Alphas Archives - TV Breakroom

Monday Madness: Favorite Hero/Villain Duo

This Monday Madness, vote for your favorite hero/villain duos! The hero of any TV show, whether comic-book-based, sitcom, or procedural drama, always faces opposition in the pursuit of his/her goals. Often, that opposition comes from the people around our hero. But sometimes, one opposing person stands out from the crowd. They may be a twisted version of our hero, or just amazing at being evil. But you can be sure that an epic battle (of wits, weapons, or fisticuffs) is about to begin!

The pairs below are some of the more popular hero/villain duos, along with several nominated by readers of this blog. Which are your favorites? Go forth and vote!

Also, this poll is not as limited as previous ones – feel free to include older shows and villains who aren’t around for very long – just be sure to nominate ones that make an impression!

The winners of last week’s poll are here.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV hero/villain duos. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will win!

I had a hard time coming up with duos for this list, and I know there are many more epic heroes and villains out there! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Stay tuned – I have something special in mind for the rest of April and May!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM April 7th.

Which is your favorite TV hero/villain duo? (Choose up to 5!)

Elena Gilbert vs. Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries) (11%, 38 Votes)
Sherlock Holmes vs. Jim Moriarty (Sherlock) (9%, 32 Votes)
The Doctor vs. the Master (Doctor Who) (8%, 29 Votes)
Emma Swan vs. Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) (7%, 25 Votes)
Steve McGarrett vs. Wo Fat (Hawaii Five-O) (6%, 20 Votes)
Nick Burkhardt vs. Adalind Schade (Grimm) (5%, 16 Votes)
Sheldon Cooper vs. Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory) (4%, 15 Votes)
Dr. Horrible vs. Captain Hammer (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) (3%, 12 Votes)
Col. Robert Hogan vs. Col. Wilhelm Klink (Hogan's Heroes) (3%, 12 Votes)
Will Schuester vs. Sue Sylvester (Glee) (3%, 11 Votes)
Temperance Brennan vs. Christopher Pelant (Bones) (3%, 11 Votes)
Richard Castle vs. 3XK (Castle) (3%, 10 Votes)
Merlin vs. Morgana (Merlin) (3%, 10 Votes)
Patrick Jane vs. Red John (The Mentalist) (3%, 10 Votes)
Agent Phil Coulson vs. the Clairvoyant (Agents of SHIELD) (3%, 10 Votes)
Luke Danes vs. Taylor Doose (Gilmore Girls) (3%, 9 Votes)
Robin Hood vs. the Sheriff of Nottingham (BBC Robin Hood) (3%, 9 Votes)
Chuck Bartowski vs. Daniel Shaw (Chuck) (3%, 9 Votes)
Buffy Summers vs. Glory (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (2%, 8 Votes)
Nikita vs. Amanda (Nikita) (2%, 7 Votes)
Harold Finch vs. Root (Person of Interest) (2%, 6 Votes)
Veronica Mars vs. Sheriff Lamb (Veronica Mars) (1%, 5 Votes)
Sydney Bristow vs. Arvin Sloane (Alias) (1%, 5 Votes)
John Bates vs. Thomas Barrow (Downton Abbey) (1%, 4 Votes)
Annie Walker vs. Henry Wilcox (Covert Affairs) (1%, 4 Votes)
Alice vs. Jafar (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) (1%, 4 Votes)
Agent G. Callen vs. Marcel Janvier (NCIS: Los Angeles) (1%, 4 Votes)
Jane Rizzoli vs. Charles Hoyt (Rizzoli & Isles) (1%, 3 Votes)
Claire vs. Sylar (Heroes) (1%, 3 Votes)
Michael Westen vs. Anson Fullerton (Burn Notice) (1%, 3 Votes)
Dr. Lee Rosen vs. Stanton Parrish (Alphas) (1%, 3 Votes)
Tessa Altman vs. Dalia Royce (Suburgatory) (1%, 2 Votes)
Dr. Gregory House vs. Michael Tritter (House) (1%, 2 Votes)
Ryan Hardy vs. Joe Carroll (The Following) (1%, 2 Votes)
Vince Farraday vs. Peter Fleming (The Cape) (0%, 1 Votes)
Jessica Pearson vs. Daniel Hardman (Suits) (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 125

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The CW Picks Up Tomorrow People, The 100, Star-Crossed, and Reign, Renews Nikita and The Carrie Diaries

The CW announced series orders for four pilots today, for a total of five new shows (including The Vampire Diaries’ spinoff The Originals) to debut in the 2013-2014 season. The Carrie Diaries was renewed, as well as Nikita, for a shortened season.

