Tag Archives: Television

True Blood Will Finish Stronger Than Ever: Rob Kazinsky

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Persistently renowned for pushing the boundaries with themes of death and rebirth, this spooky, vampire drama with half human fairies thrown in for good measure, has been taken to the hearts of the public and inspired many copycat style dramas. None though will equal series 6, which promises to be not just memorable but thoroughly dramatic and emotional. With Series 6, producer Brian Buckner has set himself the onerous task of proving to loyal fans that True Blood didn’t outstay its welcome, by ensuring he leaves fans begging for more with Robert Kazinksy’s short but sweet dalliance with vampires.

True-Blood-Cancelled-7http://hbowatch.com/hbo-true-blood-season-7-will-be-its-finale/

New Cast Member
Robert Kazinsky, the 30 year old British actor of EastEnders and Pacific Rim fame, joins True Blood in its sixth and final season. This is a brave move for Kazinsky, entering a show which has such an established and cult following in its closing act. Making one’s mark on an established partnership is no mean feat, particularly with a cast and crew who have worked on the previous five seasons. However, it seems that injecting new blood into True Blood’s final series has injected new life into the well-worn formula of this sexy horror drama about real life southern vampires.
Kazinky’s emergence onto the scene provided a new frisson between his character Macklyn Warlow and Sookie Stackhouse. Kazinzky’s character evolves over the course of the season like a good wine ages over a season, no doubt to the anticipated delight of True Blood’s loyal fans.

What to expect in series 7
A real sense of fresh energy has been poured into this series of True Blood which has given the show a major boost and helped ensure that it carries its strengths from previous seasons, and also injects a new impetus to this, its swan song.
Given that half the cast are now no more, there has been a welcome return to a more parochial and homely family unit. A feel which Kazinsky thinks strikes the right note for the final season: “That’s absolutely the right way to go, so this entire [sixth] season was about getting there. That’s Brian’s dream and what he’s doing is brilliant for the show.”
No shrinking violet, and just as well given the abundant nude scenes the character plays as a love interest of lead character Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, Kazinksy tackles some interesting plotlines in the show including a scene with Jason Stackhouse, Sookie’s brother.
Determined to end the show on a high note, producer Brian Buckner has bravely cast Kazinsky in several passionate scenes, none more risk taking than that with fellow co-star Ryan Kwanten who plays Jason, Sookie’s womanising brother. This interseting twist tests and examines the boundaries and relationships between Sookie, Jason and Macklyn. Series 6 is guaranteed to be a show stopper of vampire proportions.
Just as it sparked a revival of vampirology when it premièred in 2008, so it has left the stage with its fans wanting more, surely the sign of a meaty drama, talented cast and great writers which will prove hard, if not impossible, to emulate.

House Of Cards Season 2 Preview

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Right after House of Cards was nominated for four Golden Globes, Netflix released the first trailer for Season 2; Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Carey Stoll were nominated for their roles, while the show was nominated for Best Drama Series.

“The road to power is paved with hypocrisy … and casualties,” Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), says. Expect this season to be darker, more brutal. We can’t wait for the February 14th 2014 release date. Let the butchery begin.

Tears, hospitals, and other drama: what happened to the singing in the X Factor?

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 X-FACTOR-LOGO-e1354895679882Every year it seems the X Factor moves further and further away from its roots as drama, sob stories, bitching and gossip overtakes the singing. But should we be surprised by this? It is, at its heart, a reality show as well as a singing competition, some would argue that it’s reality TV first and singing competition second.

 

It’s unlikely that the powers that be, ie. Simon Cowell, his production company and ITV are bothered by the lack of real interest in the quality of the singing. The X Factor is a money making machine and acts like it.

 

This year’s competition is now into the third week of the Live Shows and it shows that nothing has changed. With Sharon Osbourne back on the judges panel, and the same kinds of singers put through, it seems little will change. Although, even not being able to sing doesn’t mean the finalists can’t make a career – just think of One Direction – no one except Simon Cowell saw their success coming!

