#Stellar TV Network

[redcarpetview]

GOSPEL’S MUSIC BIGGEST NIGHT TALENT UPDATES REVEALED FOR THE 38th ANNUAL STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS SHOW, SET TO RETURN TO BET NETWORKS ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 6 AT 8 P.M. ET.

Nominee Lena Byrd Miles (Emerging Voices). Photo courtesy of The Front Page Firm.

      The 38th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards is gearing up to be a spectacular celebration of Gospel music's finest talent with an impressive lineup of performers and presenters. Updates to the scheduled participants include an exceptional Reunion Tour preview performance featuring Gospel superstars Kirk Franklin, Israel Houghton, and Tye Tribbett. This highly anticipated performance will captivate audiences and create an unforgettable moment in Gospel music history. In addition to premiering on Stellar TV Network on Sunday, July 30, the show will also return to BET Networks, premiering on Sunday, August 6 at 7 p.m. CT.

        Audiences can also look forward to powerhouse performances by Charles Jenkins, DOE, Dottie Peoples, Isaac Carree, Jevon Dewand and The TrapStarz, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Lena Byrd Miles (Emerging Voices), Naomi Raine, Natalie Grant, Maranda Curtis, Pastor Mike Jr., Tim Bowman Jr. & Faith City Music, Bishop S.Y. Younger (Emerging Voices), Zacardi Cortez, Victory (Emerging Voices), and Zak Williams and 1 Akord.

       Presenters for the evening include Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Marvin Sapp, Lady Tramaine Hawkins, Brian Courtney Wilson, Erica Campbell, Isabel Davis, James Fortune, Koryn Hawthorne, Jason Clayborn, NOTKARLTONBANKS, Pastor Shirley Caesar and Travis Greene.

        Nominee P J Morton. Photo courtesy of The Front Page Firm.

           As previously announced, this year’s Stellar Awards telecast is co-hosted by Jonathan McReynolds and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. It will bestow special honors upon several iconic figures who contributed significantly to the genre. CeCe Winans will receive the prestigious Aretha Franklin Icon Award, recognizing her exceptional talent and enduring impact. Reverend Dr. Milton Biggham will be honored with the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his lifetime dedication to spreading the uplifting message of Gospel music. Additionally, Dr. Bobby Jones will be presented with the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award, acknowledging his outstanding contributions and influential career.

      "We are thrilled to premiere the 38th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards Show on BET Networks," said a spokesperson from BET. "This year's lineup of performers and honorees is exceptional, and we are excited to bring this incredible celebration of Gospel music to our viewers. It will be an unforgettable night of uplifting performances and well-deserved recognition."

   

Don't miss the telecast of the 38th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards Show on BET Networks on Sunday, August 6, at 7 pm CT. Prepare to be inspired and uplifted by the outstanding performances and heartfelt moments that define Gospel music.

      For more information about the Stellar Gospel Music Awards Show and other Stellar events, please visit www.stellarawards.com. Stay updated with the latest news by following @thestellars on Instagram and Twitter or Stellar Gospel Music Awards on Facebook.

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[ponett]

could i bother you for your general opinion on venture bros, having watched it recently? i've been interested in it and know it has devoted fans, but most of the fans i see have been so for a long time- and i haven't been sure if the less-than-stellar aspects of it would be worth tolerating as someone with no pre-existing nostalgia for it. you're very good at offering nuanced thoughts, so i thought i'd ask. thanks!

i ended up loving the show, but it definitely has a lot of jokes in earlier seasons that haven't aged well, as is the case for basically any adult comedy series from the '00s. racial stereotypes that are probably intending to mock the racial stereotypes in the jungle adventure shows they're parodying but don't always hit the mark, jokes where characters speculate about whether or not dr. girlfriend is trans because of her voice, a minor recurring character who's a parody of the thing who's an extremely crude ableist stereotype (and also for a stretch of multiple seasons it feels like they had a quota to say the R slur at least once an episode), the pedophilia jokes with sergeant hatred, etc.

the thing is, like i said, it's kind of just what i expect for a comedy series from the '00s? obviously there was shit like south park, and the early seasons of always sunny loved to try and push the envelope, but even TV-14 network sitcoms like scrubs or the office had these sorts of issues. it's there, and you should be braced for it if you're gonna watch the show, but it feels like it revels in "politically incorrect" shock humor WAY less than a lot of concurrent comedy central and adult swim shit did. it's worlds apart from something like drawn together, which is just unwatchable. and most importantly it isn't trying to drive home some sort of insufferable libertarian moral, unlike south park. it just has some jokes i roll my eyes at

thankfully, as the show went on a lot of this was toned down and/or phased out entirely. but even in the front half of the show there were consistently tons of jokes that hit the mark for me, and i found the gradual shift towards more dramatic storytelling (without sacrificing the humor) really, really engaging. henchman 21 gets singled out as a character with an incredible arc, but i also loved seeing hank and dean go from being bumbling hardy boys parodies whose irrelevance was always the butt of the joke to being characters i actually cared about. and if you like superhero stuff at all, their take on organized supervillainy where it's effectively a union job where you're assigned an arch nemesis to torment is a lot of fun. the show just really gets how fun it is to follow the daily lives of over-the-top supervillains

there are a lot of comedy shows from that era i just can't go back to, but watching the venture bros. for the first time in 2023 i had a really good time

[leliosinking]

I really don’t care about Funko but I’m seeing a lot of “WHY NOT THE SHOW?” posts so I thought I’d help.

You have to understand, Funko did not approach WB looking for an IwtV license. Funko is a Goliath in the toy industry, they are no longer in a position where they need to actively seek out licenses, instead studio merchandizing departments come to them. Essentially WB commissioned Funko to make IwtV Pops for their “WB 100th Anniversary” merch collection. So remove the notion that “Funko chose the movie over the show” from your head. That’s just not a factor in how merchandising deals like this work.

“But I thought WB lost the VC rights?” WB lost the rights to continue making new adaptations of VC novels, but they will always own the rights to the two films and the musical that they made. For example they just licensed a QotD shirt run with Studiohouse Designs a few months ago (mine arrived yesterday!) And they can continue doing that for years to come. They own their movies.

“Well where is the Lestat figure?” Honestly, this is just a guess, but Tom Cruise is very fickle about his likeness being reproduced, so most likely he objected to having a figure made outright, OR it wasn’t worth the cost to pursue it. That said, if these IwtV figures sell well I wouldn’t be surprised if WB goes ahead and commissions a second run of Vampire Chronicles Pops based on QotD’s Lestat and Akasha (if they haven’t already). They are very aware of the AMC show and how much renewed interest it has created in their older films, so expect them to continue capitalizing on them.

(Tbh with AMC+ continuing to pull less than stellar numbers, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a larger studio swoop in and purchase the entire network very soon, and WB Discovery is looking to expand… but that’s a conversation for another time)

So if you’re mad that the TV series is not being represented: place your blame with AMC. (We all know the merch for the show has been horrendous) so keep tweeting at them and make sure they hear that you want better merchandise. AMC has a long standing relationship with Funko, just like WB. If you want show pops make sure they know!

[woodaba]

We Wouldn't Have Alan Wake II Without Quantum Break

Remember Quantum Break? The first game announced for the Xbox One? The link between cult classic Alan Wake and surprising studio-saving hit Control? That prominently features Lance Reddick, the much-missed actor who was frequently one of the most electric screen presences of our time?

Don't worry, I barely do either, and I played the game yesterday.

So, a refresher. Quantum Break, announced in 2013 alongside the Xbox One and released three years later, is a third-person shooter starring Shawn Ashmore aka Iceman from the X-Men movies as Jack Joyce (and not Jake Joyce as I constantly remembered him as. In my defense, it's a better name, if only because then his superhero name could be Quantum Jake...), who, after being turned into A Remedy Entertainment Protagonist after a time-travel experiment gone wrong, battles against fellow Remedy Entertainment Protagonist Aidan Gillen aka Doctor Pavel I'm CIA as Paul Serene, over what to do about an imminent apocalypse after Time starts Breaking because of the aforementioned time-travel experiment.

As a rehabilitating former Doctor Who obsessive, I'm particularly open to this kind of time-travel nonsense, but Quantum Break is frustratingly unwilling to capitalize on its own premise. Interesting things happen, sure: people get stuck in causality loops, confront and become acausal time monsters, and live entire second lives in the past after time-traveling, but almost none of it occurs to Jack Joyce: he just spends his time just shooting guys in a series of warehouses and offices. Quantum Break is a potentially interesting story that we don't really get to see anything of, instead anything compelling in the narrative is relayed to us second-hand, by the myriad emails and documents scattered throughout the gunfights, or over the radio, and, of course, Remedy's now-signature multimedia ambitions.

In between acts of the video game Quantum Break, you'll be treated to episodes of the TV show Quantum Break, a live-action c-tier circa-2009 network TV production starring some of the big(ish) names that headline the game Quantum Break, but mostly follows a cast of extras who navigate around the events of the game while working for baddie Paul Serene's Evil Corporation, Monarch.

