Best fall TV show prospects, 2019: The Mandalorian, etc.

TV shows from traditional networks are a lot less interesting in the age of streaming video. Few people anymore want to watch a series in hourly installments spread over 10 to 20 weeks, especially one interrupted by commercials.
Viewers prefer watching shows on their own schedules, free of commercials, with the ability to binge-watch multiple episodes in a sitting. They also like the unrated nature of many streaming shows today.
Last fall, I gave one new network show a try, NBC’s “Manifest,” but it was boring, uninspired and pretentious. So, I wasn’t surprised when it got canceled after its first season. I gave up on it midway through the season.
The new shows I’m most excited about are on streaming networks.

• The Star Wars series “The Mandalorian,” premieres on Nov. 12 on the new Disney+ service.
• CBS All Access will premiere “Star Trek: Picard” in early 2020. It’s a continuation of the story of Jean-Luc Picard, which began with “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and carried over into several movies.

There are almost too many good shows to watch on streaming services these days. Recent favorites include “The Boys” on Amazon Prime and “The Haunting of Hill House” on Netflix.
As a fan of science-fiction, fantasy and horror stories, I’m drawn to three new network TV shows: “Emergence,” “Prodigal Son” and “Evil.”
ABC is back with another sci-fi mystery show in “Emergence.” ABC has a poor track record with such shows. Last year, it canceled “The Crossing” after one season, joining a long list of such one-and-done shows at ABC. I would be surprised if “Emergence” gets renewed.
“Emergence” premieres on Sept. 24. It follows a police chief who takes custody of a young child found near a mysterious accident. The girl has no memory of what happened or who she is.
“Prodigal Son” premieres Sept. 23 on Fox. It centers on a young criminal profiler whose father is an infamous serial killer known as “The Surgeon.”
“Evil” premieres on Sept. 26 on CBS. In the series, a skeptical psychologist allies with a priest and a contractor to investigate purported supernatural incidents.

Photos: Promotional posters for “The Mandalorian” and “Star Trek: Picard.”

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ on CBS All Access: Binge watch, then cancel

On my spring vacation last week, I signed up for a free week of CBS All Access, streamed all 15 episodes of its big-budget exclusive series “Star Trek: Discovery” over six days and then canceled the service.
I’ll probably sign up for a month of service when season two is finished sometime next year, binge watch the show and then cancel again.
There’s nothing else on CBS All Access that interests me. Besides, I already get more than enough programming from Verizon Fios TV and Netflix. Plus, I have Amazon Prime, but I never get around to watching their video service.
Judging from Twitter commentary, I’m not the only one who canceled after watching “Star Trek: Discovery.” The science-fiction franchise has a loyal following, but most aren’t going to stick around and watch lawyer drama “The Good Fight” and reruns of old sitcoms.
This is probably going to happen a lot in the current over-the-top internet video market. People will sign up for a month to see a show or two, binge watch, cancel and move on to another service. Unless a service has a deep bench of content, subscribers aren’t going to stick around.

Loved @startrekcbs but thankful I can now cancel @CBS all access till the next season. *fingers crossed* they ditch their streaming service

— Ryan Galgon (@ryanga) February 13, 2018

Just finished the first season of Star Trek Discovery. First order of business, cancel CBS All Access. My god what a terrible streaming experience. Next step? Bitch about what’s been done to my favorite show.

— jonathanwthomas (@jonathanwthomas) February 12, 2018

Why did I cancel my CBS All Access Plan? Because I only got it to watch Star Trek Discovery.

— Tana Hargest (@TanaHargest) March 5, 2018

So, how many people have already cancelled their CBS all access now that season 1 of Discovery is over? I'm really curious to see the numbers on this.

I'm probably gonna binge my way through the season one more time and the cancel until Season 2 comes out.

