Jeff Pfeiffer, Author at StayTuned Magazine

Fall TV 2011 hits, misses and mehs: Week of October 3

October 3, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By the Channel Guide staff Follow @ChannelGuide The 2011 Fall season continues its rollout this week, with the returns of such shows as Pop Up Video (after a 10-year hiatus); Brad Meltzer’s Decoded; The League; Sanctuary; and Rules of Engagement. Below we take a look at some of the new series and special debuting this week. For more comprehensive information on the new season, visit our Fall TV Preview website. HITS A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King TCM Premieres: Oct. 3, 8pm ET What’s It All About? Horror master Stephen King discusses how he discovered terror […]

Showtime’s “Homeland” is a taut post-9/11 thriller

October 2, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jay Bobbin Only now, a decade after 9/11, would a network attempt a drama series such as Homeland. Another threat of terrorism on U.S. soil informs the purposely intense, grim Showtime drama series, which premieres tonight and airs Sundays at 10pm ET/PT (Showtime has already posted the pilot episode online, however). Executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa invoked a post-9/11 world in their work on FOX’s 24, but they draw a much more direct bead on the theme as CIA agent Carrie Mathison (played by Temple Grandin Emmy winner Claire Danes) pursues just-rescued American POW Nicholas Brody (Damian […]

Latest Ken Burns documentary explores the Prohibition era

October 1, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP There is a scene near the end of the 1987 film The Untouchables when Kevin Costner’s T-man character Eliot Ness — whom we have just seen, along with his team of agents, help bring gangster Al Capone to justice — is asked by a reporter what he would do if the talks of ending Prohibition become reality. Thinking for a moment, Ness then says with a hint of a smile and a bit of relief, “I think I’ll have a drink.” That sentiment was likely shared by many citizens by the time America’s 13-year “Noble […]

Halloween 2011 TV schedule

September 30, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

October is upon us, the time of year when darkness grows longer, a chill clutches the air, and many people look to their TVs for scary escapism. Throughout the month, leading up to Halloween, many networks will offer a variety of scary shows, specials and movies — from hardcore horror to family-friendly frights, depending upon your mood. Here are some of the notable highlights. Programming and times are subject to change; check back throughout the month, as this post will continuously be updated and added to. While we focus here mainly on TV series and specials, with a few notable […]

VOD Spotlight: Great Lakes city-smashing in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

September 30, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Writing in The Milwaukee Journal prior to the theatrical release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, film critic Duane Dudek wrote, “Neither the Milwaukee Art Museum nor any lakefront real estate was harmed during the filming of Transformers: Dark of the Moon there last year. Chicago was not so lucky.” Milwaukee sees a bit of filmmaking action, but only rare action films the magnitude of Transformers. During one of Milwaukee’s morning commutes during the filming, cars were lined up at the end of the freeway ramps at the lakefront, their drivers standing beside them watching helicopters circle over the […]

FOX airs previously postponed “Animation Domination” hurricane-themed crossover

September 29, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP This Sunday’s (Oct. 2) new episodes of The Cleveland Show, Family Guy and American Dad will be series crossover episodes focused around a hurricane that hits the shows’ respective cities of Stoolbend, Quahog and Langley Falls. These episodes were originally slated to air last spring, but were postponed out of respect to the victims of the devastating tornadoes and storms that battered the South at that time. Since then, various other storms have not shown Mother Nature has any inclination to ease up too much, so perhaps FOX is trying to squeeze these in before […]

Fall TV 2011 hits, misses and mehs: Week of September 26

September 26, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By the Channel Guide staff Follow @ChannelGuide Fall season premiere madness continues in full swing this week. Among the returning series highlights are Gossip Girl, Cake Boss, The Little Couple, Extreme Couponing, Luther, Happy Endings, MythBusters, Private Practice and Dexter. Here are our thoughts on some of the new shows premiering this week. And for more Fall 2011 programming information, visit our Fall TV Preview website. HITS Terra Nova FOX Premieres: Sept. 26 (two-hour premiere) Airs: Mondays, 8pm ET/PT Stars: Jason O’Mara, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Allison Miller, Naomi Scott, Stephen Lang

Jason O’Mara talks about his visit to “Terra Nova”

September 23, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Terra Nova, the epic new sci-fi/action/drama series premiering this Monday, Sept. 26, at 8pm ET/PT on FOX with a two-hour pilot, has a storyline that straddles both a future world about 150 years from now, and an alternate world 85 million years in the past, where the brunt of the action takes place. In reality, the show has sometimes felt like it’s taken a million years to get here, with premiere date postponements and rumors of out-of-control production flying over the last year and a half. But judging by what I’ve seen from the pilot, it looks like it could […]

First episode of Ken Burns doc “Prohibition” to debut on PBS for iPad, PBS apps

September 22, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

PBS has announced that starting tomorrow (September 23), it will be offering the first episode of the fascinating new Ken Burns documentary Prohibition on the free PBS for iPad and PBS apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. The entire three-part series airs nationally October 2-4, with each episode also streamed live, timed to the national broadcast. Episodes 2 and 3 will be available on PBS for iPad and PBS apps for iPhone and iPod touch the day after each TV airdate, and will remain available through October 7. PBS for iPad and PBS apps for iPhone and iPod touch […]

VOD Spotlight: “Bridesmaids”

September 20, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Somewhere between the proposal and the honeymoon is the wedding and all the excesses that go with the biggest day of a bride’s life. It can be trying for the happy couple, but often even more so for the bridesmaids who must live with, and help foot the bill for, the excesses. This was perfect fodder for producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) to create a chick flick version of The Hangover — the comedy blockbuster Bridesmaids. He drew on the writing and acting talents of Saturday Night Live comedian Kristen Wiig, who also appeared in Knocked Up. “Every time we […]