Source: Yahoo! TV [follow link for complete column]
YAHOO! TV - What To Watch - Weekly Top 10 Picks - Sunday, December 25, 2011
Yahoo! TV picks the week's top 10 must-watch show
... Doctor Who
Sunday at 9pm on BBC America
BBC's time-traveling cult hit continues its tradition of Christmas Day specials with tonight's all-new installment. Here, the Doctor is the eccentric caretaker of an old English home as he welcomes a woman named Madge and her two young children to stay with him. When Madge's son stumbles through a magical portal, it's up to the good Doctor to bring the tyke home in time for Christmas morning.
HELL ON WHEELS - ANTHEM MAGAZINE: Q & A with Anson Mount
15 December, 2011
by Kee Chang
Anson Mount’s riveting portrayal of Bump, a drug-addled loose canon in Cook County —the Audience Award winner at SXSW in 2008—is daring to say the least. Having shed a bunch of weight to step into the shoes of a raging meth addict—warding off temptations of the Dairy Queen he drove past every day during production was but one kind of accomplishment—it’s his sheer fearlessness as an actor that doesn’t go unnoticed. Previously known for playing Britney Spears’ love interest in Crossroads, he’s now turning heads as the lead on AMC’s Hell on Wheels and continues to keep the passion alive with impeccably strong work in smaller indie features...
... Cook County is now playing in select theaters....
... Q: What did you want to accomplish as an actor when you first started out and how have your goals changed over the years?
Anson Mount: "I just wanted to get my feet wet in as many different puddles as possible when I started out because I didn’t know anything. I wanted to do film and TV. I just wanted to experience it all and get a sense of where I functioned well. And I did that. In the past 13 years, I think I pretty much solidified my belief that the place where I like to be most is on an independent film set. Studio films move so slowly and kill creativity. I think they’re too producer-heavy. Quite often, these days, studio films are too CGI-heavy. There’s something about a film set that makes sense to me. I communicate well and enjoy it. I’m still learning. I like the intensity of it, especially when I’m on location. I’m now enjoying having a little bit of a leadership input and how things are accomplished. With that said, I love working on Hells on Wheels. I’m given a tremendous amount of respect in terms of my opinion on things, which speaks to the collaborative nature of the executive producers and for AMC. And I still do theater once a year. I’ve learned that I can’t do what I do without having really good material. Right now, I’m in a position where I want to have creative influence because I don’t want to hold my tongue. [laughs] I don’t want to hold my tongue at all..."
Source: Yahoo! TV [follow link for complete column]
YAHOO! TV - What To Watch - Weekly Top 10 Picks - Friday, December 23, 2011
Yahoo! TV picks the week's top 10 must-watch shows
... Chuck
Friday at 8pm ET on NBC
Two days before Christmas, NBC's geeky spy series celebrates the season with a special holiday episode. Chuck and Sarah get a lump of coal in their stocking when they discover who's trying to take down Carmichael Industries. Meanwhile, Morgan and the Buy More staff have angry customers to deal with after a nasty computer virus strikes. Plus, comic book legend Stan Lee guest stars, so that's an early Christmas present to all you dorks out there.
ALPHAS - MUSIC FASHION MAGAZINE: Laura Mennell Interview
by Lauren Weigle
Canada has bestowed on us yet another talented actor… Laura Mennell. Recently starring in the sci-fi television series Alphas, Mennell is taking on her role of Nina at racing speed in her super high stilettos. What’s not to love about that image?! As a dedicated actress, Mennell has appeared on both the big screen and the small screen and is best known for her roles in Watchmen and Flight 93. Her resume is endless and her looks are timeless. As a Hollywood actress with attributes such as these, she’s definitely climbing further and further up the celebrity ladder with each new role she takes...
... Q: Tell me more about your character Nina on the show.
Laura Mennell: "Nina's been a lot of fun to play. She's super intelligent, strong, capable, and she has the best ability... at least that's what I think. She's an influencer and is able to manipulate people into doing whatever she wants them to do. It's a great ability on the job—she gets the team out of tricky situations and can get honest answers out of uncooperative suspects or witnesses. But, she also has tons of fun with her power. I love that she does things that most people could only dream of doing! Like getting a cop to eat her speeding ticket. If only life could be like that! But, Nina's life isn't perfect. She has a bit of a past she doesn't like getting into, and of course the audience will learn more about Nina as some walls come down as the series progresses..."
Source: Yahoo! TV [follow link for complete column]
Yahoo! TV: Monday's Picks: What to Watch Monday, December 19, 2011
A list of can't-miss hot shows, undiscovered gems and fan favorites
... Closer
Monday at 9pm on TNT
The Major Crimes Division hits the streets tonight when a young girl on a bicycle is killed in a hit-and-run. But Brenda might have bigger fish to fry: She stumbles upon a scandal that implicates the LAPD commissioner and his wife (guest star Elizabeth Perkins) -- and involves a very incriminating cover-up.
