Sally Ember's Blog, page 33

Beloved Where the Wild Things author and illustrator Maurice Sendak passed away in 2012, but readers will be treated to a new book by the children’s writer in 2018. The news comes thanks to a discovery by Maurice Sendak Foundation president Lynn Caponera. She was going through the late author’s files and found a typewritten manuscript,…

via A New Maurice Sendak Book Will Be Published in 2018 — Flavorwire

JULY SALE! #Smashwords The Spanners Series’ #ebooks free, 75%, 50% off & #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off for the rest of July!

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The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords is having its annual July Summer/Winter Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are either

—free (Volume I) or

—only $1.00 (Volume III) COUPON CODE for Volume III, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: VE86U or

—only $2.00 (Volume II) COUPON CODE for Volume II, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: YX27E

(usually $3.99 each for ebooks) for the entire month! See below for links and more info.

And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for all of July!

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!

Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are at 25% off on CreateSpace! See below for details and coupon codes for each of the Volumes.

[image error]

This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. 

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

Are YOU ready for the changes?

Volume I, This Changes Everything:

Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

and Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8   

Paperbacks are now $13.49, 25% off the regular price of $17.99, on CreateSpace, using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5837347 

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This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code YX27E on: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969  

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844431  

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This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code VE86U: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844474

[image error]

The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on CreateSpace

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

[image error]

REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com

JULY SALE! #Smashwords The Spanners Series’ #ebooks free, 75%, 50% off & #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off for the rest of July!

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords is having its annual July Summer/Winter Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are either

—free (Volume I) or

—only $1.00 (Volume III) COUPON CODE for Volume III, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: VE86U or

—only $2.00 (Volume II) COUPON CODE for Volume II, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: YX27E

(usually $3.99 each for ebooks) for the entire month! See below for links and more info.

And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for all of July!

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!

Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are at 25% off on CreateSpace! See below for details and coupon codes for each of the Volumes.

[image error]

This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. 

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

Are YOU ready for the changes?

Volume I, This Changes Everything:

Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

and Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8   

Paperbacks are now $13.49, 25% off the regular price of $17.99, on CreateSpace, using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5837347 

[image error]

This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code YX27E on: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969  

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844431  

[image error]

This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code VE86U: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844474

[image error]

The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on CreateSpace

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

[image error]

REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com

REBLOGGING:

Great video talk by Lodro Rinzler, the author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar, regarding his newest book, The Buddha Walks into the Office. Here is his website for more information about him, his books, etc.: https://www.lodrorinzler.com/

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First video on the reblogged page (link is below) is an intro. Go to the second one.

Has a simple guided #meditation near the beginning, which is a basic intro to #Buddhist meditation.

Then, starting at around 29.00: “Our lives are a mandala. There is something at the center of it, of all of our lives, and we are either consciously aware of it or unconsciously living it.”

He leads the audience through a wonderful exercise of helping one become more aware of the #mandala of one’s own life, as a values-clarification and awareness-building activity, by putting a quality we want to cultivate at the center and others components where they fit regarding how closely we see each one to that central aspect, and how each aspect connects to others.

Worth doing for life, not just for work.

I wish he had used the word “ethical” as often as “meaningful” for types of work one can engage in for money, because plenty of people would think earning the most money, even while harming others, is “meaningful.”

But, working on behalf of oneself and one’s own interests alone is not what the Buddha meant, IMHO, by “Right Livelihood.”

Definitely listen to the Q & A at the end. Very good exchanges and more info, there. An hour well-spent.

LINK:

https://tgrb.wordpress.com/2017/07/01/the-buddha-walks-into-the-office

JULY SALE! #Smashwords The Spanners Series’ #ebooks free, 75%, 50% off & #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off for the month of July!

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords is having its annual July Summer/Winter Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are either

—free (Volume I) or

—only $1.00 (Volume III) COUPON CODE for Volume III, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: VE86U or

—only $2.00 (Volume II) COUPON CODE for Volume II, good on Smashwords, only, 7/1 – 31/17: YX27E

(usually $3.99 each for ebooks) for the entire month! See below for links and more info.

And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for all of July!

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!

Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are at 25% off on CreateSpace! See below for details and coupon codes for each of the Volumes.

[image error]

This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. 

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

Are YOU ready for the changes?

Volume I, This Changes Everything:

Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

and Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8   

Paperbacks are now $13.49, 25% off the regular price of $17.99, on CreateSpace, using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5837347 

[image error]

This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code YX27E on: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969  

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844431  

[image error]

This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:

EBOOKS now $1.00, 75% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice), using coupon code VE86U: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Paperbacks are now $14.99, 25% off the regular price of $19.99 on CreateSpace using coupon code H93664AM: https://www.createspace.com/5844474

[image error]

The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on CreateSpace

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

[image error]

REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com

“The Friday TV Report” 24 from Sally Ember, Ed.D., and her mom

I (Sally) update this ever-changing post of ongoing mini-reviews of certain TV and Netflix shows with our opinions (begun in fall, 2015), and updated premier and return dates. Check on Fridays! And, maintaining a “news” section, below, with rumors and truths of upcoming TV and Netflix shows. I also add to reviews of many previously reviewed shows with new info and opinions often, so check below “new” if you’re interested in those updates.

This is Report 24 for May 19, 2017, UPDATED June 20; next full post, mid-July, 2017.

