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Herc’s Seen Saturday’s Antepenultimate KINGS And Says It’s Well Worth A Look!!
I am – Hercules!!
NBC’s cancelled alternative-universe primetime soap “Kings” (created by a writer of both “Heroes” and the Ryan Reynolds “Green Lantern” movie) has emerged as one of the network’s best new dramas in some time.
Tonight’s third-to-last installment proves eventful, surprising, anything but standalone and (the subplot about the fat, lovesick Guildensternian guard notwithstanding) free of a lot of the silliness that has hobbled prior episodes.
A two-part series finale follows next Saturday and the Saturday after, and I confess I’m quite keen to see where all this is going. I suspect you will be too. NBC says of tonight’s installment, titled “Javelin”:
David (Chris Egan) is arrested for treason and Silas (Ian McShane) puts the trial in Jacks (Sebastian Stan) hands. Meanwhile, an unexpected medical condition pulls Michelle (Allison Miller) away from Davids trial and brings her closer to Rose (Susanna Thompson). Also stars Eamonn Walker and Dylan Baker.
8 p.m. Saturday. NBC.
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Season Eight: Volume Five!!
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Season Eight: Volume Five!!
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forget Kings...tonight is the 2 hour finale of Harper's Island!...yes I've been watching and enjoying it...it's a fun guilty pleasure type of show...can't wait to find out who the 2nd killer is
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Jul 11, 2009 1:24:46 PM CDT
Thanks for waiting until the show was canned for a talkback
by starwarsredux
Way to keep a try and help keep troubled show alive, AICN!
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I honestly don't get you. You're either trying to be a funny guy when you throw out your little credits/shout-outs or you think you're being topical, etc. I honestly don't know what your intent is when you do that sort of thing, and to be honest, I'm not that concerned. The bottom line is it makes me want to punch kittens every time I read it come from your keyboard.
Sincerely,
YackBacker (from the TRANSFORMERS talkbacks, 2007) -
Can I give some love to Ms. Thompson? Her Queen Rose is an amazing performance... Just when it looks like someone's pulled something over on her, or if maybe Queen Rose doesn't know something important -- wham! Bitchy fiancee is in an accident on her way to buy a diamond! Or she slyly releases information to the press that her son is a randy son-of-a-gun with the ladies in order to hide his homosexuality. She could have really tried to match Ian McShane in scenery-chewing, instead she lays back and almost throws away her performance. It's a beautiful thing to watch.
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Type "Kings" into the search box to find out whether or not I posted on the show prior to its cancellation.
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Maybe they would extend it to a few more seasons but this has to be one of the most expensive flops in recent TV history
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they should have put this on cable. isn't that were they make this kind of shit?
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Get a new word. Please.
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...I'm fairly convinced at this point that networks have created a vicious circle for fans. When people see ads for "Kings", some of them will simply not be interested but many of those who might be will go, "it looks too expensive and the network won't back it" which is pretty much what happens 99 out 100 times for a show. Therefore...they won't watch because "why bother?"
Networks keep greenlighting these shows and then don't show the patience to invest in developing them. People understand this at this point so they don't bother watching in the first place. Networks don't get their role in defeating a show's chances before it even airs once. -
Unfortunately it had the misfortune of being on NBC. What a shithole of a network. And yeah, thanks for waiting until now to do a talkback...
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Mark my words.
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Too bad I'll never know. I've gotten pretty good at predicting if a show will get canned after one season and Kings had my spider sense tingling like a motherfucker.
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McShane made this show worthwhile. Everything else varied from adequate to mildly interesting. Let's not overdo our praise for this material- it was innovative in small ways (it wasn't a cop show, woohoo!) but its conceits about "destiny", etc. reminded me of a very different show- JACK AND BOBBY. There was an opportunity here to be really inventive (to talk of an alternate America where we took on a monarchy post-revolution), but they stuck to David and Goliath a little too much.
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you haven't mentioned it before and see whats happened.
herc did mention kings before one or twice, i did watch, but when i heard it was cancelled and moved in the schedules, i thought it rather pointless to carry on watching a show i might really enjoy and have it end after 12 eps.
the lesson here is dont watch NBC -
not only is it an hourlong commercial for the state of Israel and the West Bank it was boring as shit. if the show actually delivered as a biblical allegory of the Old Testament it might have been interesting. But Kings isnt really not about King David at all but the modern state of Israel. The story of David is a story of Yahweh but "God" is entirely missing from the show. It's like making Troy while gutting the Gods from the storyline.. when in fact the Illiad is first and foremost about the Greek Pantheon with the Greeks and Trojans as merely their playthings. As the poster above said, the show had conceits but really didn't deliver much aside from a beautiful cast and production. and no I'm not christian (or jew) im a diehard atheist. but thematically and logically this show makes no sense.
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you never mentioned anything about it, not even once!
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Who was the asshole that decided CBS was perfect for that? And hey, for a murder mystery story why do you show the same episode 10 times a week, and fuck up the schedule on the new ones?