— Rick Bman (@stopthepota) February 14, 2018

I canceled #CBSAllAccess the other day. Have you canceled your account?? #StarTrekDiscovery

— 🖖🏼🚀🦖Heather Rae 🦕✨🦄 (@LLAPawsper) March 28, 2018

Thanks for reminding me that I need to cancel my @CBS All Access subscription until @startrekcbs is back with season 2! https://t.co/fXwusfNlYx

— Cerebro (@DumbledoreJr) March 1, 2018

‘The Exorcist’ kicks off returning TV favorites

The fall TV season has gotten off to an uneven start. “Star Trek: Discovery,” a quality sci-fi space adventure show, debuted on CBS, while “The Orville,” a lousy Star Trek-homage/dramedy, has stunk up Fox.
Unfortunately all of the remaining episodes of “Star Trek: Discovery” will air on subscription video-on-demand service CBS All Access, to which I don’t plan to subscribe.
There aren’t many new shows I’m interested in, but I have a bunch of returning favorites, starting with the season-two premiere of “The Exorcist” on Fox tonight.
Season one was surprisingly good and scary. It also served as a fine sequel to the classic 1973 movie “The Exorcist.”
Other shows on my watch list include season 13 of “Supernatural” on the CW, premiering Oct. 12; season eight of “The Walking Dead” on AMC, premiering Oct. 22; and season two of “Stranger Things” on Netflix, available Oct. 27.
Yes, I'm a fan of science-fiction, horror and fantasy shows.

Related reading:

Fall TV season 2017 thoughts; ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ most anticipated (Sept. 4, 2017)

Fall TV season 2017 thoughts; ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ most anticipated

As autumn approaches, it’s time for TV fans to start planning which new shows to watch in the upcoming television season.
For sci-fi, fantasy and horror fans, there are lots of new series to choose from this season. Some look promising, while others appear dead on arrival.
The new series I’m most interested in watching is “Star Trek: Discovery,” which premieres on CBS on Sept. 24, before moving to the subscription video-on-demand service CBS All Access.
I already have cable, Netflix and Amazon Prime and have no desire to pay $9.99 a month for the commercial-free version of CBS All Access. I’ll probably wait until the first season is over, sign up, binge watch the show and then cancel.
Meanwhile, Fox will be airing a Star Trek-like series from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane called “The Orville” that looks terrible. MacFarlane is low on likeability, so having him in the lead role is a major strike against it. Plus, the show is presumably a comedy, but the trailer is devoid of laughs.
Star Trek already has received good parody treatment from the movie “Galaxy Quest” (1999) and the underrated Yahoo series “Other Space” (2015).
The fall TV season also will bring a plethora of new Marvel comic-book shows, including “The Gifted” on Fox, “Marvel’s Inhumans” on ABC, “Marvel’s Runaways” on Hulu and “Marvel’s The Punisher” on Netflix.
We’ve probably reached peak Marvel, with the four new series joining six Marvel series already airing. Now studios are adapting B-grade Marvel properties in hopes of producing a hit.
I’ll probably give “The Gifted” a try, but have zero interest in “Inhumans.” I won’t be subscribing to Hulu, so “Runaways” is a no-go. I’ve enjoyed the other Netflix Marvel shows, including the recent “Marvel’s The Defenders,” so I’ll be checking out “The Punisher.”
Netflix has a couple more intriguing series on the way. They include the David Fincher-produced crime drama “Mindhunter” and German drama “Dark.”

‘Game of Thrones’ in space, ‘Harry Potter’ in space, other space-set dramas coming

The Syfy channel is starting to run ads for its upcoming science-fiction drama “The Expanse,” which has been described as “‘Game of Thrones’ in space.”
As I’ve noted previously, Hollywood writers sometimes put a fresh spin on old stories by adding “in space” to the name of a well-known work.
For instance, the classic “Star Trek” episode “Balance of Terror” (1966) is really just the World War II submarine film “The Enemy Below” (1957) set in outer space. The episode also may have been inspired by another submarine film, “Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958).
The original “Battlestar Galactica” TV series (1978-79) was billed as “‘Wagon Train’ in space,” with robotic Cylons replacing the marauding Indians.
The science-fiction horror film “Alien” (1979) was pitched to studio executives as “‘Jaws’ in space.”
The 1997 sci-fi horror movie “Event Horizon” was sold to studio execs as “‘The Shining’ in space.”
In 2009, ABC aired a short-lived science-fiction series called “Defying Gravity” that was pitched as “‘Grey’s Anatomy in space.”
For more examples, check out my April 2013 article “Movies where the setting was changed to ‘in space’.”
More such “in space” stories are in production or have been optioned.
“The Expanse” is scheduled to premiere later this year. The 10-episode series is based on the New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, which starts with “Leviathan Wakes.”
Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves is attached to star in a sci-fi romance movie called “Passengers,” which was billed as “Adam and Eve in space.”
In 2012, Warner Bros. acquired the screen rights to the young adult novel “The Planet Thieves,” which was pitched to the studio as “Harry Potter in space.”
And finally, a long-in-development “Star Wars” television series has been described as “‘Deadwood’ in space.” But that ambitious series is likely to fall by the wayside as Star Wars owner Walt Disney focuses on new movies in the franchise.