TRUTH, RUMORS and PROBABILITIES:

—Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access for subscribers, only, but first episode also on CBS (premiers 9/24/17)

—Scandal, Thursdays on ABC, is NOT yet cancelled: returns for 7 final episodes, fall, 2017! We have watched them all, so we have to finish with the sick characters, so well-acted, of this series.

—Emmy® Award winner, Stephen Colbert, of THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, will host the 69th PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 17, 8:00-11:00 PM, Eastern, on CBS

—[RANT: I hate this phrase, “support the troops,” because it means that the excessively jingoistic and testosterone-fueled, for-profit, USA military-industrial complex is fear-mongering yet another war at poor people’s expense in some distant locale, while said troops have “volunteered” to go murder and cause mayhem for dubious purposes and even worse outcomes. Meanwhile, TV producers and actors wax rhapsodic and tout that phrase when military-themed shows arise, and this fall is no exception. Rant over.]

I doubt if I will watch any of these, but my mom might.

——-S.W.A.T. stars Criminal Minds‘ popular Shemar Moore (in the role Samuel L. Jackson originated in 2003) on CBS.

——-David Boreanaz barely unpacks from his vacation after ending Bones to star in SEAL Team, also on CBS.

—— Mike Vogel (from Under the Dome) and Anne Heche star in The Brave on NBC, which premiers 9/25/17.

——- Not to be left out, the CW is hosting Valor, starring Matt Barr.

—Kyra Sedgwick returns to star in what should probably be/have been a one-and-done Lifetime channel’s movie and is probably not even going to last one season on ABC, Ten Days in the Valley. Woman’s child is kidnapped. She tries to find her. A series? I do not think so.

—Shonda Rhimes wants to compete with the Chicago TV shows’ CBS franchise, so Grey’s Anatomy and is having a firefighters’ spinoff; still untitled and premier date unknown.

—NBC will have a Broadway-filmed “live” (at filming time) showing of Jesus Christ Superstar on Easter Sunday, 2018. If you’ve never seen it, very worth it. It’s brilliant. One of the first “rock operas” of the 1960s-1970s, it has almost no dialogue and many amazing songs. Much more serious and politicized/satirical than Godspell, but the same story.

—Also inexplicably (to me), ABC is airing The Little Mermaid as a “sing-along,” mixing “real-life singing with animated songs” in October, 2017. I guess kids will like it.

—We never watched the original and do not plan to watch this reboot (even though the cast is slightly more “diverse”) but some will enjoy the revival of Dynasty on the CW, which could be good: it’s from the creators of Gossip Girl. Fall, 2017, premier.

—Also on our not-watching list, but nevertheless exciting to many who love Big Bang Theory, the backstory of one of its precocious genius characters’ childhood is to be featured in Young Sheldon on CBS this fall, 2017.

—Everwood is being re-run and may be poised to be revived as well, on the CW. The show originally ran 2002-2006 with Gregory Smith and Vivien Cardone, along with Emily vanCamp and Chris Pratt playing pairs of teen siblings (Greg, Emily and Vivien actually were teens for the first few years). Starring Treat Williams and Tom Amandes as rival doctors/their respective fathers, it was fun, easy on the mind and eyes entertainment. My mom never saw it, so we’ll probably watch (I already saw most of the episodes). Premier date not set, yet.

—One of the most significant influences on my and many others’ lives was a science-fiction book published in the 1960s by Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, and this now “classic tale of a human raised by Martians is being adapted into a television series”! This is a “a co-production between Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions” being developed for the SyFy network. Premier date not set, yet.

—Roseanne is being revived and will premier on ABC mid-season, 2017-18. Even John Goodman‘s character (who died in their last season) will return (presumably in “new” flashbacks).

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Roseanne Barr, of course, will return, as will former cast members, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman and Lecy Goranson, with Sarah Chalke also back, but in a different role. I never watched the original except in clips (in my no-TV years), but I might give this a watch. Mom says: “Yuck.”

—PSYCH is returning to the network that created it, USA, just for a “Holiday movie,” in 2017. Oooh: I hope they sing, again! So fun. I miss this show!

“…[F]eaturing fake psychic detective, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his best friend, Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill), the team will reunite once again… when the two-hour special premiers this December. Psych creator, Steve Franks, who co-wrote the movie with Roday, is directing. Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), Juliet (Maggie Lawson), Henry (Corbin Bernsen), and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) will also return for the movie, which picks up three years after the series finale.”

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—Emergency Response drama, 9-1-1, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, starring Angela Bassett, premieres mid-season, 2017-2018, on FOX.

—A.P. Bio NBC (mid-season, 2017-2018)

Sounds interesting: Patton Oswalt (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and others I have never heard of or seen (yet) are starring in a comedy about a “cynical Ivy League professor [who] loses out on his dream job and goes to work as a high school biology teacher where he imposes his unorthodox teaching style and uses the kids to plot out revenge on those who wronged him.” Hmmmm.

—Premier date is unclear, but Deception, ABC, sounds interesting. I don’t recognize the names or faces of any of the stars, though. PR says: “When his career is ruined by scandal, superstar magician, Cameron Black, has only one place to turn to practice his art of deception, illusion, and influence — the FBI. He’ll become the world’s first consulting illusionist, helping the government solve crimes that defy explanation and trap criminals and spies by using deception.”

Sounds like a White Collar and The Mentalist mash-up. We liked both those shows, so we’ll probably give it a try.

—Another possibility: For the People, a courtroom drama scheduled some time in 2017-18 on ABC. We sometimes like these, but they can be SUPER boring if not done right. Bull, yes. Chicago Justice, no. We do recognize some of the stars, so we’ll try it.