It's in the TV show that what Quantum Break actually is begins to take shape. Remedy, as a studio, has always been interested - and unusually adept at - pastiche, whether it's the noir comic stylings of their still-astonishing Max Payne duology or the rickety but deeply charming Stephen King love-in that is Alan Wake. And here, they do a genuinely stellar job at replicating the look, feel, and sensibilities of a 2008-2013 network TV Lost/Fringe rip-off that gets canceled after one season.

That may sound backhanded, but I assure you it isn't. I've long been a fan of Remedy, in spite of, or perhaps because I don't think they've made a truly great game since Max Payne 2. In a medium that often pillages relentlessly from Film and TV, Remedy set themselves apart from their competition with the depth of their understanding of the production of film, bringing into games a deftness of set construction and filmic pacing that blows their contemporaries out of the water. Even more-lauded names like Naughty Dog and Rockstar come up short against Alan Wake's hauntingly gorgeous misty woods, best illustrated with Rockstar's Max Payne 3, which matched Remedy's cinematographical flair in the cutscenes, but fell far short of their level design chops and breadth of influences.

Quantum Break is, in aesthetics and production, a genuinely extremely well-considered pastiche of this period of sci-fi television that is now comfortably in the rear-view mirror, the time since its release having given it a real nostalgic charm that would have been dulled at the time of release. It really reminded me of the years I spent watching shows like Heroes, or Flash/Forward, shows that may not have been very good, but are intoxicatingly emblematic of their time and place, hiding just beneath the floorboards of the shows that would actually get to be remembered.

It's a shame, then, that it just fails to really compel on any level beyond appreciation for the pastiche.

Much like the gameplay, the TV episodes of Quantum Break feel almost ancillary to another, better story that we never get to see. The stars of the game feel wasted here - particularly Lance Reddick, one of my favorite actors, who steals the show every time he appears, but is given vanishingly little to do in comparison with a group of wafer-thin characters that struggle to manifest a single dimension, with relational at best connection to the concerns of the narrative. It looks like a particularly budget-strapped episode of Warehouse 13, sure, but it doesn't really feel like one, as the episodes - until the last one, which is a noticeable improvement - are shockingly paceless and devoid of the arcs that would make a singular episode of television compelling. They are, ultimately, primarily dreary, overlong, and constantly highlighting the fact that they are largely interstitial filler.

It would be wrong to accuse Remedy of not having their heart in Quantum Break, as there is too much evident passion to discount, but I do feel like they struggle to find a core to this idea, something that they truly want to explore. Whether I'm playing the game or watching the show, QB leaves everything on the surface, with nothing to really find beneath the surface. It's notable that the game is absolutely filled with constant allusions to Alan Wake - including a full-blown trailer found on a TV moments after starting the game that bears startling resemblance to the eventual plot of this year's Alan Wake II - and that the game started life as a pitch to Microsoft for Alan Wake II: one suspects that they would much rather be making that game at this moment in time than Quantum Break, or that the game is a test-bed of ideas for the studio's future, the act of throwing a thousand darts at a quantum dartboard, and seeing which ones find their mark. It's just that for this effort, precious few of them do.

And yet, the surprise is that by the end, I truly felt like Remedy was genuinely onto something with the spirit of Quantum Break's ideas, if not the execution of them. The television show is the thing that makes Quantum Break live, that marks it out as something worth remembering in a sea of slick third-person shooters with cinematic ambitions. It is the icon of the foundational belief of the Xbox One, that the future of games lay in a synthesis with television, a dead-end future that had already worn out by the time the game was actually released. What remains is little more than a gimmick, sure, but it is one that, by the end, is oddly compelling, even if most of it is terrifically boring to actually experience.

There is a genuine thrill to seeing characters in both video game graphics and live-action forms, shifting between the two seamlessly thanks to some genuinely well-realized digitized actors that still look good today, a shift that blends well with the time-space bending of the plot. Do I care about Jack Joyce, as a person? Not even slightly. Did I still grin when I saw Actual Shawn Ashmore briefly appear in the TV episodes after controlling Virtual Shawn Ashmore? Absolutely. It's the same kind of shallow thrill you get from Cheers allumni showing up for a visit in Frasier, or when the Torchwood crew talk around the presence of Mr. Doctor Who, Esq, but as something that works with what the game is doing rather than distracting your attention elsewhere.

The gameplay portions represent time breaking down with (genuinely cool, if shallow) shards of space and glass and stuttering loops of physical time, but the collision of the Real and the Virtual feels so much more effective in communicating the idea of time and space shattering and colliding into one another. I just wish it played in this space more, focusing on Ashmore, Reddick, Monaghan, and Hope, rather than the cast of goons and extras who feel wholly separated from the game until the final mission.

I'd like to say that I'd love Remedy to take another crack at this idea, with the lessons they've learned from Control and Alan Wake II, but that already feels like a fool's hope. The ballooning costs of video game development make the idea of filming an entire TV mini-series alongside it feel laughable. Sure, Control's live-action segments were plentiful and superbly produced, but they were also far more restrained than Quantum Break, focusing on short segments with one non-big-name actor each in a couple of highly reusable sets. With both this and its open-world, side-questing structure with plenty of loot and upgrades to collect, Control is something largely in line with the realities and productions of modern game development

Quantum Break isn't rooted in reality for even a second. It's a time-locked instant, the most 2015 game ever made, which makes it all the better that it came out in 2016. There's no future in what Quantum Break envisions. It's a failed experiment, something to shrug at and move on. And yet, it compels me regardless, despite the fact that I don't really like it.

We need games like this, I feel. Historical curios like this show that the shifting landscape of the medium isn't a straight line, it splits off into splintered fraying timelines, some leading to nothing, but others spilling back in unexpected ways. After all, Courtney Hope, who played Beth Wilder here, returned for the starring role in Control, and that game feels so keenly like the product of lessons learned from QB, with everything from the live-action segments, the document-reading, and the combat feeling like a progression from Remedy's previous work. In particular, my complaints about QB's narrative taking place almost entirely off-screen evolves into a hugely compelling aspect of Control, with the genuine highlight of that game being reading the endless documents detailing the horrors and nightmares of America transcribed into corporate mundanity.

And while I've only played a taster of Alan Wake II, there's no doubt in my mind that that game, a bona-fide critical darling the likes of which Remedy hasn't had since Max Payne 2, owes a great debt to QB. Not least because its engine provides the framework for the game, but also because, well, it's been in there, this whole time.

Waiting for The Return.

[likeadaydreamorafever]

Mischa Sunday Telegraph Interview

Why Mischa Barton said yes to surprise role on Neighbours

She was the star of the hottest teen drama of the noughties, but The O.C’s Mischa Barton shocked everyone when she signed on to the revival of Aussie soap Neighbours. Now she exclusively reveals to Stellar why she gave up work in the US for a show she’d never seen in suburban Melbourne.

After starring in the hottest teen drama of the noughties and being idolised for her every fashionable move, Mischa Barton surprised everyone when she signed up for some suburban drama on Australia’s most famous cul-de-sac in a revival of Neighbours. But then the British-born, US-based actor – who started her career on the stage and in soap operas – has never relished the role Hollywood chose for her. In an exclusive interview with Stellar, the 37-year-old recalls being cast in The O.C. because she “wasn’t anything like the other young blonde girls going in and trying out” and reveals how she’s taken charge of her own narrative.

Craning her neck forward, Mischa Barton lets out a squeal of excitement as she hears the first bars of Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis’ 1989 single ‘Don’t It Make You Feel Good’ emanate from a mobile phone. “I’m adding that to my playlist!” she exclaims with a throaty laugh, before plotting how she will tease Dennis on the Neighbours set the next day, her first suggestion being that she might just broadcast the tune loudly in her dressing room.

While Barton was a fan of Kylie Minogue before joining the Neighbours cast, she was far less familiar with the era-typifying swerve into pop music made by Dennis (who has been playing the show’s “villain” Paul Robinson since 1985), let alone its reputation for turning out future Australian music superstars. As such, she can confidently say it’s “very, very unlikely” that her 10-week stint on Ramsay Street was motivated by a secret desire to follow in the footsteps of Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem or even Dennis.

So if not music, then what did prompt the former star of the early 2000s teen drama The O.C. to say yes to a stint in suburban Melbourne working on a show that she has never seen, and that has no cultural footprint in the US, where she lives?

Certainly for Network 10, adding Barton to the cast was a shrewd move to create buzz when the series returns later this month, resurrected just over a year after its 37-year run came to an end and also airing for the first time in the US and Canada via Amazon’s streaming service Freevee (as well as streaming in Australia and New Zealand on Amazon Prime). For Barton, who wasn’t yet born when Neighbours debuted in 1985, it was a serendipitous chance to try something new, as well as reconnect with some old friends in Australia.

When Stellar spoke to Barton in June, a week before she returned to the US, she explained the role had “come at a really good time, because while I was loving living in New York, there’s a writers’ strike on. And it’s [Northern Hemisphere] summertime. So there’s really not that much work going around for a lot of my actor friends.”