 

However, this hasn’t affected ratings which, although losing out to rival Strictly Come Dancing, are still pretty healthy for Saturday night prime time viewing.

 

Dropping like flies

 

The contestants’ health continues to be a contentious issue. Just what should happen if a singer can’t sing on the night? Should they be unceremoniously booted out or given a free pass through to the next round?

 

It’s clear that the policy, at least at the moment, is to push them on to the next week, which doesn’t seem at all fair to the other contestants. Last week, for example, Miss Dynamix singer SeSe Foster collapsed during the final rehearsal for the Saturday night live show. As she is six months pregnant, the producers sensibly took no chances and shipped her off to hospital, leaving her band mates hanging around backstage, knowing they are through to next week without even having to perform. However, it looks like it may well have affected their chances.

 

Last year, Lucy Spraggan was afforded the same privilege due to illness and, although it’ll certainly affect the other contestant’s odds, it probably doesn’t alter much long term. X Factor final betting is a hugely popular sport among eager viewers, and incidents like this will just remind them that they need to keep their eye on the gambling ball!

 

Helping out a friend?

 

The judges are getting on very well this year. Gone are the days of spats, rivalries and arguments like the series including Tulisa and Danni Minogue. Sharon O seems to be matriarch of the panel, with Nicole very much under her wing. However, the fact that Louis sent one of Sharon’s contestants home last week as reportedly led to the two judges falling out.

 

This definitely gives credence to the suspicion that the judges are doing ‘deals’ with each other when it comes to voting their acts out, which makes it much more about them than about their contestants’ singing abilities…

 

Is X Factor fixed?

 

So, is it a fix or not? With contestants like Sam Callahan and Kingston Road showing pretty abysmal live singing skills, it certainly seems so. However, it shouldn’t affect people’s fun, and it definitely shouldn’t affect whether people watch and bet on the show. It just means that you have to look at all the other possible reasons acts will go through, and bet accordingly. Whatever you do, don’t rely on the one with the best voice as that is certainly no guarantee – just look at the winner of 2012’s X Factor. No one even remembers his name…

 

 

4 Ways Mad Men’s Don Draper Would Use a Smartphone

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The technology of the ’60s was nothing compared to what we have today — I mean, they were just inventing the first answering machines — and Don Draper was not impressed. He called technology a glittering lure and hinted that they were mostly just for show.

Still, it’s interesting to see how Don Draper would use the technology of today for his life in the ’60s. Read on for the four ways in which Don Draper would use a smartphone’s convenience.

1. As a Normal Phone


Image via Flickr by Tim G. Photography

Okay, okay, I know this one isn’t groundbreaking. But let’s face it — Don Draper has never experienced the simple, taken-for-granted convenience of owning a cellular or portable phone. Just think, with a phone by his side, Draper could call a taxi instead of driving drunk. Countless lives could be saved.

2. As a Camera/Slideshow Viewer

Like in his carousel photo gallery presentation, Draper has to have an itch to go back, a yearning for the nostalgic, a longing to “travel the way a child travels.” He could store photos of his terrible parents for those moments where he wants to drink and forget, or he could keep stock in all the women in his life.

In between his multiple extramarital affairs, a smartphone would allow Draper to love his kids from afar. Just how he wants it.

3. As a Way to Work Without Going to Work


Image via Flickr by mezclaconfusa

Of course Don Draper loves his office — who wouldn’t? But he sometimes likes to venture out. He takes long breaks that have nothing to do with work and everything to do with mistresses, but maybe with a smartphone, he could stay focused and enjoy the flexibility he feels he deserves.

Working away from your office, or workshifting, is one of the great features of a series of newer smartphones. The new BlackBerry smartphones, for example, claim to reinvent the idea of enterprise mobility management. Draper could have the whole creative team from Sterling, Cooper & Partners working simultaneously.

Perhaps Draper can take advantage of this technology while sitting in a booth alone, sipping a lonely scotch, while getting some work done on his newest ad campaign.

