Shania Twain is CMT’s Artist of a Lifetime (Photo: Courtesy of CMT / Mercury Nashville)
CMT will honor country superstar Shania Twain with its Artist of a Lifetime award, making the country artist the first woman to ever receive the award. Twain will be recognized as the Artist of a Lifetime during the 2016 CMT Artists of the Year special airing on Thursday, October 20th at 9pm ET/PT. Twain will be joining a list of Artist of a Lifetime award winners that includes Kenny Rogers and Merle Haggard.
Twain has earned five Grammy awards and has sold well over 75 million albums. She also ranks at the top selling female country artist in history and holds the record for the top-selling country album with her 1997 Come On Over.
The awards special will honor Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and Thomas Rhett as Artists of the Year. Kelsea Ballerini will also be receiving the Breakout award during the 90-minute special. The Country music event will take place at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center and will feature “once-in-a-lifetime performances, unexpected tributes and unforgettable toasts as the biggest stars of music, film and television gather to celebrate the five artists selected by CMT as the top artists of the year.”
Past honorees at the CMT Artists of the Year special include Jason Aldean (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Kenny Chesney (2011, 2012), Eric Church (2012), Hunter Hayes (2013), Toby Keith (2012), Lady Antebellum (2010, 2011), Little Big Town(2015), Miranda Lambert (2012, 2014), Tim McGraw (2013), Brad Paisley (2011), Blake Shelton (2015), Taylor Swift (2010, 2011), Carrie Underwood (2010, 2012), Keith Urban (2014), Sam Hunt (2015), and Zac Brown Band (2010).
American Horror Story will be sticking around for at least one more season. FX has renewed the horror anthology series for a seventh season as just announced by John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions. American Horror Story was created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and features many of the same actors each season taking on different roles in new horror settings.
“Ryan, Brad and their team of remarkable writers have done an amazing job of keeping American Horror Story endlessly inventive, shocking and entertaining and we are honored to move ahead with them on the seventh installment,” stated Landgraf, announcing the renewal. “The sustained success through six installments only proves how intensely the series resonates with fans. AHS confronts our deepest fears with unmatched suspense and style. Each new installment is a cultural event, hotly anticipated for its theme, imagery, cast and twists. We thank the creators and their team, the cast and everyone who has continued to make AHS such an extraordinary series.”
American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare, the sixth season of the series, is the only season not to release the theme or photos prior to the season’s premiere. Currently airing on Wednesday nights at 10pm ET/PT, AHS: Roanoke episode one ranks as the third-most watched telecast in the network’s history. The series is, according to FX, up 29% over AHS Hotel‘s average viewership and up 25% in total viewers.
The cast of American Horror Story: Roanoke is led by Cuba Gooding Jr, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Adina Porter, Lily Rabe and Andre Holland. The cast also includes Kathy Bates, Denis O’Hare, Lady Gaga, Evan Peters, Cheyenne Jackson, and Wes Bentley.
Finn Jones in ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist.’ (Photo Credit: Myles Aronowitz/Netflix)
Netflix just released a 15 second video to announce the Marvel’s Iron Fist premiere date. The super short video revealed Netflix has sete a March 17, 2017 at 12:01am PT premiere date for action series, and as usual will make all 13 one-hour of the episodes available at once for your viewing pleasure. In addition to confirming the premiere date, Netflix also unveiled the first photo featuring series star Finn Jones (Game of Thrones).
Iron Fist marks the fourth series in the deal between Marvel and Netflix. The deal kicked off with the launch of Daredevil starring Charlie Cox followed by Jessica Jones with Krysten Ritter and Luke Cage starring Mike Colter.
Discussing the series and Jones’ as the lead character, executive producer/showrunner Scott Buck said, “Danny Rand is a very complicated character. He’s a billionaire New York Buddhist monk martial arts superhero who’s still trying to figure out what exactly that all means. Finn is able to play all these levels in such an honest, revelatory way that as soon as I saw him I knew he was our Danny.”
The Iron Fist Plot: Billionaire Danny Rand (Finn Jones) returns to New York City after being missing for years, trying to reconnect with his past and his family legacy. He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.
Jared Gilmore and Colin O’Donoghue in ‘Once Upon a Time’ season 6 (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
The Evil Queen is back and everyone now knows it in ABC’s Once Upon a Time season six episode three. ABC has unveiled the basic plot details on the third episode of the season titled ‘The Other Shoe’ and airing on October 9, 2016. Season six airs on Sunday nights at 8pm ET/PT and stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Rebecca Mader as the Wicked Witch/Zelena, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.
Guest starring in episode three are Jessy Schram as Ashley/Cinderella, Raphael Sbarge as Dr. Archie Hopper/Jiminy, Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, David Anders as Dr. Whale/Dr. Frankenstein, Ingrid Torrance as Nurse Ratched, Peter Marcin as Chief, Tim Phillipps as Prince Thomas, Lisa Banes as Lady Tremaine, Mekenna Melvin as Clorinda, Goldie Hoffman as Tisbe, Max Lloyd-Jones as Jacob, Jarod Joseph as Gus, Hank Harris as Dr. Jekyll, and Sam Witwer as Mr. Hyde.
Once Upon a Time‘s season six episode three was written by Jane Espenson and Jerome Schwartz. Steve Pearlman directed the October 9th episode.
The Other Shoe Plot: As Storybrooke continues to welcome the new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories, families, friends and even long-lost enemies are reunited once again. When Ashley (Cinderella) searches for her step-family, intent on settling their unfinished business, Emma, Hook, and Henry scramble to help her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Regina attempts to bribe Mr. Hyde for information about how to defeat the Evil Queen and Snow helps Dr. Jekyll find a suitable laboratory for his work. David makes a deal with Gold and delivers a message to Belle in exchange for new information about his father. In flashback, Cinderella attends a ball and meets her prince.
