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Off Topic rambles, June 20, 2011

so, if you don't want to venture outside in this glorious Summer weather ... coming soon to a theater:

The Trip wherein Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon tour Northern England

Submarine-- Richard Ayoade's film about a 15-year-old  who isn’t happy to see his mother dating

Green Lantern. So, where does Green rank-- just above The Submariner?

The swell season-- a docu follow-on to Once, with Hansard and Irglova. Hmm.

If you can't even get off the couch, Mike Hale at the NY Times tells us [their opinion] about these fine upcoming shows:


FALLING SKIES (TNT, June 19) Steven Spielberg’s name is on this new science-fiction series, starring Noah Wyle, about the survivors of an alien invasion. Of course Steven Spielberg’s name has also been on “Pinky and the Brain” and “SeaQuest DSV.”

TORCHWOOD (Starz, July 8) For its 10-episode fourth season, this “Doctor Who” spinoff moves to Starz from BBC America. It also moves the scene of its action from Wales to America, in a story arc that begins with the end of death: people stop dying, although they don’t stop aging, or being gruesomely disfigured in traffic accidents and fires. The alien-fighting Torchwood Institute has been disbanded after the tragic events of Season 3, but when duty calls.... Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman and Lauren Ambrose join the cast, alongside the holdovers John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Kai Owen.

ALPHAS (Syfy, July 11) Yet another prime-time superhero show, this time about a five-person team under the supervision of a benevolent scientist (David Strathairn).

ZEN (PBS, July 17) Rufus Sewell, last seen building cathedrals in the medieval mini-series “Pillars of the Earth,” plays a detective named Aurelio Zen  in three BBC mysteries based on novels by Michael Dibdin and shot in Rome. It’s the only new addition to the “Masterpiece Mystery” lineup on PBS this season.

THE HOUR (BBC America, Aug. 17) This six-part thriller starring Dominic West (“The Wire”) and Romola Garai is set against the glamorous backdrop of the BBC newsroom in the 1950s.