Syfy’s heading to space! The network is developing this drama by actor/writer Todd Stashwick (who’s guested in everything from Buffy and Angel to Burn Notice and Leverage) and artist Dennis Calero, who met on Heroes and later created an online comic.
Clandestine is described as a swash-buckling space drama/adventure and revolves around mercenaries who masquerade as part of an Intergalactic fleet.
Syfy Developing ‘Clandestine’ Space Drama – Deadline.com.
Josh Stewart, who currently can be seen in theaters playing Bain’s second-in-command in The Dark Knight Rises, has scheduled a guest appearance on season 2 of Grimm. The film also features Reggie Lee, Grimm’s lovable Sgt. Wu, as Blake’s partner on the force.
Both Reggie Lee and Josh Stewart also reoccurred on NBC’s short-lived No Ordinary Family (they shared one memorable scene). This will make FOUR actors from No Ordinary Family who have appeared on Grimm (almost thought it was five for a moment, with one Panabaker sister playing the mind-reading Daphne on NOF, and the other playing the fire-breathing Ariel on Grimm). Fan favorites Amy Gumenick (Supernatural) and Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse) have also guested on both shows.
Grimm Casts Josh Stewart in Season 2 – TVLine.
This round of the TV Olympics, we’re looking at dual roles in TV! Whether it’s distinct personae within the same being, or entirely different people, both are portrayed by the same actor for a number of episodes. Whether twins, clones, alternate dimensions, artificial memories, or hostile takeovers, these roles require excellent acting to pull off. Which are your favorites?
I know there are several great dual roles missing from this poll (seems to be a lack of space-set shows) – please let me know which ones in the comments! They should all be from live-action, scripted shows, and the dual role should be in at least several episodes. This shouldn’t be a temporary switched-body thing, where one actor plays a role typically portrayed by another actor – we’ll be doing that poll tomorrow!
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 options. Please spread the word so your favorites will win medals, and be sure to vote in all our current Olympic polls!
What's your favorite dual role? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 117
Loading ...For this round of TV Breakroom’s Olympic event, we’re going to look at all the different variations of werewolves on TV! This poll is not only about the visual effects – transformation and full wolf – but also the werewolf mythology and rules within each story world. Do werewolves change only on the full moon, on the nights surrounding it, or whenever they please? What happens if they try to suppress the change? Can a werewolf make a human into a werewolf with just a scratch, or does it have to be a bite? Do they have to be in wolf form to do so? Or are werewolves only hereditary? Will a werewolf killed in wolf form revert to a human? How can they be killed?
Side note – I’ve been pondering the above questions recently as I’m working on writing a novel that includes scientifically-created werewolves. I plan to share more about this story and its deep connection to TV shows with you in the near future!
If there are any TV werewolves that I missed (and they appear in more than one episode of the show), please feel free to nominate them in the comments. Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 options.
Which show has the best werewolf effects and rules? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 189
Loading ...For this round of TV Breakroom’s Olympic event, we’re going to look at all the different variations of vampires on TV! I know we had favorite Christmas episode originally scheduled for today, but at 30 options and still growing it no longer counts as a mini-poll (I’m saving it for December).
This poll is not only about the visual effects – fangs, black eyes, bumpy foreheads, and bloody tears – but also the vampire mythology and rules within each story world. Do vampires have a soul, and if not, can they regain them? How can you kill them – does sunlight, silver, holy water, etc. work? Do they turn into a pile of dust or a bloody mess when they die? Can they ever come back from that? Do they have to drink human blood, or can synthetic or animal blood work? Do they have to be invited in? Do they have super speed? Can they hypnotize humans?
Side note – I’ve been pondering the above questions recently as I’m working on writing a novel that includes scientifically-created vampires. How much of the vampire mythos can I find reasonable explanations for, and therefore include (yeah, invitations won’t be needed for these vampires). I plan to share more about this story and its deep connection to TV shows with you in the near future!
If there are any TV vampires that I missed (and they appear in more than one episode of the show), please feel free to nominate them in the comments. Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 options.
