The Reaper, Movie Review

"Whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap" is a popular English idiom originally from Epistles to the Galatians of the Bible. The central theme and the very message of the movie was centered on the Biblical story found in Exodus. This is when the Pharaoh of Egypt was made obdurate by God Himself by not letting the Israelites be freed from slavery. The ten plagues presented in the Bible that were brought down to Egypt by Moses are the same plagues depicted in the movie, i.e. from the first plague of the river turning to blood to the death of the first born sons and daughters of the locals.

But it is worthy to note that the last plague was not brought about by the unseen supernatural force as all the others. Instead, the group members of the cult of the land were the ones killing their own. Also, unlike in the Bible, the second born children were the ones sacrificed instead of the first born. This is clearly so as to put an element of a Hollywood tinge on the movie and not be a copy cat of what's in the Bible (which admittedly would have made the movie less exciting or plain boring). Effectively, the tenth plague was made the climax of the movie.

Tension was built up little by little with each plague unfolding and peaked at the last plague holding the viewers momentarily confused by deviating from what was expected (death of second born instead of first born). And then here comes the vision shared by the child Loren to Katherine where she was about to be killed for being a second born but miraculously survived after being stabbed by her brother. At the time of being momentarily dazed, the viewers are fired with explanations as to why was Katherine chosen to be in that town at such crucial time. She was, in the past, an ordained minister.

She turned away from her God when the locals of the town she was serving sacrificed her family in exchange for the long drought. The cult members in the place where the child Loren lived believed that Katherine would help them kill Loren since she was after all like them, backsliders in faith. But of course, as the protagonist in the movie, she did not succumb to their wishes but instead saved the girl from them.

Since we've started interpreting the movie in Biblical terms, we might as well finish it on the same tone. In the Old Testament, God is presented as a jealous God, an angry God and all other similar actuations. The message of the movie was effectively delivered in the light of such interpretation, i.e. it was made a horror film with events lifted from the Bible. In the Old Testament, God came with thunder and lightning. But rest assured that in the New Testament, it was promised that He will come again with love and justice.

So then after all the 'scary moments' depicted in the movie, we go back to that promise, then sit back, relax and enjoy. After all, it's a beautiful world (Amen). Providing useful articles, reviews and writings on movies and films online.

What Are the Best Film Websites to Stream and Rent From?

There are 3 main websites at the moment offering a rental/streaming service for movies and TV shows online, they are LoveFilm, Blink Box and Netflix. All three websites have their own take on the market which makes them able to attract vast amounts of new subscribers.

First of all I will examine LoveFilm.
In January of 2012, LoveFilm made an announcement that it had reached a huge two million subscribers! It says on their website that they have over 70,000 titles, and over 4 million DVD, Bluray or Games rentals per month across five countries. Through a series of large business deals the company has, in just a few short years, become arguably the leader in the online DVD rental and streaming market in both the UK and across Europe.

There are various sign up options with Lovefilm, involving a postal only rental option, online only option, and combinations of them both. This gives Lovefilm a good edge in the market as it has various different subscription options to suit buyers needs and make it the best film website for certain movie watchers.

Next up on my examination table is Blink Box
Blinkbox has near to 3 million users a month, which puts it above most of its competition. Blinkbox is a video-on-demand (VoD) website that is based in the UK and allows users to watch over 10,000 full length premium movies and TV shows online through purchase or rental options. The advantage for BlinkBox is that there is no subscription and it is essentially a "pay as you go" system, allowing users to pay to watch whenever they feel like it.

It also has quite a foothold in the smart tv market, expanding from sole PC/Laptop usage to the living room movie experience. For those who enjoy that experience they would probably consider BlinkBox the best movie website.

Finally I Will Talk about Netflix
Netflix is originally an An American company that due to its success, expanded worldwide. In 2009 Netflix was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD and had over 10 million subscribers throughout the globe. Netflix has delivered over a billion DVDs to customers in it's operation. In 2011, Netflix announced 23.6 million subscribers in the United States and over 26 million worldwide. This accounts to a huge revenue (around $1.5 billion).