Which of these shows will I watch next season? If I have time and the trailers look good, I’ll probably try to check out the pilots for all four new shows. I still need to catch up on The Vampire Diaries to watch the planted pilot for The Originals, but I’m leaning toward not watching the spinoff. Nikita I will watch till the end, and I probably would have at least given a shot to The Carrie Diaries (especially since it includes Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman) if I had more time when it started airing.

Tomorrow People has an impressive line-up of executive producers (from Chuck, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, and Nikita) and features genre favorite Mark Pellegrino as well as Robbie Amell (Arrow’s Stephen Amell’s cousin – who will play a character named Stephen). People around the world gaining superpowers isn’t new (see Heroes, Alphas, and more), but can be excellent if done right.

Star-Crossed (formerly Oxygen) has a human girl falling in love with an alien boy after he and 8 other alien teens are integrated into a high school ten years after their people landed on Earth. I’m not familiar with many of the actors, so I’m counting on previews to tell me why this intriguing premise is must-see TV.

The 100 refers to a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to a nuclear-war-ravaged Earth to see if it’s habitable again. The cast includes a few actors I know from their reoccurring guest spots on other shows. It’s based on an upcoming book series – which I think would be a dream come true: being able to write such a great novel that it’s made into a TV show before it even releases.

Reign focuses on 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, and her closest friends, three of her ladies-in-waiting, amid the secrets of the French court. I usually don’t watch historical shows, but I may give this one a try as it stars Megan Follows (aka Anne Shirley) and Anna Popplewell (aka Queen Susan of Narnia).

Gone are the days of the CW being the teen girl channel. Nearly all of their scripted programming now has a supernatural/sci-fi/action hero bent (4 out of 5 new programs, 5 out of 7 renewed programs), and the remaining ones have distinctive settings (deep South, 80s New York, 16th century France). And out of their 12 scripted shows for next year, I am currently watching four, want to catch up with Supernatural, would have given The Carrie Diaries a try, and will probably watch all five new pilots. That leaves the lone show I care nothing about, Hart of Dixie (ironic since my last name is also Hart), of which I watched the pilot. I didn’t expect to like it, though, since medical shows I like are few and Southern accents bug me.

So next fall, the CW may go from my least-watched channel (the first show I watched was Nikita when it premiered) to the channel with the highest concentration of shows I watch. And with so many genre shows, perhaps it’s more deserving of the Syfy name than the Syfy channel itself!

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TV News: Bones Renewed, Alphas Canceled, River Song to Arrow, Don’t Trust the B and Ben and Kate Pulled from Schedule and More!

I’ve been very bad about posting updates this month (still luxuriating in the aftermath of my Doctor Who marathon), but here’s some TV news from the month of January!

Doctor Who alum Alex Kingston (River Song) will appear on multiple episodes of Arrow as Laurel Lance’s mother, Dinah. Fans of the Green Arrow comic books know she’s the original Black Canary, so it’s possible she and Oliver Queen may come to blows. Might she also share a scene with fellow Who alum John Barrowman?

Series 7 of Doctor Who resumes March 30th on both BBC1 and BBC America. I’m so glad they’re not making us wait for the episodes after they air in Great Britain!

Bones secured an early renewal for another season, and showrunner Hart Hanson has a pilot order with CBS for an additional show. Unfortunately, the premise doesn’t interest me in the least, but he did amazing with The Finder, so who knows?

