The James Morgan Show 3.5

With the first show out, the third season is now officially underway! We kick things off today with the return of Jeff Stockton's Round-Up! Then, some news in the In Development section. Then, we conclude the episode with a special LRTV edition of On Location!

This season is a whole different beast for Last Resort Television. Nez Perce ended its magnificent run last season, and with the season split into two halves some of the prestigious returning shows have likewise been split up. To make the first Power Rankings prior to the start of the season a little different than the regular weeks, I have decided to list one thing that excites me about the upcoming season for a show, and a question or two I have about it. Without further adieu, here are the pre-season Power Rankings....


1. ROLLING STONE
Writer: D.R. Cobb / Executive Producer: Oliver Stone
What excites me for the season: Obviously how the story finds ways to incorporate historical pop culture figures always proves to be interesting, but the biggest thing I'm looking forward to this season is the where Brady and Celeste's relationship is heading.

Questions I have for the season: The second season of Rolling Stone ended with a lot of plotlines that could continue to develop, so I'm mostly wondering where those stories will go, but also which ones Cobb chooses to focus the third season of his series on.

2. L.A. NOIRE
Writer: John Malone / Executive Producer: Gavin O'Connor
What excites me for the season: LA NOIRE is just a reliable series anchored by a solid lead performance and a colorful supporting and guest cast.

Questions I have for the season: Throughout the first season, we got bits and pieces of side stories that appear to be slowly converging. Will they finally converge during this second season?

3. SHOWTIME
Writers: Mo Buck & Chad Taylor / Executive Producer: Steven Soderbergh
What excites me for the season: Buck and Taylor have created a world populated with colorful characters and they appear to have fun writing it, which translates to the audience.

Questions I have for the season: Who is going to pick up the slack/screentime from the departure of Joe Manganiello from the series' main cast?

4. MIAMI VICE
Writer: Roy Horne / Executive Producer: Peter Berg
What excites me for the season: The lead trio of Holloway, Diggs and Garcia have been great from the start of the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of them.

Questions I have for the season: Season 2 ended on such a dramatic note, I'm wondering where the series takes Crockett from there. Will Crockett even be able to function as a police officer anymore?

5. CALL MY AGENT
Writer: Dominic Wilkins / Executive Producer: Jason Reitman
What excites me for the season: After a rocky start last season, it seemed to find its groove again by the end of the season. I'm hoping it will continue that momentum and stick with the Hollywood humor, since that's clearly when the series is at its best.

Questions I have for the season: Which version of the show are we going to get this season? Will it be the more comedic version, less serious version we got in the first season, or will it be the dryer, less amusing version we got for most of the second season?

6. SHE-HULK
Writer: Chad Taylor / Executive Producer: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
What excites me for the season: The first season had some fun takes on some classic Marvel characters, so I am excited to see what characters Chad Taylor brings into the series this season.

Questions I have for the season: How will the studio's new Marvel Universe affect the show, and how will the show affect the Marvel Universe? Will they co-exist as part of the same world, or will they be separate?

7. HITMAN
Writer: Dwight Gallo / Executive Producer: Francis Lawrence
What excites me for the season: The big piece of excitement for me will be Chevy Chase joining the series in a recurring role. Plus it's always fun to see how Agent Smith accidentally ends up crossing paths with Agent 47 each season.

Questions I have for the season: Will this season meander through the middle stretch of the season, or will Gallo and Lawrence figure out a way to keep the same energy level all season?

8. THE SURVIVORS
Writer: Mo Buck / Executive Producer: Tomas Alfredson
What excites me for the season: The series was finally hitting its stride toward the end of the season, so I'm excited to see if it keeps up the momentum.

Questions I have for the season: That would also be my question - will the show continue the momentum it built up toward the end of the season, or will it return to the inconsistency of the middle of its first season?

9. CRIME OF THE CENTURY
Writer: Lon Charles / Executive Producer: Bennett Miller
What excites me for the season: The series seems right up Charles' alley, and the story of Leopold and Loeb isn't one that has been told many times, so it will be interesting to see Charles and Miller's interpretation of that crime.

Questions I have for the season: Will the show manage to pull off the difficult balancing act of making you care about characters who do reprehensible things? Charles pulled it off with the first season of Manson, but will he be able to do it again?

10. THE CONTROLLERS
Writer: Jimmy Ellis / Executive Producer: Dan Trachtenberg
What excites me for the season: Lance Reddick was one of the highlights of the film Control, so a series surrounding him could prove to be very interesting.

Questions I have for the season: With John Malone not writing the series, can Jimmy Ellis continuation of the world of Control work without Malone's writing?

10. BOREAS
Writer: Ann Morrow / Executive Producer: Mark Romanek
What excites me for the season: The cast so far is very good, with Merritt Wever and Thomasin McKenzie making for an interesting lead duo.

Questions I have for the season: Honestly, my big question concerns how Ann Morrow will bounce back from the lack of success of Human. Did she learn from that and use it to make a superior new series?

Call My Agent: Leaks from the set indicate that none other than Steve Carell will the be the first guest star of the season. Carell was reportedly happy to work with former co-star Rainn Wilson as part of the series and was a big part why he decided to accept. It remains to be seen which LRF film will get involved with the episode, as Carell had only two credits when the episode was written, Spark of Madness and Bright Neon Lights.

