Television

Thus far, our plucky village-girl-turned-princess Sofia (Ariel Winter) has been lucky: nobody close to her -- not counting the scheming Cedric (Jess Harnell) -- has discovered that she has magical powers at her disposal thanks to the Amulet of Avalor, which allows her to talk to animals and call any princess to her in a time of dire need.

That lucky streak breaks, however, when her sister, Amber (Darcy Rose Byrnes) catches Sophia talking to her animal friends, forcing Sofia to tell her about the amulet's power. Amber's jealousy drives her to scheme a way to get to use the amulet herself, to call a princess of her own, just to meet her -- she's hoping for Rapunzel. But she is unaware of the amulet's legend:

From Deadline:

Disney XD is revisiting Ducktales. The network said today that it has ordered a new animated comedy series based on the Emmy-winning series that aired from 1987-1990 as part of The Disney Afternoon daily syndicated cartoon block. The new series is slated to launch in 2017. Produced by Disney Television Animation, Ducktales will again star Disney’s iconic characters Scrooge McDuck, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Donald Duck.

The new series will follow Scrooge McDuck, his curious and mischief-making grandnephews — Huey, Dewey and Louie — and the optimistic yet temperamental Donald Duck as they embark on high-flying adventures worldwide. Other beloved characters slated to be in the new stories are: Duckworth, Gyro Gearloose, Launchpad McQuack, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica DeSpell & Poe, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys (Burger Beagle, Bouncer Beagle), Mrs. Beakley and Webbigail Vanderquack.

There have been quite a few comic series lately that have expanded on or continued TV series. Smallville, Arrow, Flash, Young Justice, Buffy, Angel, X-Files, and Charmed come to mind. Most of these series have been very good. In fact, I was never even much of a fan of Smallville, but the comic series was excellent. I actually like this trend, and hope we see it more for TV series, especially those that ended far too soon.

I've been a fan of Funko's Pop Vinyl line for a while, and Doctor Who has always been a license I hoped they would get around to releasing.  Well, good news everyone, starting in June, we will finally have some cute, beady eyed Doctor Who vinyls for your display shelves.  The line will have nine figures: Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, the TARDIS, a Dalek, a Weeping Angel, a Cyberman, and an Adipose.

I ended up already pre-ordering Tom Baker, Peter Capaldi, and David Tennant.  And I think the Dalek is particularly bad ass. 

Here are the pictures:

USA Today anounced:

John Oliver is returning to HBO for two more seasons, the cable network announced today.

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver will have 35 shows each for Season 3, due in 2016, and Season 4 in 2017.

"We are incredibly proud to have John as part of the HBO family," HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said in a statement. "His unique ability to deliver socially significant commentary week after week, along with his innate comedic brilliance, puts John in a class by himself."

Announced on Newsarama over the weekend:

Looks like someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting a promotion.

Deadline is reporting that Adrianne Palicki, who has guest starred recently on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Bobbi Morse (a.k.a. Mockingbird), has been upped to series regular. Palicki debuted in the role in the second episode of the show's second season, and will be seen next in the mid-season premiere on March 3.

In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Palicki's character of Bobbi Morse was introduced as a HYDRA operative who had secretly been working as a double-agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. Morse's ex-husband, Lance Hunter, remains a HYDRA agent.

Titan Comics sent us over the following solicit for Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #9, which will be coming out in June...

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #9 ​(in stores June 3) ​sees the Doctor rub shoulders with Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin!  A brand-new story begins, as the Doctor and Clara are forced to ally with gangsters on the Vegas strip to combat an even more terrifying foe!

Will the Doctor's morals prove as alien as the unearthly invaders – or can he triumph without compromise... in 'GANGLAND'?

Kate Connors and Kipp Lanham are Senior Account Managers at Media & Communications Strategies, Inc. (http://www.macstrategies.com/)   

Every Sunday night, viewers across the U.S. are getting schooled in early 20th century English lifestyle as they watch the ever-exciting Downtown Abbey. This PBS Masterpiece Theatre follows the lives of the Crawley family and their household staff. It has become a fan favorite across the globe. Although the lessons seem to be tailored towards polite society and upstairs/downstairs relationships, there are often lessons that PR professionals can learn from this vivacious cast of characters.

1)      "I hate to get news second-hand." - Violet Crawley.

This has been teased for a while, but BBC finally made it official: LEGO DOCTOR WHO!

Doctor Who Lego is about to become a reality - and production is starting later this year.

The successful pitch, which was sent to Lego's Ideas website, included plans for a Tardis and figures including Peter Capaldi and David Tennant.

Lego have yet to reveal exactly what will feature within the set.

The initial concept, created by Doctor Who fan Andrew Clark, included monsters and villains like the Angel and a Dalek.

The images he has shared are of models he has made, rather than pictures of what the final product will look like.

"Both Doctor Who and Lego enjoy a particularly close relationship with their fans and I can't wait to see what Lego produce," said Marcus Arthur, managing director at BBC Worldwide UK.

Along with the Doctor Who set, Lego also announced plans for a new design based on Wall-E.

DC posted up a first look at Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer in the Atom (technically A.T.O.M. in the show) costume from upcoming episodes of Arrow.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how this would look on the screen, but they really have made it work!  I really like how all the characters have looked in the Arrow/Flash universe so far, but this might be the best one yet.

