The last weeks of summer are fast approaching. As these penultimate days play-through, many face a difficult decision. Spend this fleeting time enjoying the verdant earth in all its lazy summer glory, or catch up on all the best TV shows before the Fall season comes around? This list is for those who choose the latter (better) option.

The best are:

Supernatural

After 149 episodes, the CW’s “Supernatural” has no right to still be this good. Seven years in and the classic, Patrick Swayze popularized, combination of paranormal activities and glistening abs has yet to lose its well-lubricated sheen. But to reduce its brilliance to a pair of favorably-positioned nipples is to do the series a great wrong. Ghoul hunters, Sam and Dean, have been to hell and back during the course of the show. Literally. The journey that the brothers have undertaken has been rife with drama, intrigue, action and wry wit.

Some of the narrative arcs during the middle seasons lagged; the fight for Sam’s soul became the fight for Dean’s soul, which became the fight for Sam’s soul, which became a long period of watching “Friends” re-runs instead. But, recently, “Supernatural” has returned to the ‘joie-de-vivre’ of its charismatic youth and season 8 ushers in the the fresh voice of new show-runner, Jeremy Carver (Being Human).

At its very best, “Supernatural” delivers breathtaking plot-twists that will hit the viewer like a souped up Chevy Impala barreling down a long, dark road. At its worst, “Supernatural” is still the show that has the guts to include God, THE God, as a primary character, and in “Supernatural”‘s worldview, God is no Yoda-meets-Santa Clause figure in a white robe and Birkenstocks.

So, come this fall season, “who you gonna call?”

Boardwalk Empire

The 1st and 2nd seasons of HBO’s prohibition gangster drama “Boardwalk Empire” have received a lot of somewhat counter-intuitive flack from the critics. Some suggest that many of the key elements of the show may constitute factors that could be described, unfavourably, as Emmy/Oscar-bait– expansive and involved plot, painstakingly reproduced sets, carefully maintained historical context, big name actors, and a pilot episode directed by Martin Scorcese.

But my gosh what a show! — expansive and involved plot, painstakingly reproduced sets, carefully maintained historical context, big name actors and a pilot episode directed by Martin Scorsese! In addition, taking a leaf out of “Game of Thrones’” gilded tome, “Boardwalk Empire” is not afraid to make the necessary sacrifices in the name of good TV. Some compare “Boardwalk Empire” to “Mad Men.” If this comparison is supposed to be a veiled insult, it’s very well hidden indeed; “Mad Men” is great, and so is this show.

Gossip Girl

Many people would approach with skepticism any reviewer who recommends the CW’s adolescent soapie, “Gossip Girl”, as appropriate viewing material for the thinking mind. But, this much dismissed show has been the medium for some of the greatest TV plot-twists of the past 5 years. Yes, a lot of the “Gossip Girl’s” screen-time is taken up by frequent scenes of attractive hairless people making out next to superbly maintained indoor pools, but one can forgive the writers their indulgent moments if one takes into consideration two truths:

1. “Gossip Girl” approaches satire in its level of keenly absurdist self-awareness. Everything about “Gossip Girl” is done to deliberate excess– it’s a thing of laconic, one-liner stuffed, beauty.
2. “Gossip Girl” caters to the wishes of its audience like no other. If you’ve blogged about it, internet world, it might well make an appearance. In some respects, “Gossip Girl” is like a serial version of ‘Snakes on a Plane’… in Louboutins.

The combination of these two basic principles has been enough to attract some incredible guest stars not only amongst actors, but also amongst the Manhattan gliterati.

The last season was not good, it’s true. However, nobody, nowhere, nohow does a finale like “Gossip Girl” does. And, as this 7th season is slated to be the show’s last, one can expect the UESiders to go out not with a whimper, but a bang (no pun intended.)

Community

Though Zooey Deschanel cavorts around in broad-rimmed glasses being all adorkable on Fox’s “New Girl,” the real home of weird is most certainly NBC’s “Community.” Having been on the verge of cancellation, the show has undergone some changes– namely, Dan Harmon has recently been ejected from his position as showrunner.

