Alan Ball, the creator of “Six Feet Under”, has a new HBO show about vampires living openly in the present day called “True Blood”.

From Alan Ball’s interview on HBO.com:
“It’s based on a series of books written by Charlaine Harris, and it takes place in a world where vampires have made their presence known to humans. They’ve come out of the coffin, so to speak, because of the development by a Japanese biotech firm of synthetic blood for medical purposes, which the vampires claim fulfills all of their nutritional needs. So they’ve organized, and they’re struggling for assimilation and for equal rights.”

The series focuses though on Anna Paquin’s character, Sookie Stackhouse. She’s a telepathic waitress who befriends one of these newly outed vamps in a small Louisiana town. Hmm, I guess that could prove interesting. However, those faux TruBlood beverage ads confused the heck outta me until I realized it was plugging HBO’s new show. Will viewers be able to tell when Ball is being serious or funny? Will he be able to balance the horror elements with the satire of society?

All I know for sure is vampires are no stranger to the television series format, see “Angel”, “Forever Knight”, or CBS’s now cancelled “Moonlight”. Thus, I’m sure a few fans of the genre will be tuning in on September 7th when the series premieres to weigh in on Ball’s take on the vampire mythology.

As you may have noticed, my mission to write about every television show of note has become quite a task. There’s just so many eras and hidden gems I keep digging up every day. Lucky for me, Martin Grossman has joined the television revival cause!

If you read his reviews of “The Riches” and “Mad Men”, you’ll see that he’s right at home here on Television Revival. He is in the know about current tv shows and will contribute a few insightful tv revival posts on the weekends.

Say what’s up to Martin in the comments below.

(image source: PopSci)

BBC America is finally premiering their sci-fi/action-adventure television series, “Primeval”, this Saturday at 9pm.

I watched an episode when I visited London and first thought I’d stumbled upon a strange episode of “Land of the Lost”. The place I stayed at had one of those Sky One tuners and a weird HDTV rear projection set ups (so many cords, I tell you!), so navigating the channels was a bit challenging. As such, I just left the channel as is and went along for the ride. Little did I know, I was watching the next sci-fi show that BBC America would be promoting here in the states!

“Primeval” tells the story of scientist, Nick Cutter (Douglass Henshall) who discovers a few dinosaurs walking around alive and well in present day. Apparently some crazy space-time rift is wreaking havoc (enter the sci-fi angle) and creatures from various periods and places start popping up.

From BBC America:
“Cutter, his research assistant Stephen Hart, zoologist Abby Maitland, and student paleontologist Connor Temple race to understand what’s happening, while government bureaucrats James Lester and Claudia Brown insist they have to keep the danger secret from the public. As the past threatens to invade the present and destroy the future, Cutter’s crew faces a life-and-death race against time.”

Sounds fun, right? I’m giving it a shot since it’s still summer and the lastest season “Doctor Who” just ended. Gotta fill the void somehow.

Still haven’t gotten around to buying the first season of “Damages” on dvd. No worries, FX feels your pain.

Since this show is told in flashbacks, a marathon can really put things into perspective. You really get the big picture of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) as shrewd lawyer, possible murderer!

Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage, joins the cast of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”.

From SciFi Wire:
“Manson turns up as Catherine Weaver, the chief executive of Cyberdine Systems, which all Terminator fans know develops the computers that eventually become Skynet. “She’s the CEO of a corporation that develops certain technologies,” Manson said. “And she’s very self-empowered, successful, self-assured, singular. So it’s a cool character to play.” (She added that producers will let her keep her Scottish brogue.)”

Pop culture confession: I own all four Garbage albums ( I have this strange loyalty to the band after seeing them open up for Smashing Pumpkins in ‘97). Thus, maybe that makes me a little biased and overly positive about this casting news. Nevertheless, watching Shirley Manson make her television debut has finally given me a reason to be pumped for the second season of “Terminator”.

Shirley Manson definitely has a strong stage presence, so it’s probably not that big of a leap for her to become an actress. I’m just surprised that Fox being so cool with it, especially since she has no acting training per se. It’s sorta risky to have a newbie play such a pivotal character as Catherine Weaver in the series. What are they gonna do? fire

“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” returns September 8th at 8/7c. Buy the first season of “Terminator” dvd on August 19th.

“The Riches” may be the best television series nobody’s seen. Minnie Driver is better in it than any movie I’ve seen her in and Eddie Izzard looks better in civilian clothes than in drag.

But that’s not the point. It’s the plot and the spiky dialogue that gets you. Like many good novels it’s about the American Dream—the one we sell through advertising. But the Malloy family doesn’t get there through hard work or by being born with a silver key in hand. Instead, they are a family of “travelers,” (think gypsies or tinkers) who break away from their larger “family,”which was a wandering band of scam artists who live outside the law.

The Malloys stumble upon the Riches family, who have been killed in a car wreck. So what do they do? They discover the very well off Riches are about to move into an elegant home they have purchased, site unseen, over the Internet—and they simply step into their lives. Then, the fun really begins.

Start your Tivo or pick up the first season DVD. Remember, as Bob Dylan said, “To live outside the law, you must be honest. But then he hadn’t met the Riches when he wrote that.