Speaking of The Finder, its lead actor Geoff Stults has been reoccurring on Ben and Kate, but FOX has pulled that from the schedule. At least he showed up in the last-episode-before-likely-cancellation-burnoff, though it was in a manner that indicated he won’t return. I really hope Stults finds an awesome pilot this season, though I’m thinking he might want to avoid FOX. I know I’ve become a bit wary of any shows airing on that network. If bubble show The Mindy Project doesn’t make it, I’ll only have two returning shows to watch on FOX this fall: Bones and New Girl.

Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 has also been pulled from the schedule, effectively canceling the show, and instead viewers will get a double dose of bubble show Happy Endings. I still don’t know why ABC, FOX, and NBC all scheduled a comedy block for Tuesdays at 9, but clearly, ABC lost that battle. A pity, since I enjoy both shows, but the writing’s been on the wall for a while.

Another blow was the cancellation of Syfy’s Alphas, particularly galling since season two ended with a cliffhanger. One of the best-acted shows around, its powers-with-limitations approach worked very well. I’ll be keeping an eye out for these actors in the future (especially Ryan Cartwright, who led me to the show from Bones). Poor Summer Glau, even reoccurring on a show still brings the curse.

Broadcast networks have ordered a flurry of pilots, but since most of what we know about them is a paragraph description, it’s hard to tell which ones I’ll be checking out if they make it to series. The CW is giving The Selection another go after sending the first pilot back for retooling, and The Vampire Diaries may be getting a spinoff – The Originals (featuring Klaus, Elijah, and Haley from TVD). FOX is looking at Delirium, based on a YA trilogy about a world where love has been eradicated by a special procedure people get at age 18.

Arrow’s Huntress, Jessica De Gouw, has been cast opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in NBC’s Dracula.

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Favorite TV Couples Ultimate Showdown

Back when we did our favorite TV couples polls (with realistic and speculative divisions) last spring, I promised that in the fall, we’d have the winners from those polls face each other in an ultimate showdown. Friends, that time is now. The top 20 couples in each of the two polls have joined together with 10 newbie wild card competitors to determine which couples are truly TV’s top 10!

Since this poll will take place over Thanksgiving (for us Americans), I’ll keep the poll open through the end of the month, giving you a full 15 days to get the word out for your favorite couples. You can vote for up to 10 couples, but choose carefully, as you only get to vote once! (Oh, and be sure to enter our Friends giveaway!)

Unlike most of our polls, you can’t nominate other couples, since this is based on the results of two previous polls. Even for our ten wild card additions, I only choose couples that did not appear in the previous polls. Some were overlooked, some are newer shows or newer couples, but I chose 5 from speculative shows and 5 from shows without speculative elements: Brad and Jane from Happy Endings, Nick and Jess from New Girl, Auggie and Annie from Covert Affairs, Troy and Britta from Community, Daniel and Kate from Perception, Oliver and Laurel from Arrow, John and Rachel from Alphas, Fargo and Holly from Eureka, Nathan and Audrey from Haven, and Adama and Roslin from Battlestar Galactica.

Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, Pinterest, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Our toolbar at the bottom of the page has lots of quick links to help you share this post, or you can mouse over the image above!

Without further ado, choose your favorite 10 out of the 50 couples below! Poll will close Friday night, November 30th.

Which is your favorite TV couple? (Choose up to 10!)

