Upcoming Supernatural Shows Part 2: Charlaine Harris’ Midnight, Texas [Videos]

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Midnight, Texas premiered as a summer show on NBC in 2017 with a 10 episode run and poor to mediocre ratings. Somehow, they were given a second season and moved to the fall- probably because of supernatural interference. Or an enthusiastic global and digital response to the show. Charlaine Harris has connections, y’all, she can make these things happen.

Ms Harris is the author of the wildly popular Southern Vampire Mystery series, otherwise known as the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries/True Blood TV series. Midnight, Texas is currently a three novel series that takes place in the same universe as the Sookie Stackhouse novels. There are a few crossover characters in the books, though I don’t remember seeing any in season 1 of the TV show. They don’t arrive in town until the second book, so keep your eyes open this season. Last season combined storylines from the first and third books. So far it looks like season 2 will cover the second book.

Just like Sookie’s town of Bon Temps, LA,  the small southwestern town of Midnight, TX attracts outsiders, loners and misfits, especially those who are a little more than human. Midnight is sparsely populated, with barely enough permanent residents to even be called a town. It sits at a dusty crossroads with magical properties. The people who are drawn to settle there form a close-knit, protective community. They are slow to trust outsiders and don’t share secrets easily, but they are a force to be reckoned with when one of their own is threatened.

Season 1 begins when Manfred Bernardo, a psychic with true abilities, which he sometimes needs to fake for customers, drives his ancient RV bus into town on the advice of the ghost of his grandmother, Xylda. Manfred was mostly raised by Xylda and they’re still close. They’ve been able to remain close because Manfred sees dead people. Everywhere. Sometimes they possess his body, but only if he lets them. Manfred is on the run from Hightower, to whom he and Xylda owe(d) a large sum of money.

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Upcoming Supernatural Shows Part 1: Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina [Videos]

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Halloween is almost upon us and it’s time for some witchy fun! Next week, on Friday October 26, two relatively lighthearted supernatural series will join the pack. NBC’s Midnight, Texas, based on the book series by Charlaine Harris, author of True Blood/the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries, will return for season 2. And the entire first season of the Riverdale quasi spin off The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, from the same team who brought Archie, Veronica and Bughead to life, will debut on Netflix the same day.

In this post, let’s look at Sabrina, then I’ll make a second post for Midnight, Texas.

238px-chilling_adventuresof_sabrina_issue_2Sabrina is based on the teenage witch from the comics, most specifically from the comic series of the same name written by creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who is also the showrunner for the CW’s Riverdale. It’s not connected to the 90s sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart, though I imagine the writers won’t be able to resist throwing in some inside jokes.

The show stars Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman, a half human-half witch teenager who has a big decision to make on her 16th birthday. Lucy Davis plays Hilda Spellman, the more maternal of Sabrina’s two aunts, who act as her guardians. Miranda Otto plays Zelda Spellman, a fierce, protective witch who wants Sabrina to follow in her footsteps as a devotee of the Dark Lord. (Guess JK Rowling doesn’t own that phrase.) Ross Lynch is Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina’s sweet, clueless, human boyfriend, who has no idea what’s really going on in the town of Greendale, where Sabrina’s chilling adventures take place. The cast is rounded out by Jaz Sinclair, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Richard Coyle, and Tati Gabrielle, who play various friends, allies and enemies of Sabrina.

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Manifest S1 Ep5- Connecting Flights Promo

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The end of episode promo is the only one out so far for next week’s episode of Manifest. If/when more sneak peeks are released, I’ll gather them in this post.

In the meantime, here’s a photo with Jared brooding over his map and Lourdes looking on. It’s good to see that Lourdes hasn’t been completely forgotten by Jared or the writers.

Episode description from NBC:

10/22/2018 (10:00PM – 11:00PM) (Monday) : Stories unfold for those left behind in the aftermath of Flight 828’s disappearance. Meanwhile in the present, Cal (Jack Messina) takes Ben (Josh Dallas) on a mysterious adventure that awakens Ben to his son’s perplexing abilities. Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) tries to protect Jared (J.R. Ramirez) from consequences at work, while keeping her romantic feelings at bay. Also starring Athena Karkanis and Luna Blaise.

Promo after the jump.

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Manifest Season 1 Episode 4: Unclaimed Baggage Recap

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This week’s episode of Manifest, Unclaimed Baggage, drew together Saanvi, Michaela and Flight Attendant Bethany to solve the mystery/case of the week: What happened to Bethany’s stowaway friend after the plane landed? They were an effective and appealing dream team, who I hope we get to see continue working together. Ben’s role in this case was to act as skeptic and briefly as driver.

What’s up with him being left out of the callings since the first episode?

Instead, Ben carried the family drama again, which this week centered around Olive’s adventures with shoplifting. Olive drew Danny back into the family mix, precipitating the overdue meeting between him and Ben. Or maybe it was just overdue that we met Danny. You can’t cast Daniel Sunjata, then keep him off my screen. At any rate, Grace is now officially a sketchy Femme Fatale in my book, and the Stones have gone from being a typical suburban family in the opening of the pilot to being a truly messed up suburban family.

