Abed predicted it… but he was talking about NBC’s super-dead ‘The Cape.’
Well, at least we made it to six seasons of ‘Community’ with Yahoo! (of all places) saving the show after NBC cut the cord. (Here’s hoping something similar happens to ‘Constantine.’ You need a DC/Horror show, Yahoo!?).
Sure, we’re down half the original cast from the glad-he’s-gone Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase) to the oh-my-God-I-can’t-believe-the-show-still-works without Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). And then the ‘meh’ Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown).
“Troy and Abed in the…” will never be the same (or possible) without Donald Glover. #DonaldGlover4Spider-Man.
But, have no fear, creator Dan Harmon is here (after being booted from the show in the abysmal 4th season due to conflicts between him and apparently-he’s-a-true-dick-in-person Chevy Chase). The episodes previewed here seem to capture that ‘Community’ magic of classic episodes like the 1st Paintball ep, the conspiracy theory ep, the Halloween zombie ep, and Meow-Meow beans.
And though we also lost recent addition Professor Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks), better known as Mike Ehrmantraut on ‘Breaking Bad,’ again, the show must go on.
We’ll miss you too, Mike. I mean Jonathan Banks.
Still, it looks like additions Paget Brewster (from one of my favorite prematurely cancelled shows, ‘Andy Richter Controls the Universe’) and, even better, Ernie Hudson (‘Ghostbusters,’ duh) will bring much needed, entertaining new blood to make up for all the characters ‘Community’ has lost over the years.
Long story short, watch the trailer for Season Six of ‘Community,’ which is just as wacky as ever. It may have borrowed a few ideas from the various ‘Age of Ultron’ trailers.
[EDIT]: Apparenly Yahoo! is a bitch, so even though I embeded the video, you still need to click their link to view it. On the plus side… it is full screen! Wow.
In preparation for its triumphant return for the 2nd part of the second season, NBC has dropped a full-throttle, full-length trailer similar to what you would see for a feature film. And it plays like a trailer for a fantastic action-movie/thriller, even though it’s a trailer for a two-episode plot involving Red’s (James Spader) worst nightmare: the escape of Luther Braxton (Ron Pearlman).
The episode ‘Luther Braxton’ looks great, with Ron Pearlman joining the show as what looks like the ‘Blacklists’s most terrifying criminal yet.
Watch the trailer now, and check out the episode ‘Luther Braxton’ after the Superbowl on NBC.
(Though Unlike ‘Constantine,’ ‘Blacklist’ doesn’t really need your eyeballs. It has strong ratings.)
‘Constantine’ is my favorite network show of the fall 2014 TV season.
I’m not a big network TV fan. I’ve loved and lost: ‘Arrested Development.’ I’ve grown tired of aging shows: ‘The Simpsons.’ Many others just lived their TV shelf life: ’24,’ ’30 Rock,’ ‘Parks & Rec,’ and ‘Community.’
But this season, I’m up to my all-time high with ‘Blacklist,’ ‘Gotham,’ ‘Brooklyn 99,’ and, of course, ‘Constantine.’
The most miraculous feat of all (aside from the apparent “miracles” that can come up on the show)? The fact that I like any network TV show more than one about Batman (sorry, ‘Gotham.’)!
Here’s 5 things you are missing out on by skipping ‘Constantine.’
1. The Opening Credit Sequence Makes Your Skin Crawl
Is the opening credit sequence of a show really that important?
G.O.B.s favorite bar, “And Jeremy Piven”
If you ask the late, not-so-great, ‘Entourage,’ then yes, the opening credit roll is a big deal. Often mocked among friends, the “Ya! Oh, yeah!” stroll down the Sunset strip, walking past the great L.A. bar “With Jeremy Piven” is horribly long.
And annoying.
‘Constantine’ has a perfect length, incredibly unique opening credit sequence.
There’s not even actor or creator credits given, just the image of souls burning in hell.
Watch it now! Then we move on!
2. Matt Ryan is incredibly likable as John Constantine.
Matt Ryan as John Constantine
Here’s your first clue that there’s a big difference between NBC’s ‘Constantine’ and the 2005 movie starring Keanu Reeves; Matt Ryan’s John Constantine is charming and funny in a way Keanu will never understand.
Ryan brings humor and sarcasm in large doses, playing the self proclaimed “Master of the Dark Arts.” (Constantine gets shit almost every episode for having that last title on his business card.)
And yet, John is also a man haunted.
Astra, accidentally damned to Hell by a young John Constantine.
Haunted by what happened to Astra, the daughter of a friend whom Constantine accidentally damned to hell during a failed exorcism. That’s some dark shit to deal with.
