This is from my May 2023 blog post:
TV and movie comparisons/ Angel season 3 ep 1 "Heartthrob" question
This is my Jul. 2022 blog post:
Should I continue into TV production? (Part 4)/ Why do you want to be a TV writer?
I want to ENTERTAIN people as a TV writer.
Now I want to EDUCATE and INFORM people as a blogger.
Sept. 4, 2022 My life purpose: It seems like I'm not going to be able to become a TV writer and producer.
My life purpose is to entertain and make people happy, educate, and inform people as a writer/ blogger.
When you read these "TV and movie comparisons" about creative writing and screenwriting, I hope you are entertained by this and learn about writing.
When you read my TV show reviews, I hope you learn about creative writing and screenwriting.
These shows came out in Jan. 2020.
Nov. 19, 2023 FBI: Most Wanted: I have watched every episode.
"It follows the division of the FBI tasked with tracking and capturing the notorious criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9742936/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5_tt_8_nm_0_q_fbi
Pros:
1. There's a good opening where a doctor is paid cash. He goes home and someone broke into it. A woman is dying and he shoots her. There's a mystery set here.
2. The cast:
Julian McMahon- is the boss Jess La Croix. I've seen him on Charmed. He was on this show for 3 seasons.
Roxy Sternberg- as Sheryll Barnes. She's black and gay. She's married with a daughter.
Keisha Castle- Hughes- as Hana Gibson, the tech expert.
Kellan Lutz- as Kenny Crosby. He was in the military. He was on the show up until season 3 ep 1.
Nathaniel Arcand- as Clinton Skye and brother- in- law to Jess. He's a sniper. He was here up until around season 2. He's Aboriginal.
I have met the actor. I wrote about it on my blog. He came to the Soup place in 2008 with a woman also named Tracy. He was nice.
I was making a sandwich:
Tracy: Hey, aren't you from the TV show Heartland?
Nathaniel: Yeah.
Tracy: I forgot your name.
Nathaniel: It's Nathaniel.
Alexa Davalos- as Kristen Gaines. She came on in season 3. She was Gwen on Angel. I read she's not on the show after season 4.
Miguel Gomez- he's Ivan Ortiz. He came on in season 2-3. He was on LA's Finest.
Dylan McDermott- he's Remy Scott, the new boss to replace Jess. He was on Law and Order: Organized Crime.
Edwin Hodge- as Ray Cannon. He came on in season 4. He was on Secrets and Lies season 2.
3. The writing is really good with the drama, conflict, and tension with the mystery of trying to find the murderer, why he or she is doing this, and how to stop them.
4. There is action with the fights, shoot outs, car chases, and running.
5. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
Cons:
1. This is a mild con with all the cast changes in 4 seasons.
My opinion: When I first saw the FBI season1 episode/ back- door pilot called "Most Wanted" and the pilot, I didn't really like the show. When I saw the first season in a few weeks, I liked it. I continued watching it.
Nov. 20, 2023 "Shantel VanSanten Moves From ‘FBI’ To ‘FBI: Most Wanted’ For Season 5":
Today I found this article by Rosy Cordero on Deadline:
https://deadline.com/2023/11/shantel-vansanten-fbi-most-wanted-cast-season-5-1235627562/#comments
Nov. 19, 2023 Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: I watched the whole show (2 seasons.)
"A young woman discovers she has the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and musical numbers."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10314462/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_0_q_zoey%27s%2520ext
Pros:
1. The cast:
Jane Levy- as Zoey who works as coder a tech company.
Skylar Astin- as Max, Zoey's co-worker.
Alex Newell- he is Mo, Zoey's neighbor
John Clarence Stewart- he's Simon, and Jane's co- worker.
Andrew Leeds- as David, Zoey's brother.
Kapil Talwalker- as Tobin, Zoey's co-worker.
Michael Thomas Grant- as Leif, Zoey's co-worker.
Alice Lee- as Emily, Andrew's wife.
Mary Steenburgen- as Maggie, Zoey's mom.
Peter Gallagher- as Mitch, Zoey's dad. He has this disease where he can't talk or move very much. He's from The OC.
Lauren Graham- as Joan, Zoey's boss. She's from Gilmore Girls.
2. There's good writing with the drama and comedy.
The inciting incident is kind of interesting. Zoey is in an MRI and there's an earthquake. All kinds of music start playing.
