Category Archives: Image cache

‘Community’ cast gets the puppet treatment in upcoming episode

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We’ve seen them in claymation. We’ve seen them pixelated and animated. And soon this season we’ll have the chance to see the Greendale Gang as puppets! At PaleyFest this week it was revealed that Jeff, Britta, Abed, Troy, Annie, Shirley, Pierce  Chang, and Dean Felton (see what I did there?) will all be transformed into puppets in an episode slated to air later this season.

Per TVLine, “The story finds the study group taking a wild balloon ride that crash lands in the woods and forces them to spend a little time with a friendly mountain man (played by Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander). The gang gets immortalized [in flashbacks] as puppets when Dean Pelton encourages them to talk about their adventures.”

Check out the puppet still in all its glory above. Community airs Thursday nights at 8PM on NBC.

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ resumes tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: record ratings]

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War is brewing. It’s Rick and his Prison pack versus The Governor and the wily town of Woodbury. Before The Walking Dead‘s midseason break, Rick infiltrated Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie who had been kidnapped by Merle. Rick’s ambush was a success and his nemesis The Governor (who he hasn’t even met yet!) came out of it all with vengeance on his mind. Michonne killed his zombie daughter Penny right in front of him and then she gauged one his eyes out. (I think it’s now safe to say that The Governor will never see eye-to-eye with anyone from here on out.) The major cliffhanger, of course, was the surprising reunion of the Dixon brothers under not-so-ideal terms; The Governor blames Rick’s attack on the one-handed Merle, after all, because he had lied about taking out Michonne in the woods.

What will be the fate of the Dixons? What is Rick’s next move and will he continue to lose his mind during a strenuous time when he needs it most? Which side will Andrea end on when the dust settles; will she choose to stick with the one-eyed (don’t-call-him-Phillip) Governor or return to her original group at the Prison? After her battle with The Governor Michonne’s wasn’t acting like herself–has she gone soft? How will the latest addition to our group Tyrese factor into it all? The Walking Dead resumes the second half of its 16-episode third season tonight (2/10) at 9PM on AMC. Watch a preview here. The Talking Dead–now in a one-hour format airing immediately after TWD with special guests Steven Yeun and Kevin Smith–follows.

Note: Since Dead has been on hiatus, news broke that for the second time the series’ showrunner is departing. Like Frank Darabont before him, Glen Mazzara is leaving the show due to creative differences. However, you should know that Mazzara had his hand in the making of the back half of this season. His successor Scott M. Gimple (the show’s supervising producer/writer) takes the reins during the production of season 4.

Update (2/11): Back from another break and The Walking Dead reaches a new series high in ratings. Sunday night’s midseason premiere drew 12.3 million viewers, besting the previous record holder that was the season 3 premiere (that episode garnered 10.9 million viewers). Across the first 9PM airing and the three encores that AMC showed Sunday night, the midseason premiere attracted a grand total of 16.6 million viewers. That’s huge people.

“When you look at numbers like this, the first thing that comes to mind is how grateful we are to the fans of this show,” said AMC president Charlie Collier. “They embrace The Walking Dead in a way that we wanted to believe was possible but we never take for granted.The cast and crew put everything they have into making this show. They’re a phenomenally talented group who truly give their all. We congratulate everyone involved.”

TV reminder: Tim Kring’s ‘Touch’ with Kiefer Sutherland returns tonight at 8PM on FOX

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After spending so many years as Jack Bauer on 24, Kiefer Sutherland has landed a softer, more philosophical role in FOX’s Touch from Heroes creator Tim Kring. Season 1 played like a symphony about human interconnectedness as each installment told a myriad of interesting stories from all around our tiny world. And at the end of each one, as much as the ball of red yarn twisted and stretched it found equilibrium and all wrongs were made right. Sutherland’s Martin Bohm has a gifted son named Jake (played incredibly by the silent narrator David Mazouz) and he can see the fractures in the universe and he uses his father as a source of might to restore balance to it. Though the first season introduced some serialized material when an unseen power wanted to tap into Jake’s gift for unknown purposes, what the show did best was offer exciting, visually stirring, emotional stories with a beginning, middle, and end each week.