Photos: Scenes from “The Expanse.”

E3 2012 impressions: Celebrities, trends, weird games and ‘Adventure Time’

The 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo had video game companies big and small screaming for attention in and around the giant Los Angeles Convention Center this week.
The annual conference, better known as E3, kicked off with pre-show press events on Monday and the exhibit floor opened Tuesday. The trade show ended Thursday.
I covered the big news stories from the show for Investor’s Business Daily and Investors.com.
What follows are some miscellaneous thoughts from this year’s show.

Best celebrity appearances

Ubisoft chose beautiful and charming actress Aisha Tyler to host its media event at the historic Los Angeles Theater. Tyler gets bonus points for being a gamer herself. (See photo above.)
Microsoft’s press event at the Galen Center featured R&B singer Usher performing his new single “Scream” with a troupe of dancers. The song and an avatar of Usher appear on the upcoming game “Dance Central 3” from Harmonix.
Usher Raymond must dig trade shows because I’ve seen him perform at Activision and Sony events in the past.
“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone also turned up at the Microsoft event to promote their upcoming video game from THQ called “South Park: The Stick of Truth.”
Hall of fame football greats Joe Montana and Michael Irvin showed up to tout Electronic Arts’ “Madden NFL 13.” Montana appeared at the Microsoft event and Irvin the EA event.
I also spotted actress Felicia Day and rapper Snoop Dogg on the show floor at the convention center.

Most interesting trend

Games using voice commands through the Kinect sensor array for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was a cool trend at the show.
Microsoft’s “Halo 4,” EA’s “Madden NFL 13” and “FIFA 13,” and Ubisoft’s “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist” are among the big games using the technology.
It was fun to see Montana call plays and hike the ball while controlling his on-screen avatar in “Madden NFL 13.”

Oddest new video game genre

Majesco Entertainment’s “NBA Baller Beats” was the oddest new video game I saw at the show. The game combines sports and music genres. Players have to bounce a basketball in time with the beats of a song and prompts on screen.
I’d hate to be living in an apartment downstairs from someone playing this game.

Best company reception

At an outdoor reception before its media event at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Sony provided guests with a very L.A.-style treat: Food trucks featuring gourmet eats and comfort food meals.
I loved the shrimp and chicken tacos from Komodo. Other trucks offered Asian food, wraps, macaroni and cheese, barbecue chicken, pizza and desserts.

Fun sights on the exhibit floor

As a fan of Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time,” I loved seeing the giant inflatable characters of Finn and Jake on the show floor. They were at the booth of D3 Publisher, which is releasing an “Adventure Time” game for the Nintendo DS and 3DS handheld systems in the fall.
Usually the E3 exhibit area is reserved for giant video screens showing game trailers and rows of televisions connected to game consoles for trying out upcoming titles. But there’s lots of other eye candy including booth babes, photo opportunities, and big props like a combat vehicle from “Halo 4” and a full size creature from “Alien.”
I took photos with Master Chief from Microsoft’s “Halo” series and sat in the captain’s chair for a “Star Trek” vessel promoting a new game from Bandai Namco.

Steve Jobs channels Jean-Luc Picard

I haven’t seen so many tablet computers, or at least concepts, since “Star Trek” was running new episodes.
Apple is rumored to be coming out with a tablet computer this year. Other tech companies, including Dell, HP and Lenovo, are following Apple’s lead and developing tablet computers as well.
The mockups I’ve seen look pretty familiar. That’s because they look like props from the science-fiction series “Star Trek.” The mockups are being done by media organizations that want to illustrate their Apple tablet rumor stories. The digital artists are probably “Star Trek” fans – tech geeks often are.
Maybe Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a fan of “Star Trek” too and channeled Captain Jean-Luc Picard to get his underlings to make a tablet by saying, “Make it so.”

Photos:
Mockup of an Apple tablet next to an iPhone by Gizmodo.
“Star Trek” tablet computer called a PADD, short for personal access display device. See description and photos on Memory Alpha.