Which show has the best vampire effects and rules? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 132
Loading ...The holidays are coming to TV Breakroom a little early this year, as today we kick a three-poll arc celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas episodes! First up on the calendar, it’s time to vote for the spooky and funny episodes that either give you great ideas for costumes and pranks or make you afraid to sleep at night.
If there are any great Halloween episodes I left out, please nominate them in the comments! Side note – I love the vampire/Spanish symmetry of the left and right pictures above.
Poll will be open for one week, and you can vote for up to 3 episodes. Be sure to check out our other ongoing Olympic polls and the medal results on our main event page!
What's your favorite Halloween episode? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 204
Loading ...I love crossover episodes – when characters from one show guest star on another. Often, this happens when one show is spun off from another. Since the shows are already set in the same “universe,” it makes crossover episodes easier, and you get the opportunity to see characters interacting who haven’t for a while. Other times, two similar shows are on the same network when it’s decided to have them do a crossover event (which sometimes creates logical inconsistencies, like with the Warehouse 13 and Eureka crossovers – main cast from both shows had previously guest starred on the other show, as different characters!).
I will be awarding medals to both (or all three) shows in each crossover. If I’ve missed some great crossover episodes, please let me know in the comments! I purposely am not including “planted pilot” episodes (like “The Finder” episode of Bones, or the two-part “Legend” episode of NCIS that launched NCIS: Los Angeles). This poll is about two (or three) shows connecting after both shows exist.
Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 of your favorite crossover episodes. Remember to keep checking the main event page for all the current polls and results!
What's your favorite crossover episode? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 160
Loading ...I almost didn’t make this one of the mini-polls for this event, because how do I score this? Should I award negative medals for the characters that win? Award the bottom three?
In the end, I decided to award the top three, as usual. Why give an award for a negative attribute? Because most of the time, these characters are the one or two flies in the ointment of an otherwise awesome show. They seem all the more annoying because the rest of the characters are so great. Diehard fans of a show tend to be the most annoyed by these characters, as well, and to know how annoying a character is (and therefore vote for him/her), you most likely have to be already watching the show.
But I know there are tons of annoying teens who aren’t on this list yet, because there were only a few nominations in this category, and there are tons of teen-dominated shows I don’t watch. So come on, Glee fans and CW watchers – let me know which ones I missed!
Poll will be open for one week, and you can vote for up to 3 annoying teens.
Who is the most annoying teenage character? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 91
Loading ...TV Breakroom doesn’t cover animated shows, but we do cover live-action shows that have an animated or other alternate media episode. Only a few were nominated for this poll, so if you know of any others, please mention them! They should be a main part of the episode, not just a brief clip. For example, Community’s anime scene in “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism” doesn’t count, but the puppetry in Angel’s “Smile Time” was a driving force in the episode, so it’s allowed.
Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 episodes. Please spread the word, and be sure to check out all our ongoing polls in this Olympic event!
Which is your favorite animated/alternate media episode? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 75
Loading ...Yes, just about every baby and toddler you see on TV is absolutely adorable. But which ones are your favorites? You can only pick three! From Angel to Up All Night, many shows have featured cute babies and sweet preschoolers.
If you haven’t voted for your favorite married couple or for the cutest couple name, there’s still time! And be sure to keep up to date with the entire event on the TV Show Olympics main page.
Poll with be open for one week, and if I missed any kids, please nominate them! They should be part of the main show, not just flashbacks or special episodes, and live-action, scripted shows only, please.
Who is your favorite newborn to kindergarten-aged kid? (Choose up to 3!)
Total Voters: 689
Loading ...Welcome, voters! TV Breakroom is hosting an Olympic-themed competition between scripted live-action TV shows, and you decide which shows take home the medals!
Every day during this event, a new mini-poll will launch, and you’ll have one week to vote. The top three answers in each mini-poll will receive medals (gold, silver, and bronze), which will be awarded to their respective shows.
Here on the main event page, you will find:
You may want to bookmark this page and come back to it over this four-week event! Here you can also add late nominations in the comments for current and upcoming polls.
Event is Over!
Click here for our results post.