Features Ben Rappaport (Mr. Robot, The Good Wife), Hope Davis (American Crime), Anna Deavere Smith (Nurse Jackie), Lyndon Smith (Parenthood), Ben Shenkman (Royal Pains), and some others.

Blurb: “Set in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, aka “The Mother Court,” the drama follows brand-new lawyers working for both the defense and the prosecution handling the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country — all as their lives intersect in and out of the courtroom.”

—Dylan McDermott is coming back with a workplace comedy, mid-season 2017-2018, FOX, LA TO VEGAS. We miss Pure Genius.

—One of my long-time faves, Amy Acker, is set to star in The Gifted, another show from Marvel comics (but not with Joss Whedon at the helm) (on Fox, premiers 10/2/17), co-parenting [with Stephen Moyer (True Blood)] a troupe of mutant children. Probably too much violence and fighting, but we’ll give it a try.

Also stars some others I/we have liked: Coby Bell (Burn Notice), Sean Teale (Reign, Incorporated), Emma Dumont (Aquarius, Bunheads).

Says it’s about “a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.”

—FOX plans to air a LIVE production of the Tony-award-winning musical, RENT, some time this next year. Well-worth watching, I’m sure.

—I’m kind of bored with autistic savant characters (they’re EVERYWHERE, now, aren’t they?), but this series may be interesting, despite the trite trope. The Good Doctor premiers on ABC starring Freddie Highmore in the title role, and including a couple of familiar faces [Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and Hill Harper (Covert Affairs, CSI: NY)], so we’ll try it.

—Another great cast for a new show with a shaky premise, IMO: Reverie, on NBC, brings Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest), Dennis Haysbert (24), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) and Jessica Lu (Awkward) for an as-yet-undetermined premier date, midseason, 2017-2018.

It purports to be a “grounded and dramatic thriller about a former detective specializing in human behavior who is brought in when the launch of an advanced virtual reality program has dangerous and unintended consequences.” No premier date, yet.

—We’ll be glad to see Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) back in Instinct on CBS , if they can figure out when to start showing it. No premier date, yet.

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock (7450455h)
Alan Cumming
44th International Emmy Awards, New York, USA – 21 Nov 2016

Cumming plays “a former CIA operative who has since built a ‘normal’ life as a gifted professor and writer [who] is pulled back into his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer on the loose. Based on the soon-to-be-published James Patterson book.”

—Seemingly a mash-up of Glee and Mr. Holland’s Opus, Rise brings in the drama classes for a new show we might like, on NBC. Starts mid-season, 2017-18, starring some cool peeps: Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Rosie Perez (Search Party, Lipstick Jungle), and many others pretending to be teens, I’m sure.

The show “centers on a high school drama teacher and family man whose passion for the program and his students galvanizes the entire working class town. Based on Michael Sokolove’s book, Drama High, which itself is based on real-life drama teacher, Lou Volpe.”

—Orville, FOX, premiers 9/10/17 and 9/17/17 with special, 2-part, series opener, then goes to its regular day, Thursdays, starting 9/28/17.

It is probably going to try too hard and be terrible, but what if it’s great? HAVE to watch at least one episode, right? But, it hasn’t got a start date, yet; they plan to air on Thursdays.

It has quite a cast: Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Penny Johnson Jerald (Castle), Scott Grimes (ER), Peter Macon (Shameless), J Lee (Family Guy), Halston Sage (Crisis)

And, potentially, a great premise: “Set 300 years in the future, the hour-long dramedy follows the adventures of the Orville, a not-so-top-of-the-line exploratory ship, in Earth’s interstellar Fleet. Facing cosmic challenges from without and within, this motley crew of space explorers will boldly go where no comedic drama has gone before.”

—Emily vanCamp (Revenge, Everwood) and Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife) will star in a FOX medical drama series, The Resident, planned for mid-season, 2017-2018.

—Jacqueline Bisset to star in Journey to Miyakojima, which is scheduled to begin shooting October, 2017, in Japan. “The family drama centers on ‘a quietly ailing’ family matriarch [Bisset] and NBA team owner who hopes to ‘reunite her shattered family at a serene island off the coast of Okinawa, thousands of miles away from home.’…She convinces her granddaughter, who suffers from an eating disorder that’s getting increasingly serious, to stay at a guesthouse on the island, ‘where its beauty, a chance meeting with a treasure hunter, and a century-old shipwreck heal their wounds.’”

—The X-Files reboot, which I, a faithful fan who watched every episode of the original series, thought was TERRIBLE, has just been RENEWED and plans to return mid-season, 2017-2018, on FOX. Who makes these decisions?

—Gina Torres WILL star in a SUITS spin-off, because it will film in LA (where she lives) instead of the usual Toronto-for-NYC. Watch her on SUITS in the final winter, 2017, Episode (a brief return, only, for this season), then, watch for Torres to headline and produce the new series centered on her Suits character, Jessica Pearson.

—Sonia Braga to star in Las Reinas, a new ABC detective drama, probably for fall, 2017.

—Casey Wilson, Busy Philipps and Tina Fey are teaming up for The Sackett Sisters. Wilson and Philipps play sisters, with Bradley Whitford as their father, in the Fey-produced NBC comedy pilot, which may or may not get picked up for 2017-18.