Of course, the Hollywood actors’ strike – which was called in mid-July – has also compounded the issue for Barton’s fellow actors. However, practicality and picket lines aside, the real lure for Barton was the role of Reece Sinclair, a wealthy American who arrives in Erinsborough under the guise of doing business – but in reality, has a much more personal agenda to fulfil. “And then she falls for a guy,” Barton says with a smile. “It actually just felt like a very good fit for me in terms of a role I could really play. And I don’t always feel that way with television.”

Her sentiment is understandable given the 37-year-old’s most high-profile project since leaving The O.C. in 2006 was her surprising gear-shift into reality TV on The Hills: New Beginnings. A sequel to the popular MTV series that followed the daily lives of TV personalities Brody Jenner, Audrina Patridge, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, it was sold to her as an opportunity to let people see “the real Mischa Barton”. Ultimately, she felt let down by the process.

“Would I do it again? Probably not something like The Hills,” Barton tells Stellar. “I think they’re even continuing to try to do it, but it just wasn’t really all the things that were promised around it, like clearing up any misconceptions or getting people to know you. There are just people putting

on too many fronts and they’re not being themselves. So if people aren’t being themselves, it’s impossible because I’m used to having a script. That middle ground is just too trying for me. It’s partially scripted but it’s not, but they can’t really say that. So it wasn’t my favourite experience.

“But I’ve never been attracted to that kind of fame, either,” she adds. “It’s not something that I chase. I actually veer away from it.”

Fame has long been an uncomfortable by-product of Barton’s chosen career. Asked whether she’s grateful to have become a celebrity in an era when smartphones couldn’t capture her every move, Barton sighs wearily. “You can always play the grass is greener thing, and I just don’t feel that way,” she says. “I mean, in a sense, it would have been much easier for me if there had been social media to combat all the ludicrous stories in the press. Now, kids can really show their own narrative. You can use your own social media to be whoever you want to be.”

She qualifies her reply after a brief pause: “At the same time, I don’t really love social media. So I’m fine with having come up in a time when it wasn’t around and things were, in one sense, a lot simpler.”

That’s why, rather than opting for a luxury hotel suite, Barton relished staying in a relatively humble cottage nestled behind Melbourne’s bustling Chapel Street for the duration of her time filming Neighbours. There, she could cook meals for friends, do her own laundry and, when her schedule allowed, walk to the Prahran Market to pick up fresh fruit and veg. She also found time to indulge in a bit of shopping, and admits that she would be going home with far heavier suitcases than when she arrived. “I really liked a vintage store I found there,” she says of Chapel Street, which is known for its eclectic mix of high-end boutiques and second-hand clothing markets. “I did a lot of damage in there.”

Filming in Australia meant such excursions could be enjoyed without being recognised or photographed, and added a layer of protection for Barton, who has learnt the tricks to staying incognito – the easiest being to steer clear of bars and clubs where people inevitably want selfies.

Avoiding unwanted attention wasn’t always so easy. When The O.C. first aired in 2003, it catapulted Barton and the rest of her young co-stars into a searing spotlight of adulation and attention. For someone who had been acting steadily since she was eight – making her screen debut in the US soap opera All My Children in 1994, and going on to appear in two of the biggest films of 1999, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller The Sixth Sense and Richard Curtis’ hit romance Notting Hill – the sudden and frenzied interest in both The O.C. and her personal life was a shock to the system.

“I was 17 or 18 and it was a very specific kind of fame,” Barton recalls. “Most actors, they can work their whole lives and have a very normal level of notoriety or fame. But, for some reason, The O.C. was just one of those things. It was a time and a place, and it just took off in a very different direction. It was kind of an uncontrollable beast. But I’ve been in this industry for a long time and managed, for a large portion of it, to get away with just living a very normal life.”

Both Barton and her character, rich girl Marissa Cooper, became fashion icons of the time, with the actor regularly centre stage on red carpets and front row at fashion weeks, while young girls everywhere mimicked her onscreen style of low-slung jeans and spaghetti-strap tops.

Recalling her time in the fashion spotlight and the pressures to look a certain way in Hollywood, she says she’s “learnt how to get away from it. I don’t really live in LA anymore, so I don’t put myself under that constant scrutiny and pressure. I’ll only dip into [the Hollywood scene] when I feel like it’s healthy and something I want to do.”

Even so, Barton recalls how a “bizarre amount” of people found it hard to separate the British-born and New York-raised Barton from the quintessential Californian teenager she portrayed. “People were obsessed with Marissa Cooper,” she says. “I’d get sent a lot of [scripts] that are rehashes of her. And I was always like, ‘Do you not realise that’s actually not something I like to play?’ I didn’t really enjoy having to play that character. I had to find my own version of Marissa and I think the real reason I was cast is because I wasn’t really anything like the other young blonde girls going in and trying out for it.”

Barton left the show in its third season in 2006, when Marissa died in a shocking car crash. The series’ creator Josh Schwartz recently told Vanity Fair that he regretted killing off her character, saying he wished he’d found a way to give Barton “the break she needed and wanted that still would’ve allowed for that character to return”.

Fans say The O.C. never recovered from Barton’s departure, but the death scene – in which Marissa’s body is carried from the flames by her longtime love Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) – is etched into TV history.

“I’ve only just rewatched that scene recently,” Barton admits. “I never watched it after I did it because there was really no reason to, but I just did the podcast [Welcome To The OC, Bitches!, hosted by her former co-stars Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke, who played her best friend Summer Roberts and mother Julie Cooper] and we rewatched it together, and it was weirdly emotional. I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot the car is on fire.’ And I forgot there’s no music playing for once in the show. It was done in a really interesting way.”

Despite the enduring affection the public still has for the series, Barton isn’t sure that a reboot of The O.C. would work for audiences today. “It’s not like it hasn’t come up before, but obviously, I’m dead,” she says with a smile. “Honestly, it’s more likely to work as an offshoot of it or something based around those characters that’s not exactly the same, rather than trying to simply resurrect them. You’d have to think outside the box if you want to resurrect The O.C. culture or characters.”

And while The O.C. featured former Neighbours co-star Alan Dale, who played his screen dad and is one of his good mates, Dennis had never seen the US series. He was only aware that Barton – or, as he knew her, “the vomiting girl from The Sixth Sense” – was coming to Ramsay Street.

“[I thought], ‘Oh, here we go, they’ve cast a Hollywood hero to show us how it’s done,’” Dennis admits to Stellar. “There was a cautious shyness initially as she was alone on the other side of the world, thrown into a building full of people she didn’t know and working day-by-day in a show she didn’t know or understand the way it worked. This cautious shyness was misread by me. I now like to think we have cemented a long-term friendship.”

Another castmate, Annie Jones (who rejoined the show in 2020, reprising her 1980s character Jane Harris), was equally impressed by Barton, enthusing that she brought a “beautiful, serene calmness to the set. It’s great for the show to have someone of Mischa’s calibre on it. She was gorgeous. Everyone loved her.”

And while Barton may be back in the US as Neighbours returns to air, she tells Stellar she remains excited that – unlike her very final departure from The O.C. – the door has been left open for a return. And the plot wheels are already turning in her head, as Barton teases, “Reece might pop up on FaceTime from New York.”

[hologramcowboy]

Did you see the news?

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/jensen-ackles-daneel-ackles-first-look-tv-deal-amazon-1235592800/

The Ackles and Chaos Machine were previously under a first-look deal at Warner Bros. Television. It was reported in October 2022 that they had extended the WBTV deal for another two years, but they have now exited that deal for Amazon.

According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the Ackles and WBTV parted ways on good terms and any projects Chaos Machine had in development with their now former studio home remain in the works. The WBTV deal was solely a producing deal, while the Amazon deal covers both acting and producing.

I'm curious as to your general thoughts about this and also want to know, with this first look including acting and producing, does that mean they'll likely shop projects with Jensen as the lead?

Yikes. Jensen and loyalty just never go together, huh?

I'm very happy for him, it seems like Amazon plans to include him in their productions. This might mean career advancement tier wise but it might also mean being limited at a certain level. We'll see what they cast him in.

As for Chaos, sorry but unless some highly brilliant people step in and steer it right I don't give it more than a year. He absolutely could produce his own dream roles but to do it he needs to put in the required prep and homework. Sadly, I think he's more focused on giving Danneel a pretend day job than he is on actually delivering something of high quality that will create a career breakthrough.

One thing's for certain, his networking surely paid off. Amazon isn't hiring him for his acting skills, he's not that stellar. They are hiring him because they like him which means he network intelligently.

As for Danneel, I'm sure she has a whole library of "talking points" on how she did this and that as a producer lol, all you have to do is ask her a technical question about actual producing and watch her plastic face deflate before your very eyes. She's a poser and a leech.

[amazable01]

JRWI actor AU

JRWI is basically a tv channel w/ various shows they produce over time, and the actors are all chill. The episodes are all funded by public contributions, so the eps are free to watch

(main characters share the first name of their actor, generally, and there may be some spoilers here and there)

(if ya'll like this, might make an ask blog or somethin)

RIPTIDE

Prime time show for the network

Highly funded and produced

The prequel movie "Black Rose Pirates" was extremely successful and ended up making the three leads very famous and they do a lot of work outside of the shows

Chip:

Chip is a newer actor who got the job through his stellar audition and his insanely good chemistry with the other leads. On set he's the most chaotic member of the crew and often adlibs a lot of his lines that aren't important for the authentic feel. Off camera, he's the sweetest member of the cast, always willing to help out and do whatever is needed to help the other actors or the crew out.