Lana Parrilla in The Other Shoe episode of ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)Mekeena Melvin, Lisa Banes, Goldie Hoffman, and Jessy Schram in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)
Tricia Helfer in the “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire” episode of ‘Lucifer’ (Photo by Bettina Strauss / FOX)
Lucifer and Amenadiel’s mother issues continue in Fox’s Lucifer season two episode two titled ‘Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire.’ The episode kicks off with a dead man coming back to life after suffering a heart attack, calling out for Lucifer, only to be killed by a bus. Next up is the victim of a shoot-out who’s quickly dispatched again before barely getting the word Lucifer out. However, the third time proves to be the charm as mom seems to have found the dead body of a sexy woman to be the perfect vessel to use while making contact with her kids.
Mom (Tricia Helfer) wakes from the dead, disoriented, and with the dead woman’s child calling her on the phone. She puts the cell in the ice bucket because why not and checks herself out in a mirror. There’s a screwdriver protruding from her back but all she can think about is Lucifer.
Mom’s at Lucifer’s place telling him how she wound up in this particular body. And, she’s not sure if humans are normally cannibals because men have been eyeing her “hungrily.” Mom’s confused about a lot of things but she’s sure this body has a nice butt, and even asks Lucifer (Tom Ellis) to feel it. Before things devolve into the really twisted category, Lucifer gets things back on track by saying he doesn’t believe her story. He takes a time-out to pray…actually, he’s calling for Amenadiel to send her back to Hell. Mom will have nothing of that but Lucifer says she’s got to go. Mom just wants to bond with her kids and she’s not holding the fact he was her warden in Hell against him. Lucifer wasn’t born yesterday and he doesn’t trust her, so he suggests they retrace her steps but not until she slips into something less knife wound-y bloody.
Lucifer and mom break into the hotel room where she was killed, and Lucifer’s weirded out by his mom in Maze’s sexy and revealing clothing. He says the dress is insufficient while mom thinks it’s impractical. As Lucifer looks for clues, mom and son chat about being cast down to Hell. The chat’s interrupted by the discovery of a dead man on the bed. Here comes the “liar, liar, slutty dress on fire” line from the title as Lucifer thinks mom killed the guy. A hotel manager knocks on the door and mom suggests they fly out the window to escape. She’s understandably shocked to learn Lucifer doesn’t have wings anymore.
They sneak out of the hotel and mom’s pissed her son cut off his wings. A random guy wants to know how much for Lucifer’s prostitute. Oh, definitely not a good question to ask as Lucifer sics his mom on the would-be john. He pulls her away before she can actually do anything to harm the guy and he’s decided she needs to “lose those clothes” because men can’t handle it. She takes him literally, stripping naked on the sidewalk. Lucifer yells, “Mom!” and makes her get in the car, covering her with his jacket and adding, “I’m traumatized for eternity now, so thank you very much for that.”
Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) is about to leave when he brings in mom. Maze wants to torture his mother, but Lucifer makes her restrain herself. Instead, Maze just has to babysit her while he figures out what to do.
Detective Dan (aka Detective Douche) and Chloe (Lauren German) are tag-teaming Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) about the destruction of Tammy Twinkle Toes, her doll. Her eye’s popped out and she looks a mess, but Lucifer – who is outside the room eavesdropping – compliments Trixie on her work. Chloe tries to blame the doll’s desecration on Lucifer’s influence, but he says he can’t take the credit. Lucifer’s anxious to go investigate the hotel room guy’s murder and doesn’t know why Chloe’s in such a huff over a doll. She explains Trixie did it so she can get a new doll, like her friend did. Lucifer truly appreciates Trixie’s manipulation and calls Chloe a bad mother, telling her she’s abandoning her child in its time of need. The argument is interrupted by a call about the murder victim Lucifer’s been dying to check out.
Ella (Aimee Garcia) is already there taking pictures, and Lucifer very specifically ‘guesses’ the cause of death is a 5” screwdriver. Lucifer draws her attention to the other pool of blood, telling her it’s from his evil mother. Chloe can’t believe he keeps blaming every murder on his mom and thinks it’s the case of a jealous husband. Lucifer, conveniently, finds the phone and Ella punches him, saying, “Good eye, Luc…ifer.” Just then, Dan comes in and says he’s found another body.
Back at the station, Ella says the new dead body is the maid. Lucifer still thinks his mom did both murders, and Dan thinks the person who killed the maid is a man because it was death by strangulation. A discussion’s held over tiny man hands and while everyone else lays out a possible theory, Lucifer says the killer – a she – must go straight to Hell as soon as possible. Off he goes, and Ella gives Chloe the name of the person who bought the cell phone. Dan heads out to check on missing persons, while Chloe wants Lucifer to go with her to the law firm that bought the phone. She interrupts Lucifer as he’s praying for Amenadiel who is still not answering. “It usually works. He must have gone for a whank or something,” says Luc…ifer. Ella tells Lucifer not to get discouraged if God doesn’t answer; it’s a one-way intercom.
Amenadiel (DB Woodside) is at his fake office where he masqueraded as a therapist. Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris) confronts him over the fact he used her and she trusted him and thought he was a friend. As she leaves a black feather floats into his hand.
At the law firm, Lucifer gets everyone’s attention by yelling … never the discreet individual, that Lucifer … asking if anyone recognizes the phone he’s holding up. Then he holds up a shoe and a guy recognizes it as Charlotte’s shoe. Charlotte is the owner of the firm and the guy who identified it, Brad Wheeler, didn’t know she was missing. They show him a photo of the dead guy from the hotel room and ask when he last saw her, and it sounds like he’s confessing. But, actually, he’s in love with Charlotte who is still married. He says she hates her husband, which gives Chloe and Lucifer another person to track down.