—Connie Britton has already risen from the dead Rayna James (Nashville) to play a leading role in Nicole Holofcener’s upcoming Netflix ensemble dramedy, The Land of Steady Habits—based on Ted Thompson’s 2014 novel of the same name—along with Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), and Thomas Mann (Fargo). Look for it later in 2017.

—Lauren Graham is set to star in Linda from HR, a comedy for Fox.

“The show will center on the ‘one bad decision’ that throws ‘Linda from HR’s monotonous, unfulfilled life into an exciting but dangerous tailspin of balancing work life, home life, and a secret that could unravel everything.’”

We/I liked these shows, listed below, and many were left very unfinished; but, too bad (so, reviews were not kept, below, unless show has one more season or partial season still to run):

APB —CANCELLED;

Bones— CANCELLED/ENDED;

The Catch — CANCELLED;

Frequency— CANCELLED;

Notorious— CANCELLED;

Orphan Black— CANCELLED/ENDED;

Pitch —CANCELLED;

Pure Genius— CANCELLED;

Reign— CANCELLED;

Rosewood— CANCELLED/ENDED.

Saving Hope— CANCELLED/ENDED;

Sun Records— CANCELLED;

We didn’t like or tried but did not keep watching these, anyway:

Chicago Justice— CANCELLED;

Emerald City —CANCELLED;

Feed the Beast— CANCELLED;

Imaginary Mary— CANCELLED;

Incorporated— CANCELLED;

Making History— CANCELLED;

No Tomorrow —CANCELLED;

Powerless— CANCELLED;

Rogue— CANCELLED;

Shots Fired — CANCELLED;

Time after Time —CANCELLED.

A few others we liked are showing as TBD for their the 2017-2018 season. I no longer have my reviews, here, if they showed up as cancelled, but stay tuned.

The networks did this awful ploy of pitting one show against another for which one gets to remain on the schedule. I suppose they’re hoping to get viewers to write/email/text/tweet about their favorites; nothing about quality, of course. Sigh.

This is the twenty-fourth post, for 4 weeks ending 5/19/17 (but updated until next post as we go along). I continue to note the updated (as of 6/20/17).

CANCELLED, TBD or RENEWED shows’ statuses, below, can be found here (many shows we do not watch, on this site’s list): http://renewcanceltv.com/cancelled-ended-tv-shows-2016-17-season/1/

For the shows we watch, I put each one’s status beneath its review or listing, when it is known.

Also, I have been steadily removing my reviews or expectations for/of all shows that have been discontinued/cancelled since we started this series of posts in 2015.

BACKGROUND

My mom, 84, and I (62) are probably not the “target demographic” for almost any show on television or any movie being produced currently. We live in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Midwest, for those of you unfamiliar: think of that huge “Gateway Arch”? That’s here). I grew up here but then didn’t live here for 42 years; I’ve been back for about two years, now. We were both raised Jewish, but I have been a meditator since 1972 and a practicing Buddhist since 1996. We are both Caucasian women-born-women. We are considered “middle class” although we have almost zero dollars of “disposable income.” My mom is hetero; I am bisexual. We are both partly disabled. I am highly educated (doctoral degree plus other training); my mom has extensive work-experience, with a high school diploma.

My mom has been a TV watcher for over 60 years. I watched a lot as a kid, but from about 1972 – 2002, I didn’t have a TV and hardly watched it elsewhere, either. I usually didn’t have a TV between 2005 – 2014 as well, but I watched some shows online (Hulu, usually) or Netflix.

We think we should be part of a group that at least some producers are aiming to please, because we (especially Mom) now watch a lot of television. We also get movies regularly from DVD borrowing through our local library. We even occasionally go to a theatre to see a movie. We eagerly await the “new season” of television every one of the four times it seems to occur every year: “Fall Sweeps” happen, but so do Mid-season Sweeps, Mid-year New Seasons, and channels with an entirely different set of “seasons.”

We also occasionally watch TV shows and movies on Netflix!

However, we are consistently disappointed that many shows we do like are cancelled and some shows we despise seem to go on forever.

AND: “Why does none of these bakers ever wear a baker’s hat or a hairnet? Their hair is all over the food. Disgusting!” says my mom.

ALSO: “Why is it always so dark in all these shows? I can’t see a thing. What is the point?” We both say this.

Again, for the middle of May, 2017, I/we continue with this Report.

We don’t watch: most “sit-coms,” any zombies or vampires, reality shows (except one on BBC), extremely violent shows, premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Starz), most YA/”teen” shows.

Keep up with the changes! http://thefutoncritic.com/guide/

or here, for the schedule (as of May 18, 2017, for May and future months): http://renewcanceltv.com/tv-show-premiere-dates-2017-complete-guide/5/

TV + Netflix Reviews and News

Our planned evening viewing line-up for shows (updated frequently) is as follows, sort of in calendar order, BUT, those I’ve already reviewed get “bumped” to the bottom of this post.

Scroll down if you don’t see a show “on top” that you want to read my review of (because they’re so insightful!).

NOTE: Our viewing “schedule” includes a lot of recording-and-watching-later, due to simultaneous broadcasts, CARDINALS‘ BASEBALL! and my early bedtime.

**usually only Mom watches

*usually only I watch

Use http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide/summer-2017-grid/, updated as of 6/16/17, for schedules.