Similar to the sins of his past, Constantine makes some very ambiguous moral choices that could lump him in shared company with ‘Breaking Bad’s Walter White. In one episode he literally has to trap a demon in the body of a friend; inviting the demon in and then trapping him in the body by carving demon locking symbols into his friend’s face with a special blessed blade.
A Demon mocks Constantine by taking his form in the ‘Pilot.’
Constantine has his demons, both literally and figuratively. Yet, the show never gets silly when he recites incantations and draws demonic symbols. The show carries just the right tone for it all to work.
Spells and Incantations from the “Master of the Dark Arts.”
And Constantine has quite a bit of evil to combat as there is a “rising darkness” that is pushing more monsters to the surface and resulting in stronger than average demons.
With all the good, the bad, and his torment/mission, as a man, I still want to be John Constantine. Rock that white shirt and that loose-ass tie… TV’s John Constantine is one cool anti-hero.
3. It’s a horror show at heart.
I have a knack for missing when something is in the horror genre, unless it’s a shitty torture-porn film like ‘Saw’ or ‘The Hills Have Eyes.’ I didn’t realize the new ‘Fright Night’ (2011) was horror until my friends pointed it out; I thought it was a dark comedy.
I had the same inclination with ‘Constantine,’ enjoying the darkness and comedy of the show, completely missing that it is, indeed, a horror show. Not only that, it’s a damn good one, with gruesome bloody scenes and scary demons that rival cable’s ‘The Walking Dead.’
We’re talking possessed children, fallen Angels, and a vinyl holding the voice of “the fallen” (the devil, of course).
One of ‘Constantine’s many literal demons.
2. It has its own, unique format unlike anything on network TV.
I like to call ‘Constantine’ my favorite cable show on Network TV since ‘Arrested Development.’
Let’s face it, most the good shows on television live on cable networks willing to take risks like AMC, FX, and HBO. Most of what we see on Network TV (by which I mean CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and The CW) is very formulaic, with nearly all dramas following the criminal or medical procedural format. Even a show like ‘Gotham’ (which I also adore) boils down to a police procedural that happens to have quirky DC characters. ‘The Blacklist’ is brilliant, but it also doesn’t escape the classic format of a Network TV Drama.
Constantine and Zed hunt demons.
‘Constantine’ marches by the beat of its own drum. It does have a formula; establish demon/evil entity, Constantine tracks it with the aide of Zed (Angelica Celaya) and/or Chas Chandler (Charles Halford), if it’s a demon he may chase it from body to body, finally vanquishing it in the final act, depending what “it” is.
That is where the show flaunts its format: the “Rising Darkness.” The evil in the show takes many forms, from the aforementioned demons, to possessed inanimate objects, and even Angels that work for “the fallen.”
No two episodes are alike and non mirror what you would see on a Network Procedural.
1. It has great side characters and is rich with DC universe lore.
Manny the Angel, John Constantine, Zed Martin, and Chas Chandler
John Constantine’s tortured soul is only the tip of NBC’s iceberg.
My favorite character – aside from Constantine who I obviously have a man-crush on – is Manny the Angel (Harold Perrineau). Manny appears to Constantine, not to help, as he can never give information or physically help in any way that will alter the lives of mortals like John.
Manny the AngelManny mocks Constantine by appearing to him as a bartender.
While Manny appears to visit Constantine for moral support, really he spends most of his time gloating and mocking Constantine. The back and forth between these characters is my favorite part of the show. Whenever Manny shows up, I crack a smile.
Zed and Chas are also great characters, both with their separate supernatural gifts and their relationships with the “master of the dark arts.”
These characters are from the comics (not Manny, he was added to turn the comic’s inner-monologues into dialog between two characters) as are many of the demons and items we see throughout the show. I wish I read the New 52’s ‘Constantine’ (formally ‘Hellblazer’) as there are A LOT of DC ‘Easter Eggs’ to uncover.
All-in-all, it boils down to my earlier statement. To quote myself:
‘Constantine’ is my favorite cable show on Network TV since ‘Arrested Development.’
Boom. I just self-quoted.
There you have it, 5 reasons to check out ‘Constantine’ on Hulu and NBC. If you’re game for unique TV containing fascinating characters and scary demons – with a DC Comics flair – then join me and John on our mission against the “Rising Darkness.”
Just one more great image of the demon that mocks John in the ‘Pilot.’And I’m out!
all the good, the bad, and his torment/mission, as a man, I still want to be John Constantine. Rock that white shirt and that loose-ass tie… TV’s John Constantine is one cool anti-hero.
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