The Simpsons Movie

Director: David Silverman
Writers: David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder & Jon Vitti

Voices: Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson/Grampa/Krusty/Quimby), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson/Nelson/Ralph Wiggum/Todd Flanders), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson/Patty/Selma), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe/Frink/Comic-Book Guy/Chief Wiggum/Apu), Harry Shearer (Mr Burns/Lovejoy/Ned Flanders/Lenny/Kent Brockman/Principle Skinner), Albert Brooks (Russ Cargill), Tress MacNeille (Mrs Skinner/Cat Lady), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse/Rod Flanders), Marcia Wallace (Mrs Krabappel), Billie Joe Armstrong (Himself), Tre Cool (Himself), Mike Dirnt (Himself), Joe Mantegna (Fat Tony) & Russi Taylor (Martin)

After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpson family are declared fugitives...

After 20 years and over 400 episodes (incredibly), a genuine pop-culture phenomenon makes its belated big-screen debut -- The Simpsons Movie; a decade late to the party, but still with enough cachet (and best marketing campaign ever) to make people forget the TV show has been limping since the 90s...

You can count me as a Simpsons fan, although it causes me physical pain to watch the show's pale shadow play out on television these days. But, the early years (seasons 3-7) were diamond, so the prospect of a film version crafted by writers from that "Golden Age" (David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti) filled me with cautious optimism...

The Simpsons Movie can be considered a success, if not exactly resounding. There isn't much to challenge its TV glory days, and it's ultimately too played-out to excite, or make you bust a guy laughing, but it's amusing and entertaining.

After a series of nudge-nudge gags at the Simpsons' jump onto celluloid (Ralph Wiggum in the Fox logo, Homer belittling the saps who paid to see an Itchy & Scratchy film), and a fun way to open with Danny Elfman's iconic theme tune, the film slowly gets down to business...

Grampa Simpson has a premonition of doom during a church service, Homer rescues a cute pig from a Krusty commercial, before dumping said hog's excrement into the Springfield Lake – causing mass pollution, that forces incompetent presidential aide Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks; excellent) to contain Springfield inside a protective dome. With the Simpsons blamed for the ostracized town's misery, the family run away to Alaska...

As you'd expect, it plays like an extended episode -- although the film-sized budget allows for refinement in the animation, a few CGI-assisted sequences, glass reflections, an enormous crowd scene, a handful of action set-pieces, and even a nude scene! It doesn't betray its small-screen roots, just better realizes Springfield; expanding the TV world, whilst retaining its snug familiarity...

The vocal talent are as strong as ever, but it's particularly nice to see Albert Brooks return, as the actor guest-voiced some of the best characters in the old days -- most memorably affable master-criminal Hank Scorpio. Brooks is given another antagonist to chew on here as Russ Cargill, and while his performance doesn't rival his previous characters, he's still a fun diversion.

But is it funny? Well, it definitely has its moments, although the jokes aren't really the problem. The story takes it cue from the implausible high-concept style of later TV seasons (a giant dome over a town?), while you get the impression it should have gone with something more believable.

There's the inevitable difficulty in trying to have every character have a turn in the limelight, but only Ned Flanders has anything approaching a big supporting act, and even that only stretched to a listless play for Bart's affections. Every character does appear and most speak a few lines, although some fans will be disappointed popular characters like Krusty and Mr Burns are so neglected. In particular, nuclear power plant owner Mr Burns is a tailor-made big-screen baddie, so it's unfortunate he takes a backseat...

However, with something as cherished and dense as The Simpsons, a movie was always going to be a tricky proposition. For the most part, this succeeds in its aims, although it doesn't have the wow-factor and hit-rate you'd expect from the writing talent assembled.

It's a shame that, despite once leading the comedy herd, hundreds of Simpsons episodes have led to a decline in quality. So, while the long-awaited movie won't linger long in the memory, it's by far the best "episode" in years, and far from a disaster.