Zoey hears and sees a woman singing.
The drama is that Zoey's dad can't communicate, and then he is able to sing to Zoey and then she knows what he's really thinking and feeling.
He is dying and the family is preparing for it.
Zoey and the audience knows what people are thinking and feeling because of the song. It's like being a telepath.
In season 2 episode 12 "Zoey's Extraordinary Session":
Woman: I could work at Tesla, but then I will always be under my Uncle Elon's shadow.
3. The musical numbers are amazing. They can all sing and dance. The performances are the best part of the show. This is a fun show to watch.
In the pilot, there is a hip hop dance routine with Leif and the other workers singing and dancing to DJ Khaled "All I Do Is Win feat. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain & Snoop Dogg".
They sing ballads to each other. There is emotion and energy in the songs and performances.
In season 2 episode 12 "Zoey's Extraordinary Session" where Max and Lief sing acapella to "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. They sing so beautifully here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHcnwzC_quU
4. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
5. I like the tech office that Zoey works at. It has good lighting and modern decor.
Cons: None.
Comparisons: A TV show with musical performances:
Glee
Riverdale: They have a musical episode once every season.
My opinion: This show is great. I feel good and positive after watching it. It's heartwarming.
Apr. 17, 2024 Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector: I watched the whole first season.
"A retired forensic criminologist teams up with an ambitious young detective to help capture some of the most dangerous criminals in America"
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9307990/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_q_lincoln%2520rh
The 1999 movie:
The Bone Collector:
This was based on a book by Jeffrey Deaver:
Pros:
1. There is a good opening with Lincoln and he is the warehouse. He finds a woman saran wrapped in a chair. They both fall down.
The killer stabs the woman and he taunts Lincoln who's paralyzed.
3 yrs later. The woman cop Amelia Sachs gets a letter and she didn't get into the FBI.
She gives food to a homeless guy. She then sees a guy on the train tracks. She stops the train by firing her gun so she can keep the integrity of the crime scene.
2. The cast:
Russel Hornsby- plays Lincoln Rhyme. He was on Proven Innocent.
Arielle Kebbel- is Amelia Sachs. She was on Midnight, Texas.
Her parents were murdered in front of her at restaurant. She has trauma.
Tate Ellington- as Felix. He was on Quantico.
Ramses Jimenez- as Det. Castillo
Michael Imperioli- as Det. Sellitto.
Brooke Lyons- as Kate.
Rosslyn Ruff- as Claire, Lincoln's caretaker. She has agoraphobia.
Brian F. O'Byrne- as the Bone Collector.
3. There is good writing with all these mysteries.
In the pilot, Amelia's little sister Rachel (Courtney Grosbeck) gets kidnapped.
She is the water tower and Amelia saves her.
4. There's good action with the fight scenes and shootouts.
5. Ethnic diversity.
Cons: none.
My opinion: This show was average. If you like mystery, crime, drama, and action, you'll like this.
Apr. 18, 2024 Deputy: I watched the whole first season.
"Deputy Bill Hollister, a career lawman who is very comfortable kicking down doors but utterly lost in a staff meeting, becomes acting sheriff of Los Angeles County when the sheriff drops dead."
Pros:
1. The opening scene has good action. There is a car chase and a shootout.
Deputy Bill Hollister becomes a chief suddenly.
2. The cast:
Stephen Dorff as Bill Hollister. I'm not really a fan of his.
Yara Martinez- as Dr. Paula Reyes and married to Bill.
Danielle Monet Truitt- is the cop Charlie Minnick. She then got a regular role on Law and Order: Organized Crime.
Shane Paul McGee- as Deputy Joseph Harris.
Bex Taylor- Klause- as Brianna Bishop, Bill's personal assistant. They are non- binary.
3. The writing is average. Detective Cade Ward (Brian Van Holt) shoots and kills this man. He then fosters the man's 2 kids.
Bill tells about how he met Paula.
Bill: I got stabbed and the doctor sewed me up. I asked her to dinner.
Bishop (to Bill): You really do come at everything head on, don't you? But if you are going to do this job, you need to learn there are other angles of approach.
There is continuity: like characters experience traumatic events like hostage situations, car accidents, and they deal with this in later eps.