Nonetheless, the thing that keeps “Community” consistently hysterical is an unshakably strong ensemble cast whose comedic chemistry is infectious; “Community” is “Friends” meets “Big Bang Theory” meets a whole planet of crazy. Everything on the show is done with complete and utter commitment and the ever revolving chain of guest writers has made for 3 seasons in which every episode has been totally unique. Changtastic.

The Walking Dead

AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has been breaking records (and fictional skulls) everywhere during its first two seasons on air. The success of the show is unsurprising considering the fact that its list of screenwriters includes names that would make Shakespeare blush in professional shame. Oh, and there are zombies too!

“The Walking Dead” is shot so convincingly that one might be forgiven for feeling like one was actually watching footage of the Zombie Apocalypse– it’s gray, it’s bleak and it’s gory. However, before the world at large grabs a 9 gauge in one hand and a ‘Queen’ record in the other, one should remember that this is only a show–  albeit a very good one.

Honorable Mentions:

Parks and Recreation

Leslie Knope and the colorful inhabitants of Pawnee– the US’s most dysfunctionally happy city–transform middle America from a cautionary Green Day music video into the epitome of rustic charm. Miraculously consistent, “Parks and Rec” is poised for another great season driven by its 2 most compelling, and always hilarious, isms: optimism and Swansonism.

Raising Hope

Has political correctness gone mad? Not really, because somebody somewhere continues to endorse the televising of “Raising Hope.” Unsurprisingly, that somebody is a TV executive at Fox. But, where Fox regular Seth MacFarlane is crude, brash and in-your-face, “Raising Hope” approaches its subjects with subtlety. Indeed, for a show whose titular character is the illegitimate toddler of a convicted serial killer and a ‘special’ checkout clerk who lives with his white-trash parents, “Raising Hope” has managed to lend a surprising degree of intelligent, quirky restraint to both its 1st and 2nd season.

Modern Family

The beauty of this show is that, in a world of seat-squirmingly bleak “Louie,” “Peep Show” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Modern Family” gives its audience a chance to laugh with, not at, it. In the last season, particularly, many of the most hilarious moments were tempered with genuine sentiment, edging away from the didacticism of the voice-over with some raw, very human, emotion. “Modern Family” is apple-pie and ice cream and a Christmas sweater. It is also very funny.

The article Five Shows to Catch Up on before the Fall Season Starts appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Most actors and actresses on the small screen start off on TV, then end up on the big screen in Hollywood as A-Listers starring in major motion pictures.

Think about Jennifer Aniston and Will Smith, who both got a jump start to their now-flourishing acting careers in ‘Friends’ and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air respectively. This past TV season it seems that it has been the other way around, with already established movie stars making guest appearances on TV sitcoms.

Over the past decade, there have been several guest appearances on some of TV’s hottest sitcoms, some that improved a celebrity’s or show’s rating, and then some appearances that didn’t fare as well as the show had predicted. Paste Magazine made a list of the ten best guest appearances over the past decade, and some of them are shocking.

Reality Stars Kim Kardashian, Spencer Pratt, and Heidi Montag starred in one episode of “How I Met Your Mother” in 2009. These stars, which have faced a lot of scrutiny and criticism from the press, actually did an exceptional job on the episode. They weren’t taken too seriously as they talked to Marshall about his cover in a Tabloid Magazine, something the real life reality stars can relate to.

Comedian Bob Saget also made a hilarious appearance on Entourage where he played himself, and brought a lot of added humor to the episode. Cher made an appearance on the hit show, “Will & Grace” where she sang her pop chart-topping hit, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Viewers tuned into that episode where Cher shows she is the real deal. And who better to make a guest appearance than the world-renowned savvy entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey?