*New /Returning Cable, Public & Network TV Shows

The Bold Type Freeform (premiered 6/21/17)

Because of this description: “‘The Bold Type is our love letter to modern feminism and aims to be a destination for authentic female friendship and empowerment,’ said Karey Burke, executive vice-president of programming and development at Freeform,” we tried it, but we couldn’t even get through 30 minutes, including commercials. HORRIBLE writing and acting and insipid characters with nothing to recommend it whatsoever. Too bad.

Trying too hard to be like The Devil Wears Prada but failing miserably.

Inspired by the life of Cosmo‘s editor, Joanna Coles, it centers around the staff at a fictional women’s magazine.

Starring Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy, Sam Page, Matt Ward, and Melora Hardin as the editor-in-chief of Scarlet Magazine.

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Melora Hardin and Katie Stevens of The Bold Type

DON’T BOTHER

AFI Lifetime Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Diane Keaton TNT (premiers 6/15/17)

Al Pacino, Woody Allen, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Morgan Freeman, Steve Martin and many more are included in this tribute show for Keaton. Great clips, interviews with Keaton, and wonderful stories. Very fitting and fun tribute to such a great actor, author, singer, director, leading feminist and iconic individualist of modern theatre and film.

We LOVED this/strong>

My Mother and Other Strangers PBS Masterpiece Theatre, from BBC (starts airing 6/18/17) 5 Episodes only, this “season.”

Featuring one of our favorite actors from The Bletchley Circle [see below for review of that great series], the woman who played Alice (the one who took the prison and almost was executed to save her bio daughter), Hattie Morahan, in the title role, this mini-series is slow and somewhat purposeless as of the end of Episode 1, but we’ll watch one or two more, just to see how this unfolds. Beautiful scenery and a lot of research were found /done to re-create the 1943 northern Ireland setting.

“My Mother and Other Strangers follows the fortunes of the Coyne family and their neighbors as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a huge United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield, with 4,000 service men and women, lands in the middle of their rural parish.

“Compelling weekly stories, many of them based on events of the time, are held together by an ongoing love story that enfolds and imprisons Rose Coyne (Hattie Morahan, Sense & Sensibility), the parish school teacher and a pillar of the local community, in a dangerous love triangle between her husband, Michael (Owen McDonnell), and the charming USAAF liaison officer, Captain Dreyfuss (Aaron Staton, Mad Men). Meanwhile, the Coyne’s children: sixteen-year-old Emma (Eileen O’Higgins); Francis, ten (Claran Hines, younger, and Michael Nevin, older); and Kate, seven (Mia Carlin), have no idea of the strains under which their parents’ marriage creaks.”

Slow, but interesting

*Still Star-Crossed ABC (premiered 5/29/17)

Shonda Rhimes‘ latest offering is a “period piece,” aka, historical drama, supposedly a “sequel” to Romeo & Juliet (based on a Melinda Taub novel), about the two families’ reactions and the political intrigues that occur after R & J’s deaths.

I’m watching, but only with half an ear/eye. It’s not very interesting or well-done and quite predictable.

Starring Anthony Stewart Head (yes, from Buffy!) Sterling Sulieman, Lashana Lynch, Wade Briggs, Rahimi Isabella (The Catch) and Torrance Coombs (The Reign).

[image error]TV series

Originally posted on No Wasted Ink: As a science fiction writer, I often derive inspiration from the planets and moons of our solar system. It is here that the next great frontier will be found. One day, tourism will be an economic factor on the planets much as it is here on the Earth. How…

via Planetary Grand Tour Inspires Writers — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. Surface-level brain stimulation. The delivery of an electric current to the part of the brain involved in movement control, known as deep brain stimulation, is sometimes used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease, depression, epilepsy and obsessive compulsive disorder.…

via A noninvasive method for deep brain stimulation, a new class of Emerging Explorers, and much more — TED Blog

“The Friday TV Report” 24 from Sally Ember, Ed.D., and her mom

I (Sally) update this ever-changing post of ongoing mini-reviews of certain TV and Netflix shows with our opinions (begun in fall, 2015). Check on Fridays! And, maintaining a “news” section, below, with rumors and truths of upcoming TV and Netflix shows. I also add to reviews of many previously reviewed shows with new info and opinions often, so check below “new” if you’re interested in those updates.

This is Report 24 for May 19, 2017, UPDATED June 16; next full post, mid-July, 2017.

TRUTH, RUMORS and PROBABILITIES:

—Scandal, Thursdays on ABC, is NOT yet cancelled: returns for 7 final episodes, fall, 2017! We have watched them all, so we have to finish with the sick characters, so well-acted, of this series.

—Emmy® Award winner, Stephen Colbert, of THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, will host the 69th PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS LIVE on Sunday, Sept. 17, 8:00-11:00 PM, Eastern, on CBS

—[RANT: I hate this phrase, “support the troops,” because it means that the excessively jingoistic and testosterone-fueled, for-profit, USA military-industrial complex is fear-mongering yet another war at poor people’s expense in some distant locale, while said troops have “volunteered” to go murder and cause mayhem for dubious purposes and even worse outcomes. Meanwhile, TV producers and actors wax rhapsodic and tout that phrase when military-themed shows arise, and this fall is no exception. Rant over.]

I doubt if I will watch any of these, but my mom might.

——-S.W.A.T. stars Criminal Minds‘ popular Shemar Moore (in the role Samuel L. Jackson originated in 2003) on CBS.

——-David Boreanaz barely unpacks from his vacation after ending Bones to star in SEAL Team, also on CBS.

—— Mike Vogel (from Under the Dome) and Anne Heche star in The Brave on NBC.