The shear amount of titles available through Netflix gives it a major advantage for the movie lover, making it by far the best film website for amount of titles available,

Which provider you choose is up to you, for more help on the subject check my link at the bottom for a site that compares the three, maybe this will help you decide once and for all which is the best film website! Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Denzel Washington Reaches The Heights And The Depths in "Flight"

When you get on an airplane, whether you're a constant traveler or a white-knuckle bundle of nerves, it's good occasionally to be greeted by the pilot. The trip is in his or her hands. Pilots know what they're doing, right? Everything will be fine.

In the superb "Flight," the passengers on Whip Whitman's (Denzel Washington) trip have a bit to be worried about. Aside from facing an upcoming storm, the pilot has a secret. He's an alcoholic.

Whip is awakened the morning of the flight by an angry call from his ex-wife. It's truly the morning after the night before, with his very gorgeous, very nude flight attendant Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez) in the hotel room with him. He does a line of cocaine to balance out a sky-high blood alcohol level. Just a little eye-opener.

In full pilot uniform and sunglasses, he confidently enters the plane looking, well, looking very Denzel, to the powerful "Gimme Shelter" as background music. His first officer, Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty), is a little bit green. Lovely Katerina ("Trina") is handling coach. Whip even takes a little nap during the flight. Then the plane literally falls apart. With an engine on fire and no control, Whip tells Evans they're going to roll the plane. ("We're gonna do what?") He rolls it, upside down, right side up, with luggage falling on screaming passengers. Incredibly, he successfully lands it in a field, with churchgoers running for their lives. In later testing and reenactment of the flight, it's proven that no one - no one - could have landed that plane, with only four fatalities among the 102 survivors. Trina was one of them.

Whip ends up in a hospital. He's visited by Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood), who tells him he's a hero. He's all over the news. (A lovely bit of trivia: Greenwood and Washington acted together in "St. Elsewhere" in the 1980s.) He's also visited by Harling Mays, his drug contact (John Goodman, a real scene-stealer). Charlie then introduces Whip to lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle), who tells him a blood test revealed alcohol in his system. Because there were deaths, that could lead to a trial - and the death penalty.

Whip hides out at his father's farm to avoid the press and pours all the booze down the sink. Then a meeting with the lawyer paints a frightening picture, and he heads to a bar. A hearing is scheduled to take place. He's sequestered in a hotel room the night before, swearing to stay sober, but decimates a next-door minibar. Then comes the hearing. You have to see for yourself.

Denzel Washington balances the panache of the experienced pilot with the tragic plight of alcoholism. As cocky as he looked entering the plane, he later shows the downward spiral of his greatest weakness. He's been lauded for his performance, and there's Oscar buzz. He's already won Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Providing useful articles, reviews and writings on movies and films online.

Where Was Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Filmed?

In the early 1980's when Auf Wiedersehen, Pet hit our screens, it was an instant hit, and at its peak in 1986, was having viewing figures of almost 17 million in the UK. As a fan of the show myself, I always wanted to know where the show was filmed, but in the days before the internet, finding out such information was almost impossible.

In 1995 I tracked down my first Auf Wiedersehen, Pet filming location, after simply telephoning Central Television who made the first two series of the show. The first part of the second series was set in a large country house in Derbyshire, so I always had it in my head, that all I had to do was narrow it down to a few huge country homes in that county.

What turned out to be a short phone call to a very helpful lady at Central Television, ended with me being told it was actually filmed in Nottinghamshire. The place of the filming was Beesthorpe Hall in Caunton, and so began a life of travelling around the Midlands searching for those locations I had seen on screen many times.

Fast forward to 2012, and I am now in the great position of being able to find out where Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was filmed at the click of a button, thanks to the internet.