Why is Grace a Femme Fatale? Not just because of the unexplained, secret strife that’s drawn her, Danny and Olive close enough together that they act like they’ve been through a war together. The other Stone family thread this week concerned Ben’s life insurance pay out of $500k, which the insurance company wants back, since he’s actually alive and all. Grace goes through a vague set of circumstances, most of them expected, and somehow comes up with having spent the entire half a million dollars already, in 5 years, on her and Olive. Plus all of the equity in their house.

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 10: Option C Recap

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With Option C, we reach the end the beginning of the road. That is to say, we come full circle. The drug trial ends, and the subjects are paid off and sent back to their day-to-day lives. Owen and Annie attempt to make changes in their lives, following up on what they experienced in their reflections.

The doctors are forced to change their lives, after the unexpected way the trial ended. They are sent out into the real world, no longer able to use their careers as an excuse to hide behind their computers in windowless rooms. All of the main characters spend the episode building toward striking out on new adventures, but we’ll have to wait to see if Maniac stays a “limited” one season series, or if it gets a season 2, before we find out if we get to follow the next stage of their development.

Option C begins with the subjects waking up from their “C” pill experience. They are dazed, overheated, and dehydrated. Owen asks Annie if she’s okay, but she just tells him, “Not now.” As the subjects stumble from the experiment room, James and Greta stand outside the door and say helpful things like, “You’re alive!” and, “You woke up!” They get it together after a minute and act as though they’re in a receiving line, congratulating the subjects and asking Owen if he feels pure, unaffected joy.

Owen tells Greta that he’s a huge fan and has read all of her books. That explains why he was able to understand Gertie, and she liked him so much. I wonder if Greta is Owen’s fantasy mother, when he dreams of replacing his own.

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Manifest Season 1 Episode 3: Turbulence Recap

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Turbulence settles into what will likely be the episode pattern for most of the season. Like episode 2, we have a case/passenger of the week, with Ben and Michaela at the forefront of an unsanctioned investigation. The digging necessary to help that person also provides information about both the larger mystery and what the government might be up to.

The Stone family drama also moves forward. Sadly, so far it seems as though the other passengers and characters are only there to service the mystery of the plane’s disappearance or to take part in the main family’s drama. Hopefully, with time, the stories will branch out further.

Devotion, faith, and owning your truth are themes this week. Michaela learns that she needs to be honest with herself and others about what happened with Evie, and is rewarded with the breaking down of her mental barriers. The twins work through more of the issues that make them feel separated, in an attempt to regain their Twin Power. Lourdes is nowhere in sight, while Jared adopts Michaela as his work wife.

Saanvi has a strong drive to know the truth, and faith that she can find it, no matter what barriers stand in her way.  It’s no coincidence that she created a cure for blood cancer while in her twenties. She has a search engine and a medical lab, and she knows how to use them. Vance had better watch out.

Ben and Grace are still struggling to figure out the truth of their marriage, while the entire family, other than Cal, struggles with honesty. Cal is the little truth teller of the family, and possibly of Flight 828. Perhaps “He is risen” means Cal now sees the truth of all situations, and he won’t accept anything less. He’s risen above everything else.

The Stones love and are devoted to each other, but that isn’t always enough. Grace still has that strange demeanor about her, like she’s forcing herself to be with Ben because she’s had a religious calling to do so, not because it’s what she’d choose if she met Danny and Ben today. But that’s what her decision needs to come down to: Which one would she choose today?

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 9: Utangatta Recap

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In episode 9, the “C” pill brings the subjects to confront the core of their fears. If Owen becomes the sweet, unguarded, lovable person that he was meant to be, but that person is a huge screw up, will he be worthy of protection and love? Porter was willing to sacrifice Owen in order to save Jed, but Owen now understands that there’s nothing he can do to inspire that kind of loyalty from his family. Nor should he aspire to. But can he inspire it in someone? Can he matter to someone, even if he’s a failure?

Annie needs to say goodbye to Ellie, but what’s really holding her back is her fear that she’ll never find anyone else, or, even if she does, she’ll lose them, too. Can she put aside her fear, anger and self-loathing, and use her strength, boldness and courage to trust, protect and love someone again? Can she believe in herself enough to be the hero who saves someone?

We’re about to go all super-spy to find out. Owen is Snorri Agnarsson, a blonde Icelandic diplomat who discovered and befriended a blue alien named Ernie. Ernie was sent to help mankind, and had made some progress. Snorri was scheduled to introduce him to the world, when Snorri’s careless mistake with a vodka gimlet killed Ernie. Now the world debates how to punish Snorri and to defend against Ernie’s people. Annie appears as a stone cold assassin, sent by the US government to save Snorri and awaken him to his true identity and purpose.

Owen and vodka gimlets just shouldn’t mix.

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