Oprah made a guest appearance on “30 Rock” where she sits in an airplane next to a young lady as the woman complains about the problems she is having in her life, one of which is not receiving her monthly subscription to “O” Magazine. To top off the “best of the best” TV appearances, who could forget Brad Pitt guest starring on “Friends” with then-wife, Jennifer Aniston? The adoringly cute episode became a smash hit and exposed the lives of the changing celebrity culture.

And now for the worst…While Jennifer Aniston’s ex-husband was a hit on her show, Aniston didn’t make the guest appearance viewers were hoping for on one of the episodes of “Cougar Town.” On www.Tv.Com, critics stated that, “the woman is so desperate for attention-and so limited in her acting range, that it’s impossible to separate the actress from the characters she plays on screen.”

Many Americans have the Bieber Fever right now. But did he really make an appearance on the show “CSI?” Bieber and CSI do not even belong in the same sentence, and when critics were asked why he was voted as one of the worst guest appearances of all-time, they responded with, “do we really need to give a reason?”

Critics felt that Sasha Grey’s appearance on Entourage was awful where she played a porn-star. Critics believe Grey is “not really known for her acting,” and for another, her appearance started “a weird and unnecessary Twitter frenzy.” The most shocking to make TV’s worst guest appearance was America’s favorite golden girl, Betty White, where she played a professor and librarian on the show, “Community and the Middle.”

Critics thought that her “giggle-inducing grandma schtick started to feel like geriatric gimmick.” Ouch Betty! Luckily for White, she still took home an Emmy for her stint on SNL, which aired right before her guest appearance on the show.

So what does the near future hold for Hollywood guest appearances? WeLoveSoaps.net is positive this will be a big year for Hollywood guest appearances on several TV series by calling the year of 2012, “The Year of the Soap!” Lindsay Lohan recently announced that she will be acting as herself as a guest star on the hit singing show, “Glee.”

But there are several other very famous celebrities that will also be hitting the small screen for an episode, or even a few. For the month of April alone, several big names will be appearing on some of TV’s hottest series. Luke Perry, former stud of the hit show “Beverly Hills 90210” will show his face on “Body of Proof.”

Georgia Engel will stand next to Ashton Kutcher in one of TV’s most popular comedies, “Two and a Half Men.” TV dramas including Criminal Minds, CSI: New York and NCIS: Los Angeles will also be seeing some famous faces including Erica Gimpel (appearing on Criminal Minds), Blake Gibbons (appearing on CSI), and Christel Khalil (appearing on NCIS: Los Angeles). Additionally, Hollywood hunk Mark Consuelos might appear on Law & Order’s, “Special Victim’s Unit,” but it has not yet been determined.

WeLoveSoaps.net might be right when they say this is the year of the soap considering the guest appearances are for this month alone! It’s going to be exciting to see what A-Listers will be making appearances, both good and bad, in the following months. To see celebrities that will be making guest appearances on your favorite TV shows go to www.welovesoaps.net.

Image Courtesy of Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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’21 Jump Street’ is in theaters now, starring Channing Tatum and recent Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill. It is loosely based on the 1987 television series of the same name, which launched the career of Johnny Depp.

The movie has already proven to be a favorite of the critics and strong box office performer, grossing over $100 million worldwide since its release on March 16. Sony recently announced that a sequel is already in the works, and that stars Tatum and Hill are expected to return.

The film’s success can perhaps be attributed to its accessibility to audiences unfamiliar with the 1980s television series. It features a new cast, makes contemporary cultural references (Tatum’s character cites ‘Glee’ as the reason for the new high school hierarchy), and offers only passing remarks about its 1980s predecessor (Nick Offerman’s character notes that in their jobs, “all they do now is recycle stuff from the past and expect us not to notice”).

Michael Bacall’s screenplay keeps things simple and sharp, while directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller keep things moving at a snappy pace, leaving behind all traces of the brand’s past screen life.

Making the transition from television to film has been a tricky business in the last couple of decades. From ‘The X-Files’ to ‘The Simpsons,’ producers have attempted to find the right balance between continuity from the series and accessibility for new viewers. Here is a brief look at how some have fared:

‘The Simpsons Movie’ – Budget: $75 million / Box Office: $527 million.