For fans of the show, you will know that the first series was set in Dusseldorf, Germany, but with only a handful of scenes actually being filmed in the city. Hamburg was used as the location for the large part of the filming in Germany. What many fans of the show might now know, is that most of the building site you see on screen in the first series, was actually built using materials shipped in from Germany, on an outdoor film set in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. The BBC EastEnders outdoor set is now located on the very same spot.

Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was mostly filmed in and around Nottinghamshire, with Caunton, Redmile, Beeston and Bingham used for a number of key scenes featuring such stars as Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy and Pat Roach.

I have visited many of the locations that feature in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet myself, and it is still easy to find locations which have not changed at all, even after almost 30 years. The show was brought back to our screens in 2002 and 2004, and locations for these series include Middlesbrough, Arizona and the Dominican Republic. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Home Vs Commercial Use Inflatable Movie Screens, Difference In Quality

Since the invention of the first inflatable movie screen by AIRSCREEN of Germany in 1994, many different styles of blowup movie screens have come on the market. While all of the same purpose which is to be a portable means for showing movies outdoors, there are some notable differences in a home use and commercial use outdoor screen system.

HOME USE INFLATABLE MOVIE SCREENS
Home use inflatable screens are usually small in size and are meant for a group showing of 10-15 people which is ideal for a backyard movie night. The quality of materials used on a home use screen is similar to that of a blow up snowman decorations sold in big box stores. To keep the cost down for the personal use market, the manufactures use light-weight thin materials. Light-weight materials also allow for the projection screen to easy to manage and store in small places. Equipped with thin tether ropes, small push stakes, and a fan, the blow screen system is easy to install in minutes in a grassy area of a home yard.

Since the home use portable projection screens have small fans (not blowers) with lightweight materials, the screen frame is not able to stay firm which will case the white projection surface to wrinkle which will affect the picture quality. Starting at a price point of $199, home use inflatable movie screens are affordable for the do-it-your homeowner who desires to host a backyard movie themselves.

COMMERCIAL USE
Consumers looking to buy a screen for home use may find that some manufactures are offering larger sized "commercial screens." Don't be fooled by these larger screens that the manufactures are trying to advertise as commercial. These screens are a lot lower quality than normal commercial screens made of cheaper, thinner materials that may start to have leaks after a short period of time. Typically manufactures selling these screen also sell products such as holiday decorations, and don't have the experience creating a stable, quality commercial movie screen.

One way to tell a true commercial screen is to look for a screen that is made of a heavier weight material such as reinforced PVC. The stronger material with welded or double stitched seams will result in a stronger frame which will be aesthetically wrinkle free as well as be able to withstand wind because of its more solid, stiffer structure. The thicker material and stronger seams also increase the longevity of use of the screen where as after a few uses with a home quality screen you will start to notice leaks which will progressively get worse with every use.

Another area that a commercial screen focuses on is safety. The larger the screen surface, the more impact wind can have on the screen. Similar to a giant sail on a boat, the screen will want to take flight with a strong enough gust of wind. To keep the screen from flying away and potentially injuring the crowd, you will find a minimum of six tether straps with 24? or longer tent stakes on a high quality commercial screen system.

Third a true commercial grade inflatable outdoor movie screen should have a theatrical grade or highly reflective screen surface similar to an indoor movie theater screen. A theatrical grade screen when paired with the correct projection system will produce a vibrant, crisp and colorful picture.

There are many clear, noticeable differences between the quality of a home screen system versus a high quality commercial grade screen system. Although home screens can be alright for using once or twice in a backyard, a commercial screen system will offer an outdoor cinema experience that just can't be matched by a home screen system. From a elegant, highly reflective screen surface, to a safety system that can withhold moderate to strong winds, hiring a professional outdoor movie company will be the correct decision for an unforgettable outdoor movie experience. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

The Evolution Will Be Televised: 60 Years Later And We're Still Watching TV

It's impossible to explain to our children just how much the world has truly changed since you or I were kids. They experience movies and radio with only the most peripheral of differences than we did - most of which involve cosmetic improvements and frequency of access. Television, however, has made phenomenal leaps and bounds. It's as if we were driving horse and buggies while they've been handed flying cars.

