CITY BOY GEEKINESS

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The long weekend deserved to be spent in a manner unlike before. My agenda: a little trip to the sunny desert to relax in Las Vegas. 

Being that this was going to be my first time out of the country (let alone the province), I had high hopes. No, it wasn't a solo trip or with any of my close friends. The adventure was for my brother's bachelor party and I traveled with 11 other guys for four full days of sun, sights and parties.

The hype probably threw me off before I arrived in the city. Everyone kept talking about Vegas (not as a place but a thing) like an experience I would never forget and in some ways I won't. There were DJs like Steve Aoki and Calvin Harris, pool parties, clubs we went to like Hakkasan, and even ironically I went to Zumanity without realizing the concept of the show that made the trip memorable. No instagram photos, though! There are some moments that I didn't think needed to be shared.

I did expect to have a better time. Those first few days became clear that this might be one long obligation for the bachelor party instead of a vacation. More time to myself would have helped and I didn't get a little until the end of my third day. The next trip will be someplace that I'll get to travel and explore by myself or with friends. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun - it just could have been a little different.

London? Monte Carlo? Montreal? I'm not afraid of flying so anything is possible.


At first when you don't succeed, try again. But what happens when you fail twice?

Announced on Thursday, The CW has decided to pick up The 100, The Tomorrow People, Reign and Star-Crossed (formerly Oxygen) to series. The four new dramas join pilot The Originals, which was already picked up late April following it's backdoor pilot airing on The Vampire Diaries.

Contrary to earlier rumours that The CW could be focusing on only sci-fi and genre pilots, The CW has opted for high-concept orders that mix supernatural and teen. On the heavily sci-fi side of the pilots, The 100 follows 100 delinquent teens in a post-apocalyptic world sent back to Earth to determine whether it can be repopulated and The Tomorrow People which features a selection of youth discovering they have superpowers (this one is based on the 70's U.K. program of the same name).

Star-Crossed, which had been originally titled Oxygen, is a cross between District 9 and The Orion Legacies where a human girl falls in love with one of nine alien teenagers sent to attend her local high school. Reign might be the most surprising of the series orders since it centres on the teenage exploits of Mary, Queen of Scots and her ladies-in-waiting. Period pieces could be a hit-or-miss and since this is reaching a different audience, there's no telling how it could look come this fall/midseason.

Not all pilots get picked up to series and The Selection had two chances to make it work. Based on the young-adult novel series by Kiera Kass, The Selection featured a post-apocalyptic world where a competition is held every few generations to find the future queen. The pilot was originally developed for the 2012-2013 season but The CW had passed to redevelop with a new cast/script for the 2013-2014 contention season. Pilots also passed on were Company Town and Blink.

Did your pilot get picked up by The CW? Share your thoughts below in the comments!


Don't put away the neon colours and Manolos just yet folks!

As reported on Thursday via Deadline, The CW has renewed their remaining bubble series The Carrie Diaries and Nikita for another season. Both pick-ups come late to the game as the youth-skewing network already announced renewals of its current programming like The Vampire Diaries, Hart of Dixie, Supernatural, Beauty and the Beast and Arrow.

Veteran series Nikita has confirmed to be returning for their fourth and final year. While it won't be for a full 22 episode order, reports are swirling that the current number is set at six episodes. The episode order can always change based on the success (and profitability) of the final season.

The biggest surprise of the night may be the renewal of teen bubble series The Carrie Diaries. Being a prequel of international hit series Sex and the City did provide initial media buzz, the show has had a hard time building on its name, averaging around a 0.4-0.5 demo throughout its 13 episode run. Though, that doesn't mean people aren't watching - The Carrie Diaries currently ranks as The CW's second highest rated show with online streaming. The CW's multi-million dollar deals with sites such as Hulu and Netflix, as well as impending international airing, might have saved the series from an impending cancellation.

Are you happy to see both series return? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

There will be more Amy Poehler in our lives. (And I couldn't be happier!!)

To the surprise of no one, NBC has renewed veteran comedy Parks and Recreation for a sixth season. The Amy Poehler comedy, which had been paired with departing series The Office, has shined as the network's next best comedy going into the new season.

Update: The renewal announcement wasn't the only decision made on Thursday. NBC has chosen to cancel comedies Up All Night, Whitney, 1600 Penn and Guys With Kids. All four programs have struggled in the ratings to find an audience, with Whitney being the only show to be end on its second year (the other three were freshman comedies).