Medal Count
[table id=1 /]
Poll Medalists
Gold – Tiva (NCIS)
Silver – Densi (NCIS: Los Angeles)
Bronze – Caskett (Castle)
Gold – John and Mary Winchester (Supernatural)
Silver – Snow and Charming (Once Upon a Time)
Bronze – Angela and Hodgins (Bones)
Favorite Newborn to Five-Year-Old Character
Gold – Hope (Raising Hope)
Silver – Christine (Bones)
Bronze – Michael (Bones)
Favorite Elementary-Aged Character
Gold – Henry (Once Upon a Time)
Silver – Young Shawn (Psych)
Bronze – Young Gus (Psych)
Gold – “Once More With Feeling” (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Silver – “My Musical” (Scrubs)
Bronze – “Song Beneath the Song” (Grey’s Anatomy)
Favorite Animated/Alternate Media Episode
Gold – “Smile Time” (Angel)
Silver – “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” (Fringe)
Bronze – “Digital Estate Planning” (Community)
Tied for Gold – Connor (Angel) and Dawn (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Bronze – Harmony (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Gold – Doctor Who (Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures) – The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End
Silver – NCIS: Los Angeles (NCIS) – Random on Purpose
Bronze – The Finder (Bones) – Little Green Men
Gold – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester (Supernatural)
Silver – Code of Conduct (NCIS)
Bronze – Mummy in the Maze (Bones)
Tied for Gold – Child’s Play (NCIS) and Pangs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Bronze – Slapsgiving (How I Met Your Mother)
Best Vampire Effects and Rules
Gold – Supernatural
Silver – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Bronze – True Blood
Best Werewolf Effects and Rules
Gold – The Vampire Diaries
Silver – Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel
Bronze – Teen Wolf
Gold – Angel/Angelus (David Boreanaz) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Silver – Willow/Vampire Willow (Alyson Hannigan) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bronze – Snow White/Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) – Once Upon a Time
Favorite Switched-Body Performance
Gold – Jared Padalecki as Lucifer – Supernatural
Silver – Matt Cohen as Michael – Supernatural
Bronze – Joanne Kelly as Pete and Eddie McClintock as Myka – Warehouse 13
Gold – Dragon (Merlin)
Silver – Satchmo (White Collar)
Bronze – Marcel (Friends)
Gold – Castle and Alexis (Castle)
Silver – Eli and Ziva (NCIS)
Bronze – Max and Temperance (Bones)
Gold – Martha and Castle (Castle)
Silver – Emma and Henry (Once Upon a Time)
Bronze – Madeline and Michael (Burn Notice)
Gold – John and Dean/Sam (Supernatural)
Silver – Henry and Shawn (Psych)
Bronze – Walter and Peter (Fringe)
Gold – Ellen and Jo (Supernatural)
Silver – Jackie and Rose (Doctor Who)
Bronze – Amy and River (Doctor Who)
Favorite Hero/Villain on Different Shows
Gold – Timothy Omundson: Carlton Lassiter (hero) on Psych, Phil Constantino (villain) on Jericho
Silver – Jensen Ackles: Dean Winchester (hero) on Supernatural, Ben/X5-493 (villain) on Dark Angel
Bronze – Nathan Fillion: Malcolm Reynolds (hero) on Firefly, Caleb (villain) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Gold – “Shout” sung by Shawn and Gus (Psych)
Silver – “Thinking of You” sung by Eliot (Leverage)
Bronze – “Dead or Alive” sung by Dean and Sam (Supernatural)
“Bad Girls” is the episode where Buffy taps into Faith’s mantra of “I’m a Slayer and can do what I want,” with disastrous consequences. Since this is a Buffy-and-Faith episode, Willow and Xander only get a few scenes, and their humor is sorely missed for most of the episode.
Adding some hilarious moments is the introduction of Wesley, Buffy and Faith’s new Watcher (thanks to the Council ousting Giles at the end of “Helpless”).
Wesley: It’s very nice to meet you.
Buffy: Is he evil?
Wesley: Evil?
Buffy: The last one was evil.
