Tag: "tnt"

Raising The Bar No Child’s Left Behind On TNT

I remember when I was about fifteen and dating my Mom would tease me, telling me she was going to show boys I brought home my baby pictures. Sounds innocent, right? It was. The pictures were of me as a baby, naked on my belly on a little rug. I always begged her not to show them to the boys because I didn’t want to be embarrassed by a boy seeing my behind. In reality the picture was no big deal. I recall many of my friends telling me their parents had similar pictures. It was the thing back then. Anyway. I’ve seen the picture, there’s nothing sexual about it. In fact, my Mom asked me a month or so ago if she could put it on her blog. I told her yes and it’s still there. I didn’t give the picture another thought until I previewed this week’s episode of Raising The Bar.

Raising The Bar’s “No Child’s Left Behind” will air tonight, Monday June 29 at 10 pm est. In this episode a father is arrested when a photo he took of his young son in the bathtub winds up on a child pornography site. Jerry finds himself representing a client who does not feel sorry and won’t accept a plea because he feels nothing wrong. I won’t tell you the outcome of the case, it’s better if you watch the whole thing yourself.

As a parent and a blogger I felt this episode of Raising The Bar hit very close to home. It definitely provided food for thought. It also provided for some open conversation between RB, our 13 year old TJ and myself. We all felt that the father (the defendant) was not guilty. RB and I agreed that if we had taken a photo of our child in a similar situation we would not publicize it. TJ felt that a nude photo is inappropriate until the subject is old enough to answer for themselves if they want it taken. We all felt that the system should definitely go after the people who purposely posted the picture on the porn site, not the father even though he took the picture. The father only took the picture because he saw it as a way to capture his son’s joy. If we start censoring our photos aren’t we censoring our memories in a way?

Take a peek at tonight’s episode and decide for yourself.

Please tune in tonight to TNT and watch this episode of Raising The Bar. It will provide you some important food for thought. I would love to hear your thoughts on sharing personal family photos on the internet. What photos do you think are inappropriate? Should parents that share photos should be considered guilty if their photos fall into the wrong hands. If you were a member of the Raising The Bar jury would you have voted innocent or guilty?

Jun 29, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

Saving Grace Season 3 Premiere

Recently I was invited to preview the season premiere of the TNT series Saving Grace. I accepted because I’d heard a couple of people I know mention it and I wanted to check it out. I’d never watched the show and knew nothing about it so for me this was more like a series premiere then a season premiere.

“TNT’s bold series SAVING GRACE is set to return for a third season Tuesday, June 16, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). Academy Award® winner Holly Hunter stars as gutsy Oklahoma City Police Det. Grace Hanadarko, a woman who holds nothing back, whether on the job or in her personal life. Hunter’s acclaimed performance has earned the actress two consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations. She is joined in the series by an ensemble cast that includes Leon Rippy (Deadwood), Kenneth Johnson (The Shield), Bailey Chase (Las Vegas), Gregory Cruz (Criminal Minds), Yaani King (The Prince & Me) and Dylan Minnette (Prison Break), with Lorraine Toussaint (Any Day Now) and Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me).”

Saving Grace stars Academy Award winner Holly Hunter as Oklahoma City Police detective Grace Hanadarko. Grace has an angel named Earl (Rippy),who is trying to save Grace (from herself) and get her to embrace God. Noone else can see Earl, and she discusses him with noone except her friend and coworker Rhetta (San Giacomo). Grace is having a relationship with newly divorced fellow officer Ham (Johnson), who has a fear or birds that his coworkers often use against him for their enjoyment.

In the season 3 premiere, We’re Already Here, Grace launches her own search for Neely, a drug addicted woman who also sees angels. Ham and Neely are both injured when a police officer is killed and a domestic terrorist plot is uncovered.

The second episode of season 3, “What Would You Do?,” finds an angel Matthew competing with Earl to get Grace to accept God. Grace weighs the decision of whether to accept Matthew’s offer of anything she wants in return for accepting God while investigating a series of home invasions, one of which includes a rape and murder.

Hubby was able to watch these with me and we both enjoyed them. We’d both really enjoy seeing the first two seasons in order to better understand the storyline. The two episodes we saw were wonderful by themselves but I feel like I’d appreciate them even more if I understood the backstory. This is one of those times that a past season box set would be most helpful.

The first season of Saving Grace on TNT, ranked as one of ad-supported cable’s top new series of 2007, averaging 4.7 million viewers. The show’s second season averaged 4 million viewers and ranked as ad-supported cable’s #1 entertainment program in its timeslot among adults 25-54, viewers and households. Saving Grace was created by Nancy Miller (Any Day Now). The third season of Saving Grace premieres tonight (Tuesday, June 16) on TNT at 10 pm ET/PT.

Here’s a look at the beginning of Season 3.

Jun 16, 2009 | 2 comments | View Post

HawthoRNe - Preview Of New TNT Series

With many of the tv shows that I regularly watch having come to an end of being on summer vacation I’ve been wondering what I’d watch. I received the opportunity to preview the series premiere for TNT’s new medical drama HawthoRNe.

The main character of the series is Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith), chief nursing officer for Richmond Trinity Hospital. Joining Pinkett Smith is Michael Vartan (Alias) as Dr. Tom Wakefield, the oncologist who treated Christina’s husband and who serves as director of medicine for the hospital. The cast also includes Suleka Mathew (Men in Trees) as Bobbie Jackson, a fellow nurse and one of Hawthorne’s best friends; David Julian Hirsh (Lovebites) as Ray Stein, a nurse struggling with being accepted in a female-dominated profession; Christina Moore (90210) as Candy Sullivan, a nurse with a unique sense of duty; and Hannah Hodson (TNT’s The Ron Clark Story) as Camille, Hawthorne’s daughter. In addition, special guest star Joanna Cassidy (Six Feet Under) portrays Amanda, Hawthorne’s mother-in-law, who also happens to be a member of the hospital board.