During its prime, the television - feared by many as the device that would put an end to the need for radio - was a financial investment tantamount to buying a house, a vehicle, or kitchen appliance. It wasn't just an LCD or plasma screen propped up on a bookshelf like a photograph in a frame. It was a massive piece of furniture. Called a television 'set', it contained elements borrowed from radio systems for audio, a small electric motor, a spinning disc, a group of glass tubes to convert power, a gelatin-based vacuum tube to project an image, and a wooden cabinet to house it in. Over time record players and actual radios were added to the cabinet which constituted the first self-contained entertainment 'unit'.

It was Lo-Fi mono audio, the pictures were in black and white, and you required an antenna to 'catch' broadcast signals from the local network carriers - up to 12 of them (the #1 on the television's manual 'dial' was for emergency broadcasts only). There was no remote control. That dial had to be cranked by hand and a list of TV shows was printed in a book you bought at the supermarket every week called a 'TV Guide'. The networks would start broadcasting at 6 AM and 'sign-off' at midnight following the evening news. They'd go dark after the performance of a canned version of the national anthem before being replaced by a test pattern - featuring the feathered head of a politically incorrect drawing of a Native North American. Though television now can still be a major financial consideration, it's because the TV is the size of a sheet of GypRoc and is mounted on your wall like artwork. It's a precision device projecting thousands of pixels per square inch in 4,000,000 colours with up to 7.1 surround sound audio and high definition visuals streamed into your house through a cable no thicker than a piece of licorice. No more antennas. No more manual dialing through 500 channels instead of 12. Television networks rarely ever go off the air - it cost them too much money to be dark from midnight to 6AM. Television is now 24 hours/365 days of the year. And, yet, there's less on TV now than when I was growing up. Certainly less quality entertainment at any rate.

Because there was less airtime - most certainly for children who attended school - we were limited to an hour or so before heading out in the morning and after school was broken up between home-work, playing outside until dinner, and playing outside until dark. We really only watched TV for less than three hours on a weekday. When you include the time spent doing same on weekends between the times Mom and Dad had other plans for us cleaning our rooms, playing board games, shopping, visiting family, we may have only caught TV a few more hours Saturday or Sunday. And according to the good folks at 'Morals R Us' these hours were eating our brains.

They may have been right. When I add up the hours of television available to me they seem disproportionate to the unending number of things I remember watching. School days started with a kids' variety program called 'Rocket Ship 7' hosted by Dave Thomas out of WKBW-TV in Buffalo (interesting trivia note: he is the father of 'Angel'/'Bones' TV actor David Boreanaz). Like similar shows being broadcast in that era on stations all across North America, the show featured skits, birthday greetings, puppets, a talking robot, and the latest, cheaply licensed kids fair. We watched the Christian-based 'Davy & Goliath' and 'Gumby' stop motion animation shows, Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, 'Popeye', 'The World of Oz' and occasionally 'The Three Stooges' and 'Little Rascals' shorts.

When we came home for lunch it was a revolving world on either CHCH (out of Hamilton) or CTV (out of Toronto). I recall catching 'The Flintstones', 'Rocket Robin Hood' and any number of Canadian made game shows starring host Jim Perry - most notably 'Eye Bet' and 'Definition' - as well as a Canadian children's variety show called 'The Uncle Bobby Show' featuring a cardigan wearing old Brit. After school there was a juggling act of homework, outdoor activities or watching another children's variety show called 'Commander Tom' which was the afternoon version of 'Rocket Ship 7' featuring most of the same shows though they also included longer programming with 'The Addams Family', 'The Munsters' and 'Batman'.

Saturdays were a barnstorm of Hanna-Barbara cartoons and live-action children's shows like 'Scooby-Doo', 'Hilarious House of Frightenstein', 'H.R. Puffenstuff', 'Liddyville', 'Get Smart', 'The Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show', 'The Powder Puff Derby', 'The Monkees', 'Gidget', 'The Brady Bunch', 'Gilligan's Island', 'The Wacky Races', and more Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies than we could ingest.

