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!.

Zombies are not usually known for their singing and dancing. Shambling through the misty woods in search of brains, yes. Belting out peppy songs while doing complex choreography, not so much. But in Love, Death, Brains: A Pete Rydberg Musical Meme, they do all that and more.

Love, Death, Brains is a reimaging of an earlier zombie musical called Z-Town. Both are based on a book by Sarah Mucek (who also wrote the songs’ lyrics) and feature music by Meghan Rose. Director Pete Rydberg also played a key role in transforming the show. But while Z-Town was a fairly dark piece, Love, Death, Brains is much lighter in tone.

At its heart, the show is about a culture-clash of epic proportions. Dr. Scott Crawford (Alex Brick) brings his son James (Stuart Mott) to Z-Town at the behest of his fellow scientist Dr. Rhonda Greenblad (Jamie England). Although Crawford tells his son that Z-Town is merely a leper colony, it is actually a top-secret government facility run where zombies can go about their business in peace under the watchful eye of a government agent who has orders to keep the zombies in, and everyone else out. Meanwhile, bumbling amateur detectives/conspiracy theorists are determined to find out what is going on behind Z-Town’s walls.

Crawford and Greenblad intend to use James as a human guinea pig to study human/zombie interactions firsthand. But their plans swiftly go awry when he falls for one of his classmates, Monica (Corianne Wilson). The arrival of humans also causes problems among the zombie population, as the local teacher, Mr. Olin (Bob Moore), tries to radicalize his pupils for an all-out war with the ‘breathers.’

The entire ensemble is exceptionally talented, and they would not be out of place on Broadway or the West End. Mott does an excellent job of portraying James’ metamorphosis from clueless teen to horrified victim, while Brick manages to make a shoddy parent like Crawford ultimately likeable. Matthew Huston (who plays a gay zombie named Zack) delivers his lines with consummate sassiness, but at the same time he keeps his portrayal from descending to the realm of crude stereotype. And Wilson’s charming performance as Monica makes a dead girl seem just like the girl next door.

The music makes the show a tour de force. Mucek’s lyrics range from the droll to the hilarious, while Rose’s score ensures that the songs remain embedded in your mind for weeks to come. They range from ensemble pieces (“Flesh-Eating Kind of Day,” “Never See Another Day”) to powerful solos (“Somethin’ Ain’t Right,” “Left Behind”), but they are all performed with skill and verve. If you liked the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love these songs. Thankfully, fans will be able to listen to their favorite songs whenever they want since the official soundtrack is available on iTunes.

Beneath all the gags, the show has a serious message about tolerance and cooperation. But the creative team behind it is savvy enough to convey that message subtly, without beating the audience over the head with a bunch of preachy moralizing.

Love, Death, Brains will play at Madison’s Bartell Theater until August 4. Then it heads to New York City where it will play at the Fringe Festival on August 12, 14, 16, 17, and 18. Check out their Facebook page for more information.

Stay tuned for an exclusive backstage look at the show!

The article Night of the Singing Dead: Love, Death, Brains appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

While zombie enthusiasts may cry foul, the rest of the world can rest assured that the Apocalypse is not yet upon us, after a man had his face literally chewed off in Miami over the weekend. It seemed like the perfect set up for any classic horror film – from ‘28 Days Later‘ to the tongue-in-cheek ‘Shaun of the Dead‘ – a homeless man attacked by a naked assailant in broad daylight, the creature gnawing at the flesh of his skull and seemingly impervious to bullets as Miami-Dade police tried to end the grisly scene.

Almost immediately after news hit the World Wide Web, millions of individuals on the internet, from real conspiracy theorists to those just enjoying the fun, accused the culprit of being the first sign of a long-awaited “Zombie Apocalypse”.

The actual truth is likely much more anti-climactic, though just as indicative of a rising problem: Investigators in South Florida have pointed in the direction of a designer drug being sold legally in stores under the guise of synthetic “bath salts”.

While nothing stands as official, Armando Aguilar, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of police, has suggested that the symptoms exhibited by the attacker, Rudy Eugene, 31, are exceedingly similar to past cases Aguilar has seen with individuals high on the same drug. And those symptoms? Perhaps not as far removed from that of classic zombies than one would anticipate.

“The cases are similar minus a man eating another,” Aguilar told ABC News.

“People taking off their clothes. People suddenly have super human strength. They become violent and they are burning up from the inside. Their organs are reaching a level that most would die. By the time police approach them they are a walking dead person.”

Though Aguilar is careful to exclude the potential side-effect of cannibalism as a usual symptom, he does admit to ABC News that in the recent waves of incidents spawned from the drug, there has been at least one previous case of an intoxicated individual attempting to bite another human. Fortunately, police intervention was successful that time around.

With other, more common, side-effects including paranoia, hallucination, agitation and an increased risk of suicidal behavior, one has to wonder what the allure of these “bath salts” is. Sold under names such as “Ivory Wave” and “Vanilla Sky”, the drug has managed to avoid status as an illegal substance on a technicality – though that hasn’t prevented the majority of states from taking legislative action to ban it.

Whatever the case may be, it stands currently that the increase in use of this new party drug may be the closest the world will ever get to that fabled “Zombie Apocalypse.”

The article Miami Face-Eating May Have Been Caused By Legal Designer Drug appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.