After several years of talks and delays, the big-screen adaptation of FOX’s long-running animated series was released in summer 2007. ‘The Simpsons Movie’ was a huge box office success and garnered strong critical acclaim, being nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice and four Annie Awards. Its success has been credited with reinvigorating interest in ‘The Simpsons,’ as the series recently celebrated its 500th episode and was renewed through the end of the 2013-2014 television season.

‘Sex and the City’ – Budget: $65 million / Box Office: $415 million.

HBO’s 2008 adaptation of its hit series proved to be a huge box office success and the biggest ever R-rated opening for a comedy. The film came four years after the series went off the air, and picked up on many of the narrative strands left presumably resolved in the final episode.

As audiences continued to flock, a sequel was greenlit, the budget was increased to $95 million, and it hit theatres in May 2010. However, the sequel grossed a weaker $295 million and was critically maligned, all but ending future big-screen outings for the franchise. Still, The CW network recently ordered a pilot for ‘The Carrie Diaries,’ a prequel series charting the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw through her adolescence, showing the studios’ belief in the brand still having an impact on the small screen.

‘The X-Files’ – Budget: $66 million / Box Office: $189 million.

Right in the middle of the sci-fi thriller’s ninth season run on FOX, came its first film adaptation featuring stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. The film almost tripled its budget, received generally positive reviews, and capitalized on the success of the series’ highest-rated season.

However, it would be ten years, and six years after the series went off the air, before a sequel would be released. ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ was released in July 2008 with a budget of just $30 million, grossing $68 million. While it still earned back its budget, the numbers were significantly lower than what fans had hoped, and have cast serious doubt on whether a third film will be made.

Then there is the case of the long-awaited ’24′ feature film, based on the FOX series of the same name, which ran for eight successful seasons between 2001 and 2010. The film has been stuck in development for several years, even while the series was in the midst of its run.

In March of this year it looked like the cast and crew would soon be ready to commence production. However, delays in finding a director and scheduling conflicts with star Kiefer Sutherland have meant that the film has been shelved for at least another 12 months. Like ‘The X-Files,’ ’24′ was heavily serialized and had declined in the ratings toward the end of its run. It therefore might struggle to succeed on the big screen as more years go by with it out of production.

Yet with the success of ’21 Jump Street’ more than two decades after the end of its television run, there is hope that the issue of ‘timing’ is just one of many needed for the successful transition of a television series into film.

Case in point is ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,’ which was released last summer and failed to replicate the success of the television series, ultimately grossing just $18 million. TV-to-Film adaptations is a tricky business, but one in which networks and studios are perpetually interested in trying to get right.

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Glee has been a television and cultural phenomenon since its debut in 2009. Centring around a high school glee club in the fictional town of Lima, Ohio, the series has made household names of its stars Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison. The cast’s musical recordings have broken chart and touring records, while the producers have launched a successful companion reality series entitled “The Glee Project”, which seeks to find new singers for the mother series.

However, now in its third season, Glee is facing a number of challenges both on and offscreen, the latest of which is the announcement that this summer will not see the cast embark on a US and UK tour, one which proved to be one of the most successful tours of 2011. While FOX insists that the absence of a tour this year is simply a way of giving give the cast a break after three years of continuous work, the decision comes as the latest in a line of challenges which the show has had to face in recent times.

Firstly, the show has experienced a steady ratings decline during this season. In its last airing on February 14, Glee garnered 6.99 million viewers, down 24% from its season premiere on September 20. More worrying, on a year-to-year scale this marked a 34% decline from the 10.53 million it attracted on February 15, 2010.

This comes in spite of high-profile tributes to West Side Story, Michael Jasckson, and a well-publicised episode depicting several major characters losing their virginities. The series has even started being beaten in the coveted 18-49 demographic by new comedy series New Girl, which airs straight after Glee on FOX’s Tuesday night line-up.