Crime of the Century

- Boston, Massachussetts, USA

Boreas

- Lac St-Jean, Quebec, Canada

The Controllers

- Chicago, Illinois, USA

Showtime

- Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Miami Vice

- Miami, Florida, USA

She-Hulk

- Vancouver, British Columbia, USA

Call My Agent

- Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hitman

- Staten Island, New York, USA

The Survivors

- Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Rolling Stone

- San Francisco, California, USA

L.A. Noire

- Los Angeles, Caliornia, USA

See you next week!

Crime of the Century: Leopold & Loeb 1.1 - When Nathan Met Richard

Crime of the Century: Leopold & Loeb 1.1 - When Nathan Met Richard

Genre: Crime

Director: Bennett Miller

Writer: Lon Charles

Cast: Alex Wolff, Nick Robinson, Joseph Fiennes, David Schwimmer, Blake Jenner and Virginia Gardner

Plot: 1958. A gray-haired older Nathan Leopold (Joseph Fiennes) sits before the parole board at Stateville Penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois. The board asks Leopold how he would plan to conduct himself on the outside world if granted parole. Leopold tells them that he believes he could be a useful member of society. He already knew 15 languages upon his incarceration and has used his 33 years behind bars to master 12 more. Leopold starts listing more of his credentials, like redesigning the prison library, taught classes, learned to be a medical technician, and has prayed to God for forgiveness every day for the past 20 years behind bars. The board asks Leopold to clarify if he is saying he is sorry for the murder of Bobby Franks. Leopold nods his head and says he is sorry for the actions he performed as a much younger man. The board asks him what he intends to do with himself if he is granted parole, and Leopold tells them that he has been offered a job as a medical technician in Puerto Rico at a church hospital. The board asks him to go back to the subject of his remorse, and ask exactly what he is remorseful for.

1923. While attending the University of Chicago for graduate course work, Nathan Leopold (Alex Wolff) spots a childhood acquaintance Richard Loeb (Nick Robinson) across a courtyard. Leopold follows Loeb around for the better part of the day, until Leopold loses Loeb in a crowd. Leopold gives up and sits down on a park bench. Loeb then sits down beside Leopold and asks why he was following him. Leopold tries to claim he was just bird watching around the campus and pulls out an ornithology text book. Loeb says he recognizes Leopold, who reveals that they had an undergraduate class together a few years prior. Loeb starts flipping through the ornithology text while Leopold also reveals that he grew up in the same area as Loeb, Kenwood on the South Side of Chicago. Loeb says he's as big a fan of memory lane as the next person, but he has places to be and people to see. He tosses the book back to Leopold and invites him to a party that night.

Loeb is getting ready for the party at his parents' house. Loeb's brother Allan (Blake Jenner) is home for a break from law school out east. Allan makes fun of the amount of effort Loeb is putting into picking out clothes for a party, commenting that it is something a woman or a queer would do. Their father, Albert Loeb (David Schwimmer) happens by and asks what's so funny. Allan jokes that Loeb is turning queer. Loeb gets mad at his brother and lunges at him, and Albert tells his sons to calm down. He says it would be impossible for any Loeb men to be homosexual anyway, so it's a pointless joke to make.

Prohibition seems to not have affected the upper class of Chicago, as the booze are free flowing at the party when Leopold arrives. He notices Loeb holding court with a group of people gregariously telling them the story of the axe murderer Lizzie Borden. Leopold watches from across the room as Loeb has the entire group waiting on his every word. Leopold fixes himself a drink as Loeb goes into a bit too much detail describing how Borden hacked her father and stepmother to death. The group starts to lose interest, but Leopold lets out a hearty laugh.

As the party starts to die down, a young woman, Peggy (Virginia Gardner), asks Loeb to walk her home. Loeb tells her that he already has plans after the party to go bird watching with Leopold, who is surprised by this comment since he hasn't so much as spoken to Loeb that night. Loeb gives Peggy a kiss on the cheek and tells her to get home safe and that he'll see her in class next week. Peggy puts on her coat and leaves the now sparsely populated party. Loeb looks over at Leopold and asks if he's ready to go.

Leopold and Loeb drunkenly walk down the icy Chicago streets in the middle of the night. They share a bottle of whiskey as they walk. Leopold asks Loeb if he's ever read any of Friedrich Nietzsche's work. Loeb tells Leopold to enlighten him. Leopold tells Loeb that he is particularly fascinated by one idea of Nietzsche's, the concept of "supermen". He goes on to say that a superman is someone who, on account of superior intellect and other qualities, is exempted from the ordinary laws which govern men. These supermen are not liable for anything they may do because they are above the unimportant, average populace. Loeb says he likes the sound of that and suggests they should test it out. Loeb picks up a rock and throws it through the window of a storefront, shattering it. Leopold is startled by the act and asks why Loeb did it. Loeb says he's testing out to see if Leopold is a "superman" or some unimportant, average person. Leopold suggests they get out of the area before any police arrive, but Loeb grabs Leopold by the groin and asks Leopold what he is. Leopold smiles, picks up a stone, and throws it through another storefront window. A light turns on above the store, and Loeb says now is when they should run away.

The main characters, Nick Robinson's Richard Loeb and Alex Wolff's Nathan Leopold are well cast and the supporting cast around them is also competent, albeit overshadowed by the two young leads. Alex Wolff particularly shows off his acting skills in perhaps his best performance to date.

While I have no doubt this series will be worth the watch given the pedigree of those involved, I can't help but feel like this introduction felt a little bland, but that's probably because we still aren't in the heart of the series yet.

Lon Charles and executive producer Bennett Miller are most known for their work inspired from real life events and their experience benefits this series greatly, reminiscent of other miniseries like American Crime Story and that's not a thing to be ashamed of.