Sneaky Pete

This Amazon original starring Giovanni Ribisi is a prime example of how not only has the way we watch television has changed, but so has the way it's made. "Sneaky Pete" has Ribisi doing his best Aaron Paul as a con man in a small town of seeming innocents, and feels like more of a long episodic movie than a series. 

Those who follow my reviews of "The Flash," "Arrow," "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," and even the last few seasons of "Doctor Who" know that these days the subplot and overarching story are far more important than any individual episode's A plot. In an age when David Lynch says that "Twin Peaks: The Return" is an eighteen-hour movie and not a TV series, this is pretty much standard operation. 

I found "Sneaky Pete" to be much the same.  The episodes, stories, and performances are compelling, but it was the subplots, the character bits, and the long game where the real meat was.  This was a single day's binge, ten roughly one hour episodes, that's how good this show was. 

The premise revolves around con man Marius, played by Ribisi, who is getting out of prison long before his oversharing and talkative cellmate Pete.  This Pete descriptively paints a warm and receptive picture of a loving family and home he hasn't seen in decades, with a jackpot to be had as well.  So when Marius gets out, needing a place to hide, he steals Pete's identity. 

The reason Marius is on the run? He got himself arrested to escape the wrath of gangster Vince, who wants his money back or he'll kill Marius' brother.  Vince is chillingly played by executive producer Bryan Cranston, using every bit of evil he never fully showed in "Breaking Bad."  If you ever wanted full-on hardcore Heisenberg, here he is. 

The series has been renewed for a second season on Amazon, so catch up while you can, it's well worth it, recommended.

Riverdale

The newest of the loosely based comic book shows debuted last week on the CW. One might say, don't they have enough of those over there already? And while DCTV mastermind Greg Berlanti is one of the executive producers, this isn't a DC Comics show, it's Archie Comics.

Now Archie and the gang have been translated to the small screen many many times, but only animation seems to stick, the live action attempts have flailed in the ratings and vanished. This time the showrunners have the characters and concepts solidly into the adult 21st century. Behind this is specifically Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - the award winning writer from "Glee," "Big Love," the remakes of Carrie and The Town that Dreaded Sundown, dozens of comics, and one of the current heads of Archie Comics.

From the opening moments the first episode is very Lynch-ian, as if the intent was to do "Twin Peaks" rather than the Archies. Most of the characters are here, and well cast, but mood is very Blue Velvet and Shadow of a Doubt, a small town where innocence only hides darkness. The high school vibe borrows much from a "Beverly Hills 90210" feel, which is painful for us old folks as Luke Perry plays Archie's dad. Ooof. I'm old, but so is he.

Feeling old isn't the worst this show has to offer though. Before the opening credits even roll, we learn that Archie had a torrid summer sex encounter with Ms. Grundy. Yeah, they go there, but before you gouge your eyes out, this Grundy teacher is young and hot. Future episodes tempt us with Betty and Veronica kissing and Josie and the Pussycats doing a modern remake of "Sugar Sugar," I'm not sure which is the bigger outrage… I have to say I also kinda dug Jughead as the creepy loner/writer with the Silent Bob vibe.

All that said, the show is compelling and worth watching, especially for viewers out there cold turkeying for the new "Twin Peaks" and the lesser "Wayward Pines." However, other than a couple cool Easter eggs, and characters with the same names, there's not much here for Archie fans. I'll give a few more episodes. What did y'all think?

Twin Peaks Returns

Today it was announced that "Twin Peaks" would be returning to television. The groundbreaking series that stunned America more than two decades ago has had a tumultuous ride, with me at least.

"Twin Peaks" was one of the first TV shows I obsessively taped with my new VCR. Everyone was talking about when it first aired, from other television outlets to talk radio, it was perhaps one of the earliest of the water cooler shows. It wasn't just me, the entire viewing audience was obsessed. And then it kinda sadly faded away.