Secondly, the show has come under intense scrutiny over the long-term futures of its stars Lea Michele, Corey Monteith, Dianna Agron and Chris Colfer, among others, as their characters approach graduation. At first, reports surfaced that several of the departing characters would be spun-off into their own series set in New York, depicting them attending a performing arts school, with even Colfer releasing a statement indicating his probable departure at the end of season three.

However, those rumours were later dismissed by show runner Ryan Murphy, but confusion remains over how exactly the stars would continue to figure into the show’s storylines once their characters have graduated.

Thirdly, Glee’s attempt to segue onto the big-screen got off to a lukewarm start when ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie‘ failed to perform as well as expected, grossing just $18 million at the box office. The movie opened to mixed critical reviews, and its failure marked the first significant sign of the franchise’s vulnerability after just two years of production.

Finally, but perhaps not surprisingly, the series has gone out of fashion with major award voters. Despite winning three Emmys for its freshman season, that tally decreased to one for its sophomore season, and the show walked away empty-handed at both this year’s Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

This is not surprising as Glee has been accused repeatedly of uneven storytelling and relying too heavily on stunt casting, with the last 12 months featuring appearances by Gwyneth Paltrow, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and John Stamos. Add that to the fifteen actors already comprising the main cast, and the criticism begins to take on merit.

Ratings-wise, Glee has never been the number one show on television – it has yet to rank in the top 30 for a whole season – but its online presence, chart records and critical buzz have ensured it a prime spot on FOX’s broadcast schedule. Yet, facing a continuing ratings decline, the potential loss of its stars and dwindling industry support; FOX’s former powerhouse may be in need of some significant revamping if it hopes to stick to the same formula and with the same cast members for its as-yet-unconfirmed fourth season.

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Sirius XM Radio announced that Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television and film screenwriter, director and producer Ryan Murphy—the creator of the groundbreaking television shows Glee and American Horror Story—will be profiled and honored through the end of January as the featured subject of the next installment of Iconography, the exclusive series which profiles iconic and influential members and allies of the gay community on SiriusXM’s LGBT channel SiriusXM OutQ.

Murphy’s revealing and compelling Iconography interview offers a deeply personal look into his Irish Catholic upbringing in Indiana, growing up gay in the early 1980s and how he handles success and disappointment.

He also speaks candidly about the early days of Glee: “The executives at [Fox] all loved it, except one who wanted it to crash and burn,” Murphy reveals, adding that when the show reached the end of filming its initial network order of 13 episodes, “…the cast and crew were literally in tears.

We thought that was it. We’ll never work together again. Ultimately, I remember it being an exciting and powerful time, because the thing that nobody ever thought would work, worked.”

Murphy also shares the humorous details of how his longtime partner, David Miller, proposed marriage: “We went to Central Park for a walk on my birthday,” Murphy recalls. “Suddenly, there he was on one knee, with the bench and the ring. It was very emotional. Later, we found out that some of the hardcore sex scenes in the movie Cruising were shot in that area.

It was hilarious. But it was also very sweet and romantic.” SiriusXM will air up close and personal profiles of Murphy daily throughout the month, and he will become the honorary voice of the channel. Iconography: Ryan Murphy culminates with a one-hour in-depth interview conducted by OutQ host Frank DeCaro premiering January 21 at 10:00 am ET on SiriusXM OutQ ch.108.

Encore presentations of the interview will air January 21 at 4:00 pm ET, January 22 at 12:00 and 7:00 pm ET, January 28 at 10:00 am and 4:00 pm ET and January 29 at 12:00 and 7:00 pm ET. An exclusive “director’s cut”—featuring a Q&A with SiriusXM listeners and Murphy—will air throughout the month as part of The Frank DeCaro Show, weekdays from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm ET on OutQ.

Past Iconography series honorees include visionary fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford, Emmy Award-winning writer/producer/director Alan Ball, Emmy Award-winning actress/comedian Jane Lynch, Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Gloria Estefan and legendary LGBT Activist Larry Kramer.

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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