4. There is lots of action. In the pilot there is a prison riot.
5. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
Cons: none.
Comparisons:
A character is suddenly in charge:
Designated Survivor: the lead character becomes the President of the United States.
My opinion: The show was average. The action is the best part of the show.
For Life: I only saw the 2nd episode:
"A prisoner becomes a lawyer and fights to overturn his life sentence for a crime he didn't commit."
Pros:
1. The cast:
Nicholas Pinnock- as Aaron Wallace. He's good in the lead.
Indira Varma- as Safiya Masry, the prison warden. I have seen her on Human Target.
Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) is on a few eps.
2. The writing: There is drama as Aaron has to try to prove his innocence, and work as lawyer, and surviving in prison.
3. Ethnic diversity.
Cons: none.
My opinion: The 2nd episode was average. I don't like to watch TV shows set in prison because it's depressing.
Prison Break was the exception because I like Wentworth Miller, and the idea was how this engineer gets into prison and he has to break him and his brother out from the inside.
This is spring 2020 TV season.
Council of Dads: This show came out in Mar. 2020. I watched the whole first season.
"A man comes to terms with a potentially terminal diagnosis."
Pros:
1. The cast:
Sarah Wayne Callies- as the mom Robin Perry. She was on Prison Break.
The dads:
J. August Richards- as Dr. Oliver Post. He was on Angel. He's gay and married.
Clive Standen- as Anthony Lavelle who is a restaurant manager.
Michael O'Neill- as Larry Mills. He's like the grandpa.
Tom Everett Scott- the biological dad and he passes away.
The kids:
Michele Weaver- Luly. She's 19 and is Robin's step daughters.
Emjay Anthony- as Theo, teenage son.
Thalia Tran- as Charlotte. She's adopted.
Blue Chapman- as JJ. He is trans.
There is a baby daughter named Hope.
2. There is good writing.
The 2nd episode ending:
Larry: We'll never move on from Scott's death, but together we'll move forward.
3. Ethnic diversity and LGBTQ.
Cons: none.
My opinion: This show was average. This show is heartwarming about family and friends.
This is from the Nov. 2023 blog post:
fall 2020 TV season show reviews/ "Toronto retirees say life savings lost after door-to-door reno pitch"
This is the last TV show review for the Fall 2020 TV season:
Big Sky: I watched all 3 seasons of this show.
"A private detective and ex-cop solve crimes in Montana"
Pros:
The cast:
1. Katheryn Winnick- as Jenny Hoyt. She's the ex- cop. She's Canadian. I watched a few episodes and then I remembered she was on the Canadian teen sitcom Student Bodies.
Kylie Bunbury- as Cassie Dewell, the private detective. She's Canadian. She was on the show Pitch.
Deedee Pfeiffer- as Denise, the secretary at the PI agency.
Jensen Ackles- as Sheriff Beau Arlen. He's from Supernatural. My sister met him.
He was in Bonnie Doon mall in Edmonton, AB where he was doing an autograph session. The money of $10 an autograph went to the women's shelter. This was in like 1998 or 1999.
Luke Mitchell- he is Cormac Barnes. He was on Blindspot.
There are lots of villains on this show:
Brian Geraghty- as Ronald Pergman, the main villain for the first 2 seasons of the show.
Ryan O' Naan- as Donno.
Jamie- Lynn Sigler- as Tanya. She was a good guy, but then turned into a bad guy.
2. The writing is really good. Each season there is a new mystery.
In the first season, 2 sisters are kidnapped on the road by Ronald.
In the second season, a group of teens steal 2 big bags of money. The bad guys come to town to look for the money.
In the third season, there is a missing hiker. A glamping company is set up there and they may have something to do with this.
There is a big mystery each season, but there are also mysteries/ cases each episode.
This show is based on the book The Highway by CJ Box.
3. The show is kind of funny.
Donno and Tanya are talking.
Tanya: I know you wanted notebooks with monkeys on them. I only found ones with horses. Is that okay?
Donno: Yeah, but next time, monkeys.
4. The action is really good with the fight scenes.
5. Ethnic diversity and LGTBQ.
Cons:
1. This is a mild con in the pilot. Spoiler alert:
Ryan Phillipe is Cody Hoyt and is advertised on the first season promos. He seemed to be a regular on the show. However, his character is written off at the end of the pilot. He is on for a few more episodes in short flashbacks.
