The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio
The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio |
| 'The League' picked up for fourth season Posted: 13 Dec 2011 04:56 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - FX has ordered a fourth season of the fantasy football comedy ''The League,'' now earning series-high ratings in its third season, the network announced Tuesday. The show, produced by FX Productions, includes Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton and Jon Lajoie in its ensemble cast. The series is currently averaging 1.7 million total viewers and 1.5 million in the 18-49 demographic, up 25 percent and 32 percent from season two. Season three has featured guest stars including Seth Rogen, Jeff Goldblum, Sarah Silverman, Ray Liotta, Will Forte and Eliza Dushku. '''The League' continues to be one of our most successful comedy series both creatively and from a ratings standpoint,'' said Nick Grad, said FX executive vice president of original programming. The series was created by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer (''Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' ''Seinfeld'') and Jackie Marcus Schaffer (''Disturbia,'' ''EuroTrip'') who also serve as executive producers and directors. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 14 Dec 2011 04:17 AM PST A conflict between two universes, featuring a complex yet absorbing storyline, sums up the third season of Fringe. EVEN from the first season it was clear that Fringe looked like a series that knew how to keep the viewers' attention from start to finish. Its winning formula included the fantastic scientific anomalies in each episode (which fascinated and disgusted us all at the same time), the intelligent and witty writing, and the interesting main characters that drove home the story. In season three of Fringe, all these elements are still present, especially the exploration of the characters, which takes on an even fuller form. The series uses its parallel universe theory-plot to great advantage. Alternating between our universe and the parallel one – while using the same actors – Fringe has created two different sets of characters and happenings. The parallel universe is set as "Over There" while "Over Here" is our universe. Before the end of season two, we learned FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) is trapped in the parallel universe while her counterpart, dubbed Fauxlivia by fans, is the one who travelled back to our universe with Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter Bishop (John Noble). For the first few episodes in season three we follow the goings-on with Olivia, Over There, and with Fauxlivia, Over Here. Actress Torv must be commended for how she portrays both Olivia and Fauxlivia so that the audience can see they are not the same person. Later on in the season, Torv must tackle playing yet another character and she does so quite splendidly. You'd never guess who she plays. If there is a shortcoming where Torv is concerned, it is a very slight one and it's not even her fault. You see, the red wig that Torv has on when she is Over There is a little unconvincing. Elsewhere, we know that Olivia carries the weight of the world on her shoulder and always has a haunted look, whereas Fauxlivia has a cheerier disposition. Again, it pays to remember Fauxlivia is pretending to be Olivia, an act that obviously has Peter and Walter fooled, much to our frustration. Come on, Peter, you know that's not your Olivia! Phew, this sure is an extreme measure in keeping the romantic pair apart. But as we follow Fauxlivia's interaction with Peter and Walter, it gets harder and harder to hate her. Fauxlivia is quite fun and, really, not that different from Olivia. That picture, however, gets tainted in the very next episode when we see our beloved Olivia in dire straits as she fights Walternate (Walter's counterpart who happens to be on a destructive path even if that means having to sacrifice some lives.) Again, as the second season has revealed to us – Walternate's thirst for revenge is quite justified for what had been done to his family and his world. It's amazing how actor Noble has yet to be awarded with an Emmy for his brilliant performance with dual roles. There is an immediate difference in the characters. Hello, Emmy committee, why don't you see it? It is ironic, but what grounds Fringe is Walter. The only way to describe this character is that he is an eccentric, with a touch of mad genius plastered all over. It doesn't help his case that some of the bizarre occurrences that the Fringe division ends up investigating have something to do with the unethical experiments he conducted when he was younger. Yet, Walter's driven personality to solve the mysteries and his unquestionable love for his son gives the sci-fi backdrop a touch of reality. In season three, we see Peter and Olivia's relationship taking precedent over Peter's relationship with Walter. It's kind of heartbreaking to see Fauxlivia using Olivia's hard-to-admit confession that Peter belongs with her as an advantage in completing her mission. What diabolical plan Waltnerate has is still unclear especially when you take into consideration what he is doing to our Olivia. Again, it is very easy to paint both Fauxlivia and Walternate as the bad guys but Fringe has never been about taking the easy way. For God's sake, Fringe has us watch all the scenes closely just so we could catch the bald man known as The Observer who is always lurking somewhere. Whether it's debating belief and science (in one of my favourite Fringe episodes titled White Tulip in season two) or just concentrating on a love between a man and a woman (season three), the series presents storylines in a most original manner. Needless to say, as season three progresses, Peter's relationship with the woman he loves is also put under the microscope. Even as all these somewhat normal happenings are going on, we know the story is propelling towards an unknown course thanks to Walternate. All we can do is brace for impact. Like I said, Fringe definitely knows how to get our full attention. n Fringe is aired on Ntv7, every Saturday, at midnight. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 14 Dec 2011 04:23 AM PST The Murder Of Canny Ong was a poignant tribute to a young life lost. THE brutal murder of 28-year-old Canny Ong in 2003 remains embedded in the minds of many Malaysians. The tragedy shook the nation not just because of the gruesome and senseless nature of the crime committed – Ong was abducted, raped, stabbed and torched – but also because it happened in a popular and upscale neighbourhood-mall that was fitted with security cameras. Ong, an IT-analyst living in the United States with her husband Brandon Ong, was back in Malaysia to visit her ailing father. On June 13, 2003, a day before she was due to return to the US, Ong went out for dinner with some family and close friends at the Bangsar Shopping Complex in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. After their meal, she went to the basement carpark to retrieve her parking ticket from her car. She asked her mother and sister to wait for her by the autopay machine. Unfortunately, Ong never returned with the ticket. After waiting for 20 minutes, Ong's mother Pearly Visvanathan Ong and her sister decided to go to the car park to look for her. When they went down they found the car, a purple Proton Tiara, missing. Sensing something bad had happened to her daughter, Pearly ran to the mall's security office to view the CCTV tapes. The tapes confirmed their worst fears: they saw Canny being abducted by an unidentified male who drove off with her in her car, crashing past the exit barrier of the carpark. Days later, Ong's charred remains were found in a manhole along Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur. Forensic and criminal investigators found evidence that led to the arrest of a 27-year-old aircraft cabin cleaner, Ahmad Najib Aris. The news of Ong's murder was covered widely by the media and followed intently by the public. The randomness of the crime – Ahmad Najib had no apparent motive – made it all the more horrific and prompted many unsolicited and baseless conspiracy theories much to the dismay of Ong's loved ones. Ahmad Najib confessed the crime to the police but later pleaded his innocence in front of a magistrate. But, the evidence was damning and he was found guilty in 2005 and sentenced to hang. It's been eight years since Ong's murder and while the speculation about her death has ceased, many questions remain unanswered. Who was Ahmad Najib and why did he abduct Ong? Why did he torch her body? What led the police to him? What about the conspiracy theories? Why didn't the undercover policemen who found Ahmad Najib and Canny by the roadside arrest him immediately? The Murder Of Canny Ong, a documentary by directors Ahmad Yazid and Rob Nevis commissioned by AETN All Asia Networks exclusively for the Crime and Investigation Network aims to unscramble the mishmash of facts and conspiracy theories that were published by the media in presenting the facts of the case through careful examination of police documentation, interviews with the investigators on the case as well as insight from Ong's family and friends who were with her on the night of her abduction. In a press conference promoting the documentary, executive producer for AETN All Asia Networks Chris Humphrey said he hoped the documentary could give viewers a "clear and credible perspective" of the case and also serve as a remembrance for Ong. "I would love for Malaysians to know this case inside out and to stand back and look at how the story is being told from an outside point of view ... one that is credible and follows the facts of the case and the chronology of events. It is also to remember Canny Ong. This was one case that really touched the hearts of everyone," he said. The hour-long documentary, which premiered on Monday night, certainly succeeded in being a remembrance of Ong. The exclusive interviews with Noreen Natasha (Ong's close friend who was at the farewell dinner) and Pearly were poignant and reveals the pain and torture that Ong's family and friends went through. It was clearly still difficult for Pearly to talk about her daughter – she mentions at the end of the documentary that she sometimes pretends that Ong is still alive and residing in the US. Still, she manages to muster up the courage to recall the events leading to Ong's disappearance – she relates how she had an uneasy feeling as they were looking for a parking spot as the carpark was dimly lit. She recalls how, throughout the initial stage of the investigations, she had a sinking feeling, fearing that something terrible had happened to her daughter. Noreen shares the trauma of having to go to the hospital morgue to identify Ong's remains. Also, she speaks about having to break the news of Ong's disappearance to Brandon. It's a terrible thing listening to a mother talk of her deceased child. It is so easy for us to get caught up with the facts of a case or get riled up about the hunt for the perpetrator or find fault with the handling of a particular case that we forget that there are real people involved that are suffering a real loss. We forget that for the family and friends of Ong, the murder is more than a case. It's a tragedy. While the The Murder Of Canny Ong documentary chronicled the case in detail – the interviews with SAC Abu Bakar Mustaffa (who was the Selangor CID chief) and Amidon Anan (head of forensics) shed light about the details of the investigations that led to Ahmad Najib's arrest – there are still some unanswered questions at the end of the documentary. First of all, there wasn't a clear enough explanation about why undercover cop lance corporal S. Ravichandra didn't arrest Ahmad Najib immediately upon seeing the woman beside him (Ong) apparently pleading for help. The policeman got their identity cards and shot the front tyre of the car twice but why couldn't he chase them down or call for back up? It really wasn't clear what happened. Did the policeman run an immediate check on the two ICs he had seized – if he had, wouldn't he have known immediately that the woman was a victim in a kidnapping? Or does this only happen in crime dramas on TV? Also, although documentary producer Lydia Lubon explained in the aforementioned press conference that it was difficult to secure interviews with friends and family of the victim (because of the private nature of Malaysians who would rather not talk about personal issues in public), it was rather disappointing that there were no interviews with some of the other people who were involved, either directly or indirectly, in this case. Was it not possible to secure an interview with Ahmad Najib – even if he could not be on TV, to get a comment from him through his lawyer? Was it not possible to get a statement from Ong's spouse? And what about Ahmad Najib's wife? Perhaps she could have shed some light on the man who so brutally took the life of an innocent woman. There was an interview with a neighbour of Ahmad Najib, but nothing from his wife? What is her life like now that her husband is awaiting the gallows? And how come no one spoke to the management of the mall – didn't they think it suspicious that a car rammed through the barrier? Why didn't the guards check the security videos before Pearly approached them? Even if none of these people wanted to be interviewed, I think it would have made a great difference if the documentary mentioned these points. As it stands, The Murder Of Canny Ong was a good documentation of the events of the case and a poignant tribute to a young life lost but as for unanswered questions? I still have many. ■ The Murder Of Canny Ong encores on the Crime and Investigation Network (Astro Ch 732) on Dec 13 (11pm), Dec 15 (8pm), Dec 16 (10pm), Dec 17 (8pm) and Dec 18 (10pm). Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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