They make it to Charlotte’s house and the hubby knows about Charlotte’s affairs and doesn’t really care. The house is a mess, he’s a mess, but he seems like a decent enough guy and the crime-fighting duo don’t suspect him of murder. He recognizes the dead guy but doesn’t know him. After Chloe leaves to confirm the husband’s story that he’s been home for the last three days, Lucifer asks him when he gave up his man card. The guy actually has luncheon meat stuck to his T-shirt and Lucifer is not impressed. He takes him to his closest, making him toss out his Crocs and Hawaiian print shirts, as well as a Dave Matthews tribute tank top, and then Lucifer stumbles upon a garment bag. Lucky Lucifer, the bag is actually full of cocaine which puts a huge smile on Lucifer’s face after he gives it a taste test. Chloe enters the bedroom moments later, shocked at Lucifer’s discovery.
Back at home, mom (who we’ll now call Charlotte since that’s the body she’s wearing) is learning what a parent is supposed to do by watching TV. It’s all about the Mac ‘n Cheese. Maze lays out her torture tools and is ready to get down to business now that Charlotte’s wearing a meatsuit and is chained to the couch.
Chloe examines the packages of cocaine at the station and Dan walks in carrying a box and wanting to know if the coke is the husband’s. Chloe thinks it’s the wife’s and would explain why she was killed. Chloe opens the box and discovers it’s a new doll for Trixie. Lucifer sent it and he’s all smiles when he walks in and sees it’s been delivered. “Did the mini kitchen come too?” he asks as Chloe fumes over the gift. Just then a match is made of the fingerprint lifted off a cocaine bundle and it’s an associate of a known drug kingpin. Dan heads out to call the FBI and see what he can find out. Chloe also leaves taking the doll with her, and Lucifer follows but not before he grabs a package of cocaine for himself.
Maze and Charlotte are talking about torture, and Charlotte says she doesn’t deserve to be punished. During their talk, Maze tells Charlotte Lucifer made a deal with God to send her back to Hell – and he won’t break that deal. Charlotte didn’t know that and gets upset, but not too upset to knock out Maze who gets too close.
Chloe is packaging up the doll when Lucifer tells her she’s a bad mother. Chloe says he’s projecting his mother issues on her. Dan’s found some info on Charlotte’s drug connection and, apparently, both Charlotte and the murder victim were helping to bring down the cartel, not working for them. They were working with the FBI, and cartel hitman Jimmy the Carpenter’s favorite weapon of choice is a screwdriver – their murder weapon. Poor Lucifer, the killer isn’t his mom. Chloe and Dan have to plot their next steps carefully so as not to interfere with the FBI’s case, but Lucifer’s looking skeptical about their plan of action. And when Chloe brings up that the kingpin has to be after Charlotte since she survived, Lucifer is suddenly worried about his mom.
Lucifer finds Maze back at the house and explains mom’s not a killer, at least not on Earth, but she is the target of a cartel hitman. He doesn’t want his mom to leave the house but unfortunately she’s already escaped and taken a credit card (Maze told her what they’re used for). Maze confesses she let the deal with God out and Charlotte is probably running away. If she dies and goes into a different body, they’ll never find her.
Lucifer starts going door-to-door in a tanning salon where the kingpin hangs out and finally finds him in a tanning bed. He smoothly and without pausing in his questioning knocks out the henchmen while telling the cartel boss he needs to stay away from Charlotte. As he knocks one of the boss’ men through the wall, lots of packages of cocaine fall to the floor. The wall is stuffed with cocaine bundles and Lucifer jokes, “Look at that! A snowstorm in a tanning salon. How ironic.” Chloe and an officer show up and arrest the cartel boss.
Back at the station, the kingpin says he knew the guy was feeding info to the FBI so he fed him false information. He claims he did not have him killed. Also, Jimmy the Carpenter couldn’t be the killer because he’s dead.
Chloe tells Lucifer they have to find someone connected to Charlotte and Marco that didn’t know Jimmy the Carpenter is dead. The cartel knows that which means it has to be someone at the law firm. Chloe warns him he can’t go do another shakedown, but he’s worried about Charlotte’s welfare.
Lucifer and Chloe talk to one of the lawyers who would have had a lot to gain by Charlotte’s death, but he says he didn’t kill his boss/mentor of 12 years – and definitely didn’t kill her out of professional jealousy. He messes up by saying he thinks Charlotte is dead and tells them he’s done answering their questions.
Charlotte has been busy since escaping Maze. She’s got a shopping cart full of different cheeses and as she makes her way to the car, the lawyer approaches with a screwdriver asking why she’s not dead. He traced her by her credit card use and is about to stab her again after she realizes he’s the one who killed Charlotte. Fortunately, Lucifer stops him. Chloe is right there as Lucifer slams the lawyer against a car, and she distracts Lucifer long enough for the guy to try to escape. Chloe chases after him while Lucifer stabs his mom in the arm with the screwdriver because now she’ll have to “sell the whole Charlotte charade.” The stab is to help explain the blood pool back at the murder scene. He also tells her they have to act like they don’t know each other.
Charlotte’s looked at by paramedics as Chloe and Lucifer engage in a little sexually-infused private conversation – or at least sexually-infused on Lucifer’s part. He’s in trouble for beating up suspects and for buying Trixie a $200 doll. He wants to know why and Chloe says it was part of teaching Trixie a lesson. “Neglect 101. You’re abandoning her in her time of need, detective,” replies Lucifer. Chloe knows this all has to do with his mom, but she explains doing what’s best for your child doesn’t always make them happy.