Jay:

Jay was a child actress before this show, and fit right in under the role of Ferin. Works with Drey pretty often to create lore for her character, and Jay is the most likely to take interviews and talk at lengths about herself and the issues on set. Her personality is generally the same as it is on screen, though Jay is a bit more relaxed off camera and enjoys taking her days off when she can.

Gillion:

No one is quite sure where the management found Gillion, only that he's a distant relation to Finn and the two talk extensively off camera about the life of an actor. Gil is the most reclusive of the three leads, though that doesn't mean he's cruel or he doesn't do premiers or anything. Everyone who knows Gil says he's a delight, and his private socials seem to indicate the same.

Prime Defenders

Prime Defenders is a pretty popular recurring series

Went on hold both between seasons and also for an unknown "issue" on set

The "Prime Force" movie was a big deal for the comic enjoyers, and the series works with both the original creators of the movie and other comic writers to produce PD

Dakota:

Dakota is the youngest actor by far in the JRWI lineup, but he's probably the most talented. His personality is very different on and off set, and he's a very dedicated actor who will do whatever in his power to make sure he's doing the character right. Generally pretty chill off camera, though, and while he does some interviews and stuff, his private life is kept pretty secret.

William:

William fought for his role on set, and only though very difficult auditions did he even get a callback. This fighting kept him from getting complacent in his role, and he never takes a moment on set or in character for granted. He is actually dating Vyncent, and a lot of the relationship chemistry slips into the character acting, which makes for a lot of the relationship scenes on screen.

Virion:

Vyncent is one of the few actors on the show who actually knows the comics, and was a huge fanboy of the Prime Force and Elementals movies before he was cast. He has a fun time playing around with references and adlibs, and working on his character's personality when he's not on screen. He's also a bit of a mess sometimes, but he tries his best to make the show as good as it can be.

Apotheosis

The first finished series by JRWI

Took over during the sudden PD break

Was originally made to be a dramatic adaptation of the book series known as "Apotheosis", but it took a more lighthearted spin for the dark, depressing, and controversial story

Peter:

Peter is one of Chip's cousins who was pretty down on his luck before he got the job. His acting confidence grew alongside his character, which helped to sell the pitiful character that people fell in love with. It's not known what Peter plans to do after the series' end, though it's rumored that his relationship with Elaina was a bit more real than expected, and that he might work on another project soon.

Rumi:

Elaina is an actress known for their reputation of playing pretty characters, so it was no surprise when they were cast as Rumi. While on camera and in character they seem rather pushy and somewhat manipulative, when they're out of character Elaina is the sweetest person ever. It's rumored they're taking a break to settle down from acting for a bit, though they've kept it a secret on why.

Thanatos:

Thanatos was mostly picked for his work in puppeteering and playing robots and other large suits, which made him pretty popular throughout the industry. He has worked on many JRWI productions before as various side characters, but his wit and characterization of Thanatos made him very popular. It's suspected Thanatos has signed on to work as something else at JRWI, but it's not been disclosed.

Other Shows

JRWI was going to do a live action adaptation of the show "Mythborne", but didn't get funding past the pilot

They work on crossovers often, and try to include fanservice when they can

It's hinted a new horror series is on the horizon, but what it is and the characters involved remains to be seen

[lo-diehards]

NBC's Law & Order Franchise -- A Franchise in Disarray

NBC's Law & Order franchise (which started with the original series in 1990) has seen numerous changes over the years, but in this post-COVID-19 era of television, some of these new changes are not for the good.

The Law & Order 2022 reboot is lacking what made it's original run legacy television, Special Victims Unit lost a beloved show runner/executive producer (Warren Leight who decided the leave at the end of season 23) and cast member (Kelli Giddish, who was fired at the start of season 24, which later resulted in controversy as details of her firing came to light), and Organized Crime which has had a revolving door of show runners/executive producers since it's inception BEFORE it even made it to air.

I'm going to start in sequential order in which negative change [IN MY OPINION] came into play with this once beloved TV franchise that was once taglined by critics and press as "Must See TV/Most Watched Television"

Please Click the read more tab below to read my thoughts on the brand and what I feel can be done to correct the course of the brand, before it's too late... hang on to your seats!

Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021-present, season 3) - a Disorganized Mess.

The Christopher Meloni led series has had numerous complications behind the scenes since the show's inception pre-production. Chicago P.D.'s Matt Olmstead co-created the show with Dick Wolf (and later Ilene Chaiken) and Olmstead left the production after the pilot ("What Happens in Puglia") to be replaced by Chaiken (of The L Word fame). Law & Order: OC never started with much of a premise and a way to establish itself as it started with Stabler mostly bringing Kathy Stabler's killers (the Wheatley's: portrayed by Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor) to justice. And in between that, Stabler and the unit going in and out of undercover assignments. The Organized Crime Control Bureau has never really been fleshed out since the series start; season 3 brought some new detectives into the fold to assist with that but storylines in the serialized series have been all over the place.

While Organized Crime was meant to distance itself from the formula of the Law & Order brand, it doesn't feel like a Law & Order show - it feels more like the Stabler show to where we mostly see Stabler as IMO this almost vigilante cop seeking retribution, in this day and age (and Stabler's because he should definitely be matured from this kind of mindset), it doesn't work. This show lacks "the Law & Order feel" (title cards don't even exist in this show except for one episode, "Gimmie Shelter") and I believe it's why the series doesn't hold audience much as SVU or even the rebooted mothership.

It doesn't help that the show is now on it's 6th show runner, being SVU's David Graziano (who is surrounded by a controversy of his own that seems to be being pushed under the rug and ignored by higher ups at the network and at Wolf Entertainment). Olmstead, Chaiken, Barry O'Brien, Bryan Goluboff from SVU, Sean Jablonski and now Graziano. What ever is going on behind the scenes at OC needs to come to a full stop otherwise this show won't make it to syndication status (5 seasons, 100 episodes). This show has a super talented cast that deserve the best; Danielle Moné Truitt and Ainsley Sieger absolutely shine!

Law & Order (reboot 2022-present, season 2) - more like crash & burn.

Now this show is really pushing my buttons and it's only because of how the stories are being written for this reboot starting from the very first episode. Dick Wolf and the network decided to give the mothership it's very much deserved second chance (it never should have been canceled) and they've managed to put together a stellar cast out of Jeffery Donovan (Burn Notice), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Odelya Halevi, and Camryn Manheim. Sam Waterston returned as Jack McCoy and this season Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl, Necessary Roughness) replaced Anthony Anderson who only opted to do one season.

I'm not going to sugar coat this, making Rick Eid (who 'developed' a show that was already developed once back in 1988/1990 when he was still in grade school - it's a reboot where nothing has changed formula wise!) the show runner/EP over this series is a very poor business decision. Eid has had a poor history within the Law & Order franchise itself. He was part of a writing team that Dick Wolf and the network had to intervene and dismiss back in 2007 due to declining ratings on mother ship due to the decline in the quality of the writing at that time, Wolf made him show runner over Law & Order: SVU's 18th season and Eid "had to move on [to Chicago P.D.]", basically for the same reason. The. Same. Reason. It's a case of "Fool me once, fool me twice," we're on the 3rd now.

From the minute "The Right Thing" hit the airwaves, I knew it was 2007/2016 all over again! The reboot storylines are tone-deaf, have massive plot holes, pull directly from the headlines without much deviance, skew to certain political leanings (hard left and right) and is shoved into the faces of viewers, and problems with legal strategy that actually go against the actual law and procedures that wouldn't even wash in an actual courtroom (and yes I am aware it's work of fiction but that is why they have legal advisors on the payroll - or at least I hope).

And the characters? Caricatures. I can't really root for any of them - Samantha Maroun & Jalen Shaw (Halevi & Brooks who are great) are the closet ones who are actually being fleshed out as characters that can be relatable/likable. Cosgrove and Price need work bad! Cosgrove is basically a more hard-core Elliot Stabler with a thick Bronx accent in one episode and then another episode he's a young Lennie Briscoe/Michael Westen from Burn Notice mix; it's not consistent. Most seem to prefer him portraying Cosgrove in a Michael Westen-ish style as opposed to Stabler 2.0 (if that's the case swap Donovan and Meloni).

Nolan Price? I don't know where to start. Who is Nolan Price? I don't know honestly but I can tell you he is NOT a great prosecutor. He's no Mike Cutter, McCoy or even Ben or Peter Stone. Price is written just as inconsistent as Cosgrove is and the cases as they make it to court and trial make Price worse, because it seems ambition and wanting to win is the only thing this character has. "Bias" that just aired showcased Price as a colleague was murdered and he had a personal investment in the case. He should have be recused and maybe even suspended due to his misconduct. And Price's arrogance in this episode, telling Jack McCoy that he let him run with the case because "I'm the best." I love Hugh Dancy and he's a magnificent actor but this writing is hurting this role for him in my view.

