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TV Review: ALCATRAZ – Season 1 – “Cal Sweeney”

By PETER BROWN 01/31/2012

Sarah Jones and Jorge Garcia in ALCATRAZ - Season 1 - "Cal Sweeney" | ©2012 Fox/Liane Hentscher

Cast: Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Sam Neill, Parminder Nagra, Jonny Coyne Writer: Elizabeth Sarnof Director: Brad Anderson Network: Fox, Airs Mondays @ 9 p.m. Original Telecast: January 30, 2012 The biggest question coming out of the “Cal Sweeney” episode of ALCATRAZ is: What’s behind door No. 1? While the episode itself was another inmate of the week returning to modern day in order to cause havoc on San Francisco, kill a whole bunch of people and steal loot. It turns out that Sweeney (the inmate in question) wasn’t just wooing lonely tellers in order to get swag but instead a […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 11 – “Auditions No. 4: Aspen”

By PETER BROWN 01/26/2012

Magic Cyclops in AMERICAN IDOL - Season 11 - "Auditions 4 - Aspen" | ©2012 Fox/Michael Becker

Cast: Ryan Seacrest, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler Network: Fox, Airs @ 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays Original Telecast: Jan. 25, 2012 So here we are again for yet another round of the same ole, same ole on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, coming from lovely Aspen, for what I believe the first time in the show’s history. First the good news, IDOL was only one hour tonight instead of the usual two. The bad news is that there was literally nothing different from the other three audition episodes other than the people singing (and for the […]Read On »

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TV Review: TOUCH – Season 1 – “Pilot” – Season Premiere

By PETER BROWN

Kiefer Sutherland, David Mazouz and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in TOUCH - Season 1 | ©2012 Fox/Brian Bowen Smith

Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, David Mazouz, Danny Glover, Gugu Mbatha-Raw Writer: Tim Kring Director: Francis Lawrence Network: Fox, airs Wednesdays @ 9 p.m. Original Telecast: Jan. 25, 2011 On the surface, Fox’s new drama TOUCH, seems like a RAIN MAN rip-off but just with a bratty kid and Jack Bauer (from 24), but it isn’t. Nor is it HEROES (as it is created by Tim Kring) with Jack Bauer as a superpowered killing machine – because that would just be too freaking awesome. This time Kiefer Sutherland isn’t running around yelling that “There’s no time!” or “Dammit!” (although he did say […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 11 – “Auditions No. 1 – Savannah” – Season Premiere

By PETER BROWN 01/19/2012

Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson on AMERICAN IDOL - Season 11 - Savannah Auditions | ©2012 Fox/Michael Becker

Cast: Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest Network: Fox, airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays @ 8 p.m. Original Telecast: Jan. 18, 2012 I found the premiere episode of the 11th season of the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, extremely amusing. No, not because of the lack of talent that was displayed traditionally, but because they focused on how many talents have come through the show in that span. I’m amused because it has been 10 years of going through these painfully bad auditions – again, not talking about the lack of talent, but the very fact that they […]Read On »

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TV Review: TERRA NOVA – Season 1 – “The Runaway”

By PETER BROWN 10/18/2011

Christine Adams in TERRA NOVA - Season 1 - "The Runaway" | ©2011 Fox/Brook Rushton

Cast: Jason O’Mara, Christine Adams, Byron Brockmann, Shelly Conn, Stephan Lang, Simone Kessell, Landon Liborion, Allison Miller Director: Jon Cassar Writers: Barbara Marshall Network: Airs on Fox, Mondays @ 8pm Original Telecast: Oct. 17, 201 So, hey, when are we getting some dinosaurs in your dinosaur TV show? TERRA NOVA was billed as a JURASSIC PARK meets LOST with a dash of AVATAR, yet for the most part this show has been dinosaur-free instead focusing on lame storylines involving the Shannon family, troubles teens have with girls (and boys), rebellious moonshine making other teens and a whole host of plotlines […]Read On »