Amenadiel visits Dr. Linda’s office to apologize for hurting her. He’s sorry he ruined their friendship. She accepts his apology.
And now we see why that black feather that appeared earlier was so important. Amenadiel takes off his shirt in front of the mirror and his wings are molting, turning black and feathers are falling off. He screams.
Back at Lucifer’s place, mom presents him with Mac ‘n Cheese which she calls Cheesy Noodles. “It’s what mothers make to bring their children joy,” she explains. She wants everything to go back to the way it was with him and all her children. She wants her home back but knows she can’t have that. She says now she’ll just try to be a good mom to him on Earth. He doesn’t accept it, reminding her she abandoned him when dad cast him down into Hell. And now comes the big, unexpected twist: mom’s the one who sent Lucifer to Hell. He’s blamed dad all along but she says she did it to save his life. Dad wanted to kill him but mom saved Lucifer by begging God to send him to Hell instead. She did it out of love. But, she says she’ll return to Hell if he really wants her to go back. Lucifer tells her she can stay for now until he figures things out.
Lucifer leaves and mom stares up to the heavens with a wicked, self-satisfied smile.
Fox’s Gotham season three episode two found Lee (Morena Baccarin) back in town just as it appeared Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) was moving on with the help of Valerie Vale (Jamie Chung). Episode three titled ‘Mad City: Look Into My Eyes’ addresses the Jim/Lee relationship but more importantly it also brings in two new interesting characters, Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter and Alice. Airing on October 3, 2016, season three episode three also found Penguin entering the political arena and reuniting with one of the show’s best characters, Edward Nygma.
The Recap:
Hypnotist Jervis Tetch (Benedict Samuel from The Walking Dead) entertains the clients at Barbara’s nightclub, and Barbara’s pleased with the packed crowd as Jervis makes his way into the audience to pick out someone for a special trick. He spots a pricey necklace and hypnotizes the owner’s husband into doing a risky trick involving a chair. Before waking him up, Jervis whispers a command that will allow the hypnotist to enter his home when he wants to.
Barbara asks him if he can make people do anything he wants them to, and he says only what people already wish to do.
Meanwhile over at Wayne Manor, Bruce (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) watch Bruce’s doppelgänger eat. The poor kid’s hungry and says his name is 5148, but they call him Five. He doesn’t remember anything prior to Indian Hill. He woke up in the lab a year ago and after Fish broke them out, he was determined to meet Bruce after he saw him on the roof with Selina. Bruce welcomes him to stay at Wayne Manor, but Alfred’s not so sure. (Does Alfred have the Batman equivalent of spidey-sense?)
Leaving Five to finish his dinner, Alfred and Bruce argue over “that thing,” as Alfred dubs him. Alfred thinks Hugo Strange made another Bruce and it probably has to do with the secret society. Bruce wants to know the who, what, and why about this doppelgänger. Alfred suggests contacting Lucius while back in the kitchen Five burns his arm but doesn’t seem to feel it.
Jim Gordon offers Valerie Vale breakfast but she’d rather get ready at her place. He offers to use some of the bounty he earns to fix up his apartment, but apparently Valerie just views her night at Jim’s as a one-nighter.
Captain Barnes (Michael Chiklis) welcomes Lee Thompkins back to the GCPD, saying he’s happy to have her back. He tells her Jim doesn’t work at the GCPD anymore, just as Jim shows up at the station. Harvey (Donal Logue) stops him before he makes it to the Captain’s office, suggesting they go for coffee. Harvey and Jim are walking toward the exit when Lee spots Jim, calling out his name. Lee stammers out a question and Jim seems tongue-tied also, telling her she looks well. When he asks if she’s visiting, she answers, “No. We’re… I’m moving here, permanently, with my fiancé.” The fiancé will be working at Gotham General as a trauma surgeon. Jim tells her she’ll only see him occasionally when he shows up to collect bounties. Jim’s pissed as he pushes past Harvey to get his money.
Jervis calls the man he hypnotized earlier and instructs him to unlock the front door. He opens it and Jervis is there holding out his watch. The wife wakes and comes downstairs to find Jervis in the darkened hallway. He warns her to run and says, “There’s no escape from the magic man.” She runs right into her husband who kills her without flinching. The husband’s instructed to bury his wife in the garden and then kill himself. While waiting for the deeds to be done, Jervis holds a picture of his sister, Alice (Naian Gonzalez Norvind), who is missing.
Speaking of Alice, she’s being hounded by her landlord because she’s behind on rent, and he offers to “work something out” with her since she’s broke and jobless. She tries to fight him off, he slaps her, she’s bleeding, and then he kisses her. Immediately he reacts to her blood and she tells him he brought it on himself.
Aubrey James (Richard Kind) is holding a press conference declaring he’ll resume the office of Mayor. Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) puts a stop to James’ speech and says the press conference is a sham. Penguin blames James for being locked away and says James has brought shame to the office of Mayor. Penguin wants the people to have a say in who will protect them. He then makes a case in front of the crowd that he should be the one who leads him. Penguin takes the stage and announces his candidacy and he wants an emergency election to be held immediately.
Alfred and Bruce are boxing when Five enters the room. Bruce asks if Five wants to try sparring and Alfred fits him with gloves. At first, Five just stands there. Then, he throws one punch that connects and almost knocks Alfred down. He apologizes. Alfred’s fine but he keeps missing as Five lands every punch without any effort. No one taught him to box and Alfred and Five start sparring again. This time Alfred hits him in the face but Five is unaware he’s bleeding. He doesn’t feel any pain! As Alfred helps Five with an ice pack he and Bruce notice a nasty scar on the back of Five’s neck. Bruce, kindly, asks what they did to him in Indian Hill.