And speaking of McCoy, where the hell is he? I understand Sam Waterston can't do what he was doing back in 2007 in the courtroom scenes and he is the district attorney but my goodness, his scenes "lack meat" now, it's all bone. Jack says something pithy about the case, yells a little, and walks out his office/elevator/outside. Eid said in an interview that he wanted McCoy to walk in the shoes of Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), if that's the case Schiff was way more involved in his prosecutors cases and had more say in the direction the cases go. Again, it goes back to the writing.

Unlike on OC, Law & Order could use a show runner change, and it could use it ASAP, because what's airing as quality in this reboot is tarnishing the legacy that the original mothership established.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present, season 24) - what is going on behind the scenes and on screen is especially heinous.

Warren Leight's departure last year was the catalyst, however Kelli Giddish's firing was the irresistible force slamming the immovable object - so to speak. Kelli Giddish was fired in place of Wolf/NBC wanting younger blood (Molly Burnett, Days of our Lives); not even a year prior Wolf/NBC faced a form of backlash after dropping two cast members of color - Demore Barnes and Jamie Gray Hyder - in exchange for one male (Octavio Pisano). Star Mariska Hargitay tried to step in to keep Kelli on the show but she was overruled by Wolf and the network.

Meanwhile something that hasn't been overruled but more overlooked; new show runner David Graziano's prior and current accusations of bullying, misogyny, and toxic behavior on sets and behind the scenes of show's he's worked on, including SVU. Graziano took to his Instagram to try and 'explain' his accusations but he did not deny them. How can you write and supervise any kind of story about women's empowerment, healing after trauma and sexual assault, inclusiveness, and justice as someone who has/is doing personal actions against that very stance? And how can Dick Wolf and NBC over look it? Money talks in short. He's also running OC for the last 3 episodes in this season.

That aside which is problematic of itself, like the mother ship, the storylines on SVU have taken a turn sideways. Season 24 started off pretty solid, it wasn't the best it's been in it's prime and younger years (S3-7, and again S13-17), but it was passable to view. Now? Post-Kelli Giddish it seems like the focus is on Muncy (Burnett), Velasco (Pisano) and the recurring guest cast (Kevin Kane and Jasmine Batchelor); ICE T and Peter Scanavino's screen time is noticeably decreased this season than season's past. And like mothership's storylines, inconsistency is on display in full view.

Under Graziano in his first 6 episodes (Gimmie Shelter is written by Rick Eid and Gwen Sigan as part of the season premiere crossover) were the solid ones, even before Kelli's last episode I felt a change in tone coming into play; and coming off of the season's Bronx trilogy its even more noticeable. It's like it's a mix of Eid's season 18 and some other show that's NOT SVU. The focus has gone off of the survivors, veteran characters, the pursuit of the worst criminal offenders, the pursuit of justice and the unit itself. SVU has gone off of the rails and if they want this show to continue to break records and preserve the legacy that it has both on and off screen, they better make some changes fast. SVU's ratings haven't exactly decreased but all this 'change' could soon have a negative impact on them; SVU's dominate the entire franchise right now as a show that's consistently been on air for 24 years now in a changing TV landscape.

In summary/my suggestion(s): the Law & Order franchise needs to undergo some major changes behind the scenes, starting with the gentlemen running these shows. I don't directly want to call for the dismissal of show runners/executive producers Rick Eid and David Graziano (certainly from SVU) but I do feel this is the start absent them being given a different set of marching orders that they should follow (not likely). The issues I brought up above only touch the surface, I don't want to sound nit-picky but things could and should be better.

This franchise is 33 years old and still going, and it could go longer and further but if there aren't any immediate changes that make an impact and turn things around, and the shows keep going about as they are: this franchise won't be around much longer. "The Story Is Everything" is what Dick Wolf has said about the L&O brand and NBC even used that as a tagline during the prime years on the network 2003-2007. That's where the investment needs to start.

[brian-in-finance]

Apple TV+

Irish Film, TV Nominations 2023: ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ ‘Bad Sisters’ Lead With Most Nods

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, led the nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) as the full list of nominees was unveiled on Monday night local time, picking up 11 nods in the film category.

“Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan’s Apple TV+ mystery series – led the pack in the drama category with 12 noms.

Coming off the back of a stellar year for Irish film and television, the nominations include a number of familiar names and titles, including Paul Mescal, who has been nominated for best lead actor in a film for “Aftersun” and best supporting actor in a film for “God’s Creatures” while Farrell is also competing in both categories, both for his star turn in “Banshees” and his supporting role as Penguin in “The Batman.”

“Conversations with Friends” has also scored noms in multiple categories while Aoife McArdle is up for best drama director for Apple TV+ series “Severance.” Sinead O’Connor doc “Nothing Compares” is up for best feature documentary.

The IFTAs are set to take place at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre on May 7. They will be broadcast on local network RTÉ.

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Film

“Aisha”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“God’s Creatures”

“Lakelands”

“Róise & Frank”

“The Wonder”

Director – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“It Is In Us All” – Antonia Campbell Hughes

“Joyride” – Emer Reynolds

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty & Peter Murphy

Script – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“God’s Creatures” – Shane Crowley

“Joyride” – Ailbhe Keogan

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty, Peter Murphy

Lead Actor – Film

Colin Farrell – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Daryl McCormack – “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

Éanna Hardwicke – “Lakelands”

Liam Neeson – “Marlowe”

Ollie West – “The Sparrow”

Paul Mescal – “Aftersun”

Lead Actress – Film

Alisha Weir – “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”

Bríd Ní Neachtain – “Róise & Frank”

Danielle Galligan – “Lakelands”

Kelly Gough – “Tarrac”

Seána Kerslake – “Ballywalter”

Zara Devlin – “Ann”

Supporting Actor – Film

Andrew Scott – “Catherine Called Birdy”

Barry Keoghan – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Brendan Gleeson – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Colin Farrell – “The Batman”

Paul Mescal – “God’s Creatures”

Pierce Brosnan – “Black Adam”

Supporting Actress – Film

Aisling Franciosi – “God’s Creatures”

Eileen Walsh – “Ann”

Elaine Cassidy – “The Wonder”

Jessie Buckley – “Women Talking”

Kerry Condon – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Kíla Lord Cassidy – “The Wonder”

DRAMA

Best Drama

“Bad Sisters”

“Conversations with Friends”

“Derry Girls: The Agreement (Extended Special)”

“Smother”

“The Dry”

“Vikings: Valhalla”

Director – Drama

“Bad Sisters” – Dearbhla Walsh

“Conversations with Friends” – Lenny Abrahamson

“Maxine” – Laura Way

“Severance” – Aoife McArdle

“Smother” – Dathaí Keane

“The Dry” – Paddy Breathnach

Script – Drama

“Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan

“Conversations with Friends” – Mark O’Halloran

“Derry Girls: The Agreement (Extended Special)” – Lisa McGee

“Smother” – Kate O’Riordan

“The Dry” – Nancy Harris

“Top Boy” – Ronan Bennett

Lead Actor – Drama

Aidan Turner – “The Suspect”

Conleth Hill – “Holding”

Jason O’Mara – “Smother”

Kerr Logan – “North Sea Connection”

Stephen Rea – “The English”

Vinnie McCabe – “The Noble Call”

Lead Actress – Drama

Alison Oliver – “Conversations with Friends”

Caitriona Balfe – “Outlander”

Dervla Kirwan – “Smother”

Roisin Gallagher – “The Dry”

Sharon Horgan – “Bad Sisters”

Siobhan McSweeney – “Holding”

Starz

Supporting Actor – Drama

Brian Gleeson – “Bad Sisters”

Ciarán Hinds – “The Dry”

Daryl McCormack – “Bad Sisters”

Michael Smiley – “Bad Sisters”

Moe Dunford – “The Dry”

Tommy Tiernan – “Conversations with Friends”

Supporting Actress – Drama

Anne-Marie Duff – “Bad Sisters”

Brenda Fricker – “Holding”

Eva Birthistle – “Bad Sisters”

Eve Hewson – “Bad Sisters”

Genevieve O’Reilly – “Andor”

Sarah Greene – “Bad Sisters”

OTHER AWARD CATEGORIES

Feature Documentary

“The Artist & The Wall of Death”

“The Ghost of Richard Harris”

“How To Tell A Secret”

“Million Dollar Pigeons”

“North Circular”

“Nothing Compares”

Live-Action Short Film

“An Irish Goodbye”

“Call Me Mommy”

“Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You”

“Lamb”

“Wednesday’s Child”

“You’re Not Home”

Animated Short Film

“Candlelight”

“Dagda’s Harp”

“Red Rabbit”

“Soft Tissue”