Castle and Beckett (Castle) (9%, 1,283 Votes)
Tony and Ziva (NCIS) (8%, 1,160 Votes)
Elena and Damon (The Vampire Diaries) (5%, 680 Votes)
Derek and Meredith (Grey's Anatomy) (4%, 621 Votes)
Arthur and Gwen (Merlin) (4%, 555 Votes)
Scully and Mulder (The X-Files) (4%, 517 Votes)
Booth and Brennan (Bones) (3%, 474 Votes)
The Doctor and Rose (Doctor Who) (3%, 462 Votes)
McGee and Abby (NCIS) (3%, 461 Votes)
Barney and Robin (How I Met Your Mother) (3%, 398 Votes)
Chandler and Monica (Friends) (3%, 389 Votes)
Kensi and Deeks (NCIS: Los Angeles) (3%, 387 Votes)
Luke and Lorelai (Gilmore Girls) (2%, 330 Votes)
Rachel and Ross (Friends) (2%, 311 Votes)
Charming and Snow (Once Upon a Time) (2%, 304 Votes)
Marshall and Lily (How I Met Your Mother) (2%, 276 Votes)
Hodgins and Angela (Bones) (2%, 273 Votes)
Buffy and Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (2%, 265 Votes)
Nick and Jess (New Girl) (2%, 262 Votes)
Leonard and Penny (The Big Bang Theory) (2%, 244 Votes)
Peter and Olivia (Fringe) (2%, 240 Votes)
Chuck and Sarah (Chuck) (2%, 238 Votes)
Wash and Zoe (Firefly) (2%, 232 Votes)
Peter and Elizabeth (White Collar) (2%, 231 Votes)
Mal and Inara (Firefly) (2%, 227 Votes)
Leo and Piper (Charmed) (2%, 223 Votes)
Rumpelstiltskin and Belle (Once Upon a Time) (2%, 217 Votes)
Auggie and Annie (Covert Affairs) (1%, 206 Votes)
Sheldon and Amy (The Big Bang Theory) (1%, 192 Votes)
Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (1%, 188 Votes)
Shawn and Juliet (Psych) (1%, 175 Votes)
Emma and Graham (Once Upon a Time) (1%, 170 Votes)
Michael and Fiona (Burn Notice) (1%, 169 Votes)
Adama and Roslin (Battlestar Galactica) (1%, 166 Votes)
Eric and Sookie (True Blood) (1%, 166 Votes)
Eric and Nell (NCIS: Los Angeles) (1%, 164 Votes)
Elena and Stefan (The Vampire Diaries) (1%, 163 Votes)
Simon and Kaylee (Firefly) (1%, 144 Votes)
Cole and Phoebe (Charmed) (1%, 138 Votes)
Willow and Oz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (1%, 114 Votes)
John and Mary (Supernatural) (1%, 104 Votes)
Ned and Chuck (Pushing Daisies) (1%, 97 Votes)
Nathan and Audrey (Haven) (1%, 89 Votes)
Oliver and Laurel (Arrow) (1%, 85 Votes)
Ellie and Awesome (Chuck) (1%, 74 Votes)
Troy and Britta (Community) (0%, 53 Votes)
Brad and Jane (Happy Endings) (0%, 43 Votes)
Daniel and Kate (Perception) (0%, 27 Votes)
Fargo and Holly (Eureka) (0%, 26 Votes)
John and Rachel (Alphas) (0%, 18 Votes)

Total Voters: 4,413

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Arrow – Legacies

Maybe it was just the fact that the video kept stuttering as I tried to watch this episode, but “Legacies” didn’t pull me into the world of Arrow as easily as the other episodes did.

Our time on the island was pretty limited this week, and almost all of it was a hallucination/dream Oliver had of his father while trapped in the cave. I wish we could have seen more of Mr. Queen before the shipwreck, to see the father/son connection that is driving Oliver so strongly to fulfill his father’s dying wish. The one real thing we got from the flashback was Oliver figuring out that the blank book wasn’t really blank.

This week, it was Diggle who picked the bad guys to take down – the bank-robbing Royal Flush Gang, who just shot a cop during their latest heist. Oliver was a bit reluctant to deveate from his father’s list, but once he found out (with Felicity’s help – I can’t wait until she becomes a full-fledged member of Oliver’s inner circle) that his father’s decision to close a plant caused the family of four to turn to crime, he was determined to make things right. I recognized the father/leader (Currie Graham) from his guest appearances on NCIS: Los Angeles, Grimm, and Castle, but the hotheaded son (Kyle Schmid) was even more familiar, having played Henry on the North American Being Human; he also stars in Copper.

I enjoyed the steps that Oliver took to reconnect with his mother, even though they were a bit cliche – always being pulled away at the worst time, and rich folks slumming it at a burger joint. I did love Oliver and Thea’s reaction to the visit of the “perfect kid” from their growing up years – and it was cool to see Alphas’ Warren Christie again.

