On Demand Weekly

INSIDE PREMIUM will keep you up-to-date on the Premieres, Finales, and everything in between that is available at your choosing on Premium VOD. This Week

• Bored to Death Premiere
• Nurse Jackie Sneak Peek
• Doubt Sneak Peek…

INSIDE PREMIUM will keep you up-to-date on the Premieres, Finales, and everything in between that is available at your choosing on Premium VOD. This Week

• More True Blood?
• Dexter's Origin
• Crash Course...

Breastcancer.org and Comcast have partnered together for the 3rd Annual Pink Ribbon Campaign, an original video-on-demand and online initiative. From September 21 - November 2, Comcast VOD subscribers will have free access to inspirational programs for women who are fighting or have survived breast cancer from the participating networks:

• Bio Channel
• Discovery Health
• Exercise TV
• HBO
• Lifetime Television
• Parents TV
• Showtime

Highlights include…

Last night the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) celebrated the Golden Globes nominees and winners.  Some are pay per view movies, some are premium content found on HBO or Showtime and some are free from NBC and AMC, but all are available right now via video on demand.

• The Hangover - Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
• Meryl Streep/Julie & Julia – Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
• Christoph Waltz/Inglourious Basterds - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
• Up - Best Animated Feature Film
• Madmen - Best Television Series – Drama

On Demand Weekly's VOD Spotlight highlights stories in the On Demand industry. Adam Schartoff interviews actor Manish Dayal from the exciting new series"Rubicon" on AMC. Adam spoke to Manish about getting started, the impact of Video On Demand (VOD) on TV and "Rubicon." 
Email Adam

 

On Demand Weekly: Is “Rubicon” your first series?
Manish Dayal: In a recurring role, yes.

ODW: How many episodes have you appeared in?
MD: I have been in 3.

ODW: Will you be in further episodes?
MD: Yes. I’m in Season 2. PI hope that we get picked up. I think we will. I think we have a good shot. The show’s been doing really well. I haven’t seen anything recently but the last few episodes have been real exciting. It’s the first time I’ve been in a tv show where I can’t wait until the next week.

ODW: It’s a fun show. The writing is really good. It’s taught. Does it follow or preceded "Mad Men"?
MD: It precedes "Mad Men."

ODW: So, they’re riding your coat tails, I guess you could say.
MD: That’s right. We’re their lead in.

Manish Dayal / Rubicon (AMC)

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: "Shameless" (Showtime).
By Jean Tait

 

Showtime’s new series “Shameless” premieres in January, but Showtime cable subscribers can watch a preview* of the first episode on Showtime on Demand now. Just go to On Demand > Showtime > SHO New Series > Shameless.

Showtime had me at William H. Macy. FARGO, HAPPY TEXAS, THE COOLER. The man can do no wrong. As the woebegone, hard-drinking patriarch of the Gallagher clan, Bill Macy is given a chance to really show off his chops.

And how about the rest of the cast? Can Emmy Rossum give more than the sweet, rather vacuous aura of vulnerability she usually exudes as the young, but already worn down oldest child who’s had to take on Mom’s role? Well, she certainly shows a lot of her body. We’ll have to wait and see about the rest.

 

Emmy Rossum (SHO)

VOD Trend Spotter is a new weekly column where Kendra Anderson explores the most watched TV Series On Demand (by looking at Comcast (America's largest cable VOD provider)  xfinity On Demand's weekly rankings). Sometimes the trends are obvious; other times, she adds her own spin to the psyche of the time-shifting audience.

 

Saying Goodbye to Our Favorite Boss, While CBS Loses its Edge, and A Good (Police) Story Matters Here (VOD Trend Spotter)
By Kendra Anderson

 

 

- Kendra Anderson

 

Kendra T. Anderson is a digital strategist specializing in social media and marketing, with an emphasis on independent film and branded content. She has worked with Cinetic Media, Magnolia Pictures and Focus Features, and now helps brands build digital and social communication strategies. Read more from Kendra on her blog and tweet Kendra @ktwanderson

 

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VOD Trend Spotter is a new weekly column where Kendra Anderson explores the most watched TV Series On Demand on Comcast / Xfinity On Demand (The US largest cable on demand provider). Sometimes the trends are obvious; other times, she adds her own spin to the psyche of the time-shifting audience.

 

The Power of the Throne Reigns (VOD Trend Spotter)
By Kendra Anderson

 

 

HOMELAND - Mid Season Report Card

By Jean Tait

 

I know, I know. I just wrote about this show last month, but I said I’d be back for more, and I’ve got to tell you: I’m smitten!

 

“Homeland” is definitely the best show

on television this fall!

 

Claire Danes’ Carrie Mathison just gets more and more fascinating. Obsessed with her job, is she going too far in her quest to get inside Sgt. Nicholas Brody’s head? Or is it something more than her job? Does she even have a clue what her feelings are or what they mean? Claire Danes and Damien Lewis have sparkling chemistry. The pull of their attraction is visceral, if confusing.

 

Another highlight is seeing the lovely Linda Purl as a steel magnolia representing the Vice President. Her charming smile and steely gaze would intimidate the toughest Pentagon bureaucrat. There is no doubt that her character is a political shark. The possibilities of her leading Brody into a political career are endlessly fascinating.

Editor's Note: BROOKLYN BOHEME is now available on demand (FilmBuff).