Jervis shows up at Jim’s place and wants his help finding Alice. He says he’s her guardian but she has a condition that caused him to turn to Hugo Strange for help. She has a poison in her blood and she’s been locked up there for years. Jervis thinks she was part of the breakout and she’s probably alone and afraid. Jim asks if Jervis can top the $5,000 he’d get from the GCPD and Jervis offers $10,000. He hands over a photo of Alice and a business card with how to reach him.
Butch (Drew Powell) isn’t sure Penguin knows what he’s getting himself into, but Penguin’s already got dozens of volunteers working on his campaign back at his house. Butch is more scared of politicians than the worst Gotham has to offer. (Smart man.) But Penguin wants to create a legacy his father would be proud of and his campaign posters are actually very professional – and normal – looking.
Five looks through Bruce’s pictures as Bruce tries to research Five’s scars. Bruce hides Five away as Selina (Camren Bicondova) crawls through the window, telling Bruce Ivy is missing. Bruce thinks she’ll turn up but Selina says Ivy fell a long way down into water. Bruce wonders why Selina cares and she says she was all Ivy ever had. Getting emotional, she tells Bruce no one else would even talk to Ivy. Bruce takes her hand as Five watches from behind a door. Selina says she’s not going to give up and asks him to go with her. If she had a car she could get around quicker. He says no and she gets upset, calling him a selfish son of a bitch. After she leaves, he whispers, “I’m sorry.” From his hiding place, Five copies Bruce’s voice, practicing getting it right. A little smile appears on the doppelgänger’s face.
Jim tracks down Selina, offering her money if she helps him find Alice. She counters his offer with a request of her own: help her find Ivy. Jim shows her Alice’s photo and Selina recognizes her as being with Fish Mooney for a couple of days before taking off and getting a job at a bar.
Jim investigates the bar which winds up is badly damaged from a fire. The owner shows up, wanting to know what Jim’s doing there. The owner says Alice started the fire. She told him she cut herself and after her blood was on the counter, the place went up in flames. The owner and two of his guys attack Jim when he tries to leave, but Jim ultimately gets the upper hand.
After taking a blow to the head, Jim heads to the hospital where the doctor stitches him up. The doctor turns out to be Lee’s fiancé, Mario, and he says Lee speaks highly of him. Jim’s taken by surprise at this turn of events, and the doctor confides he loves Lee and will take care of her. Before he leaves Jim tells the doc, “If you ever were to hurt her, I’d have to hunt you down and kill you.”
Penguin meets up with Mayor James at a restaurant where they exchange insults. James has everyone important backing him while Penguin only has himself. It appears Penguin’s losing his temper and about to attack James when the Mayor’s henchmen spring to action and hold him at gunpoint. The rest of the people in the restaurant also stand up, all with weapons and all backing Penguin. So much for a peaceful meeting!
Jim finds Alice’s apartment and discovers the landlord’s locked in a closet. He lets the guy out and the man immediately leaps on him. Alice saves the day, shooting the landlord and asking if Jim got any of the blood on him. She says the landlord was infected. Jim tells her her brother’s searching for her and she lights the body on fire, fleeing the room.
Back at Wayne Manor, Five is standing over Bruce’s bed holding scissors. Then he takes a seat in front of a mirror and cuts off his hair.
Morning comes and Bruce and Alfred realize Five is gone. Bruce says they have to go after him.
Penguin shows up at Arkham where the prisoners are out of control. He tells the man in charge that in exchange for the release of Ed Nygma, he’ll give the man a position in the government. The man hesitates and Penguin threatens to have the man locked up there forever.
At the club, Jervis Tetch hypnotizes Barbara (Erin Richards) and asks her to find him irresistible. She wakes on stage and says she loves him. When he acts like he doesn’t love her, she tries to kill him. He brings her out from under hypnosis just in time. The audience is scared yet impressed.
Jim meets with Jervis after the show and explains what went down with Alice. He wants to know what’s going on and Jervis says it’s complicated. Jervis wants to talk somewhere private and they head outside. Jim asks what it is that Alice has in her blood and Jervis says Alice is powerful. Jervis then synchronizes his watch with Jim’s heartbeat, making Jim disarm himself and walk to the edge of the roof. He tells Jim to rest, close his eyes, and that he knows Jim wants to die. When Jervis reaches 10, Jim will step off the ledge. The countdown begins and Alice stops him at five. She demands Jervis get Jim down off the ledge, and she calls her brother evil. He says he loves her and she shoots at him which wakes up Jim. He stumbles and barely grabs the ledge. Alice pulls him to safety and after a brief thank you, he handcuffs her.
The Arkham administrator gives Ed a certificate saying he’s sane. He’s also not responsible for anything he did while he was insane. Penguin pulls up at the gate to give his old friend a ride.
Lee and Mario are having an intimate dinner at a fine restaurant. He tells her he stitched up Jim and that Jim didn’t even know his name. He’s upset that Lee didn’t speak to Jim about him, and then their talk is interrupted by Carmine Falcone (John Doman) who it turns out is Lee’s fiancé’s dad. He joins them for dinner and tells Lee he raised his son to lead a good, honest life. He doesn’t even use the Falcone name. Carmine says his wife would have loved Lee, but that she would have said she was too beautiful. “All the great tragedies start with a face like yours,” says Carmine, telling her a beautiful face makes men do crazy things. She informs Carmine that Jim Gordon has moved on and Carmine seems to believe her.
Selina’s hanging out by a fire at night when Five arrives dressed as Bruce, driving Alfred’s car. He apologizes for the way he treated her and offers her a ride. She thinks he’s acting different but she decides that’s not a bad thing. She gets in the car as Five smiles.