We finally got to see more Tommy in this episode, and two things were tackled head-on: he’s going to do his best to be worthy of Laurel, and Thea has a huge crush on him, while he only views her as a kid sister. Though I really like Tommy and Thea together, I can’t help feeling she needs someone a bit more steady to help tame her wild ways, like Diggle. I do love how all of the characters seem to come to Thea for relationship advice.

In all, I’m enjoying how the show is settling in, and I look forward to Oliver’s progression from vigilante to hero.

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Monday Madness: Favorite Characters Over 50

This week, Monday Madness returns with a look at those TV characters who buck the 18-49 demographic trend and prove that interesting characters make for great TV, no matter their age!

One important note: this poll does not include characters who have lived for many decades (or even centuries), but through supernatural means still look and act like 20somethings. So no vampires, Alphas who never age, or characters frozen in time for 28 years, unless they were 50+ beforehand. I tried to find actual ages for characters closer to the cut-off point, but when in doubt, I went by the portraying actor’s age when the show came out. And for long-running shows, some characters may have been under 50 at the beginning, but aren’t now.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite TV characters over 50. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!

Important: I know there are dozens of TV characters over 50 who are missing from this list. You can nominate characters I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (characters from live-action scripted shows only, please, and the character must be a main cast member or appear in at least 10 episodes of the show).

Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter or like TV Breakroom on Facebook, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM October 23rd.

Who is your favorite TV character over 50? (Choose up to 10!)

Bobby Singer - Supernatural (20%, 183 Votes)
Gibbs - NCIS (11%, 98 Votes)
Ducky - NCIS (10%, 95 Votes)
Henry Spencer - Psych (6%, 53 Votes)
Rumpelstiltskin - Once Upon a Time (5%, 50 Votes)
Walter Bishop - Fringe (5%, 45 Votes)
Hetty Lange - NCIS: Los Angeles (5%, 43 Votes)
Martha - Castle (5%, 43 Votes)
Shepherd Book - Firefly (4%, 41 Votes)
Madeline Westen - Burn Notice (4%, 39 Votes)
Artie - Warehouse 13 (4%, 38 Votes)
Cliff Huxtable - The Cosby Show (4%, 34 Votes)
Clair Huxtable - The Cosby Show (3%, 30 Votes)
Jay Pritchett - Modern Family (3%, 24 Votes)
Dr. Lee Rosen - Alphas (2%, 21 Votes)
Gaius - Merlin (2%, 18 Votes)
Uther Pendragaon - Merlin (2%, 18 Votes)
Earl - 2 Broke Girls (2%, 14 Votes)
Frank Reagan - Blue Bloods (2%, 14 Votes)
Pierce Hawthorne - Community (1%, 13 Votes)
Creed - The Office (1%, 8 Votes)
Violet Crawley - Downton Abbey (1%, 8 Votes)
Sheriff of Nottingham - Robin Hood (0%, 3 Votes)
Jack McCoy - Law & Order (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 290

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IMDb: Fall TV: Top Ten New Shows – a list by IMDb-Editors

IMDb presents a list of their picks for the top ten new shows – and I agree with just about the entire thing! Each show has a photo and a brief description, followed by thoughts from the site’s editors. I enjoy that they push past all of the hype and nitpicking to give an honest look at how well the pilot episodes work and where they see shows going from there, both good and bad.

#1 Last Resort

My favorite of the pilots I’ve seen so far (admittedly mostly comedy). Great suspense, great characters, awesome possibilities for future stories. I just hope it’s not handicapped by a competitive time slot. Full pilot review here.

#2 Arrow

Dark Knight, archery division. While I haven’t seen the pilot yet, IMDb puts Stephen Amell’s acting somewhere between Tom Welling’s Superman and Christian Bale’s Batman, which is good enough for me! An awesome superhero show for the fall is needed after enjoying superhero movies and Alphas all summer.

#3 The Mindy Project

This was a “see if the pilot’s any good” show for me, but since episode one had an unexpected quirky rom-com charm, I plan to stick around for several more episodes. Pairing this with New Girl is brilliant. Here’s my review of the first episode.