——- Not to be left out, the CW is hosting Valor, starring Matt Barr.

—Kyra Sedgwick returns to star in what should probably be/have been a one-and-done Lifetime channel’s movie and is probably not even going to last one season on ABC, Ten Days in the Valley. Woman’s child is kidnapped. She tries to find her. A series? I do not think so.

—Shonda Rhimes wants to compete with the Chicago TV shows’ CBS franchise, so Grey’s Anatomy and is having a firefighters’ spinoff; still untitled and premier date unknown.

—NBC will have a Broadway-filmed “live” (at filming time) showing of Jesus Christ Superstar on Easter Sunday, 2018. If you’ve never seen it, very worth it. It’s brilliant. One of the first “rock operas” of the 1960s-1970s, it has almost no dialogue and many amazing songs. Much more serious and politicized/satirical than Godspell, but the same story.

—Also inexplicably (to me), ABC is airing The Little Mermaid as a “sing-along,” mixing “real-life singing with animated songs” in October, 2017. I guess kids will like it.

—We never watched the original and do not plan to watch this reboot (even though the cast is slightly more “diverse”) but some will enjoy the revival of Dynasty on the CW, which could be good: it’s from the creators of Gossip Girl. Fall, 2017, premier.

—Also on our not-watching list, but nevertheless exciting to many who love Big Bang Theory, the backstory of one of its precocious genius characters’ childhood is to be featured in Young Sheldon on CBS this fall, 2017.

—Everwood is being re-run and may be poised to be revived as well, on the CW. The show originally ran 2002-2006 with Gregory Smith and Vivien Cardone, along with Emily vanCamp and Chris Pratt playing pairs of teen siblings (Greg, Emily and Vivien actually were teens for the first few years). Starring Treat Williams and Tom Amandes as rival doctors/their respective fathers, it was fun, easy on the mind and eyes entertainment. My mom never saw it, so we’ll probably watch (I already saw most of the episodes). Premier date not set, yet.

—One of the most significant influences on my and many others’ lives was a science-fiction book published in the 1960s by Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, and this now “classic tale of a human raised by Martians is being adapted into a television series”! This is a “a co-production between Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions” being developed for the SyFy network. Premier date not set, yet.

—Roseanne is being revived and will premier on ABC mid-season, 2017-18. Even John Goodman‘s character (who died in their last season) will return (presumably in “new” flashbacks).

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Roseanne Barr, of course, will return, as will former cast members, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman and Lecy Goranson, with Sarah Chalke also back, but in a different role. I never watched the original except in clips (in my no-TV years), but I might give this a watch. Mom says: “Yuck.”

—PSYCH is returning to the network that created it, USA, just for a “Holiday movie,” in 2017. Oooh: I hope they sing, again! So fun. I miss this show!

“…[F]eaturing fake psychic detective, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his best friend, Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill), the team will reunite once again… when the two-hour special premiers this December. Psych creator, Steve Franks, who co-wrote the movie with Roday, is directing. Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), Juliet (Maggie Lawson), Henry (Corbin Bernsen), and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) will also return for the movie, which picks up three years after the series finale.”

[image error]

—Emergency Response drama, 9-1-1, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, starring Angela Bassett, premieres mid-season, 2017-2018, on FOX.

—A.P. Bio NBC (mid-season, 2017-2018)

Sounds interesting: Patton Oswalt (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and others I have never heard of or seen (yet) are starring in a comedy about a “cynical Ivy League professor [who] loses out on his dream job and goes to work as a high school biology teacher where he imposes his unorthodox teaching style and uses the kids to plot out revenge on those who wronged him.” Hmmmm.

—Premier date is unclear, but Deception, ABC, sounds interesting. I don’t recognize the names or faces of any of the stars, though. PR says: “When his career is ruined by scandal, superstar magician, Cameron Black, has only one place to turn to practice his art of deception, illusion, and influence — the FBI. He’ll become the world’s first consulting illusionist, helping the government solve crimes that defy explanation and trap criminals and spies by using deception.”

Sounds like a White Collar and The Mentalist mash-up. We liked both those shows, so we’ll probably give it a try.

—Another possibility: For the People, a courtroom drama scheduled some time in 2017-18 on ABC. We sometimes like these, but they can be SUPER boring if not done right. Bull, yes. Chicago Justice, no. We do recognize some of the stars, so we’ll try it.

Features Ben Rappaport (Mr. Robot, The Good Wife), Hope Davis (American Crime), Anna Deavere Smith (Nurse Jackie), Lyndon Smith (Parenthood), Ben Shenkman (Royal Pains), and some others.

Blurb: “Set in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, aka “The Mother Court,” the drama follows brand-new lawyers working for both the defense and the prosecution handling the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country — all as their lives intersect in and out of the courtroom.”

—Dylan McDermott is coming back with a workplace comedy, mid-season 2017-2018, FOX, LA TO VEGAS. We miss Pure Genius.

—One of my long-time faves, Amy Acker, is set to star in The Gifted, another show from Marvel comics (but not with Joss Whedon at the helm) on Fox, mid-season 2017-2018, co-parenting [with Stephen Moyer (True Blood)] a troupe of mutant children. Probably too much violence and fighting, but we’ll give it a try.

Also stars some others I/we have liked: Coby Bell (Burn Notice), Sean Teale (Reign, Incorporated), Emma Dumont (Aquarius, Bunheads).

Says it’s about “a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.”