20th Century Fox
Budget: $75 million
87 minutes

ROBIN HOOD 2.11 - "Treasure Of The Nation"

Writer: Simon J. Ashford

Director: Matthew Evans

Cast: Jonas Armstrong (Robin), Lucy Griffiths (Marian), Keith Allen (Sheriff), Richard Armitage (Guy Of Gisborn), Sam Troughton (Much), Gordon Kennedy (Little John), Harry Lloyd (Will Scarlett), Joe Armstrong (Allan-a-Dale), Anjali Jay (Djak), Stephen Beckett (Legrand), Andy Helfer (Paxton) & Lynda Bellingham (Queen Eleanor)

Robin receives a message from King Richard, which tells him to find the "treasure of the nation" -- hopefully before the Sheriff does...The penultimate episode of this improved second series starts slowly, but hots up after 20-minutes to provide fun adventuring with Robin's gang and compelling drama between Marian (Lucy Griffiths) and Guy Of Gisborn (Richard Armitage).

If season 1 was obsessed with breaking into Nottingham Castle, season 2 is definitely fixated on messengers; as another one arrives in Sherwood Forest to hand Robin (Jonas Armstrong) a message from crusading King Richard himself...

Legrand (Stephen Beckett) is the burly herald in question, a character created to cause antagonism with the similarly meat-headed Little John (Gordon Kennedy), although Beckett's performance doesn't really stretch much beyond a few baritone chuckles. A clichéd attempt to have the two giants eventually become friends doesn't quite come off, either.

Despite the first 20-minutes being a little dawdling, with Legrand taking Robin to see a wool merchant called Paxton (Andy Helfer) to decipher the King's message, things slowly become more interesting. Paxton helps decrypt the message, that asks Robin to find the "Thesaurus Patriae" (Treasure Of The Nation), and the gang head off on a treasure hunt through the forest, to some circular standing stones, and finally into an underground room…

Meanwhile, Marian is upset that Robin's latest quest means the villagers of Locksley will have to fend for themselves, now that the Sheriff (Keith Allen) has turned the place into a garrison for his mercenaries. She has no alternative but to take on her Nightwatchman persona and sneak into a storeroom to steal food for the starving people, only to be discovered by sympathetic Alan (Joe Armstrong) and Guy...

At this point, the subplot becomes more interesting than the main plot, as Guy discovers Marian's true identity and has no option but to take her prisoner. Robin Hood has always struggled to make its characters emotionally connect with viewers, but Guy and Marian have more history and facets to their characters than anyone else. It helps that Armitage and Griffiths play well against each, and seeing Guy realize his former fiancé has been leading a secret life against him, is by far the most engaging aspect of the episode…

But that's not to say there isn't merit with the treasure hunt plot, as it leads to fun moments of Indiana Jones-style underground adventure -- complete with a stone doorway (obviously made of polystyrene!) that traps our heroes inside. The Sheriff promptly turns up to eavesdrop on some information about the mysterious treasure's location and rides off with his men to a church at Kirklees.

Of course, Robin's gang soon escape and find the location of the treasure first, all amazed to discover it's actually a person: Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Lynda Bellingham), King Richard's mother, who must be evacuated from England. There follows a scramble to get the Queen out of the church and to safety, with the Sheriff's men back on their tails, leading to a fight sequence in the woods where (for once) the Sheriff shows backbone by killing Paxton and fighting Robin man-to-man...

Yes, after spending so long acting like the stooge to his own henchmen at times, it's great to see the Sheriff getting stronger material to work with recently. It's more iconic and enjoyable to see noble Robin Hood fighting the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham -- rather than just foiling another of his elaborate schemes and traps.

With most of the cast off being action men, it's left to Lucy Griffiths and Richard Armitage to provide the "real" acting, as outed Marian tries to appeal to Guy's better nature. But a bitter, hurt and resentful Guy sees no other option but to kill the love of his life for her vigilantism.