CRAFT CATEGORIES

Cinematography

“Conversations with Friends” – Suzie Lavelle

“How To Tell A Secret” – Eleanor Bowman

“It Is In Us All” – Piers McGrail

“The Dry” – Cathal Watters

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Peter Robertson

Costume Design

“Aisha” – Kathy Strachan

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh

“Disenchanted” – Joan Bergin

“Enola Holmes 2” – Consolata Boyle

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Susan O’Connor Cave

Production Design

“Aisha” – Tamara Conboy

“Bad Sisters” – Mark Geraghty

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” – Ray Ball

“Róise & Frank” – Padraig O’Neill

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Tom Conroy

Hair & Make-Up

“Aisha” – Dumebi Anozie, Liz Byrne

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Orla Carroll, Lynn Johnston, Dan Martin

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” – Eileen Buggy, Sharon Doyle

“The Wonder” – Lorri Ann King, Morna Ferguson

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Joe Whelan, Tom McInerney

Sound

“Aisha”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Conversations with Friends”

“The Sparrow”

“The Wonder”

Original Music

“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” – Stephen Rennicks

“Lakelands” – Daithí

“Nothing Compares” – Irene Buckley, Linda Buckley

“Róise & Frank” – Colm Mac Con Iomaire

“The Dry” – Sarah Lynch

Editing

“Aisha” – Colin Campbell

“Elvis” – Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa

“Death on the Nile” – Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

“Nocebo” – Tony Cranstoun

“Nothing Compares” – Mick Mahon

VFX

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Marlowe”

“Stranger Things”

“The Woman King”

Best International Film

“Aftersun”

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

“Elvis”

“Tár”

“The Fabelmans”

“Top Gun: Maverick”

Best International Actor

Albrecht Schuch – “All Quiet On The Western Front”

Austin Butler – “Elvis”

Cosmo Jarvis – “It Is In Us All”

Felix Kammerer – “All Quiet On The Western Front”

Josh O’Connor – “Aisha”

Tom Cruise – “Top Gun: Maverick”

Best International Actress

Cate Blanchett – “Tár”

Emily Watson – “God’s Creatures”

Florence Pugh – “The Wonder”

Letitia Wright – “Aisha”

Michelle Williams – “The Fabelmans”

Viola Davis – “The Woman King”

Variety

Starz

Remember the ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️th IFTA nomination?

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

A Better PC Than Windows

One of the things I love about the Wii U is how versatile its web browser is. The Wii U browser can visit any website and allows most of those sites' functionalities to work as they would on an average PC. I remember visiting this weblog on the browser and was able to skim through every blog post without issue. The ability to play videos in perfect quality was incredible! It's because of this that I was able to watch episodes of Sherlock Hound and Donkey Kong Country on my Wii U.

When I was still a user of Deviantart, I would use the (kind of flawed) Deviantart Muro tool to create art pieces using the Wii U's GamePad. Most of them were pretty terrible, but I owe that to my art skills at the time and DA Muro's restrictive nature. In fact, it was DA Muro's decline in functionality that stopped me from drawing with it again. Even though my experiences with the program on the Wii U's browser were less than stellar, it still gave me a glimpse into what it would be like to be a professional artist.

For the time being, the Wii U internet browser was an upgrade to what I was used to on the Wii or 3DS. While the Wii could play flash games and the 3DS allows you to download certain images, the Wii U can play videos in perfect quality, display pictures on both the TV and GamePad, visit almost any website while keeping their features intact, utilize message boards, and many more. I often found myself using it more than a computer, as it fit most of my online needs. I still use it to find references for characters or objects while drawing. Over time, however, the quality of the Wii U's browser started to drop.

First, Nintendo removed video playback, and then they removed the ability to play audio. If that wasn't enough, most websites just stopped working properly. Even though I can still visit websites like this weblog, I can't find certain blog posts or use the Guest Archive. I guess Nintendo did this to prepare for the Nintendo Network's shutdown. But even then, there are a few flaws with that.

The Nintendo Switch, despite being the best-selling Nintendo system of all time, doesn't have a web browser. It's ridiculous that Nintendo didn't include a web browser feature with the Switch. Every console before it had one. Even the DS has a cartridge that allows you to browse the internet and visit different websites.

The worst part of this is that the Switch CAN access websites. There's a dedicated app that displays certain web pages whenever I connect to an access point at a public area or play Pokémon Violet. Even if you run internal exploits to use the web tool as an actual browser, there's a high chance your Switch will lose the ability to connect to the internet. The fact that the Wii U, one of Nintendo's lesser consoles, has a functional internet browser while the Nintendo Switch doesn't is baffling. It's almost like they rushed the Switch out just to make people forget about their recent failure.

Even though most people might gloss over it, the Wii U's web browser is an incredible application that allows the console to be used as a semi-personal computer. This blog entry isn't condemning Nintendo for taking internet connectivity from a system like the Wii U, it's to show just how far they dropped the ball with the release of the Switch. While the Switch Lite fixes the bulky nature and unappealing look of the original model, it still can't browse the internet. Whatever the case, the Wii U's browser makes it fun to explore the internet and is accessible to many people. It's just sad that the Switch lacks it and Nintendo is willing to sweep their best features under the rug instead of fine-tuning them for more powerful hardware.

[laresearchette]

Friday, October 13, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY (Apple TV+) THE PUPPETMAN (Shudder/AMC+) RAID THE CAGE (Global) 9:00pm CURIOUS CATERER: FATAL VOWS (W Network) 9:00pm CREEPSHOW (AMC 10:00pm/Shudder/AMC+) SHINING VALE (Starz Canada) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? JOHN CARPENTER’S SUBURBAN SCREAMS (Premiering on October 18 on Showcase at 10:00pm) NEXT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER (PBS Feed) READY TO LOVE: MAKE A MOVE (TBD - OWN Canada)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA THE BURIAL DARK HARVEST EVERYBODY LOVES DIAMONDS JIGEN DAISUKE

CBC GEM CHUCK AND THE FIRST PEOPLE’S KITCHEN COME TRUE HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR

CRAVE TV BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE (Season 1, Episodes 1-3) CABBIE THE CABLE GUY THE DROP FINDING A FAMILY FREDDY VS. JASON THE HATEFUL EIGHT PREDATOR (1987) THE PREDATOR (2018) PREDATORS (2010) SHINING VALE (Season 2, Episode 1) SPOILER ALERT STAYING INN: HOTEL JULIE (Season 1) STELLAR THE THING

DISNEY + STAR GHOST OF THE MOUNTAINS GOOSEBUMPS (five-episode series premiere) THE SOUND OF THE POLICE

NETFLIX CANADA THE CONFERENCE IJOGBON SPY KIDS SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS SPY KIDS 3: GAME OVER SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 7:00pm: Lions vs. Ti-Cats (TSN/TSN3) 10:00pm: Roughriders vs. Stamps

MONSTER HIGH 2 (YTV) 7:00pm: As they enter sophomore year at Monster High, Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura and Frankie Stein face new students, new powers, and an even bigger threat that could not only tear their friendship apart but could change the world forever.

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 7:30pm: Penguins vs. Capitals

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN2) 7:30pm: Heat vs. Spurs (TSN2) 10:00pm: Warriors vs. Lakers

BE MY VALENTINE (Super Channel Heart & Home) 7:30pm: A widowed firefighter (William Baldwin) asks a florist (Natalie Brown) to be his date for a Valentine's Day ball.

MARKETPLACE (CBC) 8:00pm

THE MULE (CTV2) 8:00pm: Broke and facing foreclosure on his business, a 90-year-old horticulturist takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. His immediate success leads to easy money and a larger shipment that soon draws the attention of a hard-charging DEA agent.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF JERSEY (Slice) 8:00pm: A Grave Concern

THE VERY VERY BEST OF THE 80s (AXS Canada) 8:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): We're ranking EPIC MOVIES OF 1987. From tear-jerking to side-splitting, find out what made our list as Jodie Sweetin, Tia Carrere, Morgan Fairchild, and more give us their opinions!

PLANET WONDER (CBC) 8:30pm: Johanna dives into how climate change is messing with the motion of the ocean.

FRIDAY NIGHT THUNDER (APTN) 8:30pm: Joshua Hill, alongside friends and family, orchestrates a massive lacrosse stick giveaway to help kids in the community and remind us of the importance of giving back.

BIG NEWS (CBC) 9:00pm: Unpacking the media's role in polarization and its effects on democracy.

TRANSPLANT (CTV) 9:00pm: When a sinkhole traps a man beneath the city street, Bash dives in.

THE DROP (Crave) 9:00pm: A married couple face a marriage test when one of them drops a baby during an island wedding.

DEATH OF THE PARTY (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): After a night of partying, a young California woman disappears; the police and her parents scour the area around her abandoned car, but there is no trace of Denise; three long years pass without a single clue to the mystery.

W5 (CTV) 10:00pm: Who Killed Sonia?: A 50-year-old cold case murder is blown open by new scientific evidence.

CRIME BEAT (Global) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): A sexual predator on the loose in the 1970s and 1980s; two little girls are attacked by the "Southwest Calgary Rapist" while riding their bikes one hot sunny day; homicide investigators were on the trail for a killer.

MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT (Slice) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): In Denver, 10 singles take the plunge to marry strangers, sight unseen in two weeks; among them, an inexperienced bride questions her decision, while a groom's girthy secret shocks everyone; the countdown to the weddings is on.