Despite her personal problems, including the death of her husband, Hawthorne remains passionate about her job, her staff and her patients. The show opens on the first anniversary of her husband’s death. She puts her grief aside to rush in to the hospital in the middle of the night in order to try and prevent her patient (also her husband’s best friend) David. Her determination actually gets her arrested. And that’s only the beginning of her day! Treatment provided by a member of her staff is questioned. She is fair and lets it be known that the doctor involved should also be punished. A homeless woman she has befriended brings in a very sick newborn. This situation and causing disagreement with a fellow staff member who wants to call in the authorities.

When I heard about the show I wasn’t sure I’d like it but as it turns out I enjoyed watching the pilot very much. The show didn’t have that “new show” feel to it, where you wonder what happened to who and what the thinking was behind that. I like the show doesn’t focus only on medicine and doesn’t only have scenes in the hospital. I’m hoping that the episodes that follow are as well written and well acted as the pilot. If it turns out they are then I’ll be adding this show to my Tivo Season Pass list.

HawthoRNe premieres tonight (Tuesday, June 16) on TNT at 9 pm ET/PT.

You can catch a peek here.

Jun 16, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

Sneak Peek At The Closer Season 5 Premiere

I got to preview of the Season 5 premiere of the television show The Closer! The cast includes Kyra Sedgwick as Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, Corey Reynolds as Sgt. Gabriel, Tony Denison as Lt. Flynn, G. W..Bailey as Lt. Provenza, Michal Paul Chan as Lt. Tao, Raymond Cruz as Det. Sanchez, J. K. Simmons as Asst. Police Chief Pope, Robert Gossett as Cmdr. Taylor, Phillip P. Keene as D. A. Watson and Jon Tenney as husband and FBI agent Fritz Howard. The show and it’s cast has been nominated and received numerous awards within the industry. The show has also set many ad supported cable records and ranks as the #1 series of all time.

The Season 5 premiere episode is called Products Of Discovery. I’m not going to giveaway specifics here. I’ll just tell you that in this episode a woman, her two children and her mother are murdered and it’s up to the Chief and her staff to decide if it’s the husband/father that committed the crime. The Chief discovers that the victims weren’t the intended targets and they figure out who did it and how.

What I really like about this show is that even though it’s set in Los Angeles the Chief’s approach and hands on investigative approach give it more of a small town feel. She’s down to earth and displays her feelings. I found the show interesting. It’s not overburdened with tedious details. When she figured out how the killer knew where to go you could almost see a light bulb go on over her head.

Want a sneek peek?

The Closer airs Monday nights at 9pm on TNT. Season 5 of the show premieres Monday, June 8.

Jun 07, 2009 | 4 comments | View Post

The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice

We all like different kinds of movies in my house. RB, TJ and I all rarely agree on any one genre, never mind one movie. When I was offered an opportunity to preview the new movie The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice, I accepted it because it had something to do with vampires, something my son and husband enjoy but I can usually take or leave.

TNT first introduced the world to The Librarian in 2004 with The Librarian: The Quest For The Spear. That movie was ranked as ad-supported cable’s #1 movie of 2004. The second installment The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines aired in 2006 and ranked as ad-supported cable’s #1 original movie sequel of all time and placed among the top five movie telecasts of 2006. The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice is the third and final installment in The Librarian series of movies. Noah Wyle (ER) has portrayed the main character Flynn Carsen, The Librarian, in all three movies. Flynn is called The Librarian because he works for the New York Metropolitan Library. Also returning are Bob Newhart (The Bob Newhart Show) as Judsen and Jane Curtin (3rd Rock From The Sun) as Charlene. Judsen is Flynn’s boss. Charlene is in charge of personnel and money and she’s always mad at Flynn for spending too much money. New to the cast are Stana Katic (Feast Of Love) as the beautiful Simone and Bruce Davison (Xmen, Knight Rider) as the elderly Professor Lazlo. This movie, as well as the second one, was directed by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek The Next Generation).

In the beginning of The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice, language expert Professor Lazlo is kidnapped at the University of Bucharest by a group wanting him to find the Judas Chalice. Over in the United States, our hero Flynn goes to New Orleans on vacation after battling foes, spending more money than Charlene wanted him to spend on an artifact at auction, having his girlfriend break up with him and having strange dreams. Talk about a bad week! Once in New Orleans he meets Simone and uncovers a plot to use The Judas Chalice, a cup made from the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid to betray Jesus, to bring evil Prince Dracul back to life to rule the world. Flynn and Simone will have to trust each other and work together to try and prevent the evil plot from coming to fruition. I don’t want to write any more details because there are a couple of surprises and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. It’s best you see it for yourself.

I recommend this movie highly. We loved it! It was a combination of action, adventure, comedy and even a little suspense. Did you ever notice that movies you enjoy watching are over quickly and boring ones take days? This movie was over before we knew it. There were no slow parts that should have been left on the cutting room floor. It’s family friendly and contains no inappropriate language or nudity. I can’t pick just one favorite scene because I liked so many, but one of the many that I really enjoyed was the barbershop scene. And I didn’t see the ending coming at all, what a surprise!

Our one and only disappointment with the movie was that we hadn’t seen the first two installments of this series. That small problem will be solved this coming weekend, when TNT airs the first two installments, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines pm Sunday December 7 beginning at 4pm est. Immediately following the first two movies they will premiere The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice at 8 pm est. I’ve already bought the popcorn and will be watching all three of them in a row.

If you want to learn more about The Librarian just go to the TNT Librarian site.

Thanks to Role Mommy for the opportunity to review this movie. We really enjoyed it!