This Is A Man’s World

From the creators of “Dirty Sexy Money” comes family drama “Political Animals” which debuted on USA this month to modest ratings, but that hasn’t stopped the show from becoming one of the smartest series currently seen on television. The miniseries stars Sigourney Weaver in her first television role as Elaine Barrish, the former First Lady and current Secretary of State navigating her way through family and professional issues in Washington, D.C. The show also stars Ciaran Hinds as Bud Hammond, the former President and current ex-husband of Weaver’s Elaine, who has seen his popularity diminish as a result of his womanizing ways following his divorce. The ensemble cast also includes Carla Gugino who plays Susan Berg, a reporter who became famous for her news coverage of Bud’s infidelities while in the White House. Critically adored actor James Wolk plays Douglas Hammond, Elaine’s son and Chief of Staff who is about to get married.

There also is “Once Upon a Time” star Sebastian Stan who plays T. J. Hammond, Elaine’s openly gay son who has been battling addictions of his own. Veteran actress Ellen Burstyn finishes off the cast as Margaret Barrish, Elaine’s mother and a former showgirl who enjoys a highball and isn’t allowed to speak on the record about her family because she is either “too drunk or too honest or, God forbid, both.” While the show centers on the various issues surrounding Elaine’s family, it also features her day-to-day crises as the Secretary of State, which include saving the lives of three journalists while agreeing to a week-long interview to cover up a damaging story involving one of her sons. “Political Animals” is an excellent representation of an ensemble family drama with great writing of strong, female characters. The pilot, which was watched by nearly three million people, was put together so nicely that it effortlessly passes from scene to scene.

Not only is the writing smart, but the actors playing the parts are exquisite as well, with monologues that are delivered with such compassion it could bring viewers to tears. During a candid interview with Susan, Weaver’s Elaine exclaims that “most of life is hell” and “the best moments of life, when everything comes together, are few and fleeting, but you’ll never get to the next great moment if you don’t keep going. So that’s what I do; I keep going.” There has been some news that this six episode run could be picked up to series much like what happened with Debra Messing’s “The Starter Wife” in 2008, but given the small audience that have caught the first two episodes, the possibility of that happening seems less likely. After looking passed the obvious comparisons to the life of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, this show doesn’t seem like it’s trying to get America ready for a female President, much like ABC’s “Commander in Chief” in 2005, because, truthfully, we are already there.

If I Ever Leave This World Alive

Science fiction thriller “Prometheus” brought audiences back to the terrifying world of aliens and gave actress Charlize Theron her second consecutive blockbuster this summer after scoring with “Snow White and the Huntsman” the week prior. Previously helmed as a prequel to the “Alien” series, film creator Ridley Scott chose to portray this as a standalone film with some elements of the original 1979 “Alien” starring Sigourney Weaver. “Lost” writer Damon Lindelof was brought on to rewrite the script after it took several years for this story set nearly eighty years into the future to get off the ground. After a two year voyage in space, a ship named Prometheus arrives on a planet that is thought to be inhabited with aliens responsible for the birth of humans according to cave paintings found in various parts of the globe.

A team was developed with the help of a mysterious, ailing funder to find out if these aliens are alive and how exactly we are linked to them, but after the ship makes its landing it quickly becomes clear that these aliens are hostile toward humans. Noomi Rapace stars as Elizabeth Shaw, an archaeologist with strong beliefs in God and is desperate to find out if these aliens are truly the “engineers” she believes them to be. It was somewhat of a surprise to see “The O.C.” star Logan Marshall-Green cast in such a high profile role as Rapace’s love interest and partner. Theron plays Meredith Vickers, one of the funder’s employees sent to keep an eye on the crew and control the situation, but has her own agenda. The film tackles such issues as Faith and Science just as Lindelof’s ABC show did for six seasons. It was very interesting how Scott chose to develop the aliens in this film as they technically did not have to be replicas from his past films.