 

Media savant T Tara Turk goes deep inside cable TV to reveal Video On Demand's Hidden Gems so even the busiest of our readers can get the most out of On Demand TV. Tell Tara what VOD shows you think deserves her attention.

 

BROOKLYN BOHEME

By T. Tara Turk

 

The first time I moved to New York from Detroit for college, one of the first things I did was go straight to Prospect Park to see the place where Spike Lee filmed his bike scene with Denzel Washington for MO BETTA BLUES. This was a clear sign that I was going to be apart of this movement, whatever it was, since my sights to see were vastly different from the usual.

BROOKLYN BOHEME on Showtime On Demand is Writer/Critic/Filmmaker Nelson George’s documentary on the Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Greene and it’s popular 1990s art scene.

 

It is a beautiful love story

much like that of Woody Allen to New York or Paris

or Scorsese's tribute to Manhattan.

 

Very few filmmakers could shoot this Brooklyn relationship (although poet/writer/filmmaker Pierre Bennu is one I think who could compliment this one brilliantly) because it’s really something you had to be there to see. I know youngsters hate hearing older people say that (gasp- when did I put myself in that latter group?) but it’s definitely true. If you weren’t there and you’re keen to see how a renaissance gets started, you’ll love this labor of truth from George.

 

Nelson George (Courtesy of Showtime)

George’s doc is comprised of very personal interviews with very known people (mostly because they are his friends) like Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Rosie Perez, Talib Kweli, Lisa Jones and Saul Williams to name a few.

 

The chapters of the doc are chronological, starting with the early inhabitants of the then super regular and ungentrified neighborhood, which include Lee, Vernon Reid and Branford Marsalis. This was time when most of those up and coming artists were mostly kids of Brooklynite parents or children of jazz musicians who bought homes in Fort Greene early on due the price and location to the West Village (just two stops away). But then this kids starting creating magical art like “School Days” and stayed in the neighborhood where they worked thus creating a movement of familial synergy and cultural discourse that would last for years on end.

Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies and shows on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s reviews: "Nurse Jackie" (SHO), starring Edie Falco.

NURSE JACKIE
Young Women on the Verge of Life

By Jean Tait

 

I have to admit, by the end of “Nurse Jackie-Season 3,” I was a little disappointed. Season 2 ended on such a brilliant note, with Jackie totally busted, but somehow, in Season 3, she wiled her way out of it, and continued on exactly the same as before, with no change or growth. And as much as I love watching this ensemble, the lack of new direction started to wear thin. So I had my trepidations about Season 4.

Happily, they were unfounded. Although I don’t believe she’s quite hit bottom, yet, nor has she accepted that her personal life is a complete failure, Season 4 starts off with Jackie finally admitting she needs help. She is also beginning to see how her behavior is affecting those she loves (and who love her).

Off to rehab, it is! The change of scenery opens the door to new characters, bringing in some more of my favorite under-utilized actors as fellow re-hab patients: Margaret Colin playing a southern grande dame, and Mary Louise Wilson as Doris, an outspoken, wacky paranoiac. Also in re-hab is newcomer Jake Cannavale, all green-haired, sullen teen who becomes an unlikely sort of sponsor for Jackie’s sobriety.

Anna Deveare Smith continues to shine as beleaguered hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus who gets demoted back to wearing scrubs on the floor, which actually brings her closer to her co-workers emotionally as well as in physical proximity. Merrit Wever’s Zoey continues to beguile as her character grows up, but retains all her child-like charm. I’d like to see Peter Facinelli’s Dr Cooper grow up now a little, too.
 

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies and shows on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: "Episodes" (Showtime).

 

EPISODES Season 2 Premiere
Who Needs Friends?

By Jean Tait

 

I had given up. Perfection in television was not going to see a second season, and then came the word: Season 2 of "Episodes"!!! Sorry, didn’t mean to shout, but it’s been more than a year, so I’m rather excited! The season resumes July 1, but you can view a sneak peek now!

 

And now it’s as if they never went away. Picking up soon after we left off: Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) are living separately after Beverly’s ill advised dalliance with Matt LeBlanc (Golden Globe Award Winner Matt LeBlanc). Matt misses the bromance he had with Sean and he even misses the constant snarking of Beverly. He is 100% comfortable in his knowledge that he can win over anyone no matter what. He knows he’s done wrong, but he also knows that eventually (and with a few exorbitantly extravagant gifts), he’ll be able to charm his way out of it.

 

And charming he is. I have to admit, while I enjoyed his character of Joey on “Friends,” I never realized how tremendously talented Matt LeBlanc is. It’s a bit of a cliché, but comedy is hard, and playing dumb is not as easy as it looks. Like Ryan Kwanten’s Jason Stackhouse on “True Blood,” it takes an extremely smart actor to play vacuous, yet confident so well. His Golden Globe was richly deserved.

 

Sean and Beverly have a tough time of it resisting Matt’s charm, especially when he sweetens the deal with expensive cars. The Californization of the Lincolns is definitely in process. Sunshine, cars, and an industry-driven culture are seeping into the intellectual Brits lives. Beverly finds herself enjoying the tan she gets driving her new convertible and her friendship with pot-smoking Carol (the delightful Kathleen Rose Perkins), now that both of their relationships are in trouble.