Fans will notice some changes in season 2. First, the story picks up right where we left off. Fate has brought Martin and Jake to Lucy (Maria Bello) and together they will search for her gifted daughter Amelia. Kring promises a faster-paced, jolting journey for our characters, and answers. The Amelia Sequence and its ramifications on the nature of things is the more compelling serialized part of the series, after all. “[Lucy] only felt that her daughter was alive — like a mother’s intuition. So [Martin and Jake] absolutely reaffirm it,” says Kring. “The second season is very much about the search for Amelia and the fact that Maria Bello and Kiefer Sutherland’s characters are now joined together – two people who are searching for answers together.”

Maria Bello has been promoted to a series regular in season 2, but social worker and Martin’s partner-in-crime Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) will not be returning. Lucas Haas, a 24 alum (he played Andrew Paige in season 4), joins the cast as Calvin Norburg, a genius Aster Corps employee with special knowledge who will cross paths with our title characters.

If you missed out on the first season of Touch, don’t fret. Due to its typically procedural nature I’m sure the season 2 premiere will make it easy for first time viewers to jump right in. Kring has created a captiviating world here so don’t miss out. Touch premieres tonight (2/8) at 8PM on FOX with back-to-back episodes “Event Horizon” and “Closer.” Starting next week and for the remainder of the 13-episode season, it will air in its regular slot Friday at 9. Check out the official season 2 poster after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: Tim Kring’s ‘Touch’ with Kiefer Sutherland returns tonight at 8PM on FOX →

‘Bates Motel’ gets a poster, watch it come alive

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A boy’s best friend is his mother.

That’s the oh-so-approproate tagline for first season of Bates Motel, the upcoming A&E Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights). A poster featuring young Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Norma (Vera Farmiga) Bates hangs after the break. Above, it comes to life in a such a creep-tastic way. Highmore solidifies the role here and now; that single smirk strikes a chord and he nailed it.

Bates Motel premieres Monday, March 18 at 10PM on A&E. Continue reading ‘Bates Motel’ gets a poster, watch it come alive →

First look: The Muppets are back in ‘The Muppets …Again!’

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The Muppets are coming! The Muppets are coming! After a hugely successful return to the silver screen in 2011’s The Muppets, Kermit and the gang are back for more in a followup sequel The Muppets …Again!. James Bobin is back at the helm and again he co-wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller. Also returning is Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame who won a shiny Oscar for Best Original Song “Man or Muppet” which was featured in the first film. What’s this one about? Read on…

Disney’s The Muppets …Again! takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two.

Jason Segal and Amy Adams will not reprise their roles. Instead fresh blood will invigorate the franchise; Tina Fey (30 Rock) plays feisty prison guard Nadya, Ty Burrell (Modern Family) is Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon, and comedian Ricky Gervais is the villain’s sidekick Dominic.

“It’s great to be back working with the Muppets,” said Bobin, “some of them even remember my name occasionally now. As for the movie, it’s a tip of the hat to the old-school crime capers of the ’60s, but featuring a frog, a pig, a bear and a dog—no panthers, even pink ones—along with the usual Muppet-y mix of mayhem, music and laughs.”

The Muppets … Again! will shoot on location in London and in Hollywood, as well as in the famed Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, just outside of London. Save the date: March 21, 2014.

Eye the Muppets in London in the colorful image pasted above (Walter’s back!) and after the break you’ll find Gervais keeping Kermit and Miss Piggy close to his vest. Continue reading First look: The Muppets are back in ‘The Muppets …Again!’ →

The ‘FRINGE’ finale airs this Friday, get the tissues ready (EPIC trailer inside)

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In three days the final episode of Fringe will come and go. What better way to anticipate and celebrate the final installment of the FOX cult sci-fi series than with a brand new promotional poster and one last epic trailer. Similar in design to the one that came before it, this poster features an Observer with a bad nose bleed but that’s the least of his worries. With Walter and Donald’s plan set in motion, it’s only a matter of time before the baldies go down. Last week anomaly Michael gave himself up to the Observers to ensure the safety of Olivia, Peter, and Walter, so now we’re stuck asking ourselves how will the plan proceed without its most important piece? After the break you’ll discover the final Fringe trailer that sheds some light on what we can expect this Friday. The most intriguing bit? Cortexiphan is back and Olivia is going to harness it to travel back to the other side! The incomparable John Noble narrates.