Evenings brought us sitcoms and dramas: 'Party Game', 'Mary Tyler Moore', 'The Carol Burnett Show', 'The Trouble With Tracy', 'Starsky & Hutch', 'Love Boat', 'Sanford & Sons', 'All In The Family', 'Love American Style', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Bewitched', 'The Dean Martin Roast', 'Streets of San Francisco', and, of course the national standard - 'Hockey Night In Canada' on Saturday nights. Sunday was a bit of a drag with mornings filled with religious programming but we usually caught the weekly 'Movie For A Sunday Afternoon', 'The Wonderful World of Disney', and 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'.

Today, TV's need to fill 24 hours worth of programming - paid or created - means an assembly line of reality based shows, repeats of expensive dramas and syndicated shows from our near past (rather than our distant past... something we have to pay extra for on another set of cable channels). I love having more choices now, but I hunger for the shows that defined my childhood - even if some of them were cheesy as hell and barely hold up to repeat viewings.

But I don't yearn for them - only the way they made me feel. I still watch television as a respite from writing and dealing with the maddening battle to make a living as a hungry parasite on the back of the entertainment juggernaut. There are still good shows out there depending on your tastes. My current favourites are a mixed bag of sci-fi, sitcoms and reality shows:

1) Mike & Molly
Premise: Two middle class working stiffs - a school teacher played by Melissa McCarthy ('Bridesmaids') and a Chicago patrol cop played by stand-up comedian Billy Gardell - find each other at an over-eaters anonymous meeting where they soon realize they're too set in their ways to ever stop eating and decide to make the best of it together.

McCarthy and Gardell have great chemistry together as his oafish character completely misunderstands every situation which leads to some socially awkward encounters. It's 'King of Queens' without the angst. There's also a little bit of Honeymooners magic in this one as Gardell and his cop sidekick Carl, played by Reno Wilson, spend their time plotting one ridiculous idea after the other in an effort to get Wilson's character a date - without him screwing it up because he's a self-centred, loudmouthed Mama's boy that lives with his grandmother. This past season Mike & Molly were planning a wedding while Carl falls in love with an opthomologist played by Holly Robinson Peete (ex-21 Jump Street). The supporting cast of regulars is outstanding - especially Molly's over-sexed, widowed, party-packing mother played by Swoosie Kurtz, the local Rastafarian restaurant owner that Mike & Carl take advantage of every episode played by Nyambi Nyambi, and Mike's bigoted, self-loathing divorced mother played by the brilliant Rondi Reed (the therapist on 'Roseanne'). Light-hearted and giggle funny all around.

2) Two And A Half-Men 2.0
Premise: Ashton Kutcher's billionaire software developing Playboy philanthropist takes over Charlie Sheen's former haunt as the headmaster of a beach-front hedonism house still occupied by the free-loading Alan Harper played by the ubiquitous Jon Cryer and his idiot savant son Jake played by Angus T. Jones.

This reboot of the series - about to roll into its 10th season - should have died on the operating table when Chuck Lorre excised the tumour that was Charlie Sheen and had his character killed in the show. But something magical has happened. This is a quieter and gentler "Two And A Half Men". Where Cryer and Sheen had worked in tandem to pump up each week's level of debauchery, humiliation and gross outs, Kutcher plays it straight as a level headed businessman trying to navigate his way around a new relationship with a divorcee while his ex-wife attempts to both destroy his billion dollar company and his manhood. Cryer's character, meanwhile, spends every waking hour trying to stay relevant enough that Kutcher doesn't boot him out of the house and onto the street. There's enough of the old show still in check as Cryer continues to winnow on about being regular, masturbating, and dealing with his mother - still played with Cruella DeVille aplomb by Holland Taylor - who has just entered into a new senior citizen phase of her life as the lesbian lover of Georgia Engel (of 'Mary Tyler Moore' fame). No more prostitutes and parties for this show. Just First World problems for the crew from here on in.