4. As a Note/Idea Saver

The popular app, Evernote, is available on pretty much any platform of computer and smartphone. This app allows you to save ideas from most websites, as well as jot down notes of your own. After you save the notes, it’s extremely easy to access from any device, including smartphones. It’s all right there on the cloud.

With Evernote, Don would be able to capture those wild epiphanies he has in his everyday life — you know, the ones that usually result in a brilliant presentation that leaves the client (and the audience) in awe, thinking, “I want to be like that guy. Minus all the negative stuff.”

Don Draper could benefit from a smartphone, even if he would first try to resist the temptation. Just think of how much safer the roads would be after one of Draper’s many happy hours.

Homeland Season Three Preview: Spoilers

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Homeland Season Three, preview, review, spoilers, homelandHomeland is back. we are very excited. Here is the breakdown of the first episode.

Agent Peter Quinn makes a bomb in a basement, topless.

The Brody family have had a tough time, receiving death threats and bricks through their window. The FBI is following them and the media is hounding them. Dana comes home after a suicide attempt. She has a new boyfriend she met in rehab. She seems to be on the mend and sends a semi-nude picture to her new boyfriend. Her grandmother is also there, trying to help out the family. They eat together and have quality family time. Jessica finds it hard to deal with her daughters attempted suicide and has had to get a job as they have no money coming in

Carrie is off her meds and taking the brunt of the anger along with the rest of the CIA. They have not cleared up the bomb sight ‘because they are punishing us’. The CIA need a win badly and Saul, now in charge, already has a mission in place to take out a number of targets. They succeed in their mission, assassinating a number of bad guys. Agent Quinn was at the forefront of the mission and is upset when a child gets killed.

Carrie is in front of a committee, who are particularly harsh. The CIA are being blamed and the committee are digging for dirt and want to make the CIA pay for their mistakes. To compensate for being off her meds Carrie is drinking, picking up men and seems to be her own worst enemy. After a piece is leaked about her to the media- which doesn’t name her so her operatives are not harmed- she has a run in with Saul in a restaurant, causes a scene and tells them all ‘f**k you’. The newspaper piece is about her sexual relationship with Brody.

At a committee Saul talks about their success at their being ‘a little less evil in the world today’. The committee is still not happy and mentions the Carrie article. Saul, after a pause, confirms that, although the information is flawed, the operative in question was erratic and hide her bi-polar disorder from the agency for ten years. He then says that he never knew about the sexual relationship between Carrie and Agent Brody. Carrie watches on TV, devastated and in disbelief.

Breaking Bad: The Complete Series Comes To DVD And Blu-ray

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The Ultimate Breaking Bad Experience Comes to Blu-ray™ Nov 25

Collector’s Edition Full Series Set Features an All-New, Two-Hour Documentary and More Than 55 Hours of Special Features in a Collectible Replica Barrel with Commemorative Memorabilia from Creator Vince Gilligan

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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment cooks up a full batch on November 25 when BREAKING BAD: THE COMPLETE SERIES comes to Blu-ray™ in its entirety. One of the most explosive series ever to air on television, the 16-disc set is this year’s must-have gift for the holiday season, complete with all 62 episodes and more than 55 hours of special features.  Starring three-time Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series) alongside two-time Emmy® winner Aaron Paul (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series), the critically acclaimed drama from Sony Pictures Television boasts one of television’s most radical storylines, giving viewers a glimpse into the life of how far a man might go in order to take care of the ones he loves.

Fans who are addicted to the series and itching for another hit can now indulge in more than two-hours of never-before-seen footage in a ground-breaking series documentary exclusively in the box set, which comes packaged in a collectible replica barrel representing part of Walter White’s dark legacy.  The all-new documentary chronicles the making of the final season, from filming the first table read to the very last day on set and everything in between, including Bryan Cranston inviting the camera in to his Albuquerque living room for the first reading of the final script with Aaron Paul.  The box set also contains all bonus features from previously released seasons, a Los Pollos Hermanos apron and a collectible booklet with a letter from Gilligan, as well as a commemorative Breaking Bad challenge coin designed and created by Gilligan exclusively for this set as a token of appreciation to fans for making the Breaking Bad journey.

