, and he too cracked me up in both his scenes. There’s a scene involving the two of them and the Hollywood sign that is completely priceless. Timberlake has convinced me his acting chops are legitimate.

In short, this film is a surprisingly funny, touching, and honest story about two people struggling to let another human being close enough to be able to hurt them. It’s a theme and a story we can all connect with, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you make a trip to the theatre for this one.

Images Courtesy of Sony Pictures

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