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...didn't cost 4m an episode by"
Actually I think it would have been nice if the network hadn't given it a total fucking shit timeslot. Why invest so much $$ in a show if you're going to doom it to a shit timeslot??? -
On the day he thought it was canceled. Now that it is back for a third season, I wonder if he will wait to see if it gets canceled to give us another one.
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Kings started out strong. The pilot was awesome, and Ian McShane is the man, but it kind of slowed down mid-season, made worse by the sheer corniness of David + Michelle and the utter failure of Allison Miller as an actress. I actually found myself praying that the plague killed her off. Now the season is winding down, and it's getting oh-so-juicy. Everyone, BUY THE DVDS! That's how Family Guy was saved from oblivion not once, but TWICE.
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We needed more of Rev. Ephram Samuels, and Macaulay Culkin sucks.
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It started off a little slow, but now I truly is must watch TV. Same thing with Virtuosity.
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I like her presence but she see never excels in any emotional sense. Susanna Thompson, as the Queen, has done so much more with her role, despite less screen time. Miller needs to do a role that really gets her out of her comfort zone. She needs to challenge herself more- because she really could be better.
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I watched the first handful of episodes then stopped. Just watched most of this one and DAMN the last four minutes so far are INSANE. ...thought not sure this series would really be that good for more than a season or 2 max.
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She has a bit of Lady Macbeth in her.I really liked the episode a few weeks ago with Saffron Burrows as the Angel of Death.
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Why wait till the last few episode?
No answer?
NBC universal didn't pay you guys to talk about KINGS?
that's probably it. -
But pretty sure you were going for "Guildensternian", Hercman.
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People, you gotta stop blaming the networks for the decisions they keep making that we all decry. I'm not saying NBC is or isn't a houseful of morons, but they make decisions based on money. Which is determined by ratings. Which is determined by we, the people. So if we as Americans do not watch crap, they WILL NOT MAKE CRAP. But we do, because we're a nation full of idiots. How this can be changed I have no idea.
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it's probably best. I hate it even more when they start filling time to make episodes. this way it gets told and it's not drawn out. extended miniseries is what it is. and probably what it always should have been.
and was I hallucinating or did the Preacher guy kill the lights with just a motion of his hands? I wish they had explored his character more. -
by the actor who plays the gay prince. He mops the floor with David whenever they share a scene -- really, really good stuff. I, too, loved the episode with Saffron Burrows as Lady Death. I've been following the show on Hulu and while it has elements of tremendous quality it occasionally stabs itself in the foot with heavyhanded plot turns ("Is there anything you want to tell me, David?" DUN DUN DUN). If the finale plays out I'm getting the DVDs.
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Jul 11, 2009 10:00:47 PM CDT
I watched Kings, but the epiisodes I saw were so full
by lockesbrokenleg
of themselves. So shitty.
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I started to watch it because it appeared an original concept and stayed because it was, just very slow one with some bright moments. But since the blackout episode has been great. No no holes or dead spots.
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Fuckin' shitty, huh? You're a liar. And your post reeks of cat piss.
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But I can see why it was canceled. It seems like the main networks want to do everything they can to cute costs for this coming season, ordering reduced show runs (Smallville, Chuck) and moving shows to locations where it will be cheaper to produce them (Fringe). This show looks really expensive to produce and when rating were weak the first two weeks NBC didn't want to take a chance. This show really has become something great. And much like Journeyman before it, canceled while other shitty shows get a pass.
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Jul 12, 2009 12:16:42 AM CDT
Herc, "Kings" never got the full AICN support, and you know it.
by starwarsredux
Not in the same way that, say, "Dollhouse" did. I'm not saying you didn't remind people that it existed occasionally. All I know is that I've seen more attention paid to the show from this site following its cancellation, rather than before. I don't mean to be dickish about this, by the way. It's just that this is the first time I've cared enough about a new show to really pray it would get renewed (well, "Jericho" too, but I only discovered it in the summer reruns). "Kings" is a great show, and it's a shame it'll only be a one-season wonder. I only wish a real support-campaign had gotten off the ground for it, but it was never put on the air long enough consistently for it to even reach "Firefly" visibility.
Eh. Could be worse. Could've turned out like "Mulholland Dr."-- which to me is just too painful to watch anymore. Its first 90 minutes work so well as a pilot, it makes me want to see the rest of the series that would've followed, rather than the typical David Lynch mindfuck it suffices with, no matter how artfully. Perhaps "Kings" was only ever meant to grace us with a handful of episodes. I just hope its creative team has better luck next time. -
Come on, don't be a douche. I thought it was shitty. You probably loved it. Yay for you.
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What if Silas realized Cross was preparing for a coup and maybe even knew Jack was involved. He has Shepard accused of treason and makes himself look bad to draw them out faster. Then he turns Jack to his side and tells Shepard he knows the truth so he could help by "falling on his sword" by pleading guilty and then have Jack reveal his is innocent. His ruse would help reveal all who are conspiring against him so he knows who to kill.
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It's all in the Book of David, dude.
It's a good book, you should read it some time. -
It didn't stand a chance.
Good taste is dead.
I hate people sometimes. -
...you think everything's shitty. Every day in every talkback you swing by to point out that you think whatever is being talked about sucks.
