The Mandalorian is a Star Wars series created by Jon Favreau for Disney+, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. It follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a solitary bounty hunter of the Mandalorian creed, and Grogu, the Force-sensitive foundling in his care.
Season 3 premiered on March 1, 2023. Having been declared apostate for removing his helmet, Din sets out for the ruined surface of Mandalore seeking redemption in the Living Waters of the Great Forge. His journey draws in Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and turns toward the larger project of reuniting the scattered Mandalorian clans and reclaiming their homeworld from Imperial remnant forces under Moff Gideon.
The season expanded the show's scope considerably, weaving in threads from The Book of Boba Fett and setting up the broader Mando-verse. Reception was more mixed than for the first two seasons, with praise for its production design, Pascal and Sackhoff's performances, and Ludwig Göransson's score, alongside criticism of its more diffuse structure.
Marti Perkins lost her scholarship to Lancer Universities law school and finds she must get one some other way. Cheerleading can provide just the financial boost for her pre-law schooling she needs in the way of a scholarship. Along the way she befriends the team cheerleading captain (Savannah Monroe) who becomes her roommate. Vanessa Lodge (played by Sharon Leal from Dreamgirls) is the cheerleaders coach who has high hopes of winning the national championship. Gail O'Grady (NYPD Blue) is Wanda Perkins, mother of Marti and an embarrassment to her daughter quite often with behavior more expectant of a young child. Marti Perkins is played by Aly Michalka (Easy A, Bandslam), a determined young woman who is wise beyond her years and dedicated to becoming an attorney at any cost. Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical, Aliens in the Attic) is coach of the cheerleading team Savannah Monroe and when Marti comes applies to join up realizes the able young woman is just what the team needs to get into and ultimately win the cheerleading finals. This comedy drama ultimately shows how dedication and hard work will pay off big time!
Two half brothers (same father) begin their relationship by hating each other but bond and become best friends through teamwork and learning the truth about their father. Lucas Scott is played by Chad Michael Murray (House of Wax, Home of the Brave) who is recruited onto the basketball team by Coach Durham (played by Barry Corbin from Urban Cowboy & Monte Walsh). Lucas proves to be a talented player and starts out as a rival of his own half brother, Nathan Scott (James Lafferty from A Season on the Brink & Get Real). But soon the brothers learn to care for and respect each other while finding out their father Dan Scott (Paul Johansson from The Drew Carey Show & The District) is the natural father of Lucas yet he never claimed to be. As in real life, the characters on One Tree Hill have their ups and downs relationship wise and when they make mistakes they must pay for them somehow. Each season brings up more interesting reflections on family and life in high school, college, and ultimately after they have become adults proving we all need time to reflect on what we want in our lives.
The Science Channel has a hit with Through the Wormhole! It brings us answers to some pretty compelling questions we all want to know more about. And with Morgan Freeman (Academy Award winner from Driving Miss Daisy and Seven) narrating, the show is irresistible and thought provoking. While attempting to answer such questions as Is There a Creator? or Is Time Travel Possible? or Is There Life After Death? we are absolutely drawn into the possibilities these question pose. Is There actually a Sixth Sense? We know for sure of five but many speculate there is an additional sixth sense. One that gives those who have it extra advantages over the rest of us. They can, for instance, predict the future and while the human brain remains so mysterious we do know there is more we know absolutely nothing about. What do Alien Beings look like? Do they represent us or would they be totally scary in appearance? Each question creates yet more questions. Come along as Freeman explores the biggest questions and seeks answers we can appreciate and understand.
Reality shows are always popular and Platinum Hits takes the "reality" bit to a whole new level with aspiring singers and songwriters in the mix. The premise is all about making music others want to listen to and will pay money to hear. Whether it's a love ballad or a dance track that really rocks, we watch as contestants vie for the ultimate prize of $100,000 by writing and performing their own innovative music. RCA/Jive is a successful record label that offers a recording contract to the winner and The Writing Camp is where they will get all the songwriter training and help by way of a success driven team. Writing lyrics and then performing them takes the contestants on a competitive journey each week as they must complete tasks such as writing hip hop, country, folk, blues, or some other form of song and then perform it live for the judges. Judging is accomplished by guest judges like Donna Summer, Natasha Bedingfield, Taio Cruz, or even the host herself, Jewel. The show is exciting to watch and losers are crushed but have been given some exposure that may still help their careers.