3) Continuum
Premise: North America has become incorporated as big business takes over the running of government. In 2076 a civilian terrorist organization begins assassinating key players in this new world order. After being caught and sentenced to an execution, they manage a remarkable escape - 60 years into the past. Their plan is to begin dismantling the future by preventing it in the past. Alas, a fly in their ointment is a bulldog by-the-book cop played by Rachel Nichols ('Star Trek' the reboot; 'Amityville Horror' the reboot) who gets dragged into the time machine against her will and must now track down the terrorists and bring them to justice.

This is 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' gone sideways. Nichols' character, Keira, is a fish deeply out of water and her only allies in this Brave Old World are another detective - played by the brooding hunk Victor Webster - and a 17 year old kid (played by teen sensation Erik Knudson) who built the network infrastructure and technology that would one day run the world from which Keira has just been torn from. She has lost her family and still has to find the strength to bring these criminals to their knees. But things are not as black and white as they seem. We're two episodes in and tension is mounting as the lines are becoming blurry as to whether Keira's fighting on the right side or the wrong side of the terrorist cause. Only time will tell. Bonus points for the show being set and identified as Vancouver in the show; a time traveling cop show that's not set in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Yay! The city's locale also takes great advantage of casting availability as many former 'Stargate' alumni co-star including Lexa Doig and Tony Amandola (appearing at the Polaris convention in Toronto this summer) plus former X-Files 'Cancer Man' William B. Davis as the 'future' version of Erik Knudson's Alec Sadler.

4) Last Man Standing
Premise: "Home Improvement" gets a 21st Century facelift as Tim Allen moves from Wisconsin to Colorado, runs a sporting goods store instead of a TV show, and has to raise three daughters instead of three sons.

Not much new territory for Allen as he continues his reign as the king of backyard, hot-rod loving cavemen. However, the ensemble cast makes the difference here with Nancy Travis ("So I Married An Axe Murderer") playing Allen's better half and the three daughters giving him obvious amounts of comedic grief. He tones down the stupid-husband premise (though he does crush a boat with a Sherman Tank in one episode) and becomes straight-man for the funny subplots with his family and co-workers. The show did an unprecedented 24 episodes in its first season and has been renewed for a second season. He's doing something right here, kids.

5) Two Broke Girls
Premise: A low-income waitress named Max (played by Kat Dennings) living in Brooklyn, New York befriends a fallen heiress named Caroline (played by Beth Behrs) whose father has lost the family fortune after his failed Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme lands him in jail - and her with nothing but the clothes on her back and her favourite horse to show for it. The two become roommates and co-workers at a local restaurant but they dream of rising above their own poverty by starting a cupcake making business (you can't make this stuff up!)

Believe it or not this is a clever and witty 'buddy' show from the mind of failed comedienne Whitney Cummings (don't believe me? Just watch her own self-titled sitcom). The show is driven by the two lead actresses who act as a female version of The Odd Couple. Dennings' Max plays up the self-loathing, down-on-her luck underclass 'broad' while Behr's Caroline plays less Paris Hilton and more Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde. Max firmly believes her station in life will always be a lowly waitress while Caroline, who has tasted success, believes her business smarts and Max's cupcake making prowess will lead them out of the shadows of squalor. They attempt to co-exist in their obviously different approaches to life and hijinx ensue. The supporting cast is truly negligible as these young ladies steal every scene - except when the horse is on screen. Best line of the show so far from Max: "Hey, Equestrian Barbie... your horse has done the impossible. It smells worse than Brooklyn".