#4 Nashville

One of the few shows I disagree with on this list, mostly since I hate country music and don’t usually like shows that run solely on relational drama (give me murders, spies, bombs, crimes, aliens, cool powers, and other worlds for my drama fix). But if it’s your cup of tea, enjoy away!

#5 Elementary

The third in my trifecta of most-anticipated new dramas this fall (for the others, see #1 and 2 above). I have a feeling the pilot will be a bit spoiled by the promos, so I’m more looking forward to the second episode. And since Sherlock is already reimagining the traditional Holmes stories, I’m glad this show will focus on new stories. Update: my review of the pilot is here.

#6 Ben and Kate

A heartwarming little gem that I look forward to seeing more of. See my full review of the pilot here.

#7 Hunted

I don’t follow many cable shows unless they air on USA, Syfy, or TNT, so I had no idea this cool-looking spy drama from Cinemax even existed. If the pilot shows up online I may have to try it out.

#8 Go On

The pilot was great, the second episode a little less so, but I’m definitely giving this show a few more episodes to find its stride. I think the main thing is that the characters don’t feel like family yet, but that usually requires several episodes for most shows. I just hope the writers will be able to find the right balance between humor and pathos as most of the characters deal with pretty significant losses.

#9 Vegas

One of the other exceptions I’d take off this list – not that it isn’t well made, it’s just not a show I care to watch. I don’t watch many historical shows, unless they’re set in a time and place I love (looking at my list of tags, that’s pretty much medieval England, but there are others). Las Vegas doesn’t interest me at all. Neither does the 60s. I don’t really care about the conflict between a sheriff and a mob boss, and the main cast doesn’t feature any actors of whom I’m a huge fan. So even though I have no other broadcast shows to watch at 10pm on Tuesdays, I won’t be watching (at least this sounds better than Unforgettable, though).

#10 Revolution

This, along with Beauty and the Beast, was in my second tier of new dramas to try out, so my anticipation level wasn’t as high, but I was still hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t. While the pilot had some great moments, very little about it pushes me to watch the next episode. Since it conflicts with Castle, I’ll probably save it to watch online, but I have a feeling this is one of those shows that’ll get put off until I’m so far behind I stop watching. I do plan to watch at least the second episode, to see if it gets better.

For pics, plot descriptions, and IMDb editors’ thoughts on these 10 shows, visit the link below.

IMDb: Fall TV: Top Ten New Shows – a list by IMDb-Editors.

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Grimm – Bad Moon Rising

Grimm (and Nick) finally let Hank in on the secret in this episode – Wesen exist. Why Hank can see them is still a mystery, but with Monroe spending more time with Rosalee, it’s nice that Nick has someone else who understands (at least a bit) about what’s going on.

Full review here: Billie Doux: Grimm: Bad Moon Rising.

Continue reading Grimm – Bad Moon Rising

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Alphas: New Time, Lookbook, and Episode 5 Previews

This second season of Alphas has been amazing so far! (Not watching the show yet? Get caught up by entering to win the first season on DVD!) Now, Syfy is airing the show at 8PM on Mondays, as well as its normal 10PM slot, bookending the quirky Warehouse 13.

Syfy has released TWO previews for the August 20th episode, “Gaslight.” In my opinion, the second preview gives a little too much away, so you may want to skip it. (I haven’t seen the episode yet, so it might not be that bad, but in any case, it’s a very odd sort of spoiler.) Update: Not a spoiler at all, just a very delayed memorial service. I wanted to make sure it didn’t mean a character was somehow still alive and then later died in this episode.

Also, Lauren Holly (pictured above, best known for playing NCIS Director Jenny Sheppard) makes her first appearance on the show in this episode, as Senator Charlotte Burton, a government official with mysterious ties to Dr. Rosen.

One more cool thing: Syfy has created a digital lookbook, featuring 8 Alpha abilities. Click on it below for a fullscreen version, complete with video clips.