Two years ago, my friend and editor-in-chief at Biff Bam Pop!, Andy Burns, got me to write a look back at the show, after not seeing it for twenty-odd years. I did a rewatch thanks to Netflix, and was unimpressed. For me, the show had lost its gloss, its wonder. While certainly influencing many of the shows that came after it, for me, it just wasn't the phenomenon it was back in the day. You can read that 2012 article here.

Now here's the thing. Besides being a great friend, and a cool editor, Andy is also probably one of the foremost experts on "Twin Peaks." He is to "Twin Peaks" what I am to Avengers. Yeah, I said it, he's the man. So much the man, he's writing a book about "Twin Peaks" for ECW Press that will see print in 2015. I've had the opportunity to read much of it, and I have to tell you, Andy changed my way of thinking. A monument to his skill at writing and explaining the phenomenon, "Wrapped in Plastic: Twin Peaks" by Andy Burns has reaffirmed my love of "Twin Peaks."

If you had told me that "Twin Peaks" was coming back after I wrote that article and did that rewatch… I probably would have groaned. Now, after reading much of Andy's book, I am so psyched for this return to greatness of one television's classic groundbreaking series.

"Twin Peaks" will be returning to television on Showtime in 2016, co-written by David Lynch and Mark Frost, directed by Lynch, and with most of the cast, including Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Cooper. Showtime will be airing the entire original series before the new one begins. For more on "Wrapped n Plastic: Twin Peaks" by Andy Burns, click here, and for more about the return, click here.

Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing Lasts Forever ~ You may or may not have heard of this obscure 1984 film with Bill Murray. Shot in black and white and shelved by MGM, it was never officially released in theaters or to video retail. Directed by fellow "Saturday Night Live" alum Tom Schiller (remember the brilliant Schiller's Reel?), it has remained unseen for decades but is now, possibly only temporarily available on YouTube.

Ostensibly a Bill Murray vehicle, it stars the immediately post-Gremlins Zach Galligan as a young man, Adam, who returns to New York from Europe with dreams of becoming an artist. The trouble is that America has been through hard times and some things have changed. A transit strike has put the Port Authority in control of New York City in an almost fascist state. Artists are frowned upon and Adam is put to work at the Holland Tunnel for a wacky boss played by Dan Aykroyd.

With me so far? 'Cause it's about to get weird, and yes, weirder than it already is. After Adam is kind to a beggar, the kindness is returned when the man reveals that there is a secret underground of bums that really control the world. After a truly disturbing purification process, during which we go from black and white temporarily to pseudo sepia colorization color, the masters of the world give Adam a mission - to bring art to the moon where he will meet his soulmate.

Adam goes back up to black and white NYC where no one believes him. And then he gets on a bus to the moon, where a young, pre-arrogant, and not-as-grumpy Bill Murray is his possibly sinister sky host. Look quick or you'll miss Larry 'Bud' Melman. Once on the moon, we're in pseudo-color again. But even on the moon things are not as they seem.

This New York City is like a cross between Fellini Paris and Hell here, and in that way, the black and white is used to good effect, very German Expressionist, with just a touch of Val Lewton and David Lynch. The tour of the NY art scene is both surreal and far too real, imagine Andy Warhol in 1920s Germany, bizarre. There are many bits lifted from old movies that may have had something to do with its non-release, rights problems, perhaps?

Zach Galligan, as in Gremlins, does a great It's a Wonderful Life Jimmy Stewart, perhaps much more naive. Lauren Tom, who this writer knows from voice acting in the DC Comics Animated Universe, is his lovely lunar soulmate. The amazingly named Apollonia Van Ravenstein is also quite good. Also look for Eddie Fisher, Imogene Coco, Sam Jaffe, and Mort Sahl.

Perhaps the reason Nothing Lasts Forever was not released was its pre-Tim Burton oddity or its painfully non-mainstreamness. Maybe the studio didn't know what it was - scifi, drama, comedy, period piece, musical? Even I'm not sure. It certainly is intriguing and worth a look while you can. Check it out.