Greetings Loyal Airmen, we’re coming to you a wee bit late today, but still making our Friday morning posting.  This week we thought we’d share a few reactions we’ve had to the new shows that started up on the various TV networks this past week.

First up is Minority Report, one of two sci-fi series that actually spun off major movie features.  The movie, “Minority Report,” starred Tom Cruise, was directed by Steven Spielberg and was based on a book by the late Philip K. Dick. This series picks up about five years after the events of that show.  It takes place in Washington D.C. of the future and deals with a lady copy teaming with a fellow who has the psychic abilities to see crimes before they happen.  Again, if you liked the movie, as the Air Chief did, you might want to catch this one.  If not, then take a pass.

Up next we had the highly anticipated Blindspot.  Anticipated because it stars the beautiful Jamie Alexander, who some of your Loyal Airmen will immediately recognize as Lady Sif from the three Thor movies Marvel Studio put. In this one she plays an amnesiac who is found naked in a bag in the middle of Times Square New York. She has absolutely no memory of who she is or how she got there, BUT…her entire body is covered with recently added tattoos…one of which is the name of a particular FBI agent.  He is called on to the case and before the first hour is over, one of the mystery woman’s tattoos has been instrumental in help to foil a terrorist attack. Now this is a twisty style mystery show and we did enjoy the first episode. We only hope the writers are playing fair with as and have an actual solution to everything.  Oh, and fans of the Cinemax series Strike Back will be happy to note that one of the two male action heroes of that old series is playing the FBI agent.  Forget his name.  He’s the fellow who starred in the recent 300 RISE OF AN EMPIRE.

Next up we have the second of our sci-fi entries and also another movie spin-off, Limitless.  In the feature film, Bradley Cooper played a down and out writer who is given a miraculous pill that allows him to use 100% of his brain capacity, thus making him an instant genius. The pitfall was the drug had disastrous effects in aging people rapidly to the point of eventual death. By the movie’s end, Cooper had funded a lab, came up with a counter drug that, when taken once a year, nullified the bad effects of the genius-pill and he is the new state senator of New York.  The TV show picks up about a year later and with another down and out fellow, this time a would be rock musician. When, through a series of events, he ends up with the same pill, he immediately uses it to save his father’s life, the gentlemen being sick from a rare malady the doctor’s can’t diagnose properly.  Oh, and he also gets wrapped up in a murder investigation and helps the FBI solve the crime. At the end, Bradley Cooper makes a rare TV guest appearance as the senator, now with ambitions to be president some day. He tells the young man about the antidote making him swear to never reveal its existence, thus he can continue to take the pill and help the FBI with his new found brain power.  A lot of fun, with charismatic actors in the various roles and the series will attempt to do what the movie never did, find out where the genius-pill came from in the first place.

Of course as much as the Air Chief loves sci-fi action tales, we also like to laugh and in this case that included the brand new Muppets show. Rather than repeat the old set up where everything revolved around their actual variety show, in this one they do a rift on reality shows in that Miss Piggy has gotten her on late night talk show, and Kermit is the show’s producer.  Problem is the two have broken of their romantic relationship and that traps all the familiar characters in the middle of that awkward day to day tension.  Honestly, we loved this show and it had us in tears. The scene with Fozzy Bear, in love with a real young lady, has dinner with her parents and the father brings up the question of what would have if they had children, was hilarious. Major thumbs up for the new Muppets.

And finally, remember that actor from Strike Back we mentioned being in Blindspot, well his partner from the Cinamax series also debut his own new project this week. The Player is a fast paced action series set in Los Vegas and proposes that the world’s richest people, being bored with all their wealth, have established a game wherein they bet on crime; that is crime that is about to happen.  In the set up Alex Kane, a former secret agent with a dark past, is recruited to be the Player whose job it is to foil these would be crimes.  His support team is a lovely young tech expert who represents the dealer, where as Wesley Snipe, in his first regular TV series, plays the House representative muscle, the Pit Boss.  Thus the rich folks either bet on Alex foiling the crime, on on the criminals succeeding. If you catch this opening episode you’ll see how Alex is pressured into becoming the Player. There is a mystery involving the murder of his wife that is at the core of his manipulation and will obviously be revealed as the series progresses from week to week. Again, an intriguing set-up and lots of cool action.  We’re going to give it a go.

And of course we had old favorites come back as well, in particular Castle and the Big Bang Theory.  Next week our favorite comicbook series return in Arrow and the Flash and we are eagerly awaiting the premier of the new Supergirl.   As for Gotham, we’ve dropped it.  Having stuck out its premier season, we decided it is really nothing we could get excited about.  Here’s hoping you’ve found some new favorites as well.

Ron – Over & Out!