I wasn't a huge fan of Brandon Routh in Superman Returns,but so far he's been great as Ray Palmer in Arrow.   He has a little more personality than he ever did in the comics.  It seems like whenever DC wanted to give personality to Ray Palmer, they made him crazy.  But this version is much more nuanced, and he's been a great addition to the Arrow cast this year.   

After I posted up all the movie trailers from the Superbowl, I got a request from one of our readers to post up the Heroes Reborn teaser too.  This is the version off NBC's website, which features a quick thing on The Blacklist before the teaser:

From People Magazine:

There's a new Disney princess in town – and for the first time, she's Latina.

On Thursday, Disney Junior announced that Princess Elena of Avalor will make her debut in 2016 on a special episode of Sofia the First, the network's hit show for preschoolers.

Princess Elena is "a confident and compassionate teenager in an enchanted fairy tale kingdom inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore," the network said in a statement. After her introduction on Sofia, 16-year-old Elena will star in her own spin-off series, Elena of Avalor, also set to debut on Disney Junior in 2016.

Dominican Republic-born Aimee Carrero of ABC Family's Young & Hungry, 26, will voice Elena, whose backstory is connected to the magical amulet Sofia wears on the show.

Valentine's Day is a day made for cuddling -- and nobody cuddles better than Doc McStuffins' friend Lambie!

However, when Doc gets a new stuffed friend from her parents for Valentine's Day, a heart named Val, Lambie feels threatened. Val's doing all the things that are normally Lambie's area of expertise -- giving out hugs, getting into photographs, and generally being the life of the party as she makes friends with all of Doc's entourage of toys. Doc has proven especially talented at fixing broken toys -- but what can she do to fix a broken heart?

Entertainment Weekly has announced:

A Time Lord is coming to the Marvel universe. The studio has cast David Tennant as the major villain in its upcoming Netflix series A.K.A. Jessica Jones. The Doctor Who and Gracepoint star will play Zebediah Killgrave (aka The Purple Man).

The official series description: “After a tragic ending to her short-lived super hero stint, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23) is rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City. An enigmatic figure from Jessica’s past, Kilgrave’s reappearance will send shockwaves through the former super hero’s world.”

The story of Jake and the Neverland Pirates spins out of the story of Peter Pan and Wendy. But what happens if everyone begins to forget that story?

That's the premise of Disney Junior's JAKE AND THE NEVERLAND PIRATES: BATTLE FOR THE BOOK, as Jake, Izzy and Cubby answer a call for help from Peter Pan that takes them someplace they've never been: London. Wendy Darling still reads to her brothers Peter and Michael about their adventures they had in Neverland with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell fighting Captain Hook. But when Hook learns of the book's existence -- and of the way he's portrayed in the story -- he decides he will steal it and have it destroyed. This prompts Wendy to sing a special song that would call Peter Pan if ever they needed his help. But with Peter otherwise occupied, Tinker Bell carries the call to Jake and his crew, who have plenty of experience retrieving treasure from that sneaky shnook.

If you're looking for someone with the longsuffering patience needed to deal with a room full of children, Gordon Ramsay probably isn't going to be on your list. But that unexpected mix is part of what makes MASTERCHEF JUNIOR such a fun watch for viewers.

Representing my home town of Saint Louis, Missouri, is Ayla, an eleven year old whose already got a signature dish in her culinary repertoire: Corn and Pumpkin Soup. "I learned from my mom's cooking school," says Ayla. "It ws the first recipe that I had to learn and master."

But there's a distinct difference between what she does best and what she likes most. "[Pumpkin and Corn Soup] is definitely the think I make the best," says Ayla. "But my favorite thing to cook is Chocolate Souffle."

Adapting the 1995 Bruce Willis film, Syfy's 12 MONKEYS sticks to the premise of a time traveler from a few decades into the future coming back to present day (and, perhaps, even years earlier) in an attempt to track down and eradicate the initial source of a plague that would wipe out nearly all of humanity in his time. However, details of the plague's origin are murky, so applying "fixes" risk breaking things even more.

Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS) is a rising star in her field -- or was, back in 2013. That was before she was carjacked by a stranger who insists he needs her help finding a man named Leland Frost. He claims he's a time traveler, and the terrified Dr. Railly believes him insane -- until the moment the police arrive and he blinks out of existence.

At one point in my life, I got to go behind the scenes of a small market network affiliate for a morning show. It was eye-opening, to say the least.

Watching the pilot episode for BREAKING GREENVILLE brought back those memories. The truTV reality series takes you inside the inner workings of two competing stations in the Mississippi delta region -- ABC affiliate WABG and CBS affiliate WXVT (you can check them out yourself at www.yourdeltanews.com) -- which manages to draw comedy out of the mundane. And, having witnessed those workings firsthand, it has a certain verisimilitude.

If you're someone who likes their numbers in a nice, linear fashion, Doctor Who will give you headaches. The show in enjoying its fifty-first year. The latest season was "Series Eight."  Peter Capaldi plays the thirteenth regeneration of The Doctor, and yet is still referred to as the Twelfth Doctor. At least there's only one Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) -- unless you count that time she entered the center of the TARDIS and had her essence spread across time and space.

It's billed as "The World's First Reality Musical." And at first blush, I immediately said, "No it's not." Not if I count GREASE: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT! (that gave us the spectacular Laura Osnes). And I'm pretty sure AMERICAN IDOL could lay some sort of claim to that title.

But after I gave BRANSON FAMOUS a watch, I get it. And, yes, it truly is the first reality musical.