Theron was not the only familiar face on board the ship, as “X-Men: Origins” actor Michael Fassbender plays David, an android who acts as the ship’s butler and liaison to the project’s billionaire funder, ensuring that his dying wishes are granted. Fassbender gave perhaps the best performance of the film from his devious actions as a robot obeying his master to his immeasurable amount of knowledge; at one point he toyingly whispers “there is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.” This movie certainly echoed the original, but lacked character development and actual horror with the exception of a few scenes; whereas the original “Alien” had a cast of five, this one has nearly twenty. Just as in the footsteps of Theron’s previous hit, “Prometheus” made over $50 million in its first weekend after premiering on June 8^th 2012. A sequel seems imminent as the door is left wide open at the end of the film with so many unanswered questions and possibilities to go from here.

The Drama Summer

Top Five Summer Television Shows

5) “Dallas:” The reboot of the 1978 CBS series “Dallas,” which ran for thirteen seasons will finally make its premiere after seeing the preview over a year ago. The new show will focus on the now adult sons of J.R. and Bobby who will also be featured in the drama. The show centers on a rich Texan family who made their money in the oil and farming business, but the new series sees some family members venturing off into alternative energy, which “naturally” causes conflict. Several original cast members return to the show, which premieres June 13, 2012, including Lucy Eqing and Ray Krbbs with new faces added to the cast including “Desperate Housewives” narrator Brenda Armstrong and “Fast and Furious” star Jordana Brewster.

4) “True Blood:” After a wicked fourth season of “True Blood,” the HBO series returns June 10, 2012 and it doesn’t seem to have a new supernatural entity to center on like the show has done in past seasons, but instead has chosen to focus on the return of villain Russell Edgington. There has been some buzz about a fairy storyline reboot after it was awkwardly portrayed in the first ten minutes of season four, but the real question is will Tara survive the blow to the head from last season’s finale? The vampire craze began in 2008 when Bill Compton walked into Merlotte’s where he met waitress Sookie Stackhouse and the rest is love novel history. Christopher Meloni and Scott Foley join the cast in its fifth season, which is sure to entertain all summer long.

3) “Awkward.:” The lone comedy that made the list is MTV’s “Awkward.,” which stole our hearts last summer and returns for a second season on June 28, 2012. The series centers on high school outcast Jenna Hamilton who blogs about her life as a teenager and how she went from invisible to having a secret relationship with Matty McKibben, the coolest guy at her school. “Awkward.” delivers an awesome ensemble cast to choose favorites from including Guidance Counselor Valerie whose interesting advice often borderlines unprofessional. This show works because it’s quirky, relatable and not about bronzered degenerates getting wasted in New Jersey. Plus, Jenna was caught in a love triangle in the season finale between Matty and his best friend Jake.

2) “Damages:” Although many viewers lost interest in the legal drama after its amazing first season, the trailer for the upcoming fifth and final season of “Damages” may get people back on board. With each year focusing on the death of a character by slowly showing viewers how this happened with the beginning and ending of each episode, it is revealed that the show’s main star, Rose Byrne, will meet her demise in the series’ last act. How this happened might be unknown as for now but something tells me Glen Close’s conniving Patty Hewes might have had something to do with it. Ryan Phillippe and “Dharma and Greg” star Jenna Ellfman have also been added to the cast for its final run which begins on July 11, 2012.

1) “Political Animals”/”The Newsroom:” From the creators of “Dirty Sexy Money” comes the USA miniseries “Political Animals,” which stars Sigourney Weaver as the divorced Secretary of State and former first lady; that sounds familiar. Although there has yet to be a trailer for the drama that premieres July 15, 2012, the plot sounds interesting enough to catch our eyes. There has also been a lot of buzz surrounding the new Aaron Sorkin drama titled “The Newsroom” for the past year and after an underwhelming first look at the series, the show seems to have found its footing in the trailer’s second go around. Airing after “True Blood” on HBO on June 24, 2012, this drama sees Jeff Daniels playing a news anchor who, with his staff, set out to put on a news show in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal entanglements.