I find that the promos was very misleading.
The question I ask myself is: "If this hot actor wasn't on this show, would you watch this?"
My answer for a lot of shows is: "Yes, but I wouldn't like this as much."
My opinion: This show is good. This has "never jumped the shark" like went bad.
Aug. 15, 2024 Free Blockbuster: Michael N. from the Screenwriters and Filmmakers Meetup group posted this. I have seen a few free libraries.
You may still want to watch things on DVD for the audio commentary because you can't get that on streaming. People do put the behind-the- scenes videos on Youtube.
These are the other 2 blog posts:
"Nexstar Ad Sales Fall 36% in Q4 as CW Loss Narrows to $52 Million"/ "The CW Losses Decline By $50M In Q1, But Parent Nexstar Flags Concern About A National TV Ad Sector That Is 'Not In A Positive Place'"
"‘All American’, ‘Homecoming’ & ‘Walker’ Will Continue As Long As They Perform, Says CW Chief: “It’s No Longer A Financial Question”"/ "The CW Bosses Explain Why ‘All American’ & ‘Walker’ Aren’t On Its Fall Schedule"
My week:
Sat. Aug. 10, 2024 Fun:
1. Staples: I went to this location at Unity Square.
I donated school supplies there. -Donating to charity and helping people
2. I recycled 40 pens, markers, and highlighters there too. -Saving the environment
3. McDonald's- I redeemed a coffee card where you buy 7 coffees and get 1 free. My dad buys the coffees. -Saving money
4. The bank: I then walked over there to ask a few questions.
5. The Cariwest Festival- I looked at the:
-jewelry
-bags
-food
-having fun
Sun. Aug. 11, 2024 My birthday: The 9 people who wished me a happy birthday on Facebook:
Anastasia- from the Screenwriters and Filmmakers group.
Adrian- from the Hotel restaurant job.
Chamnoeur- when we're teens.
Michael N- from the Screenwriters and Filmmakers group.
Naish- from the Hotel restaurant job.
John A- from the Screenwriters and Filmmakers group.
Leah- from Professional Writing at MacEwan.
Nileish- from filmmaking.
Tina- from NAIT.
The Simpsons: Today I watched this episode:
"The Tell- Tale Pants":
"Marge secretly spends a surprising windfall on herself when she gets mad with Homer."
A few days ago, I watched this:
"Bart's Brain":
"Bart makes a new friend."
My opinion: Both episodes were average at best and mediocre at worst. The characters are the same, but they make fun of current events and trends.
Blue Orchid restaurant: My family and I went here for dinner. It was really good.
Chicken and corn chowder soup
Sweet and sour pork
Deep fried shrimp and peaches with mayonnaise- this was sweet
Beef and veggies
2 crabs for $100
In total it was $199. 45.
This was good value and the service was fast.
There were 2 tables including mine. There were a lot delivery people picking up food to deliver.
There was a Edmonton Elks football game on TV there. A lot of people were probably watching this at home and ordered food.
I saw a coyote: We were driving home from the restaurant, and on the way out of Chinatown, we saw a coyote on the highway ledge. I never saw a coyote in real life before.
Tues. Aug. 13, 2024 Ikea: I have never been to an Ikea before. I look at the catalogue and I can go on the website. I like looking at home decor and furniture, but I don't really want or need this. My parents wanted to go there, and I went with them.
Furniture: I was there for 1 hr 20 min. I really like this store. There are decorated bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens and I can imagine living in there.
I like sitting on the couches and touching everything.
Restaurants: There is even a restaurant upstairs that sells like fish and chips, soup, fries, poutine, samosas, and egg rolls. There are wraps and sandwiches to- go. This is on ceramic plates and metal cutlery.
There is a restaurant downstairs and they sell hot dogs and ice cream.
The environment: You can recycle batteries, lightbulbs, and small electronics there.
There is a "As/ is" section of slightly used furniture.
I have been to the Brick, Structube, and Pottery Barn. They sell good products, but Ikea has more fun products. I like shopping here more.
Wed. Aug. 14, 2024 Friends: I called my friend Cham and talked for 20 min.
Personally happy to see Walker coming back and possible safe for another season (5). 2024 is already crazy ahead of the national election and I need my comfort shows.