Hearing Voices on ‘Castle Rock,’ ABC’s ‘CMA Fest,’ Britain’s ‘Robot Wars’
A critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Castle Rock (streaming on Hulu): The slow-burning mystery continues to build as the spooky presence of “The Kid” (Bill Skarsgård) begins to affect more of the populace of the troubled Maine town in the wake of the Shawshank slaughter. Maybe this isn’t the best time for retired Sheriff Pangborn (Scott Glenn) to be honored at the dedication of a bridge, with tormented soulmate Ruth (Sissy Spacek) in attendance. Just about everyone’s suffering: Henry’s (André Holland) ears are still ringing, and psychic Molly (Melanie Lynskey) is picking up unsettling signals, “like I was listening to the pain of everyone in this town all at once.” As Castle Rock makes clear in each episode, there’s a heck of a lot of supernatural pain to go around.
CMA Fest (8/7c, ABC): Nashville may be history, but country-music lovers can still revel in the 15th annual broadcast of the fan festival, filmed in June. Thomas Rhett returns as host for the third time, with Kelsea Ballerini back for a second. The line-up is a who’s who of country stars, from A (Jason Aldean) to Y (Brett Young), with collaborations including a Dwight Yoakum-Dierks Bentley combo.
Robot Wars (10/9c, Science Channel): Because Battlebots isn’t enough for some fans of motorized mayhem, this revived BBC series makes its U.S. premiere, with 40 of the top robot combat teams from around the world facing off in metal-crunching matches. Adding to the peril: “House Robots” patrolling the bulletproof arena, three times heavier than the competing robots, ready to wipe out any creation unlucky enough to wander into the Corner Patrol Zone. With names like Sir Killalot, Shunt, Dead Metal and Matilda, the house bots are primed for action.
The Sinner (10/9c, USA): Sounding somewhat like a Castle Rock character, protective mama bear Vera Walker (the terrific Carrie Coon) warns persistent detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman), “My son is so far beyond anything you can understand, you have no idea.” Skeletons abound as Harry pokes his nose into the mysterious compound of Mosswood Grove, where Vera rules with solemn authority and resists revealing anything that might explain why 13-year-old Julian (Elisha Henig) committed his murderous act.
Inside Wednesday TV: Esther (Esther Povitsky) plays nursemaid to Dean (Chris D’Elia) after an accident in the first of two episodes of Freeform’s wacky buddy comedy Alone Together (8/7c). In the second, Dean gets his revenge by challenging brother Benji (Benji Aflalo) to sell a house where a murder occurred… Master craftsman Tim McClellan is DIY Network’s Boomtown Builder (10/9c), in a new renovation series specializing in old homes from Arizona ghost towns that once were mining centers. Tim’s first project: a former grocery market from the early 1900s, honoring its history by reusing some of the structure’s original hardware.
Conversation13 Comments
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Looks like a somewhat active night for the DVR:
Alone Together (2 episodes)
Burden of Truth
Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours
Misfits & Monsters
Reverie
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It's days like this I'm grateful to have a DVR that can record 16 at once so I don't have to pick and choose what to watch.
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Plus, most cable shows repeat later in the evening, or you can watch them On Demand or online. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have to choose just one program to watch anymore.
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Burden of Truth at 8, and the finale of Reverie at 10.
I watched the premiere of Carter last night. Even though I'm not a Jerry O'Connell fan, I found the show to be interesting and engaging. More watchable (for me, at least) than Take Two, by far. A little more believable, too. (Although admittedly that's not saying much, lol.)
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I didn't really care for it that much...maybe due to the fact I waited until it repeated at 1:00 am. I'll try it one more time before giving up.
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Well, it certainly isn't on par with a show like Madam Secretary, but I did find it engaging enough. I was never a regular on the Castle train, but Carter seems very similar in tone, although not as cheesy.
For Fred, a few comments on The Outpost: I have to admit this show loses my interest a little more each week. I can't seem to get a grasp on the mythology. Talon and the monster... she supposed to be able to control it, but then no, she CAN'T control it. I get the feeling the writers don't know what they want to do with that. And the smithy... that poor actor gets killed or otherwise dumped in most shows he's been in (TURN, Designated Survivor, and now The Outpost). 😀
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CW's Burden of Truth and the season (likely series) finale of NBC's Reverie. Might watch another episode of USA's The Sinner (not really my type of show though).
As for The Outpost. I have to admit, I did find the episode highly watchable. I didn't doze off and was concentrating on the details. Parts of this show really remind me of Once Upon a Time. I never fully grasped the magical parts (the rules kept changing) and that is what will likely occur with The Outpost. The canvas is very wide with this fantasy genre.
I'm sticking with this show until CW cancels it. Ratings aren't good, but they aren't worse than many of CW's regular season shows: Life Sentence, Dynasty, Valor , Crazy Ex- Girlfriend.
And CW is bringing back Dynasty and CEG this upcoming season. So who knows, perhaps The Outpost will survive a second season. And hopefully it will improve.
I read that Burden of Truth was renewed for a second season in Canada, so I am almost certain CWW will air another season next summer despite similarly low ratings.
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A busy TV night for me with MasterChef, Suits, Sinner, Reverie, and Misfits & Monsters!
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Carrie C. (I tried to post the actress last name, but this site is "censoring it! no joke!!) is one of my favorite actresses, I try to check out every show she is in. I have not watched the first season of "Sinner".
Is it mandatory to watch the first season or can I jump on this season and not be lost?
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I get censored sometimes too. And for reasons that still baffle me. I never offend (or at least not intentionally) and I don't use foul language. I feel like the Sinner is more of an "anthology show". The story is almost entirely new.
FX's American Crime Story season 2 was completely different (like another show) compared to season 1.
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Test: Carrie Coon of The Sinner season 2.
Lets see if it gets censored.
You wont be lost at all jumping in now.
Same with Quantico season 3. Almost completely new arc.
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Carrie C. (I tried to post the actress last name, but this site is
"censoring" it! No joke!!) is one of my favorite actresses, I try to
check out every show she is in. I have not watched the first season of
"Sinner".
Is it mandatory to watch the first season or can I jump on this season and not be lost?
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I know. It wouldn't let me post Alan C*mming under an article about him. LOL
Like Fargo or American Horror Story, Sinner is a completely different story with different characters (except for one) each season, so there's no need to watch the first season to understand this one.
As I've said, I didn't care for the first season of it, but so far, I'm liking this one.
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