The dark series includes an exceptional ensemble cast with Anna Gunn (TV’s “Deadwood”), Dean Norris (TV’s “Under the Dome”), Betsy Brandt (TV’s “Michael J. Fox Show”), RJ Mitte and Bob Odenkirk (The Spectacular Now).

BREAKING BAD was created by writer/director/producer Vince Gilligan (TV’s “The X-Files”), who also served as executive producer with Academy Award® winner Mark Johnson (Rain Man, 1988’s Best Picture) and Michelle MacLaren (TV’s “The X-Files”). Co-executive producers of the series include Melissa Bernstein (TV’s Rectify), Sam Catlin (TV’s “Canterbury’s Law”), George Mastras (TV’s “The Dresden Files”), Peter Gould (TV’s “Too Big To Fail”), Thomas Schnauz (TV’s “The X-Files”) and Moira Walley-Beckett (TV’s “Pan Am”). Stewart A. Lyons served as Line Producer/UPM. Cranston and Diane Mercer (TV’s “Arrested Development”) are producers of the series. The series is produced by High Bridge and Gran Via Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television for AMC.

Are you a Breaking Bad fan?

Three Copies Of Shameless Boxset To Giveaway | Competition

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We have three copies of Shameless Series Eleven on DVD Boxset to giveaway. To win follow @Frostmag on Twitter and Tweet, ‘I want to win Shameless Boxset with @Frostmag’ or like us on Facebook.  Alternatively, sign up to our newsletter.

win, competition, giveaway, dvd, television, shameless, boxsetOut now.

Welcome back to Manchester’s most notorious estate for the last ever epic 14-part series, out now.

celebratory, defiant and unapologetic as ever. With the hilarious energy of the stalwarts thriving in

the double dip recession – always a law unto themselves, always with family at their core, living in

their robust micro climate.

 

The final series goes out with a bang when Jamie Maguire (Aaron McCusker) discovers he isn’t a

pure blood Maguire and introduces the estate to his Muslim half-brother Kassi (Jalaal Hartley – The

Borgias) and his Jewish cooking mad wife Esther (Isy Suttie – Peep Show) as they disembark on the

estate with their three feral children in tow.

 

The comings and goings on the Chatsworth Estate, and the exploits of feckless Frank Gallagher, his

errant brood of children, and the other colourful characters living on the estate have provided plenty

of entertainment over the past 10 years. Channel 4’s longest running series has been key to the

careers of many British screen stars including James McAvoy, Anne-Marie Duff and Maxine Peake,

not to mention the team of high profile writers and directors.

 

Series 11 is a suitably shameless ending for the final chapter of the multi-award winning

iconic drama series. Or why not relive the ten year masterpiece from the very beginning

with the 1-11 boxset? Out now.

 

Are you a Shameless fan?

Two Copies of Hard-hitting Channel 4 drama Run To Give Away

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Frost has two copies of hard-hitting drama Run to give away. Double BAFTA winner Olivia Colman returns in the brand new hard-hitting drama from Channel 4 which is out on DVD now.

This dark and compelling drama boasts a stellar all-star cast alongside Colman (TwentyTwelve, The Accused), including Lennie James (Line of Duty, The Walking Dead), Jaime Winstone (Made In Dagenham, Kidulthood), Katie Leung (Harry Potter, White Swans) and Katharina Schuttler (The Promise) and paints a picture of modern-day urban life. RUN is an original four-part drama that weaves together the stories of four seemingly unconnected people facing life-changing decisions in a world where every choice is a luxury.

To win follow @Frostmag on Twitter and Tweet, ‘I want to win with @Frostmag’ or like us on Facebook.  Alternatively, sign up to our newsletter.