Priyanka Chopra in ‘Quantico’ season 2 (Photo by Giovanni Rufino / ABC)
I’m just going to put it out there, but last week’s (September 25, 2016) episode of Quantico season two was a tad bit confusing. More so, for a show that is a hit by modern TV standards, helped bring some life back into Sunday nights on ABC, and broke color barriers for South Asian actors, let alone badass female leads, the premiere just felt a little flat. For me, there wasn’t a clear shift between Alex’s identity and experiences (along with her Quantico posse’s) to what was going on in season two.
Yeah, I get it she’s on “The Farm” and she has an assignment handed to her by Miranda and she’s supposed to pretend she doesn’t know Ryan, who is the love of her life. After this week’s episode, however, the last few minutes in particular, were TGIT style O-M-G kinda moments. When last night’s episode ended, an article I read over the summer about the show dawned on me. Joshua Safran, a frequent writer on the show, mentioned this year’s storyline will unravel slowly, but more cohesively. He wasn’t kidding!
Similar to last season, every episode includes a lesson or backstory or a lesson that traces the journey on the job – this episode was no different. This week’s episode (season two episode two titled ‘Lipstick’) was about surveillance and how to be aware of your surroundings at all times, how you are always being watched, and how no one can blow your cover. (Spoiler alert – Shelby kind of did that to Alex when Alex ended up as the “mark” or target.)
As this episode progressed, you can see writers are also trying to explore Ryan’s character a little bit further. There was one scene between Ryan (Jake McLaughlin) and Owen Hall (Blair Underwood) where you can see he was trying to peel back at Ryan’s trust issues and problems with authority, given his long and unnerving history with the now deceased Liam.
There is an interesting dynamic between Lydia Bates, played by Tracy Ifeachor, and Owen Hall, and their infatuations in working with Alex (Priyanka Chopra) and Ryan, respectively. Owen and Tracy keep saying they see potential in each of the recruits, but my Law and Order: SVUesque mind is telling me there is more than meets the eye.
As they did in the first season, the time jumps from training to present day prevail, so Ryan and Raina are trying to hold down the fort and try to diffuse (no pun intended) the terrorist situation in New York. Meanwhile, Alex is in the building somewhere trying to find a way to communicate on the outside and ask for backup. While searching for a way to communicate, she runs into an NYPD officer who eventually leads her to a bunker, but being the noble NYPD officer that he was, he pushed her in, so no one knows that the hometown hero was in the building. He stayed on the outside and alas, and that was his noble demise.
The final twist comes in the last final scenes of the episode, where Alex connects to Miranda via the phone in the NYPD bunker (okay, the sigh and cut to commercial was a tad cheesy, but eh). After some ongoing banter and Miranda’s FBI version of a pep talk to Alex, we see one of the terrorists inside the building receive a message saying “Alex Parris is Inside the Building.” Cut to the final scene and you see the message came from none other than MIRANDA! There’s your OMG moment folks.
I’ve always had some odd suspicions about Miranda even in the first season, so we’ll shall see if my conspiracy theories are validated in future episodes.
You’ll have to tune in and find out what happens in TWO WEEKS as next week’s episode is pre-empted by endless political fodder, also known as the Town Hall Debate.
Final Tip: ABC, do a better job of marketing this show. Help Quantico find its voice and not just promote this show as sexy, seductive, or steamy, because you have two attractive looking people leading the show. There’s great acting and an intriguing storyline as well, that’s frankly quite relevant considering present day affairs.
Cesar Domboy and Lauren Lyle join ‘Outlander’ (Photos courtesy of Starz)
Starz confirmed César Domboy (The Walk) and Lauren Lyle have signed on to Outlander season three. Domboy will be taking on the role on an older Fergus while Lyle was cast as Marsali, one of Laoghaire’s daughters. Fergus was played by Romann Berrux in season two of the series but with the show jumping forward in the timeline, the character has aged up and will be played by 26-year-old Domboy in the upcoming season.
Here’s the official description of Fergus, courtesy of Starz: “Born into a brothel, Fergus has grown up into a charming, devilishly handsome man with a strong sense of loyalty and decorum, despite his unconventional upbringing. He is the ultimate romantic, wearing his heart on his sleeve and falling in and out of love easily. However, Fergus’s devotion to Jamie has never wavered, making the Frenchman an integral part of the Fraser clan. Still, his debonair demeanor masks a longing for a lasting love and a permanent sense of belonging.”
Starz’s description of Marsali: “Marsali is the 18-year-old high-spirited daughter of Laoghaire. Blond and lovely, like her mother who we first met in season one when her youthful crush on Jamie Fraser was halted by his marriage to Claire, but Marsali has a rebellious and romantic mind of her own. She knows what she wants and she goes after it – reputation and propriety be damned.”
The third season of Outlander is based on Diana Gabaldon’s Voyager and stars Sam Heughan as Jamie, Caitriona Balfe as Claire, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Richard Rankin as Roger Wakefield, Sophie Skelton as Brianna Randall, John Bell as Young Ian, and Wil Johnson as Joe Abernathy.
The Season 3 Plot: The story picks up right after Claire travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948. Now pregnant, she struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank. Meanwhile, in the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire.
As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love. The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart… as well as new doubt. Separated by continents and centuries, Claire and Jamie must find their way back to each other. As always, adversity, mystery, and adventure await them on the path to reunion. And the question remains: when they find each other, will they be the same people who parted at the standing stones, all those years ago?
Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by / Eike Schroter)
ABC’s Once Upon a Time season six episode two introduced us to the Count of Monte Cristo who arrives in Storybrooke with the mission of killing Snow White and Prince Charming. However, it’s the Evil Queen’s return that creates havoc among the heroes of Storybrooke as she’s behind the Count’s need to kill Snow and Charming and will be pulling the strings to set the heroes on edge. The episode kicks off with Zelena (Rebecca Mader) and the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) taking a nighttime stroll through the graveyard to Regina’s vault. The Evil Queen is taking the magic Regina has stored up and believes Zelena won’t tell on her. The Evil Queen says she won’t hurt Regina; she’ll just be teaching her a lesson. And, she promises at the end Zelena will get a sister who appreciates all of her qualities.
Henry (Jared Gilmore) and Regina are ready to begin Operation Cobra Part 2 in which Regina’s no longer the villain. The people from the Land of Untold Stories are gathered in Granny’s diner where David leads the gang in distributing supplies. Regina enters and welcomes them as Mayor of Storybrooke, telling them that she realizes they were afraid their stories would play out and that’s why they were in the Land of Untold Stories. She confides she’s also unsure of the future and just getting a fresh start, but assures them they will face the future together.
Just then Belle (Emilie de Ravin) arrives and everyone’s happy to have her back. She needs a place to stay and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) says they’ll find her something comfortable. Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) thinks he knows just the place but Emma can’t go with them because she has an appointment with Archie. Hook’s happy she’s going to counseling and Emma admits she needs it. Off Hook and Belle go to find lodging.
In walks a stranger and Henry asks for his name. He says he’s not in the book and while Henry looks, he disappears leaving behind an enveloped sealed with an ‘M’.
Flashback to a ball hosted by the Count of Monte Cristo (the stranger in Storybrooke). He toasts the Baron who doesn’t recognize him. Finally he does, calling him Edmond Dantès. The Baron put Edmond in prison after murdering his fiancée and burning down his home and now he’s back as the Count of Monte Cristo (Craig Horner). The Count wants revenge but needs to know who helped him. The Baron doesn’t name names and the Count kills him. The guests flee but the Evil Queen remains.
The Evil Queen’s impressed with the Count’s decades-long quest for revenge, and she offers him the names of the people who were involved in his fiancée’s death and destroying his life. All she wants in exchange is help getting revenge of her own.
Henry shows the letter to David (Josh Dallas) and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), and Henry guesses the guy was Dracula. But no, it’s the Count of Monte Cristo and David has no idea why he wants to meet with them. Regina overhears and says the Count wants them dead. He wants revenge and the only way to get it is by killing David and Snow. Regina confesses she actually hired him to do it.
Emma reveals her secret about the tremors and visions to Archie who attempts to work her through the details. He thinks if she talks about it, it will stop haunting her. He wonders why she hasn’t told her family, but as the savior she doesn’t want them to have to protect her. She wants Archie to help her win the fight and protect her loved ones, but he doesn’t have an easy answer. She leaves, unsatisfied.
Regina, David, and Snow visit the Count’s room and find more letters as well as weapons. Regina didn’t realize he’d make it to Storybrooke and now she’s going to accept the invitation and meet him so she can fire him. Snow wonders if they even have to worry about him, given the fact it’s taken forever for him to find them. Regina says, “Well, that’s not exactly true.”
Flashback to Snow, Charming, and the dwarfs looking through the latest village to be ransacked by the Evil Queen. They come upon Edmond and Snow’s handmaiden, Charlotte, sets to work healing his wounds. He looks at her strangely, saying, “Your eyes.” Edmond wants revenge on the Evil Queen but Snow says they have to rise above that. They offer him the position of wine steward at their castle and he accepts.
Meanwhile in Storybrooke, Regina meets with the Count. She wants to call off their deal but Edmond doesn’t accept. She says he doesn’t need revenge but he advises her not even she can stop him at this point. He disappears, but not before throwing his sword at Regina.
Emma promises Regina she’ll keep David and Snow safe, and she attempts to drive them out of town against their will. It doesn’t work and the squad car crashes into an invisible barrier at the county line.
Hook offers Belle a place to stay on board the Jolly Roger. She doesn’t understand why he’d risk Rumple’s wrath – and possibly his own life – for her. He explains that long ago he tried to kill her at the Queen’s castle but failed. She tells him he’s changed since then, but he insists he’s still got a long way to go before he can be someone he’s proud of. He hasn’t forgiven himself yet. She accepts his offer of a place to stay.
Regina and Henry meet Emma at the Storybrooke county line. There’s a protection spell around the city and it’s the same spell Regina’s used before, a spell that can only be worked with ingredients she sealed in her vault with blood magic. Zelena shows up and Regina wants to know who would put up a protection spell by entering her locked vault. Zelena insists she didn’t do it but doesn’t say who did.
The Evil Queen is practicing her sword fighting skills and asks the Count for a lesson or two. He can’t because he’s off to a meeting with Snow White and Prince Charming. She hands him venom from a viper which is a slow and painful poison, and he doesn’t understand what they could have possibly done to deserve it. Despite his protests, she knows he wants his revenge and will do her bidding.
Rumple (Robert Carlyle) confronts the Evil Queen right after the Count leaves, telling her h3 didn’t train her to have someone else do her dirty work. He gave her the dark curse so she could take Snow and Charming somewhere where she could hurt them. Still, she’s not worried Rumple will stop the Count because she placed a protection spell on him just like the one he put on Snow and Charming.
Back in Storybrooke, Rumple spies an open cabinet. He knows he’s been visited by the Evil Queen and she appears, believing he should be happy she’s back. She gives him back what she just took, and he offers up a deal. If she leaves Belle and his unborn son out of it, she can take the coin she wants to steal. Then in a strange and unsettling twist, she comes on to Rumple, saying their own story never played out. She thinks he’ll eventually get tired of waiting for Belle and “that’s when the real fun can begin.” Meow!