DOCTOR WHO - BBC AMERICA VIDEO: Best of the Christmas Specials Trailer - Premieres December 24, 2011 at 8/7C
This Christmas Eve, relive your favorite moments from the Doctor Who Christmas Specials with BBC America's all new original special, DOCTOR WHO: BEST OF THE CHRISTMAS SPECIALS *** Premiering Saturday Dec 24 at 8/7c. ***
Celebrate the Yuletide best of Doctors 10 & 11 - David Tennant and Matt Smith - with celebrity fans like The Nerdist'sChris Hardwick, 30 Rock'sScott Adsit, Wired Magazine's Adam Rogers and Would You Rather...?'sFaith Salie. Plus, Whovians like you, answering Doctor Who holiday questions!
Immediately followed at 9/8c by The Nerdist: Year In Review, where Chris Hardwick and his team of nerd experts review the best of the U.S. and the UK's top nerd moments, gadgets and superheroes of 2011, and geek-tastic reviews of the year's best moments from Comic Con and Doctor Who. PLUS Special guests: NATHAN FILLION (Castle) and WIL WHEATON (Eureka, Star Trek: The Next Generation) - and Exclusive Interviews with DAVID TENNANT (Doctor Who's 10th Doctor) and SIMON PEGG (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Shaun of the Dead).
To view the Doctor Who December 24, 2011 marathon on BBC America, click here.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tonight's Best TV Monday, December 19, 2011
A Daily Guide To Notable Shows
... Terra Nova
8-10 PM FOX, SEASON FINALE
The dino drama concludes its 13-episode run with a two-hour block tonight. As the 11th Pilgrimage arrives in Terra Nova and the Phoenix Group makes its move, will the settlers thrive or just barely survive? And, if the series doesn't get picked up for season 2, can executive producer Steven Spielberg find a nice CGI farm where the dinosaurs can run and play?
As the Major Crimes Division investigates the hit-and-run murder of a young girl on a bicycle, Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) uncovers a scandal that may implicate the commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department and his wife (Mark Moses, Elizabeth Perkins). Maggie Wheeler also guest stars in the new episode "Road Block."
DOCTOR WHO - BBC AMERICA VIDEO FEATURETTE: Producer Marcus Wilson on Christmas Episode, 'The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe,' Premiering Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 9/8C
Watch an exclusive interview with DOCTOR WHO Series Producer Marcus Wilson about the 2011 Christmas Special, DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE, before the Christmas Day premiere *** Sunday Dec 25 at 9/8c *** on BBC America.
Find out why Wilson describes it as "a lovely family story, a very heartfelt, emotional romantic story" with a "really strong cast." And discover why he thinks lead writer/Executive Producer Steven Moffat has "really outdone himself this time."
In DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE, it's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness -- all she has to do is make a wish. Three years later, a devastated Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset. She is crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over the channel, but determined to give Lily and Cyril the best Christmas ever. The Arwells are surprised to be greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a magical wintry world. Here, Madge will learn how to be braver than she ever thought possible. And that wishes can come true...
Starring: Matt Smith, Claire Skinner, Bill Bailey, Arabella Weir, Holly Earl, Maurice Cole and Alexander Armstrong.
Source: Yahoo! TV [follow link for complete column]
Yahoo! TV: Monday's Picks: What to Watch Monday, December 19, 2011
A list of can't-miss hot shows, undiscovered gems and fan favorites
... Terra Nova
Season Finale: Monday at 8pm ET on Fox
Fox's big-budget sci-fi drama wraps up its freshman season this week with an action-packed two-hour finale. It's about to get more crowded in Terra Nova as another pilgrimage of refugees arrives from the future. Hope they brought snacks for everyone! Meanwhile, Jim and Taylor join forces to fight back against the shadowy Phoenix Group.
COLLISION EARTH - SYFY: PREMIERES SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012 at 9/8C
When a massive comet collides with the Sun, the explosion jettisons the planet Mercury from its orbit and sends it on a fatal collision course with Earth. With each passing day, Earth’s unstable gravitational field creates catastrophic disasters that threatens to tear the planet apart. The only hope for survival is a hidden top-secret military weapon that has the power to destroy Mercury before it slams into Earth. It becomes a race against time to find the weapon the military has kept hidden for 20 years.
Cast includes Fringe's Kirk Acevedo, Diane Farr, Chad Krowchuk, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Adam Greydon Reid, Andrew Airlie, David Lewis, Kevan Ohtsji, Catherine Lough and Juan Riedinger.