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Wibiya – A Quick Intro to TV Breakroom’s New Social Bar

If you’ve visited TV Breakroom recently via a computer, you may have noticed the new toolbar at the bottom of the page (it doesn’t appear on mobile browsers – at least for the ones I’ve tried). I added it to be helpful to all the wonderful people who stop by this site, and to my surprise, I’ve been using it quite frequently myself!

A few of the buttons on the social bar are a little cryptic, so I figured I’d give a quick rundown of all the features. Several of these options are also found on the sidebars of the site, but with long pages, they can sometimes require some scrolling to find. With this Wibiya social bar, they are always visible.

Below is a list of the features currently active on the toolbar (they may change slightly at a later date), in order. All should be visible unless your browser window is less than 1000 pixels wide.

My Bookmarks – This allows you to bookmark your favorite pages on TV Breakroom, and you’ll be able to access them from any site that has a Wibiya social bar, including any page on this site. It’s very useful if you plan to return to a page often, such as our Alphas giveaway page, so you can easily tweet about the giveaway and earn two extra entries every day. Or you can save one of our poll posts to see if your favorite show is still winning in a few days.

Random – Bored? Want to get a quick sample of what TV Breakroom is like? Click the random button to let the toolbar decide where you land next. You could come across one of this site’s founding blog posts, a casting news article for a show that’s now your favorite, or a review of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode (yes, I’m slowly reviewing every single episode from that show).

Share – This one’s pretty easy: it lets you share your current page on several social networks, as well as emailing or printing the post. (There are also links to share a post at the bottom of each one – right before the comments – but they’re a bit hard to spot. They do offer a few more options, though.) This button also powers the “click to share” option you’ll sometimes see come up when you mouse over a larger image.

Like – This lets you like whatever page of the site you are on on Facebook. It shows up under your activity on Facebook Timeline (if you’re signed in). If you want it to show up as an actual shared link on Facebook (with the image and ability to add your own comment), use the Facebook option in Share instead.

Pin It – You can pin one of the photos from your current page on Pinterest with this button. Since it pulls every image on the page as suggestions, the main image from the post ends up near the end of the list, but in most cases, that’s the one you’ll want to pin.

Tweet – This will pop up a Twitter box with (if it doesn’t prompt you to sign in first) a prefilled tweet containing the page title, link, and a #wibiya hashtag. You can edit this tweet as much as you’d like before posting, including removing the hashtag.

G +1 – This lets you +1 the site on Google+ – though its info pull doesn’t work as well as Facebook’s. Often you have to scroll to get the right picture, and the description is sometimes for a different TV Breakroom page.

Search – Perform a search right from the toolbar. The default TV Breakroom search is identical to the search box in the top right corner of the site. You can also switch to a Google search.

Select Language – This is one of the primary reasons I added a social bar to this site. TV Breakroom gets a large amount of international traffic, and while Google translate isn’t perfect, it can be very helpful for visitors who don’t speak English as a first language.

Facebook – This pops up a quick snapshot of TV Breakroom’s Facebook Page. You can like us on Facebook (please do!), see our followers and latest updates, and post a comment on our wall.

Twitter – This opens a Twitter dashboard. You can tweet about the page you’re currently on (the tweet box contains a shortened link to the page – no copy/paste required), see the latest tweets about the page, view my latest tweets, search for my username, and follow me on Twitter.

Join Chat – This opens a chat box where you can sign in with one of various networks (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and Yahoo) and chat with others who are on the site at that very moment.

Scroll Arrow – This arrow button scrolls you to the top of a page with a single click.

The far right buttons link to the Wibiya site and their privacy page, and the very last button allows you to minimize the toolbar.

I previously tried using BumpIn’s social bar on this site, but after several frustrating difficulties, I switched to Wibiya, and couldn’t be happier. I do miss a few of BumpIn’s cosmetic options, but having Facebook links and a chat box that work far outweigh not having a partly see-through social bar.

There are other buttons I could add to this social bar, but to do so I would need to remove some of the current buttons. I’m going to be keeping up with how often the current buttons are used to see if I need to make any changes in the future.

What do you think? Is this social bar something that you’ll use? Have you tried it out already? Which buttons do you think you might use regularly? Are there certain options you don’t think you’ll ever use?

