Back on hiatus, sorry

Grad school has started up again for the semester, and I wasn't able to build up a buffer of content before classes resumed. I don't have the time now to write a lot of new stuff, but I hope to be able to crank out a bunch during winter break so that way next semester I can have some content for ya. I might check in with a random post here or there, if something major happens, so drop by like once a week or so just in case. Thanks for dropping by! Sorry to go dark for awhile though :-(

PCP on TV - 2013-2014 TV preview - What's on my DVR?

Once again I present to you my longest, and one of my more popular, annual posts – my 3^rd annual fall television preview. I’ve got a lot of new shows on the DVR this year, so read on and see what I’ll be watching, and maybe you’ll find some shows you’ll want to watch yourself! Note on formatting – all times listed as XE/XC means X time Eastern / X time Central, but you probably are smart enough to realize what I mean.

Debuting shows for the DVR: (11)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D – Let me think about why I’d want to watch this show.  Hmm…  Oh yeah, it’s from Joss Whedon. Really, that’s reason enough, but it also looks really darn good. Looking forward to seeing this expanded take on the Marvel Universe, plus Clark Gregg returns as Phil Coulson, despite having supposedly died off in The Avengers. I’m looking forward to seeing how they explain that, as the trailer for the show makes it look like that will be a mystery within the series. The adventures begin on Tuesday 9/24 at 8E/7C over on ABC.

Almost Human – Although not making its debut on Fox until midseason, so some time in 2014, I am very much looking forward to this sci-fi police show about a pair of cops – Karl Urban & Michael Ealy, one of which is human, and one is an android. It has a lot of potential. Plus Karl Urban is awesome, so I’m pretty much sold right there.

Betrayal – This is a show my wife is more interested in watching than I am, but I owe her considering how much sci-fi there is this year. It is a soapy tale of powerful families and double crosses, or something. Debuts on ABC on Sunday 9/29 at 10E/9C.

Dracula – I really enjoyed Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ performance as the debauched King Henry VIII on The Tudors, so I am also very much looking forward to his portrayal of Dracula this fall on NBC. Too bad I have to wait until October 25^th for the show to debut, it airs Friday nights at 10E/9C.

Hostages – This limited run show (only 15 episodes, I think) about a doctor who has her family kidnapped, right before she goes to operate on the President, looks like it is going to be a pretty taut thriller. The great cast (Toni Collette & Dylan McDermott) help as well. Premieres for CBS on Monday 9/23 at 10E/9C.

Ironside – NBC is trying its luck again at the reboot well, bringing back a popular show from the late 60s/early 70s about a paralyzed cop and his team that helps him solve crimes. Blair Underwood stars as the title character, and the show debuts on October 2 at 10E/9C.

The Originals – This spinoff from the Vampire Diaries, a show we already watch, is a no-brainer to add to the schedule. Even if the show doesn’t do as well as its parent, you can bet that some of the events here will impact the events in the other show, so you kind of have to watch both anyways. It debuts October 15 at 8E/7C over on the CW.

Reign – A soapy show set in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, this show looks like it’s going to be The Tudors with less sex and nudity, for a younger crowd.  My wife and I will give this one a shot, but we’re already kind of meh on it, so if it isn’t good it will be cut from the rotation pretty quick. Debuts on October 17 at 9E/8C on the CW.

Sleepy Hollow – The wife and I always enjoy a good supernatural show. I hope it’s good! Debuts September 16^th on Fox at 9E/8C.

The Tomorrow People – Yet another show on the CW, our most DVR’d network, this one is set in the future and focuses on youth that have evolved to have new abilities and powers. It is based on a popular British series, apparently. It comes out on October 9^th at 9E/8C.

Trophy Wife – Malin Akerman stars as a trophy wife in a very dysfunctional family. She’s pretty funny, so I hope this ABC comedy works out for her. Premieres 9/24 at 9:30E/8:30C.

Continue after the jump for more new shows, and what's returning!

PCP on DVD - Goon

I like to enjoy the occasional sports movie, as a sports fan myself. This entry into the sporting films pantheon is actually quite enjoyable, and at 92 minutes isn't that long either.

Goon - 2012, rated R.  My rating: 7 out of 10

Goon tells the story of an unlikely hockey player, Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott), loosely based on the true story of pro hockey player Doug Smith. Glatt is a bouncer at a bar, who happens to be able to fight better than pretty much everyone, and can also take a pounding himself. He is recruited onto a minor league team despite the fact that he can barely skate, after getting into a fight (and winning) with players on the team. He goes through a training montage to learn how to actually play hockey, but he has been primarily recruited to the league for one reason and one reason only, to be a goon, aka the enforcer for the team that fights players on the other team, brought onto the ice to fire up his teammates and help them win.

Along the way he encounters Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber), a soon to be retiring goon that Glatt looks up to on the ice, and you know pretty obviously (since they're on different teams) that sooner or later the two of them will have to have an epic hockey fight. And epic it is, along with all of the other hockey action scenes. The film is also very funny. Overall, if you are a sports fan I strongly encourage you to check this one out!

PCP on DVD - Journey 2 the Mysterious Island

I don't remember where I saw it online, but somewhere I saw Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson referred to as "franchise viagra" due to him being added to franchise films and them enjoying more success than the original film. He's been added to the GI Joe, Fast & Furious, and the Journey franchises just within the past couple of years. As a former pro wrestling fan, I'll pretty much watch anything that he shows up in. Unfortunately, sometimes that winds up being a waste of my time.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - 2012, rated PG. My rating: 5.5 out of 10

Journey 2 picks up after the previous film in the series, Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser. This time Fraser is nowhere to be found, & The Rock has replaced him as the action hero father figure at the center of the movie, taking care of Josh Hutcherson as his new stepdad. They have to go and try and find Josh's grandfather, Michael Caine, who has stranded himself on a lost island.

The film is definitely a family film, with its low stakes plot and action-packed sequences that were designed to be viewed in 3D, but without any overt violence or gore. My son is a bit too young for it now, but I'm sure he'd enjoy this when he gets older. For me though, it was just too predictable and boring to be a winner, but it wasn't absolutely horrible either. It was just mundane. I wouldn't watch it again, unless it were with my son when he is old enough. You could probably miss this yourself and you wouldn't miss much.

Happy Labor Day!

No post today, I'm too busy celebrating the holiday weekend. Happy Labor Day! Check back Wednesday for more content! In the meantime, maybe take some time on this Labor Day to write your Representative in Congress or the Senate to tell them to raise the minimum wage? The whole point of the minimum wage is to keep people out of poverty, something the current rate is failing spectacularly at.