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em_tee_em +1
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Douche? I got a mind to think that you're into specialty acts with that fuckin' statement.And you thought it was shitty, huh? Only a fuckin' dirt worshippin' cocksucker would utter such a hoopleheaded statement. That's why your post reeks of cat piss.
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I should fuckin' know.
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Is allowing "faggot" a first for a network 8:00 pm show?I think I'll have to head to The Zone to discuss my displeasure at the Harper's Island finale.I guess too The Zone is the place to mourn the end of Eli Stone, whose final episode also aired last night.
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Are the most annoying aside I have ever seen. You know how when a show has a moppet and you really hate that moppet, but because its a kid you don't want to hurt it or anything? (wesley crusher not withstanding) That is not the case with kings. I want to see that annnnnnooyyyying fat fuck cast in a troma film so I can see his fat face shoved in a garbage dispopsal.
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I don't know why they didn't decide to advertise this show more heavily towards a Christian audience. This show had the potential to unite the loonies on the right with those who are generally interested in mythology. Tying the show more clearly to the David and Saul story would have also explained the weird alternative world premise more easily. Who knows, maybe the nutcase evangelicals would have learned a thing or two about their own religion.
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The guards were fine when they were just a strange little characters completely separate from the main storyline, but they started to wear on me when the fat one got a crush on the Silas's right hand woman.
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Seems that's not really the place to go either. No Harper's Island thread (that I could find) and no one talking about Eli Stone since February 2008. There is a Kings one but no new posts since March of this year. At least in the Coaxial section, it's not exactly the place for a lively discussion - Dead Zone is more like it!
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Come on, there's no suspense here.
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...the hero wins!Oops, now there isn't any suspense in any story.
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I just find some of what you guys find entertaining questionable. Especially this shit.
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My friends and I talked about this early on, and this is a show that will hold up better if viewed as a mini-series other than a regular series. I don't care what modern day tale they are trying to wrap underneath a flimsy biblical retelling, the actors in this have been exceptional (minus one clunker), the guest stars have been fantastic (Brian Cox as the former King was great! Saffron Burrows as Death should be reused for Neil Gaimans High Cost of Living, and even Kevin McAllister as Cross' son managed to be creepy and offputting, fitting the scripts intentions perfectly) and you can see that the show took a lot of coin to make, every scene looks great. I'll miss it when its gone, but it will have a chance to wrap everything up into a neat package while its still going strong, instead of watering everything down by two weaker extra seasons with King David in charge.
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I've never seen this show, but considering that it appears to be a somewhat popular show that was canceled by its network before the end of the first season, I can only assume that it was awesome in every way. Perhaps if it had sucked a little more, NBC would have kept it for a good 8-9 seasons.
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Then it would not have been canceled, it would have had to endue Charlie Sheen, but it would have been alive doing it.
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Jul 12, 2009 8:44:34 PM CDT
em_tee_em, there's only room enough for so many @ssholes here
by yackbacker
And I was the last one they let in. Go to the scriptgirl TB and join in there- it's a much bigger venue and the maximum occupancy allows for more sarcasm.
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This is all.
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Was I the only one who suspected an incest sub-plot brewing with Kevin McCallister and the Queen? After Culkin's welcome home dinner, the Queen was looking for her lost shoe while wearing a nightie and seeming fairly relaxed and afterglow-ish. Silas then made sexual advances on her which she rejected. Later, the Queen's shoe was found in the nephew's bag. I poked around the 'net and found at least one person who seemed to have suspected it as well...
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Are you kidding me? Was that supposed to be irony? I hope so.
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It wasn't that the series was bad, in fact I thought the premise seemed very, very good. It was that I knew it would be canceled and that there was little point to continuing on. It wasn't something that mainstream audiences would get into which is a death sentence on ABC, CBS or NBC. I'm still shocked that Lost will get to end on it's own terms. That's the last truely out there thing a network has done that's had success.
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obsession with his aunt, but didn't suspect it went that far. I figured he stole the shoe because he's got some sort of foot fetish. Makes me think that's what had led to his exile before.
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even though its not renewed. They could have done an arrested development with this and aired it all on Friday night with no pub. Not that its getting much pub now but at least they saw it through to some kind of end. The failure of shows like this give me no hope for future "concept" shows like "Flashforward" and anything else in the works by networks. I think network tv has to find a happy medium between these huge concept shows like "Lost" (which was a successful exception that succeeded) and crap reality shows that cost two cents to produce. The huge budget costly actor ensemble shows are not seeming to last (Jericho, Heroes, that one where there's a bank robbery and the victims reunite later) but they still produce them. On the other hand the previews for all formula shows coming out are all spin offs or medical crap trying to be the next Grey's anatomy (I'm looking at you Three Rivers and Derek Luke paramedic shows). Oh well, I guess I'll have to look for the twelve episode basic cable series for some kind of salvation. Oh wait, on those I can find "The Cleaner" and Royal Pains.
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True, at least they did that. NBC pissed me off no end when they stopped airing Kidnapped after 5 or 6 episodes (having moved it to Saturday a few weeks earlier), but justified it by saying the episodes were available at NBC.com. Big Deal. Episodes on NBC.com not available outside of the US.
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