I missed the first season of “Mad Men,” but this week after it became difficult to avoid the hype, I succumbed. Now I’m hooked.

The series reveals more plot and character development with each episode. It has the kind of story arc you just can’t get in a movie. I also love that it really educates me on how the Golden Age of Advertising got its beginning. The shift was away from account execs running the show to an emphasis on creative. The Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign led the way. It broke all the rules and made new ones.

The show also focuses on how the roles of men and women were just about to change. Non-conformity was going mainstream. “Mad Men” is well written and well acted.

One tip: don’t download it from the web. The Japanese subtitles are distracting and the picture quality doesn’t do justice to its critically acclaimed attention to fashion and style detail. Do the right thing. Rent or buy the DVD.

Watch it on Sundays at 10pm on AMC.

Defamer’s “Top Ten Countdown of TVs Coolest Cats”:

1. Jack Bauer - “24″
2. The Fonz - “Happy Days”
3. Cord Walker - “Walker, Texas Ranger”
4. Will Smith - “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
5. Don Draper - “Mad Men”
6. Officer Tom Hanson (Jonny Depp) - “21 Jump Street”
7. Hannibal - “A-Team”
8. Dr. Ross (George Clooney) - “ER”
9. Conrad - “Weeds”
10. Parker Lewis - “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”

The Walker pick is undeniable (he always gets his man!), but I’m not sure that I can back up the rest of their choices. Dr. Ross, Hannibal, and Jack Bauer (sorry, Kiefer) have got to go. Why? Because the grittiest character on there is Don Draper. Don’s got nothing on the folks in “The Wire”. HBO’s B-more crime drama has the coolest cats around in my opinion.

Stringer “It’s just Bizness” Bell

Jimmy “I’m working a case, so it’s okay when I drink a fifth of Jameson” McNulty

And Tommy Gavin of “Rescue Me” is the craziest, yet coolest firefighter in the history of television!

Watch Molly McAleer’s hilarious compilation video on Defamer and make your own top ten list.

A&E’s “The Cleaner” premiered a few weeks ago, and I finally watched the first episode this week on my TiVo.

The tv show is based on real life interventionist, William Banks, played by Benjamin Bratt. Banks has a team full of former addicts who help him locate the person they’ve been hired to essentially kidnap and force into rehab. The cops give them a pass on these extreme tactics, so as long as Banks throws a drug bust their way. Grace Park (”Battlestar Galactica”) plays Akani, the street smart temptress that loves working for Banks but refuses to follow all his rules. Gil Bellows (”Ally McBeal”) plays Banks’ best friend Mickey, a body builder/trainer who used to be addicted to heroin but has since cleaned up for his family. I barely recognized him in character, almost the exact opposite of his bumbling lawyer character on Ally. Last but not least, newcomer Esteban Powell plays Arnie the resident slacker and complainer of the bunch.

By the end of the pilot episode, some pretty serious stuff goes down as they try to locate a 15 year old kid named Zach who’s hooked on oxycontin. This television show is gritty, engaging, and doesn’t soften up the predicament of drug abusers. Think of it as a dramatization of “Intervention” crossed with the crime melodrama of “The Shield”. Banks is a more sympathetic character than Vic Mackey by far. But he still is a former addict, and thus, he still has demons that he struggles with each day. Not to mention, chasing addicts doesn’t leave a lot of time for your family. I think Banks balancing his time between work and home will become a huge story arc in the show.

Watch new episodes on A&E at 10pm on Tuesdays. “The Cleaner” may just have washed away that bad taste in my mouth from Benjamin Bratt’s previous tv show, “E-ring”.

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” returns to F/X on September 18th (Thursdays at 10pm), which pleases me to no end. It’s been called “Seinfeld” on crack, but I say the gang is much darker than those cynical New Yorkers.

The gang consists of four slacker friends who own an Irish Pub in Philly. Being the lazy, selfish people they are, they end up having to let Dennis’ Dad, Frank (Danny DeVito) come help run the bar and keep things afloat. The kicker is that Frank usually ends up being the real instigator of their troubles (see. “Bums Making a Mess All Over Town” from last season where he uses an old cop car to extort hot dogs out of a street vendor).

Each episode essentially is them getting into the most insane situations. For example, Dee and Dennis get addicted to crack (on purpose) so they could claim welfare (instead of like, y’know, getting a job), Charlie pretends to be a war vet on a dare, or like on episode two where they decide to give underage kids alcohol as a public service! And that’s just off the top of my head.

Still, I think my favorite scene is still Dennis and Charlie coming up with “Day Man” in Charlie’s dingy apartment. The performance of the song to a stunned bar crowd (and the subsequent booing) was priceless!

They say there will be more songs and a sequel to “Day Man” in the new season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. Yes! More David Bowie-esque outfits! Maybe more of Danny DeVito on drums too!

The season 3 dvd comes out on September 9th, so I can finally delete the episode containing DayMan from my television. I’m telling you, these seasons are highly rewatchable (maybe that’s where they get the “Seinfeld” comparison). I def don’t regret owning the season 1 & 2 dvd set. Take my advice and watch these episodes so as to acquaint yourself with the hilariously demented minds of the Paddy’s Bar gang.

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