—FOX plans to air a LIVE production of the Tony-award-winning musical, RENT, some time this next year. Well-worth watching, I’m sure.

—I’m kind of bored with autistic savant characters (they’re EVERYWHERE, now, aren’t they?), but this series may be interesting, despite the trite trope. The Good Doctor premiers on ABC starring Freddie Highmore in the title role, and including a couple of familiar faces [Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and Hill Harper (Covert Affairs, CSI: NY)], so we’ll try it.

—Another great cast for a new show with a shaky premise, IMO: Reverie, on NBC, brings Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest), Dennis Haysbert (24), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) and Jessica Lu (Awkward) for an as-yet-undetermined premier date, midseason, 2017-2018.

It purports to be a “grounded and dramatic thriller about a former detective specializing in human behavior who is brought in when the launch of an advanced virtual reality program has dangerous and unintended consequences.” No premier date, yet.

—We’ll be glad to see Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) back in Instinct on CBS , if they can figure out when to start showing it. No premier date, yet.

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock (7450455h)
Alan Cumming
44th International Emmy Awards, New York, USA – 21 Nov 2016

Cumming plays “a former CIA operative who has since built a ‘normal’ life as a gifted professor and writer [who] is pulled back into his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer on the loose. Based on the soon-to-be-published James Patterson book.”

—Seemingly a mash-up of Glee and Mr. Holland’s Opus, Rise brings in the drama classes for a new show we might like, on NBC. Starts mid-season, 2017-18, starring some cool peeps: Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Rosie Perez (Search Party, Lipstick Jungle), and many others pretending to be teens, I’m sure.

The show “centers on a high school drama teacher and family man whose passion for the program and his students galvanizes the entire working class town. Based on Michael Sokolove’s book, Drama High, which itself is based on real-life drama teacher, Lou Volpe.”

—Orville, on FOX, is probably going to try too hard and be terrible, but what if it’s great? HAVE to watch at least one episode, right? But, it hasn’t got a start date, yet; they plan to air on Thursdays.

It has quite a cast: Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Penny Johnson Jerald (Castle), Scott Grimes (ER), Peter Macon (Shameless), J Lee (Family Guy), Halston Sage (Crisis)

And, potentially, a great premise: “Set 300 years in the future, the hour-long dramedy follows the adventures of the Orville, a not-so-top-of-the-line exploratory ship, in Earth’s interstellar Fleet. Facing cosmic challenges from without and within, this motley crew of space explorers will boldly go where no comedic drama has gone before.”

—Emily vanCamp (Revenge, Everwood) and Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife) will star in a FOX medical drama series, The Resident, planned for mid-season, 2017-2018.

—Jacqueline Bisset to star in Journey to Miyakojima, which is scheduled to begin shooting October, 2017, in Japan. “The family drama centers on ‘a quietly ailing’ family matriarch [Bisset] and NBA team owner who hopes to ‘reunite her shattered family at a serene island off the coast of Okinawa, thousands of miles away from home.’…She convinces her granddaughter, who suffers from an eating disorder that’s getting increasingly serious, to stay at a guesthouse on the island, ‘where its beauty, a chance meeting with a treasure hunter, and a century-old shipwreck heal their wounds.’”

—The X-Files reboot, which I, a faithful fan who watched every episode of the original series, thought was TERRIBLE, has just been RENEWED and plans to return mid-season, 2017-2018, on FOX. Who makes these decisions?

—Gina Torres WILL star in a SUITS spin-off, because it will film in LA (where she lives) instead of the usual Toronto-for-NYC. Watch her on SUITS in the final winter, 2017, Episode (a brief return, only, for this season), then, watch for Torres to headline and produce the new series centered on her Suits character, Jessica Pearson.

—Sonia Braga to star in Las Reinas, a new ABC detective drama, probably for fall, 2017.

—Casey Wilson, Busy Philipps and Tina Fey are teaming up for The Sackett Sisters. Wilson and Philipps play sisters, with Bradley Whitford as their father, in the Fey-produced NBC comedy pilot, which may or may not get picked up for 2017-18.

—Connie Britton has already risen from the dead Rayna James (Nashville) to play a leading role in Nicole Holofcener’s upcoming Netflix ensemble dramedy, The Land of Steady Habits—based on Ted Thompson’s 2014 novel of the same name—along with Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), and Thomas Mann (Fargo). Look for it later in 2017.

—Lauren Graham is set to star in Linda from HR, a comedy for Fox.

“The show will center on the ‘one bad decision’ that throws ‘Linda from HR’s monotonous, unfulfilled life into an exciting but dangerous tailspin of balancing work life, home life, and a secret that could unravel everything.’”

We/I liked these shows, listed below, and many were left very unfinished; but, too bad (so, reviews were not kept, below, unless show has one more season or partial season still to run):

APB —CANCELLED;

Bones— CANCELLED/ENDED;

The Catch — CANCELLED;

Frequency— CANCELLED;

Notorious— CANCELLED;

Orphan Black— CANCELLED/ENDED;

Pitch —CANCELLED;

Pure Genius— CANCELLED;

Reign— CANCELLED;

Rosewood— CANCELLED/ENDED.

Saving Hope— CANCELLED/ENDED;

Sun Records— CANCELLED;

We didn’t like or tried but did not keep watching these, anyway:

Chicago Justice— CANCELLED;

Emerald City —CANCELLED;

Feed the Beast— CANCELLED;

Imaginary Mary— CANCELLED;

Incorporated— CANCELLED;

Making History— CANCELLED;

No Tomorrow —CANCELLED;

Powerless— CANCELLED;

Rogue— CANCELLED;

Shots Fired — CANCELLED;

Time after Time —CANCELLED.