The Count puts the poison into the wine, and right before Snow and Charming take a drink they invite Charlotte to the table for a toast. He pours a glass for them, but pauses before pouring one for Charlotte. They raise their glasses to toast and he says, “Wait!” right before they sip. He removes their wine, saying he has a better bottle in the cellar.
Regina and Henry walk through the woods by the crashed ship and she blames herself for how things are turning out. They stumble upon Charlotte who’s been poisoned. She touches Charlotte and the Evil Queen appears and says, “The handmaiden’s story is catching up with her, just like yours is catching up with you. Miss me?” She then looks at Henry and tells him mommy’s back, and Regina’s completely confused as to how the Evil Queen survived. The Evil Queen can’t believe Regina threw her away, and Regina tries to use her magic but can’t because the Evil Queen laced Charlotte’s gown with a magic dampening spell. Regina puts two and two together and realizes the Evil Queen has been controlling the Count. The Evil Queen laughs and says he’s about to kill Snow and Charming.
Down at the dock, Snow and Charming tell Edmond it’s all a big misunderstanding. They try to convince him the Queen is their friend and she doesn’t want him to do this but he continues his attack. They fight back and he reveals she – the Evil Queen – has his heart. They continue fighting and Edmond gets the better of them, knocking them both out. He confesses this isn’t the ending he wishes for any of them.
In a flashback, Rumple wants to know why the Count didn’t poison Snow and Charming and he says it was because of Charlotte. He won’t try again because they don’t deserve to die. Rumple needs Snow and Charming alive, which means he has to make sure the Count won’t be tempted to kill them ever again. He poisons Charlotte instead, telling the Count there isn’t any cure. However, a special key will allow him to go to a special world. If he goes through there to the special world where all the stories stop, then Charlotte won’t die. He agrees and off they go.
Back in Storybrooke, Edmond is about to kill Snow and David when Regina stops him. Another sword fight breaks out and he says he can’t fight the Evil Queen. Regina says Charlotte has died but she wants to save him. Her magic doesn’t work and Henry can’t use his phone to call Emma (the Evil Queen did something to it). Edmond’s just about to kill Snow and David when Regina throws her sword and kills him. Henry comforts his mom and just then the Evil Queen appears. Snow and David can’t believe she’s back, and Regina threatens to rip the Evil Queen’s heart out. Regina figures out the Evil Queen actually wanted her to kill the Count to prove she still has darkness inside her. The darkness that’s been awakened will only grow, says the Evil Queen, gleefully. Snow confronts the Evil Queen and tells her they’ll defeat her again. But the Evil Queen threatens that the people from the Land of Untold Stories aren’t the only ones with tales they want to keep hidden and she’ll watch the heroes tear themselves apart.
Snow and Emma tell Regina it’s not her fault, that’s just what the Evil Queen wants her to believe. Snow says you can’t beat her by running; you have to get ahead of her plan. Snow suggests Regina should try to think like the Evil Queen and figure out what she meant by having stories they don’t want told. Emma touches Regina’s arm and once again she has a vision of her own death. Just then Hook and David enter the diner and join Henry at the counter where he’s beating himself up over the ending to the Count’s story. Henry says they need to find out why these people ran from their own stories and why they don’t want them to play out. David spots an envelope with his name on it and inside is the coin the Evil Queen took from Gold’s shop. She’s waiting for him outside the diner and he tells her the untold story attached to that coin has played out. It was his dad’s good luck charm and he’s made peace with the way his father died. She asks him if he’s sure his father’s death was an accident.
The Evil Queen gives Zelena a baby rattle her mother owned and Zelena wants to know why she’d give her a gift. The Evil Queen admires Zelena’s ability to keep a secret and now she won’t doubt her again. The Evil Queen’s convinced she’s actually the sister Zelena wants, not Regina.
Emma visits Archie and tells him he’s right. She should tell her family about her visions. They discuss the Evil Queen and Emma’s worried about who it is under the hood. She thinks it’s the one person who wasn’t with her family in the vision: Regina. Archie wonders if she’s worried about Regina or the Evil Queen. Emma’s not sure of the answer.
‘Live PD’ Host Dan Abrams, Guest Analyst Sean “Sticks” Larkin, and Analyst Tom Morris Jr. (Photo by A&E 2017)
A&E will be premiering Live PD, a new series that offers viewers a chance to ride along live with police officers on patrol, on October 28, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT. The series will be hosted by ABC’s Dan Abrams and Dallas Police Department Detectives Rich Emberlin and Kevin Jackson, with season one consisting of eight two-hour episodes. Although the show is live, Live PD will air on a delay due to the possibility the series will “capture intense and possibly disturbing content,” according to A&E.
“Every day the demands for more transparency in law enforcement continues to come from both civilians and police across the country,” said Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President and General Manager of A&E and Lifetime. “Live PD will not only highlight the difficult work being done by our men and women in uniform as they go out into the streets never knowing what to expect but also answers citizens’ calls for clarity.”
David Doss is on board as the showrunner with Dan Cesareo, David Doss, George McTeague, Kara Kurcz, John Zito, Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, and Sean Gottlieb executive producing.
The Plot: Over the course of eight weeks, dash cams along with fixed rig and handheld cameras, will capture the work of a varied mix of urban and rural police forces around the country on a typical Friday night. In-studio host, ABC’s Dan Abrams, alongside Dallas Police Department Detectives Rich Emberlin and Kevin Jackson will guide viewers through the night, giving insight to what audiences are seeing in real time, bouncing minute-by-minute between the featured police departments and offering an inside look at each live incident.