MYSTERIES OF THE ABANDONED: HIDDEN AMERICA (Cottage Life) 10:00pm: A curiously designed, windowless building adorned with gold tinted diamond shapes now stands derelict in Tulsa; experts investigate and uncover a controversial religious figure and the headquarters behind a pioneering form of American TV evangelism.

STELLAR (Crave) 10:35pm: A man and a woman meet in a bar as catastrophe looms outside.

[lol-jackles]

https://deadline.com/2023/04/potential-strike-impact-on-business-in-hollywood-1235329823/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-deadline&utm_content=later-34551020&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio

I sent the ask about the Twilight show and why there are so many remakes lately but this article says (among other things):

With widespread belief that a strike is all but certain, any new business is being tabled until the networks and streamers have a better idea of what is going to happen in the coming weeks. That has meant way fewer pitches, since the chance of a sale is slim. They “are not taking any risks and are feeling paralyzed,” as one seller put it of buyers.

“No one is buying. This is the worst marketplace that I have ever experienced,” a veteran studio executive lamented.

“Some places are still hearing pitches, but at this point the expectation going into the room is that they’re probably going to say no unless for some reason it checks off every single box,” adds one high-powered agent.

The pitches that are most appealing — at least for now — are based on IP that practically scream overnight success.

“It’s definitely true that if a company is incentivized to make something because it’s a franchise IP or with an overall deal, those are the things that are moving forward,” the agent continued. “It was not the case before there was a pending strike, but it’s even more difficult now to sell original ideas …. not because the buyers aren’t going to buy them, but because they don’t really know what it means to make something that they’re not already financially incentivized to make. And I don’t think that’s going to change between now or after a strike, if there is one.”

So it sounds like completely new content/original ideas are not really going anywhere right now, the focus is on existing IP's that they think are guaranteed money.

Link. Yup, the last Writers Strike completely changed the tv landscape and released the streaming kraken. Stellar shows like Heros, Lie to Me, Pushing Daisies, and Kings were destroyed by the strike. Supernatural comparatively got off lightly:

Kripke planned for season 3 "Mystery Spot" to be the series finale if Supernatural didn't survive the Writers Strike.

Rebooting IPs has been the go-to almost fail-safe for over a decade so this is nothing new. Another advantage of reboots is they are hella less expensive to promote when it’s actually original-ish content.  Budget for promotion is a nightmare but if you say it’s a reboot/remake of a beloved material then you already hooked in people’s attention due to built-in-awareness.

The more clever (or infuriating, depending on your pov) reboots are actually originals disguised as reboots. Remember when Netflix advertised Kathyrn Newton’s The Society as a female Lord of the Flies? Turned out The Society was about male and female high school students stranded on parallel Earth without adult supervision.  By using a well known classic that most American kids were forced to read in school, Netflix saved themselves a lot of money from promoting an actual new content.

I think we're going to see a few bait-and-switch tactic by studios using current shows and instead of creating spinoffs, give the mantle over to another, like what they did in season 3 of The Mandalorian: the Bo Katan story.

[legion1227]

Primal: Seasons 1-2. A Review.

I should've watched this sooner.

Primal is a TV show created by a gifted talent named Genndy Tartakovsky. The creative mind is responsible for several shows that air or aired on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. These shows include Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal. Despite not having seen Unicorn: Warriors Eternal yet, the other shows I can attest to are high-quality, lovingly crafted, immensely enjoyable pieces of media. I have a soft spot for the Cartoon Network and Adult Swim as I grew up on the channel and still enjoy Adult Swim programming to this day. Not every show they've aired over decades has been a banger, but they have numerous feathers for their cap.

Tartakovsky has helped without a doubt, and Primal is another feather for their cap and his own.

Primal is an adult animated action series that aired the first 5 episodes of season 1 in October 2019, the following 5 a year later, and all 10 episodes of season 2 weekly starting July 21, 2022. Primal takes place during a version of the prehistoric age that features cavemen, extinct dinosaurs, mammals from the Ice Age, Vikings, magical creatures, and otherwise as it incorporates varying elements of fantasy, action, adventure, and sometimes even horror. Both seasons follow the adventures of a Neanderthal named Spear and Fang, a female Tyrannosaurus Rex who form a bond after both lose their families early and try to survive their world together making wild discoveries along the way. What makes Primal stand out amongst Genndy Tartakovsky's other works or other animated shows out there, besides its setting or compelling storytelling, animation, and so much else, is how the first season features no dialogue.

The show performs a stellar job of creating characters that have little to nothing to say besides grunts or screams. The second season begins incorporating more dialogue but remains minimal.

Primal deserves the acclaim it has received from critics. The animation is gritty but beautiful. Sometimes difficult to look at as brutal action sequences occur and sometimes hard to look away from as these beings try to survive. The story in season 1 shows Fang and Spear venturing from place to place with strong episodes that stand alone mostly, save for a few. The story in season 2 is even better as stakes and situations become increasingly complex and fascinating, ugh. The day-to-day struggle against hellish creatures while trying to survive or find someone or something is stellar. The second season also features some of the best episodes and arcs of the series so far.

Episode 4, The Red Mist, puts Spear and Fang to their limits as they face a fearsome and deadly warrior clan, featuring one of the best action sequences as Spear and Fang give into their basic instincts. Episode 5, The Primal Theory, is the one episode in the show that strays away from Fang and Spear and fast-forward to different characters in the year 1890. Upon initial watch, I was disinterested in straying away from the action Fang and Spear indulged in, but by the end of the episode, I was on the edge of my seat. And as I'm finished with the show, there's an argument to be made that it's the best episode of the series, even! It's not only an episode to show that Genndy can do an anthology series, but the whole episode relies on a premise relied upon by one of the characters early in, where they theorize that even if these elegant men of the 1800s are more articulate and advanced than their neanderthal ancestors if they are faced with a dire enough life or death situation, they may resort to their primal instincts, like their ancestors, to survive. Thus the name the Primal Theory. Not only is that theory put to the test, but the previous episode shows a blatant display of the hypothesis as Spear and Fang unleash bloodshed unlike ever before as the odds are stacked heavily against them. It's genius.

What's even more wild is the multi-episode run right until the end; They never hit the breaks. The episodes following the Primal Theory, pick up where Fang and Spear left off, returning after saving their friend Mira before launching into a three-episode arc taking place on a massive warship called the Colossaeus. The final episode of season 2 is bonkers as well, essentially wrapping up the story of Fang and Spear. Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that Primal would become an anthology season going forward with season 3 as it was renewed in June earlier this year. If that is the case, I am waiting in anticipation.

Watch Primal if you haven't already. Season 1 is great, but Season 2 is even better. 4/5 for season 1, 4.5/5 for season 2.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

‘Suspect’ Season 2: Dominic Cooper, Tamsin Greig, Eddie Marsan & More Join Channel 4-Britbox International Drama Series

By Jesse Whittock

November 15, 2023 7:20 am

Dominic Cooper, Tamsin Greig and Eddie Marsan are among the names joining Anne-Marie Duff on season 2 of Channel 4 and BritBox International drama series Suspect.

Filming on the drama’s second run is underway, with Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point, The Lazarus Project), Eddie Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, Ray Donovan), Celine Buckens (Showtrial, The Ex-Wife), Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy, For Life) and Gina McKee (Bodyguard, Our Friends in the North) joining Cooper (Preacher, Mamma Mia!), Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Belgravia) and Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, Ray Donovan).

Duff (Bad Sisters, The Salisbury Poisonings) stars in the series as Dr Susannah Newman. In the eight-part series, she is on a desperate quest to track down a self-confessed serial killer before he kills again that night. When a mysterious new client Jon (Cooper) admits under hypnosis that he is a murderer and intends on killing another young female that evening, Susannah knows he must be stopped at all costs.

I’m so pleased to be returning to Suspect to be able to dig deeper into the character of Dr Susannah Newman,” said Duff. “Expect lots of twists, turns and revelations alongside more questions to be answered. I can’t wait for viewers to see what we’ve done with the second series.”

Suspects comes from Professor T and Before We Die producer Eagle Eye Drama and is written by Joy Wilkinson (Lockwood & Co, The Watch) and David Allison (The Couple Next Door, Marcella). It is for UK network Channel 4, whose outgoing Head of Acquisitions Nick Lee bought it, and co-produced by BritBox International for the U.S. and Canada. The eight-part drama is being distributed internationally by Fremantle and will air in 2024.

Ben Wadey, Channel 4 Drama Commissioning Executive said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Eagle Eye Drama again to be bringing back Suspect for a second series. With Anne-Marie Duff returning as Dr Susannah Newman plus a truly spectacular ensemble cast that includes Dominic Cooper, Tamsin Greig and Eddie Marsan, Channel 4 viewers are truly in for a ride when this hits our screens.”

Reemah Sakaan, CEO BritBox International and executive producer added: “I am absolutely delighted that such a stellar ensemble cast is joining the incredible Anne-Marie Duff to tell the next chapter of Suspect Season 2. Joy Wilkinson and David Allison have delivered brilliant scripts and I know our BritBox International viewers in the US will be gripped from start to end.”