A few others we liked are showing as TBD for their the 2017-2018 season. I no longer have my reviews, here, if they showed up as cancelled, but stay tuned.

The networks did this awful ploy of pitting one show against another for which one gets to remain on the schedule. I suppose they’re hoping to get viewers to write/email/text/tweet about their favorites; nothing about quality, of course. Sigh.

This is the twenty-fourth post, for 4 weeks ending 5/19/17 (but updated until next post as we go along). I continue to note the updated (as of 6/16/17).

CANCELLED, TBD or RENEWED shows’ statuses, below, can be found here (many shows we do not watch, on this site’s list): http://renewcanceltv.com/cancelled-ended-tv-shows-2016-17-season/1/

For the shows we watch, I put each one’s status beneath its review or listing, when it is known.

Also, I have been steadily removing my reviews or expectations for/of all shows that have been discontinued/cancelled since we started this series of posts in 2015.

BACKGROUND

My mom, 84, and I (62) are probably not the “target demographic” for almost any show on television or any movie being produced currently. We live in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Midwest, for those of you unfamiliar: think of that huge “Gateway Arch”? That’s here). I grew up here but then didn’t live here for 42 years; I’ve been back for about two years, now. We were both raised Jewish, but I have been a meditator since 1972 and a practicing Buddhist since 1996. We are both Caucasian women-born-women. We are considered “middle class” although we have almost zero dollars of “disposable income.” My mom is hetero; I am bisexual. We are both partly disabled. I am highly educated (doctoral degree plus other training); my mom has extensive work-experience, with a high school diploma.

My mom has been a TV watcher for over 60 years. I watched a lot as a kid, but from about 1972 – 2002, I didn’t have a TV and hardly watched it elsewhere, either. I usually didn’t have a TV between 2005 – 2014 as well, but I watched some shows online (Hulu, usually) or Netflix.

We think we should be part of a group that at least some producers are aiming to please, because we (especially Mom) now watch a lot of television. We also get movies regularly from DVD borrowing through our local library. We even occasionally go to a theatre to see a movie. We eagerly await the “new season” of television every one of the four times it seems to occur every year: “Fall Sweeps” happen, but so do Mid-season Sweeps, Mid-year New Seasons, and channels with an entirely different set of “seasons.”

We also occasionally watch TV shows and movies on Netflix!

However, we are consistently disappointed that many shows we do like are cancelled and some shows we despise seem to go on forever.

AND: “Why does none of these bakers ever wear a baker’s hat or a hairnet? Their hair is all over the food. Disgusting!” says my mom.

ALSO: “Why is it always so dark in all these shows? I can’t see a thing. What is the point?” We both say this.

Again, for the middle of May, 2017, I/we continue with this Report.

We don’t watch: most “sit-coms,” any zombies or vampires, reality shows (except one on BBC), extremely violent shows, premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Starz), most YA/”teen” shows.

Keep up with the changes! http://thefutoncritic.com/guide/

or here, for the schedule (as of May 18, 2017, for May and future months): http://renewcanceltv.com/tv-show-premiere-dates-2017-complete-guide/5/

TV + Netflix Reviews and News

Our planned evening viewing line-up for shows (updated frequently) is as follows, sort of in calendar order, BUT, those I’ve already reviewed get “bumped” to the bottom of this post.

Scroll down if you don’t see a show “on top” that you want to read my review of (because they’re so insightful!).

NOTE: Our viewing “schedule” includes a lot of recording-and-watching-later, due to simultaneous broadcasts, CARDINALS‘ BASEBALL! and my early bedtime.

**usually only Mom watches

*usually only I watch

Use http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide/summer-2017-grid/, updated as of 6/2/17, for schedules.

*New /Returning Cable, Public & Network TV Shows

*Still Star-Crossed ABC (premiered 5/29/17)

Shonda Rhimes‘ latest offering is a “period piece,” aka, historical drama, supposedly a “sequel” to Romeo & Juliet (based on a Melinda Taub novel), about the two families’ reactions and the political intrigues that occur after R & J’s deaths.

I’m watching, but only with half an ear/eye. It’s not very interesting or well-done and quite predictable.

Starring Anthony Stewart Head (yes, from Buffy!) Sterling Sulieman, Lashana Lynch, Wade Briggs, Rahimi Isabella (The Catch) and Torrance Coombs (The Reign).

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Newest #PoetLaureate for the #USA is Tracy K. Smith

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[photo credit, from the article (link below): James Estrin/The New York Times]

USA’s Library of Congress has announced Tracy K. Smith as its newest national treasure, the country’s “poet laureate consultant in poetry,” the 22nd individual to hold that position.

A Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet (for her 2011 science-fiction-themed collection, Life on Mars, Smith, 45, who holds a BA from Harvard University and an M.F.A. (Master’s in Fine Arts) from Columbia, is the Director of the creative writing program at Princeton University.

Mazel Tov!

Here is a great article about her life, current projects and past creative work:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/books/tracy-k-smith-is-the-new-poet-laureate.html

Read and listen to some of her poetry and read more about her/all her writing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIH6ewfplA

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/books/review/life-on-mars-by-tracy-k-smith-book-review.html

and

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/55522

and

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/tracy-k-smith

and

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/wade-in-the-water