No word yet on the status on perennial and fan favourite bubble series Community. Stay tuned for more details as renewal and cancellation notices are revealed!

NBC is the second broadcast network to start their 2013-2014 series orders.

Coming off the heels of FOX's announcement on Wednesday, NBC has revealed another five pilots to officially get picked up for a season premiere. The current total is listed at three dramas and four comedies, with mini-series Dracula and comedy The Michael J. Fox Show already previously reported.

Continuing as the next two drama pick-ups are the high concept Crisis and the J.J. Abrams-helmed Believe. Crisis seems to be a political thriller that delves into an overarching conspiracy while Believe follows the relationship of a young gifted girl and the man tasked to protect her from evil. Between the two Crisis may be a little TOO complex for people to latch onto while Believe is definitely a series I want to check out. Plus, Kyle MacLachlan, Jamie Chung and Sienna Guillory are set to star, which is always a casting incentive.

The NBC Comedies are bringing back a lot of returning faces. Including Michael J. Fox in his sitcom, Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) will star in Sean Saves The World, a multi-cam sitcom about a man who tries to find the balance of parenting and appeasing a new boss. Television adaptation About A Boy and sitcom Family Guide join NBC's new comedy line-up as well.

More news (and long awaited cancellations/renewals) could be coming in as the day goes on.


Did your pilot get ordered by NBC? Sound off in the comments and share your thoughts on the pilots.

FOX must be on a spending spree since they've practically finished their series orders in one day.

As reported on Wednesday by TVLine (for comedies and dramas), FOX has revealed an astounding nine series orders for their 2013-2014 season. The pick-ups come on the heels of the network's upfront event scheduled for next week where they will reveal their new line-up.

Police ensembles are the highlight for FOX next year. Included in their drama orders is the J.J. Abrams' futuristic cop thriller Almost Human, which was buzzed as a sure-thing for weeks now. An adaptation of the classic Headless Horseman tale Sleepy Hollow  was also ordered, as well undercover cop thriller Gang Related and legal drama Rake. Based on descriptions alone, I'd love to see how Almost Human and Sleepy Hollow turn out - J.J. Abrams has impressed me with his previous work and I really liked the tale of Sleepy Hollow as a child.

The comedies are another story for FOX as it is their bread and butter. Among the previously ordered sitcom Dads, FOX has picked-up the Andy Samberg comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, family comedy Enlisted, the Chris Meloni sitcom Surviving Jack and romantic-comedy Us & Them.

Did your FOX pilot get picked up? Share your thoughts in the comments below.


Let the 2012-2013 Television bloodbath begin!

With the network upfronts scheduled in the coming week, the next few days will be full-scale Hunger Games to see which programs make it to the next season. NBC has kicked off the ensuing wave by announcing the cancellation of their Meagan Good-starred soap Deception after one season.

The drama, which centred on the death of a socialite and the secrets of her deceptive family, started well when it premiered midseason but quickly fell in the ratings. Deception barely had only 3 million viewers and a 1.2 rating by the time of its season finale.

I'm not surprised to see Deception get cancelled as its ratings had been declining for a while now. At the end of late April, NBC had announced a wave of drama pick-ups, which included such shows as Revolution and Chicago Fire, where Deception had been left off the list. This clearly was another spark that fueled the cancellation rumour fire.

No word yet has been revealed about NBC's comedy program and it's other remaining bubble drama series Smash.

Are you sad to see Deception go? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The first season has wrapped and wow... I did not expect that finale.

Topaz and the miscast vote will forever go down as both the stupidest and most shocking moment in Big Brother history. Seriously, who would have thought that would ever happen? In a nail-biting final vote, 27 year old teacher Jillian MacLaughlin defeated 21 year old fashion assistant Gary Levy by a vote of 4-3. Completing the final three was 24 year old diary farmer Emmett Blois who ended up with third place. 

Similar to my final post for Big Brother 14, I'm going to critique the final three based on their performance and my thoughts from the finale. Let's see with the last jury member...


Emmett (Third Place)
The milkman didn't win like I thought (that doesn't mean I WANTED him to win). Emmett stood in the perfect position to win as both Gary and Jillian wanted to take him to the finals. Though, comfort and being too much of a threat near the end was his downfall. With only three people left and everyone liking him, he stood the biggest chance to win the title. Gary had to make a smart move and he stood a better chance against Jillian instead of Emmett. The only way Emmett could have survived was if he or Jillian won the final Head of Household (HOH). They didn't and now it's just part of Big Brother history.