Exec producer J.J. Abrams describes “An Enemy of Fate,” episode number 100, written and directed by showrunner Joel Wyman, as “highly unexpected, incredibly emotional and a fitting conclusion to the series.” He added, “I mean, the script is unbelievable. [The episode is] beautifully done by Joel and the writers. “If it’s not satisfying, I don’t know what satisfying is.”

John Noble, who plays fan favorite Walter Bishop (and who better not bite the dust), also shared his admiration for the last hurrah. “I can honestly say that it was everything I had hoped it could possibly be,” he told TVLine. “It tied up our character lines, it tied up the great story arc… I was extremely elated. It’s certainly going [out] with a bang. I hope history will judge it as one of the great finales of all time. I really believe they will.” On his character’s fate he continued, “If you had asked me in Season 1 where I thought Walter should finish up, it would have been exactly where he does. That’s the remarkable thing — it’s the perfect arc for Walter.”

Fringe airs two back-to-back episodes (“Liberty” and then “An Enemy of Fate”) this Friday, January 18 starting at 8PM. Continue reading The ‘FRINGE’ finale airs this Friday, get the tissues ready (EPIC trailer inside) →

Fans vote for their favorite ‘Fringe’ events, grab inspired posters to benefit charity

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Do you want to own a piece of Fringe lore before the series comes to its epic conclusion? FOX, Gallery 1988, the Paley Center for Media, and The Mission Continues are teaming up to make that possible. The “Fringe Benefits Project” lets fans of the show vote for their favorite Fringe events and the top five moments will be reimagined by local artists and designers as pieces of art in the form of hand numbered limited edition poster prints. Once the five scenes have been selected, they will be showcased at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills will also have the artwork on hand beginning January 9. Buy up the fan-made posters and all proceeds will be donated to The Mission Continues, a charity that encourages and aids volunteerism by disabled and wounded veterans.

To vote from 31 of the most memorable Fringe episodes, head over to the Fringe Benefits website. The first poster (pasted above) is already highlighted and it celebrates the complete awesomeness that was the season 2 episode “White Tulip.” The limited copy is yours for $30. Fringedom, have at it.

[Via EW]

‘FRINGE’ poster teases “the final battle” when four episodes remain

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There are only four episodes of Fringe left. What better way to ring ’em in than with a shiny poster? The elegantly harrowing image puts the season’s big bad baldie Captain Widmark front and center; his eyes remain transfixed but divert the gaze of the viewer. His stoic nature is intact, but he’s beaten up with black-and-blue patches and red blood seeps from his nose and mouth. The fedora donning mind-wiper has a bleak future because we have to believe that Olivia and the Bishops will in fact save the world by ridding it of The Observers. The final battle is imminent.

Fringe airs one more episode this Friday, December 21 titled “Anomaly XB-6783746” before going on its final hiatus as we gun for the new year. It returns January 11 and the week after that the final two episodes will air back-to-back culminating in the series finale “An Enemy of Fate.”

[Image via TVLine]

‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 to air longer episodes; plus a series-inspired beer is in the works

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March might not feel so close right now, but I’m about to make the wait a bit more bearable. Today EW broke news that the third season of Game of Thrones will feature longer episodes than ever before. Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff explain the situation thusly. “There’s almost another full episode’s worth of extra minutes spread across the season,” says Weiss. “One of the great liberties with HBO is we’re not forced to come in at a specific time. We can’t be under 50 minutes or over 60, but that gives us a lot of flexibility.” So what are we talking about exactly? “Last year we had a lot of 52-minute episodes. This year is a lot of 56, 57,” adds Benioff. This should come as a pleasant surprise for not only fans of the show but also the readers of the books on which the series is based. Season 3 plans to cover approximately the first half of George R.R. Martin’s thickest Song of Ice and Fire novel, A Storm of Swords. “A super-sized season, as befitting Storm of Swords,” Benioff exclaims. Additionally, EW reports that a jam-packed season 3 finale will likely exceed an hour in length provided HBO gives the fantasy series the go-ahead. In sum, though HBO still caps the episode count at 10 it will feel like there’s 11 when all is said and done. “So for people clamoring for another episode, it’s in there,” Weiss elaborates. “It’s just been cut into tiny pieces.”