Wesley: Oh, yes. Gwendolyn Post. We all heard. No. Mr. Giles has checked my credentials rather thoroughly and phoned the Council, but I’m glad to see you’re on the ball as well. A good Slayer is a cautious Slayer.
Buffy: Is he evil?
Giles: Not in the strictest sense.
Knowing what he’ll become over on Angel, it’s almost painful to see how dorky and incompetent Wesley is at this point. His scenes with Giles are the best – both polishing their glasses, their overly polite jabs at each other, Wesley cowering in a corner while he sees Giles’ swordplay.
You also get more info on what exactly the Mayor is up to, combined with more of his 1950s mindset and propensity for cleanliness. He opens his cupboard of weapons and spells to retrieve a disposable wipe. He puts his evil plans on his to do list right with his meeting with the PTA.
Mayor Wilkins: I just love the Family Circus! That P.J., he’s getting to be quite a handful.
Mayor Wilkins: Well… I haven’t seen anything like this in, uh… Well, a good long while. Where’s the owner of these fine implements?
Trick: The common term is ‘slain’. But I’ve been seeing this breed around. Are we expecting any trouble?
Mayor Wilkins: Do you like Family Circus?
Trick: I like Marmaduke.
Mayor Wilkins: Oh! Eww! He’s always on the furniture. Unsanitary.
Trick: Nobody can tell Marmaduke what to do. That’s my kinda dog.
Allan: I like to read Cathy.
The main villains of this episode are rather boring – vampires with swords and a disgusting, fat demon that is so obviously fake I remember why it took me so long to get into this show. Also, additional side note, rewatching episodes makes it really easy to tell the difference between Sarah Michelle Gellar and the person doing her stunts.
The biggest impact on future episodes (aside from the Mayor becoming invincible), is Faith killing the deputy mayor, Allan, and doing her best not to care about it. Though I wonder why the police didn’t do a better job of trying to find the two girls who escaped custody by crashing a police car. Is Sunnydale really that big that they couldn’t find Buffy, especially after her earlier brushes with the law? Perhaps the crash fuddled their memory.
This Monday Madness, we’re looking at (listening to?) awesome accents on TV! Some are real, some are pretend, but all help define the character who speaks them. Whether the accent is straight-laced British, sultry Spanish, or down-home Southern, and whether the character reinforces or subverts the accent’s stereotypes, these accents add flair and texture to their shows.
Special note: I’m choosing to feature accents that stand out in a show – aka the majority of characters in the show don’t have similar accents. Otherwise, accents from shows set in Great Britain, the southern US, India, etc. would make this poll extremely long.
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite accents. 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!
Even though there are 30-some options on this list, I know there are TV characters with great accents I left out! You can nominate ones I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (from live-action scripted shows only, please, and the accents should differ from the majority of the cast).
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 July 16th.
Which character has your favorite accent? (Choose up to 10!)
Total Voters: 244
Loading ...This Monday Madness, in honor of TNT’s new show, Perception (which premieres Monday, July 9th, at 10/9c), we’re looking at TV’s brilliant yet crazy characters. Perception centers around a schizophrenic neuroscientist (Eric McCormack) who works with FBI Agent Kate Moretti (Rachel Lee Cook) to solve complex criminal cases. Perception also stars Arjay Smith and Kelly Rowan, with special appearances by Levar Burton.
For the purposes of this poll, I’m defining “crazy” as anywhere from clinically insane to mild disorders to kind of quirky. “Brilliant” ranges anywhere from off-the-charts IQ to uniquely skilled in a certain area (though most lean toward high IQ).
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite smart, zany characters. 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!
Even though there are 20-some options on this list, I know there are brilliant-crazy characters I left out! You can nominate ones I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (from live-action scripted shows only, please, and avoid villains unless they’re a major part 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 July 9th.
Who's your favorite brilliant but crazy character? (Choose up to 10)
Total Voters: 2,717
Loading ...Here are TV’s top villains, as voted by all of you! I expanded this to the top 15 since many of the villains were from the same shows. Also, I’m posting this a day later than usual since I was away yesterday.
#15 Phil Constantino (Timothy Omundson) – Jericho
Continue reading Top 15 TV Villains
