BARBARA WALTERS FINAL EDITION OF ABC'S THE VIEW

****

THE GLORIOUS CORNER

Story By: G. H. HARDING
****

J. J. Abrams

A TV KILL --- It’s been a brutal week in Hollywood. Broadcast networks have killed 23 shows, the bulk of the executions going down in the last 36 hours. NBC’s Revolution? Put down. ABC’s Trophy Wife? On the shelf. Fox’s Dads? Retired. Williams and Michael J. … canceled.

Here are our comments on some rather startling developments:

*Revolution and Almost Human – 2 shows from J. J. Abrams, who did Lost, the two Star Trek movies and is currently re-booting Star Wars. Has the one-time golden child’s feather been ruffled? Definitely. Revolution was another great sci-fi TV show that suffered from a long break over the holidays. Great writing, great acting couldn't save this one … and, it was a particularly good one for sure. Almost Human, on Fox, created by the Fringe-team of Abrams and J. H. Wyman, had a rough time getting up and running, but once it did, leads Kal Urban and Michael Ealy were terrific. Though a second season was highly anticipated, it didn't materialize. Another sci-fi tragedy.

*Robin Williams and Michael J. Fox – TV-legends both, each show was something of a mess from the start, though the aptly names The Crazy Ones, showed promised with Williams’ trademark craziness. Fox, buoyed by his success on Rescue Me and The Good Wife, had his show built around a returning TV-personality, Fox, and how the business welcomed him back. Not a bad idea, but it didn't catch on. I thought the Williams show would succeed.

*Hannibal – This show was touch and go most of the season. It looked great and the acting from its two leads, Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, was off the charts. It looked sumptuous; like nothing else on TV and re-affirmed yet again, creator Bryan Fuller is a true visionary. The second season opener ended with a fight-to-the-death (or, so it appeared) between the Hannibal character and the FBI’s Jack Crawford (Laurence Fisburne). The first two seasons posited Hannibal as helping the FBI as a consultant. Certainly the third will be the FBI chase for him. Can't wait for this one.

TV is a hard, hard game these days. In the old days, you had a full season, somewhere between 22 and 25 episodes to secure an audience and build a following. Today, you get at least 3. There are more channels, more outlets, more distractions … the payoff can be big, but it’s a big, big gamble.

WEINER ROAST --- Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men has been a mixed bag so far this final season (season 7 split between this year and next); for long-time fans like myself, the pacing has been frustratingly sluggish and many of the plot-points seems re-cycled. Last night’s two major reveals (the episode was titled The Runaways) was Don (now reinstated at SCD&P) getting some Intel that he never should have received … and, acting on it like the Don Draper of yore; and, the other, young, whippersnapper Michael Ginsburg taking drastic steps to stop a persistent noise in his head. During the Draper-moment, none of the other main cast members appeared in the scene, save for Harry Hamlin – who has been very strong on the show since his debut last year. But, where was John Slattery?

Jon Hamm still owns the role like never before, but the rest of the characters and writing seems stilted. It’s almost as if leader-Weiner has had enough too.

I've said time and time again, that the best episodes of the show have been like modern-day Shakespeare, but the shows so far this year, leave me wanting much, much more.

MORE NILS --- Nils Lofgren says that "To get everything sounding just right" on his new ten-disc career retrospective "will take a bit more time and care" so the May 27 release date is being postponed for a bit.

There is no new date for Face the Music as of yet. Lofgren said in a note on his website that he will let everyone know when he is satisfied with the sound, a real challenge as the set takes in over five decades of music.

Nils did say a lot more about the set, saying that archivists Dick and Linda Bangham were putting the finishing touches on a twenty song DVD that will be included in the set plus a 136-page booklet and a flip sketch signature card by Melanie Corradi. Plus, each set is numbered and signed by Lofgren.

HERE COMES THE CALVARY --- Varèse Sarabande Records will release Calvary – the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack available digitally on May 13th and on CD May 20, 2014. The soundtrack features original score by Patrick Cassidy (Kill The Irishman, Che Guevara). Calvary won the Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival 2014 and was nominated for a total of six awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards, including Best Original Score for Patrick Cassidy.

“I felt it was important to set the right mood with the prologue being so dark, the contrast of the mountain and the beach over the opening is visually dramatic and demanded a big musical statement,” said Cassidy.

Calvary stars Brendan Gleeson as Father James, a priest who has a week to put his affairs in order after being told he is marked for murder during a confession. Set against the stunning beauty of Ireland’s West Coast comes a darkly comic thriller from writer director John Michael McDonagh.

CLOSING NOTES --- CBS’ Elementary three-arc season finale this season, is just sensational. Episode two aired last Thursday, the finale this Thursday. Starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu … the best drama this year for sure …

Donnie Kehr (from Jersey Boys the movie) says Clint Eastwood is in the movie, “but, you have to pay attention.” …

Barbara Walters’ finale appearance on The View is this Friday. I'll be there at the invitation of producer Donald Berman. All the hosts will be back … including Rosie, Elisabeth and Star. It should be some event. Details to follow …

Disney’s Million Dollar Arm starring Jon Hamm apparently got the highest test-scores ever of any non-animated movie in the Disney canon. Opens this Friday. I'm happy for Jon Hamm; a terrific actor and great guy …

Tom Cruise's new movie Edge Of Tomorrow - starring alongside Emily Blunt, looks positively terrific. This one, I really want to see ...

The Blacklist finale tonight; can't wait ...