Game of Thrones premieres March 31, 2013. To learn about the series-inspired beer, jump after the break. Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 to air longer episodes; plus a series-inspired beer is in the works →

New ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ teaser trailer, plus Benedict Cumberbatch villain is “named”

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Two weeks ago Paramount gave us a first look at J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel Into Darkness with a grim poster and an announcement trailer that introduced us to the film’s big baddie played by the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch. Today the studio provides a new teaser trailer, the one that’s attached to screenings of The Hobbit. New footage is mixed with brief glimpses we’ve seen before, including that special moment between Kirk and Spock that was originally added to the ending of the Japanese version of the announcement trailer. In this go around, Bruce Greenwood’s Captain Pike takes over most of the narration duties in a plea to his Enterprise successor Captain Kirk. “There’s greatness in you. But there’s not an ounce of humility,” he says. “You think that you can’t make mistakes. But there’s going to come a moment when you realize you’re wrong about that and you’re going to get yourself and everyone under your command killed.”

To learn the film’s antagonist’s name, jump after the break. Continue reading New ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ teaser trailer, plus Benedict Cumberbatch villain is “named” →

Co-ca-co-ca! ‘Arrested Development’ episode order grows

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It’s been awhile since we heard anything out of the Arrested Development camp. But today brings the legions of fans of the cult comedy some really great news. Netflix, the streaming service that agreed to help resurrect and eventually air new episodes of Arrested, originally commissioned creator Mitch Hurwitz to produce 10 new installments to comprise a fourth season. That number, it turns out, wasn’t enough. Deadline reports “Hurwitz shot more material than planned and also came up with ideas for additional scenes and storylines.” What this means, eager fans, is that the new season of Arrested will definitely consist of more than 10 episodes; Deadline estimates 12-15 total.

A Netflix spokesperson released the following statement surrounding the news: “We are thrilled with the direction of the show, with the footage we have seen and with the relationship between Mitch, Imagine, 20th and Netflix. At this time, we are not confirming or announcing the final episode count but we are sure fans will be thrilled when we do.”

Break out your favorite chicken dance and look forward to the return of an expanded Arrested Development this spring. And remember, all the new episodes are releasing at once, so if you haven’t planned a marathon with friends it’s about that time.

[Via Deadline]

Movie poster: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ [Update: An “announcement trailer” has arrived!]

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Today Paramount released the first poster for the highly anticipated sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Who is that standing in the middle of debris and destruction? Is it Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk, or can it be the film’s antagonist (rumored to be Khan) played by Benedict Cumberbatch?

Whoever it may be, there’s no denying that the poster in general evokes an eerily similar scene of gritty chaos we envisioned with the Dark Knight Rises artwork. In Christopher Nolan’s piece, the crumbling city of Gotham was shaped into the Bat symbol. In J.J. Abrams’ art, a still unknown city on Earth is wasted and its ashes form the iconic Starfleet Delta symbol. Whether or not this imitation was intended by the marketing team (it had to have been, right?!), it serves to tell audiences that Into Darkness (if the subtitle didn’t hint at this already) is going to attempt to tell a gritty, dark tale involving our Enterprise crew and a formidable foe.

In addition to the poster, the studio also released an official synopsis that shines a light on the tightly wrapped plot.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Star Trek Into Darkness is out May 17, 2013. And don’t forget that theatres will be screening the first nine minutes of the film leading into select showings of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey beginning December 14.

Update (12/6): I found something you’ll want to watch over and over again today. Paramount has dropped a teaser trailer (or what they’re calling an “announcement trailer”) for Star Trek Into Darkness. Each tantalizing glimpse is brief but there are so many of them it’s hard to shake off the sheer amount of excitement and anticipation. The best part, though, has to be what is heard, not seen. Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the still unidentified villain, narrates: “You think your world is safe. It is an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned…to have…my…vengeance. So, shall we begin?” Hey Trekkies, I wonder who that could be…

Watch the teaser trailer after the break. Continue reading Movie poster: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ [Update: An “announcement trailer” has arrived!] →