6) Saving Hope
Premise: An upwardly mobile surgeon - played by Michael Shanks (Stargate; and husband of Lexa Doig seen in 'Continuum') - and his soon-to-be surgeon wife played by Erica Durance (Smallville) find themselves caught in a life or death struggle as Shanks' Charlie Harris suffers a brain trauma in a car accident. As he sinks into a coma he finds himself having an out of body experience observing the hospital patrons as a third party. Shanks narrates the show as he watches the daily drama in the hospital and must also watch Durance's Alex Reid respond and cope with the possibility of losing her life partner while still having to keep her shit together so she can do her job. The staff, including an ex-boyfriend, rally around her. This might turn out to be the most awkward love triangle since "Ghost". It'll be interesting to see how this show can maintain premise's momentum before having to either kill Dr. Harris or revive him so that he can do the ghost whisperer thing from there on.

Returning shows:

7) Big Bang Theory - a group of nerdy friends, and a hot non-geek next door neighbour try to navigate the world of social interaction. Still one of the most intelligent sitcoms on TV. Bravo to Chuck Lorre for stunt casting his old 'Roseanne' acting buddies AND shoe-horning geek celebrities into the weekly plots. With Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Generation) as a semi-regular there are plot possibilities galore [how about having him take Penny on a date... leaving Leonard in a jealous funk? Thereby putting Sheldon's new found friendship with Wheaton at jeopardy]. Adding the ladies to the plot has also been a welcome relief as there are only so many 'Babylon 5' jokes one can take (or even understand). But, Chuck... you gotta address the broken elevator in the apartment building. Why not make the celebrity guests pose as an elevator repairman every now and then? It worked for 'Frasier's weekly talk show callers...

8) Pawn Stars - Rick Harrison, Corey, the Old Man and Chumlee The Idiot run a Vegas pawn shop. You could not script a better 'reality show' than this redneck three ring circus set on the Vegas strip; People selling useless shit for cash and a dysfunctional family trying to deal with their own fame. It's television gold and makes the Antiques Roadshow... well... British and boring. Don't miss the spin-off show 'American Restoration' featuring one of the Pawn Star regulars. It's less of a soap opera, but the pop culture antiques that are rebuilt and brought back to life is the payoff at the end of every show.

9) Auction Hunters - forget Storage Wars, Storage Hunters, Pawnathon, American Pickers or Canadian Pickers. Those are all small potatoes. It's any wonder the people on them are even in business given how excited they get over finding things that only yield $100 or $200 margins after sale. The Auction Hunters duo has no time for penny ante crap. They're going to storage auctions and buying big ticket items: boats, tanks, cars, weapons, you name it. The best was the shark cage they found - which, upon demonstrating it to a potential buyer - plunged to the bottom of the ocean when it hit the water. A $15,000 deal turned into $500 worth of scrap metal. Their hauls usually net them tens of thousands in profits and sometimes they LOSE thousands. That's some reality show 'drama' I can get behind.

10) Hollywood Treasures - here's the ultimate in geek porn. Collectibles movie fan and self-made millionaire Joe Maddelena takes us on a pop culture safari every week in search of people who want to sell off their movie and television memorabillia usually in the form of props, costumes, vehicles and in the most recent episode: the entire District 12 village used in 'Hunger Games'. Joe and his team track down the most iconic of these objects, authenticate them then either buy them directly off the owners at bargain basement prices in cash or convince the owners to place them in auctions from which Maddelena's company get a percentage of the profit.

Episodes have featured the original Panavision camera George Lucas used to film the original Star Wars ($550,000), the cane that Jim Carrey used in 'Batman & Robin' ($12,500) and the Judy Garland ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz for close-ups ($2,000,000). Maddelena also hustled the on-screen stunt version of Bumble Bee, the Camero from 'Transformers' from a junkyard for $20,000 and turned it over to a collector for $40,000 cash. Check this out when it's on - not just eye candy, but some pretty cool behind-the-scenes trivia about the objects and their origins as well.

Though I miss the simplicity of TV from yesteryear, I do not miss the reruns - even if shows did have longer seasonal runs (usually 21 to 24 shows on average). To that end, modern TV viewing allows us the chance to PVR and watch at our leisure and many cable networks are finally learning that firing up new brands during the summer is proving to be a smart idea. I'll report back soon with more new series highlights as the summer TV season gears up. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.