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TV Review: TERRA NOVA – Season 1 – “What Remains”

By PETER BROWN 10/11/2011

Shelley Conn in TERRA NOVA - Season 1 - "What Remains" | ©2011 Fox/Brook Rushton

Cast: Jason O’Mara, Christine Adams, Byron Brockmann, Shelly Conn, Stephan Lang, Simone Kessell, Landon Liborion, Allison Miller Director: Nelson McCormick Writers: Byrnn Malone Network: Airs on Fox, Mondays @ 8pm Original Telecast: Oct. 10, 201 I really thought the dinosaurs in the pilot episode of TERRA NOVA were pretty good, well, as long as they didn’t move and just sat there looking big and dumb, but these last two episodes, wow, the special effects have gone from SyFy Channel quality to a notch above Ray Harryhausen. OK maybe that’s a bit harsh. Much like the special effects, the storylines in […]Read On »

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TV Review: TERRA NOVA – Season 1 – “Instinct”

By PETER BROWN 10/04/2011

Rod Hallett in TERRA NOVA - Season 1 - "Instinct" | ©2011 Fox/Brook Rushton

Cast: Jason O’Mara, Christine Adams, Byron Brockmann, Shelly Conn, Stephan Lang, Simone Kessell, Landon Liborion, Allison Miller Director: Jon Cassar Writers: Rene Echevarria, Brannon Braga Network: Airs on Fox, Mondays @ 8pm Original Telecast: Oct. 23, 2011 So I missed last week that TERRA NOVA doesn’t necessarily take place on our Earth’s past. It actually is a similar past, but in a somewhat alternate reality of our own. That’s why the dinosaurs are very similar, but different as well as the other plant and animal life. That’s especially funny given the opening animation for the show depicts all of Earth’s […]Read On »

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TV Review: THE X FACTOR – SEASON 1 – “Auditions No. 1” – Series Premiere

By PETER BROWN 09/22/2011

Steve Jones, Nicole Sherzinger, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid in THE X FACTOR - Season 1 | ©2011 Fox/

Cast: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Antonio Reid, Cheryl Cole, Nicole Scherzinger Network: Fox, airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays Original Telecast: Sept. 21, 2011 I’ve got a funny feeling going here … Simon Cowell (and his too-tight shirts and new eyeliner) and Paul Abdul (and her crying and weird clapping) doing a music competition/reality show. A bunch of talented singers and a bunch of crazies and losers. Similar audition stories and a pompous host that is more annoying than anything else. But wait … it’s still hot outside? So yeah there are a little too many familiarities to THE X FACTOR […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 10 – “Two Finalists Compete”

By PETER BROWN 05/25/2011

Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina on the Season 10 Finals of AMERICAN IDOL |©2011 Fox/Michael Becker

Cast: Ryan Seacrest, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson Network: Fox, airs Tuesday and Wednesday Original Telecast: May 24, 2011 It is the last chance to impress on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL. Either it will be country singing Scotty McCreery or country and adult contemporary singing Lauren Alaina? Maybe a better question is: Why is Seacrest is a tuxedo? Is this that big of a deal? I don’t see anyone else decked out to the nines. The three rounds are divided into 1) the favorite song of the season from the contestants 2) a song picked by […]Read On »

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CD Review: TESTAMENT original soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 05/15/2011

TESTAMENT original soundtrack | ©2011 Film Score Monthly

Film Score Monthly releases another early, auspicious score by Horner centered on youth. 1983’s TESTAMENT remains one of the saddest films the composer would score, its devastating emotional impact heightened by playing the end of the world with a near-chamber music approach. A latter-day ON THE BEACH, TESTAMENT has a family learning about a nearby atomic war, avoiding immediate devastation only to perish from the effects of radiation poisoning. Somehow, Horner hears Armageddon as a gentle Americana lullabye, his bells, flute, piano and angelic female voices making for simple, deeply affecting melodies that hush the little ones to ultimate peace. […]Read On »