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Alphas – Season 2, Episode 3 “Alpha Dogs” Preview

TV Breakroom reported several months ago that a new Alpha was joining the Alphas team this season, and Monday’s episode “Alpha Dogs” introduces her character. Here’s a brief synopsis of the episode:

On the third episode of the second season of Alphas, Erin Way joins the cast as Kat, a young loner whose Alpha ability allows her to pick up any skill at a glance and while her skills are permanent, her personal memories are short-lived. Also, a mysterious murder leads Harken (Malik Yoba) and Hicks (Warren Christie) to an underground Alphas-style fight club. Meanwhile, Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) traces the existence of Stanton Parish (guest star John Pyper-Ferguson) back to 1864, and Parish’s Alpha ability is witnessed for the first time via a flashback to the American Civil War. Alphas airs Mondays at 10PM ET/PT only on Syfy.

Take a look at this sneak peak:

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Alphas Giveaway!

For the month of August, TV Breakroom is promoting Alphas! You can already see the updated site look, but the real prize is below – a giveaway! Winner will receive one Alphas Season 1 DVD set and an Alphas t-shirt. Runner-up will receive an Alphas t-shirt. This giveaway is sponsored by Syfy!

Continue reading Alphas Giveaway!

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Alphas Season 2 Episode 2 “The Quick and the Dead” Preview

In this second episode of season 2 of Alphas (which airs Monday at 10/9c on SyFy), the team is finally back together, but what havoc will their eight months apart wreak? Back on the job, the team hunts for a killer, but the Alpha they’re after turns the tables and starts hunting them.

Check out this preview clip of the episode:

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Alphas Preview: Laura Mennell Says Season 2 Will Expose Nina’s ‘Dark Underbelly’ – TVLine

Sounds like Nina will be one of the hardest hit by the team’s eight-month hiatus. I guess Jedi-mind-tricking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Interview with Laura Mennell at the link below.

Alphas Preview: Laura Mennell Says Season 2 Will Expose Nina’s ‘Dark Underbelly’ – TVLine.

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Alphas Returns July 23rd

This Monday evening, fans of SyFy’s original shows will be treated to the return of two of their favorites: Warehouse 13 at 9/8c, and Alphas at 10/9c.

Alphas, which won TV Breakroom’s poll for favorite summer show, picks up 8 months after last year’s finale, with the team mostly disbanded. Dr. Rosen has been discredited and held by the government after revealing the existence of Alphas to the public. Check out the below season 2 trailer and episode clip, then keep reading for a list of guest stars and the season 2 poster!

As previously mentioned on this site, Erin Way will be joining the team as Kat, an Alpha who can easily pick up skills but suffers from rapid memory loss. New and returning guest stars scheduled to appear include:

Sean Astin plays Roland, an Alpha who has a bizarrely absorptive brain, which allows him to assume the memories of anyone close to him and then replay them like a tape recorder.

C. Thomas Howell portrays Eli Aquino, an intense Alpha with super-speed who is bent on revenge.

Lauren Holly guests as Senator Charlotte Burton, a government official with mysterious ties to a member of the Alphas team.

Summer Glau reprises her season one role as Skylar Adams, an Alpha who possesses a 200+ IQ and is an electronics mastermind.

Steve Byers plays John Bennett, a new member of the tactical team from the U.S. Department of Defense assigned to the Alphas team.

Kandyse McClure guests as Agnes, an attractive but distant Alpha with the ability to see into people’s minds merely by touching them.

John Pyper-Ferguson reprises his recurring role of Stanton Parish, the “Perfect Alpha.”

Kathleen Munroe returns as Dr. Rosen’s daughter, Dani, an empath Alpha who can transfer emotions from herself to others and is secretly a follower of Stanton Parish.

Mahershala Ali reprises his role as Nathan Clay the head of a tactical unit within the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with dealing with rogue Alphas.

Noah Reid portrays Adam Gordon a young man grief-stricken by the death of his young sister, Maggie. However, he becomes convinced she is alive and in need of his help.

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