Carolina Giammetta (Before We Die, Hollington Drive) will direct. Eagle Eye’s Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino are the executive producers and Dylan Rees (Heartstopper, Alice & Jack) is the series producer. Sakaan and Stephen Nye are the executive producers for Britbox International, which acquired the series following a deal brokered by Fremantle’s Lisa Honig, EVP Distribution North America.

Suspect is adapted from the Danish original Forhøret (Face to Face), which was created by Christoffer Boe and written by Christoffer Boe and Anna Juul. The original series was produced by Miso Film, a Fremantle company, and executive produced by Boe, Jonas Allen and Peter Bose who also serve as executive producers on Suspect.

The series has been produced in association with Happy Duck Films and the Belgian Tax Shelter. Fremantle handles global sales.

SH is not in “Suspect” 2 in association with Happy Duck Films🦆 his character seems to still be in a very deep stage of coma since Suspect 1 💁‍♀️

The interesting thing is there are various British actors who have played relevant character parts, a competent group to work with Happy Duck Films. The actors who pivot from films to TV or the other way around are large. As you can see there are plenty of choices.😉

Dominic Cooper is so talented, he's very witty. So a perfect package! his Ian Fleming role was his best.

[gacmediadaily]

Rising Against the Titans

When you switch on your TV, it’s easy to gravitate towards those big-name channels that have been around for decades. Entering this established TV entertainment realm and making a mark is no easy feat. However, within a mere two years, the Great American Family network (GAF), born from the vision of television maestro Bill Abbott, has started making impressive strides. GAF has occasionally secured a spot on the charts, proving its content resonates. It’s a testament that viewers are not only tuning in but genuinely enjoying what GAF brings to the table.

The Man with the Midas Touch

Bill Abbott isn’t new to the game. Many might remember him as the force behind Hallmark’s meteoric rise. Under his guidance, the channel went from being a mere blip on the TV radar to a household name. Remember the “Countdown to Christmas” on Hallmark? That was Abbott’s brainwave. Over the span of several decades, he transformed Hallmark into the go-to destination for heartwarming, family-friendly entertainment. And now, observing GAF’s budding success, it seems he’s well on his way to replicating that magic once again.

A Brief Glimpse into Great American Family (GAF)

Launched in 2021 by GAC Media, the Great American Family network has swiftly carved a niche in the vast television landscape. Available to approximately 59 million households, which translates to 51% of pay television viewers, GAF has bridged the gap for audiences seeking both secular and “soft” faith-based content. With availability across platforms like Xfinity, Spectrum, DirecTV, and streaming services like Philo and Sling TV, its accessibility is widespread. Though GAF is a fresh face in the media world, its dedication to wholesome, family-oriented, and faith-friendly programming is rapidly positioning it as a preferred choice for many viewers across the nation.

GAF’s Star Power Ignites the Screen

In the vast galaxy of TV networks, the GAF is swiftly becoming a shining star, and much of that brilliance can be attributed to its ensemble of talented actors. Just this past Saturday night, viewers were treated to “A Harvest Homecoming.” This film not only made an impressive mark on the crowded cable charts but also reunited the captivating duo of Trevor Donovan and Jessica Lowndes, eliciting nostalgic memories of their “90210” days. The film’s success is even more commendable given the promotional hiccups faced due to a SAG strike.

Yet, the allure of GAF extends beyond just this pairing. The network boasts icons like Laurie Loughlin, whose grace never fades. Additionally, Danica McKellar, with her enduring “Wonder Years” charm, Candace Cameron, fondly remembered as the heart of “Full House,” and many other talented actors, all contribute significantly to the depth of GAF’s lineup.

With such a star-studded lineup, GAF, in just two years, promises an entertainment future that’s not only bright but stellar.

New Kid on The Block with Old School Charm

Understanding the significance of GAF’s progress is akin to imagining moving to a new school and trying to find your place amidst everyone’s established cliques. That’s GAF for you — the new kid on the block in the TV landscape, looking for its own niche. In just its second year, it’s as if they haven’t just claimed a seat in the crowded cafeteria but are now also getting those sought-after invites to the coolest parties.

Final Thoughts

Entering the world of TV is daunting. But armed with experienced leadership, star power, and compelling content, GAF is showing it has the potential to not just fit in but excel. Here’s to more years of top-notch entertainment from GAF!

[squideo]

Advert Alchemy: Thinkbox’s Trick

In this series, Squideo has examined the best ways to turn advertising content into gold. Now that we’ve broken down the eight key ingredients, it’s time to dive deep into some examples of stellar advertising. This week, the advert in question was picked by Squideo’s Video Producer, Lesley Ovington.

When asked why this Thinkbox advert had become her favourite, Lesley said: “I love the entire series with Harvey because it’s so funny. I also had a Jack Russell Terrier growing up, and these adverts always reminded me of him. The entire series is great but the first one, Every Home Needs a Harvey, remains the best.”

101 Thinkbox

Thinkbox is unlike other companies analysed in this series, as it’s a marketing body for commercial television in the United Kingdom. Since 2005, Thinkbox has existed to manage the advertising for British TV channels and help businesses marketing on these networks meet their marketing objectives.

It’s shareholders are four major UK television networks: Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media and UKTV. As the trade body for these hugely popular networks, Thinkbox has needed to think outside the box when enticing businesses to advertise. All of these channels have hugely successful shows linked to them, and the advertising produced by Thinkbox had to match the creative energy of its shareholders.

Raining Cats and Thinkbox

Made with Red Brick Road, the advertising agency behind the iconic ‘Every Little Helps’ Tesco slogan, Thinkbox aired its Every Home Needs a Harvey advert in 2010 – five years after the trade body was created and was still relatively unknown to the general public. Every Home Needs a Harvey was only their second television advert ever; the first also made by Red Brick Road. According to the agency, the brief from Thinkbox was to educate media planners and marketing directors about the power of TV advertising.

“‘Harvey’ was born – a resourceful, talented dog, who uses TV to tell stories and to persuade. His first TV outing, created by us in 2010, was voted Ad of the Year by ITV1 viewers. TV ad revenues reached a record £5bn in 2014, continuing 5 years of successive growth.”

Television has seen a lot of competition in recent years as an advertising destination, especially as more viewers move away from television to advert-free streaming platforms. Comparatively cheaper adverts can also be run on social media, with algorithms used to ensure it ends up in front of the ideal demographic for your product. As Red Brick Road proves, however, revenue can still be generated from television adverts. Businesses invested £1.2 billion GBP in television advertising in 2021, a 42% increase in spending compared to 2020. With the cost-of-living crisis forcing consumers to unsubscribe from costly streaming services, this revenue may grow further as viewers return to public networks like Channel 4 and ITV.

Thinkbox & Me

ITV1 viewers named Every Home Needs a Harvey Ad of the Year in 2010, and Red Brick Road went on to produce two additional Harvey adverts for Thinkbox between 2010 and 2014. The advert was clearly popular when it aired, but that was thirteen years ago. What was it about this advert that stuck in the memories of so many people?

Super Sell

Show don’t tell. That’s what Thinkbox accomplished by running Every Home Needs a Harvey. What better way to demonstrate the power of advertising than to create an advert about advertising. In the advert, Harvey presents a video to his potential adopters which sells the idea of choosing him amongst the line up of rescue dogs. The other dogs look cute, but the video shows everything else Harvey can offer.

To marketers watching the advert, it also showed what television marketing still had to offer. Times have changed, and mass public adverts are no longer constrained to intermission breaks, newspapers and billboards. As we explored in Advert Alchemy: The Location, modern marketers have an overwhelming choice of advertising destinations from social media to video games to eggs (that’s not a typo, CBS put adverts on eggs in 2006, go read the blog if you haven’t already). But television adverts haven’t been chased off the stage, advertisers just need to be more creative to attract attention away from phone screens.

Heavenly Harvey

The star of the advert, Harvey, was played by Sykes, a dog actor who appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Young Victoria and Doctor Who, as well as other notable films and television shows. In the year of his debut advert, he also acted in a John Smith’s Brewery advert alongside Peter Kay.

In the wake of the advert, Sykes’ Facebook page had 11,600 friends and he was getting offers to open pet shops around the country. Not bad for a rescue dog. He eventually retired in 2016 after going deaf, ending Thinkbox’s Harvey adverts in the process. Because who could follow such a good boy?

Monumental Music

Set to the 1974 song You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet by Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, the audience – like Harvey’s potential adopters – are quickly hooked into watching the advert. Like Cadbury’s Gorilla advert, the choice of such a popular song cannot be underestimated in the success of this advert.

The song peaked at number 2 in the UK singles charts the year of its release, beaten to the top by a Christmas song (Lonely This Christmas, Mud), which surprised the band who had been reluctant to release the song. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet was introduced to a new generation in the mid-2000s thanks to one of Thinkbox’s shareholders: ITV. The network used the song for several years during its coverage of Formula One grand prix races, which reignited sales of this insanely catchy single thirty years after its release.

Content Worth Gold

What do you think? What made Thinkbox’s Every Home Needs a Harvey advert so successful? Watch the full advert below and let us know in the comments.