Needless to say, Robin's team manage to get Queen Eleanor to safety and she leaves for Ireland, before heading onto France. Back at the castle, a despondent Sheriff hopes to be cheered up by news Guy has captured the Nightwatchman and is readying him to be hung from the gallows. But, as Marian arrives (and is amusingly mistaken for an onlooker by the Sheriff), the "Nightwatchman" appears on the battlements and leads Guy and his men away in pursuit…

Guy therefore incurs the wrath of the Sheriff for allowing the Nightwatchman to escape again -- but, as consolation, he wins the respect and admiration of Marian – for making Allan pretend to be the Nightwatchman to spare her life. Honestly, I'm more interested in seeing if Marian can slowly turn Guy into a good guy, rather than watch her elope with Robin elope into the forest!

Overall, Treasure Of The Nation is mostly filler, although the Nightwatchman subplot unexpectedly ends a recurring plot neatly and simultaneously provides an emotional punch that's lacking elsewhere. It was interesting to have Queen Eleanor turn up in the series, particularly when she took a shine to "Big Bear" Little John, and I'm also enjoying the suddenly pro-active Sheriff, too...

It takes awhile to get going, but episode 11 is entertaining and manages to surprise a few times. The main irritation (beyond the repetitive use of music; that blares out for such thrilling moments as... a man hiding in a well!) is that the 90-minute finale won't arrive for another fortnight…


15 December 2007
BBC1, 7.15 pm

Grimm season 7 update: Creators tease series renewal; Nick, Juliette to return on screen?

Grimm creators, David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, have hinted about series renewal and teased that lead cast members David Giuntoli and Bitsie Tulloch could be back on screens as Nick Burkhardt and Juliette Silverton in season 7.

The universal appeal and immense popularity of the supernatural police procedural series definitely makes it a household name in the television drama circuit. The show already has a heavy backing from its fans and it is sure to garner descent viewership ratings.
But the crime thriller was abruptly cancelled by NBC after season 6 and the last season only had 13 episodes. Since the final episodes kept the viewers clued to the screens with its unexpected plot twists, the viewers are urging for more episodes from the creators.

So the cast and crew seem to be very optimistic about Grimm being picked up by any other network. Even the fans are anxiously waiting for TNT or Netflix to make an official announcement about the premiere date for season 7.
The next instalment of supernatural police procedural drama series could be already under development, as the executive producers revealed that they are open to all options and indicated about a possible storyline for the new season.

"We just leave all our options open. You just never know," said Kouf, adding, "If somebody wants to broadcast it, then we could see it."
Expaining further, Greenwalt revealed that Nick and Juliette will continue to fight against the evil characters. "That's what we want the audience to believe and grab hold of," he said and Kouf added, "The fight continues. Their mission in life is to fight evil." (via LA Times).
The creators of Grimm also talked about the characters they could not explore in the final season. "We missed Butt Crack Bud! We wanted to get him in there somehow. The refrigerator repair man who did such a wonderful arc in the whole show, but there was just no time. And a couple other type of characters that we could've done more [with]," Greenwalt told Deadline.
Meanwhile, Kouf also hinted that the supernatural series could air during the weekends if it gets picked up by any network. "Our audience doubled over the weekend usually within the first seven days. A lot of people recorded it. That's the way TV is watched now. Nobody has to be home watching when it's on. The audience is finding shows in different ways now," Oregonlive quoted him.

Prison Break season 5, episode 4 review: A big twist has us back on board

Warning: This article contains US-pace spoilers for Prison Break season 5, episode 4, 'The Prisoner's Dilemma' – do not read until you've seen the episode!

It got off to a promising start - with an opening two episodes that landed on the right side of outlandish - but Prison Break's much-anticipated revival stalled last week.

There's always going to be some mileage in Wentworth Miller's stoic, steely-eyed lead performance, but still, 'The Liar' felt sluggish - like Michael Scofield's aborted escape attempt, the episode amounted to very little and landed us right back where we started.