Bear Grylls is host and also the one who gets unceremoniously dropped off into various situations each week and has to survive by using his wits and bare hands for the most part. He will actually do a "fly over" and check out the terrain he will be faces with and a crew spends about a week checking over the situation to determine what he has to expect. As with any "reality" program there is at least one each camera person and sound engineer or we (the viewing audience) would see and hear nothing. The situations may include attacks by alligators or falling into quick sand. He may parachute from a helicopter, run through forest fires, drink fecal liquids, even eat deer drippings, whatever it takes to simply survive! Bear may even need to construct a raft to ford rivers and must know the basics of survival without a restaurant nearby. Special guest stars pop in occasionally, including Will Ferrell (Blades of Glory, Land of the Lost) and Jake Gyllendhaal (Brothers, Love and Other Drugs).
Georgia Chamberlain knows she can act. In fact she is the most confident person around and considered to be one of those "larger than life" kinda people. Georgia Chamberlain is ably played by Raven-Symone (That's so Raven, Sunny With a Chance) who was actually born in Georgia. She has moved to New York to pursue her dreams which include becoming an actress. Her best friend Jo Pye is played by Majandra Delfino (Men of a Certain Age, Life As We Know It), who is more the science "geek" type. The two women are trying to make it in the "big city" and we've seen that story idea before but this time around the women seem tougher and even more determined to make it! Georgia's Aunt Honey (Loretta Devine from Grey's Anatomy, For Colored Girls) is somewhat of a nymphomaniac and loves to brag about her exploits to the young women and also doles out advice while listening to their problems. This is actually light hearted fun television in a family format.
The Japanese refuse to quit their commercial whaling attempts and this creates a conflict among those who realize that whales simply will vanish from the planet soon if killing them is not stopped, once and for all. This makes for entertaining documentary style television and the Sea Shepherd Conservatory Society takes us along as we witness cruelty on the part of professional whalers. Paul Watson, the founder of the Conservation got help from the Discovery Channel to put together this reality documentary style show. We witness the tactics used as they attempt to dissuade commercial whalers from killing these magnificent creatures of the sea. And they mean business! With ramming, throwing stink bombs, and even boarding Japanese whaling vessels in mind, they keep up the good fight and try to teach their philosophy as well. The Japanese claim they are whaling for research purposed but it's obvious they have commercial gain in mind. Whales are intelligent creatures and they have been given names, making it more personal to see them killed. Each episode follows some specific whales and we witness what happens on the high seas is not always a pleasant experience.
Disney Channel is definitely THE place to go for outstanding programming for children and the Wizards of Waverly Place has been a big winner in that category at the Emmy's. How do the children of Wizards themselves become empowered with the magical capabilities passed down by their parent? They earn them. Father Jerry (David DeLuise) is a former wizard himself and he tries to teach his three kids to never take their potential powers for granted. They need to learn to get on in life without use of the magical power they now have because it may not last. But of course kids being kids they love to play with what they have and the act of turning an ordinary orange into a cupcake or change the settings on a clock prove irresistible to them. However the "Wizards in training" ultimately must compete to see which one will carry on the family trade because only one can hold the powers and the others will simply become mortals. Selena Gomez (The Suite Life on Deck, Sonny With a Chance) stars as well as performs the title song "Everything is Not What it Seems".
Professional decorator Jeff Lewis and his assistants are in the house "flipping" business. That is they buy them up cheaply and sell for a profit. Along the way there are always complications involved with refurbishing houses that have been neglected or even abandoned, thanks especially to the real estate crash in recent years. The stressful environment of flipping houses makes Lewis decide to concentrate more on home design and his consulting business as a means of income. We, the viewing audience, follow him and his helpers along as they work out the details and improve on each home they take on as a project now based in the Los Angeles, California area. Among the homes Jeff Lewis takes on as home improvement projects are some worth well over a million dollars so this is no small time business. Jenni Pulos, Ryan Brown, Chris Elwood, and Chris Keslar are part of his crew and prove to be dedicated workers who Lewis finds he can't do without. The program makes for some interesting and inspiring viewing that makes many of us want to head for the Home Depot and begin our own restoration in our own homes.
There are plenty of "cop" shows on television currently but one truly stands out as being totally entertaining and that one is Memphis Beat. Comedy, action, and some really good acting as well as scripts that stand out from the rest make for an hour's worth of enjoyment every week. Memphis Beat stars Jason Lee (My Name is Earl, Clerks II) as Memphis PD detective Dwight Hendricks, the self proclaimed "keeper of Memphis". He has several women in his life including his mother Paula Hendricks who is played by Celia Weston (Knight and Day, Modern Family), Memphis PD lieutenant Tanya Rice (Alfre Woodard from Desperate Housewives, Star Trek: First Contact), and an ex-wife Alex (played by Sunny Mabrey from Mad Men, Rules of Engagement) who shows up now and then. He has his hands full with each of these three women but his job seems to be a relief from personal life. Memphis Beat shows the southern charm and easy way of life of the south and even brings in some Elvis Presley music along the way. George Clooney is executive producer.