Gary (Second Place)
Gary Glitter was so close to winning the title. If it weren't for Topaz putting in the wrong key, Gary would have won the money, the title, and all the prizes that came with winning. His win would be more personal than strategic/physical but there could be any reason that someone could win (case in point this season). Securing the final HOH ensured that he would be in the finals and suffice it to say he absolutely needed to win. Neither Emmett or Jillian would have taken him; I don't agree with Emmett's assessment of winners only having one chance to win. The returning player twist is a common Big Brother staple - Emmett needed to tone down his bitter jury attitude, at least Talla had some humour about it.

Jillian (First Place)
First off, congrats to Jillian for winning. Big Brother is a tough, personal and physical game that takes a lot even to get to the final two chairs. However, there's still a small bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. As a huge Big Brother fan, I'd like the person who won to have won fairly and with forethought by the jury; not by a technicality or mistake because someone put in the wrong key. Even though I like Jillian and in the scheme of the game Jillian winning is still a good outcome, Gary technically is the real winner. Votes are votes and Topaz shouldn't have messed up. Jillian might be the luckiest winner ever in Big Brother history and you need luck to win.
Only a few more hours until a winner is chosen.

The season is coming to an end and with only Emmett, Jillian and Gary left, someone will be crowned the first winner of Big Brother Canada. Every week I've tried to manage a new post based on the most recent evicted player. Unfortunately, time has gone away from me and scheduling has conflicted with the previous six evictees. 

Since I was unable to do full post for the remaining houseguests, I'm going to critique each of the jury members and share my quick thoughts on their performance.

AJ (First Jury Member)
AJ could be the biggest letdown in terms of casting. He probably came off as confident and strong in the interviews but the second he started the game, he became forgettable, a floater and barely played the game. The first in-game instance we were introduced to AJ, he talked about himself in the third person and did nothing to stand out from the crowd. I wasn't upset he was evicted, he couldn't really win any challenge but the way he was evicted... that just wasn't right.

Alec (Second Jury Member)
The Sheyld's overconfidence led to their demise. Alec clearly was one of the biggest threats and the alliance of Jillian and Emmett needed to strike against the other side. With Jillian breaking the promise to Topaz, Alec couldn't save himself or his alliance. I liked Alec and he proved to be a powerful force in the season; going so far as to almost control the game at one point. However, I can't ignore his bonehead move of betraying Topaz and voting out AJ over Andrew - that one vote shaped the rest of the season and his alliance crumbled because of it.

Topaz (Third Jury Member)
Topaz has not had an easy season. Her showmance imploded, her alliances betrayed her and she experienced one of the worst twists ever when Big Brother revealed her strategy to the rest of the houseguests. Could she have won? No. Even if Big Brother hadn't done the twist, I don't think she could have won or made it to the finals. Though, I'm very surprised with her performance as she transformed from a background houseguest into a competitor that was ready and willing to compete.

Peter (Fourth Jury Member)
The other half of the Sheyld couldn't accept his defeat gracefully. Peter played a very strategic and heartless game (with exception to showing emotion to Alec and Liza) that it was shocking to see him so easily deceived. Once AJ was evicted instead of Andrew, Peter's allies were dropping one after the other and he kept making desperate moves to stay in. Desperation can light a fire to make powerful moves but it leaves you rushing in all directions. Peter should have  saved Topaz instead of trusting Emmett and Jillian.

Andrew (Fifth Jury Member)
The man with nine lives was blindsided. East Coast alliance or not, he put too much of his trust into Jillian and Emmett that he didn't even consider that they could turn against him. I'm glad that he made it far into the season since he was so easily targeted and his name had floated around for weeks. Luck could not have helped him more even if he had worn a lucky horseshoe everyday.

Talla (Sixth Jury Member)
The queen of personality could have made it to the finale. Her place was a 50/50 chance between herself and Gary but she couldn't sway Emmett into keeping her around. In the slimmest of possibilities, Talla had the personal vote that could have helped her win; her strategies and physical game wouldn't have clinched her victory. Though, her outbursts, drunken debauchery and challenge meltdowns would have made her an easy sell to win against in the finals. Missed opportunity?