But was this aimless episode a brief stumble, or a sign that - as the nostalgia value lessens - Prison Break is starting down a slippery slope into big fat disappointment?

The good news is that, while this week's 'The Prisoner's Dilemma' isn't perfect, it does a decent job of getting Fox's event series back on track.

From the off, this 9-part revival has been plain about its desire to forge a new path for Prison Break and not just lazily revisit past glories. It's an admirable intent, but the execution has been flawed – take the dubious morality of inserting Isil as the chief villains, in what feels like a misguided attempt at making an old show feel relevant in 2017.

We've also spent a large chunk of time with a new roster of characters, at the expense of exploiting the unique chemistry between the show's original cast. (Seriously, where is Sucre?)

But another thing we loved about the original series was its ability to genuinely surprise and mislead its fans. In particular, way before Game of Thrones came along, Prison Break always had the balls to write out beloved characters – remember how exciting it was, at the start of season two, as Mahone (William Fichtner) hunted down and systematically slaughtered the Fox River eight?

In having Kellerman felled by a sniper's bullet, this revival proves that it still has at least one thing in common with its illustrious predecessor.

The charismatic ex-assassin gets a fitting send-off in 'The Prisoner's Dilemma' – brutally gunned down after proving that, for all his past sins, he was genuinely rehabilitated. And while it's a shame to lose Paul Adelstein and the complex character he'd created, we gain a whole lot in his departure - a sense that anything could happen, and anyone could go at any second. Like Prison Break at its best.

A second big surprise comes in the (apparent) reveal of Poseidon's true identity. We might've thought that Sara's picture-perfect new hubby Jacob Ness (Mark Feuerstein) was a little too good to be true, but we didn't suspect that he was the "murderous CIA rogue" pulling all the strings.

Here's hoping Prison Break continues to serve up twists of this calibre in its remaining five episodes, and fingers crossed too that it continues to make solid use of Robert Knepper as T-Bag, also back to his best here - a sly reptile with a violent temper and dark sense of humour - after being sidelined in the season thus far.

While the Kellerman / T-Bag plot delivers much of the intrigue, scenes set in Yemen provide us with a hefty dollop of action - something that, again, 'The Liar' was sorely lacking in. There's a satisfying pace to the episode – from the tense prison face-off that leads to the collapse of Ogygia, to the wrathful inmates' pursuit of Michael, to the glorious moment when Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) saves his brother by unleashing the ferocious power of a mounted machine gun.

With our heroes on the run once more, an entire army on their heels, 'The Prisoner's Dilemma' ends on a thrilling note, capping off an hour that reignites our passion for new Prison Break after the previous episode had dampened it.


Source : http://www.digitalspy.com

Prison Break season 5: Cast, characters, plot and everything else you need to know about the reboot

Back in 2010 - a year after Prison Break originally wrapped - series lead Wentworth Miller implied that the show was unlikely to return:

"I feel as though we told the story we intended to tell. That's something that's very rare in television - that you're allowed closure - and we were."

You can understand the sentiment, since series finale The Final Break had left Miller's character - aesthetically pleasing, plentifully tattooed architect Michael Scofield - dead and buried.


Five years on and Miller was re-teamed with his former co-star and screen sibling Dominic Purcell on The Flash - Purcell was Heatwave, fiery familiar of Miller's Captain Cold on the superhero series, and their reunion sparked (no pun intended) new interest in Prison Break.

"I think the studio always wanted to at some point revisit Prison Break, but at some point Wentworth kind of semi-retired from the business," Purcell explained.



"He's jumped back into the fray now - and as soon as Wentworth was on board, that's when the dominos started to fall."

With buzz at a high, Fox didn't wait long to make an official announcement. In August, the network broke the news that 10 new episodes of the cult series had been ordered - later cut to nine.


"I had written a long-winded road map for 10 episodes," original series creator Paul Scheuring said. "But at the end of the day, we just didn't have enough time for 10 episodes, so we conflated two of those episodes into one."

It was actor availability that led to the tight schedule, with many of the show's returning stars now working on new gigs.


Scheuring was originally announced as penning the first episode of the revival, now known as Prison Break: Resurrection - and was said to be crafting a 'series bible' for the remainder of the season.

Sarah Wayne Callies (giving us another update on the revival in February 2016) later suggested that Scheuring would be writing all nine episodes - but in fact, he's joined by Dominion creator Vaun Wilmott and Mike Horowitz of Burn Notice.

Prison Break air dates: When will it air?

Filming on the new episodes was scheduled for the spring of 2016 once Purcell and Miller had wrapped on the first season of Legends of Tomorrow - a new spin-off from The Flash in which the pair were also series regulars (busy boys!).

Prison Break season 5 will launch on Fox in the US. The premiere date? Tuesday, April 4, 2017, as part of the network's midseason schedule.

It'll land in the UK on Monday, April 10 at 9pm on Fox UK, just six days after its US premiere.


Source : http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/prison-break/feature/a665454/prison-break-season-5-cast-characters-plot-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-about-the-reboot/

The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Finale May See Damons Death

After eight years of horror, romance, drama and action-packed adventures, Stefan and Damon Salvatore are bidding the small screen goodbye. However, recent reports suggest that Damon may die in the finale of "The Vampire Diaries" season 8.

As previously teased in the first trailer for season 8, the vampire crew will soon be attending a funeral. Some photos have also been revealed to give fans something to ponder on. However, it appears that among the core cast members, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the character who deserves death the most.

According to Buddy TV, there is always a reason to keep and kill off characters. In the case of Damon, the showrunners have all the reasons to tear him down. Damon has become one of the most diabolical characters in the history of the series. He is also a full-blooded killer and can even hurt those close to him.

On the other hand, Damon always gets forgiven. It appears that he has become the show's most loved character because he always makes the same mistakes and manages to redeem himself in the end. Will he escape death in the finale of "The Vampire Diaries" season 8?

Meanwhile, Alaric (Matthew Davis) is the least likely character that fans believe won't be killed. After all, he will appear in "The Originals" season 4 soon. He also has the twins to care for and he may even have another shot at romance.

The final episode of "TVD" season 8 is titled "I Was Feeling Epic." Details about the story have been kept under wraps. On the other hand, teaser trailers have confirmed that Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert will return. In the teasers, it appears that she doesn't know why she returned from the dead. Fans have also been given a short look at the highly anticipated Delena reunion.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 Episode 16 titled "I Was Feeling Epic" airs Friday, March 10, on The CW.

Greys Anatomy Season 13 finale will see Meredith and Alex taking some tough decisions

The Season 13 finale of ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy will have viewers on the edge of their seats as it will see Meredith and Alex taking difficult decisions about their future.

One event is expected to revolve around Alex, who will have to decide where he stands with Jo, his one-time girlfriend. Jo's estranged husband, who is a charming yet manipulative person, is expected to appear in the season finale and this is going to affect Jo, who has been hiding from her husband for years.

The second will be Meredith and Nathan's relationship, specifically their decision to go public with the romance.

"There's actually two events going on at the same time that are pretty big that affect the entire hospital community," executive producer Debbie Allen told Entertainment Weekly.

"You should be worried," Allen continued. "There's cause for worry. There's an amazing cliffhanger that will have everybody thinking, 'Wow, where is this going?'"
The cliffhanger will "plant more seeds that fuel the fire for what is going to happen next season," she added.

Meanwhile, this Thursday's episode will see Maggie learning about Meredith and Nathan's affair. Maggie will have to accept the fact that her sister is now dating the person she herself fancied a while back. But it won't be an easy process as she feels betrayed by Meredith.
The official synopsis for Season 13 episode 21 titled Don't Stop Me Now reads:
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays on ABC.