The Brainerd Dispatch TV Week July 12th 2020

Today’s Entertainment

Cold war

It can be hard to imagine a completely frozen-over Earth in the middle of a sweltering July, but that is the setting of the new sci-fi series “Snowpiercer.” A new episode airs Sunday, July 12, on TNT. The last surviving humans on the inhospitable planet are on board the super-speed train Snowpiercer, when a class war begins between its passengers.

Jennifer Connelly stars in “Snowpiercer”

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Late Laughs

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

If God submitted the year 2020 to “Black Mirror,” they would have rejected the script. Come on, a plague? Racial unrest? A racist demagogue with a base coat of global warming? Pick a lane!

In New York, roughly 600 plainclothes officers have been reassigned to new roles, effective immediately. The reassigned officers were part of a special unit in the NYPD known as the anti-crime unit … aren’t all police officers the anti-crime unit? If there’s a pro-crime unit, they really ought to reassign those guys, too.

Telling people they can’t have something just makes them want it more! That’s why the Disney Vault exists! I don’t give a damn about it, but now I’m hell-bent on owning “The Aristocats” on Blu-ray!

Costco has announced their free samples will return this month. Finally it’s safe for shoppers to return to eating a tiny square of cheese off a big tray of tiny squares of cheese and room-temperature turkey sausage that has been sitting out for hours.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The court decided employers can’t fire workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. They’ll have to stick to the usual reason workers get fired: not muting themselves on Zoom.

Due to the pandemic, Walmart is testing a store that only offers self-checkout. It’s to limit human interaction, and to increase interaction with buttons that thousands of people touch.

Trump might also sue his niece for the tell-all book

she’s writing — at this point, Trump’s sued more books than he’s read.

Quaker Oats is retiring it’s famed Aunt Jemima line of food products. Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins were like, “Don’t look up. Don’t look up. They can’t see us if we don’t look up. Crap, they saw us.”

Jimmy Kimmel

Live

Johnson & Johnson announced via Instagram their plan to help heal our nation’s wounds — a line of racially inclusive Band-Aids. Good for Band-Aids for finally opening things up beyond the shade they’ve been using for a hundred years, a color known internally as “Ed Sheeran’s Neck.”

Remember when Trump was pushing hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus miracle drug? Well, the FDA this week withdrew their support for it, and now the government is stuck with 66 million useless doses. So I guess we know what the Trumps will be giving trick or treaters for Halloween for the next 30 years.

Cover

Story this week

Train to nowhere

Sci-fi thriller series ‘Snowpiercer’ journeys through an artificially frozenwasteland

By Sarah Passingham TV Media

I t can be hard to imagine a completely frozen-over Earth in the middle of a sweltering July, but that is the catapult of the story behind the new sci-fi series, “Snowpiercer.” A new episode airs Sunday, July 12, on TNT.

The last surviving humans on the planet all boarded the 1,001-car-long, super-speed train, Snowpiercer, before the Earth became inhospitably cold after an illadvised attempt to cool the effects of global warming went horribly wrong. At the final boarding call for passengers, people without tickets rushed the train, violence broke out between those desperate for survival and the guards of the Snowpiercer, and a handful of those desperate souls staked their claim on the final carriage of the

As a former homicide detective, Layton investigates a series of murders that the First Class was wholly unprepared to handle. Layton is surveilled at a distance by the mysterious head of Hospitality, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly, “Labyrinth,” 1986), and more directly by Brakeman Till (Mickey Sumner, “Low Winter Sun”), a security enforcement officer who is saved from the bloody uprising by Layton.

After watching him leave them, other Tailies involved with the revolution splinter over whether they believe Layton will return to their car after his work in the upper classes, or if he will remain there, having had a taste of a better life and forgetting the bigger goal of creating equality among all classes of passengers aboard the Snowpiercer. Without much knowledge of the 1,000 cars beyond the one they call home, the

The Tailies aren’t the only characters in “Snowpiercer” secretly constructing a strategy for change. Cavill is calm and stern whether she’s dealing with the concerns of First Class passengers or explaining to Layton the intricate balance that must be maintained in order to grow a perfect strawberry onboard the Snowpiercer, obviously suggesting he read between the lines and recognize his place as a member of the lowest class of passengers. It is clear that Cavill has more up her sleeve than she is letting on while she has her Hospitality jacket on; when she returns to her quarters at the end of her day to literally and figuratively let her hair down, she is greeted by a poster of chess strategies.

If “Snowpiercer” sounds familiar to you, that may be because the series is a reboot of the 2013 film of the same name that starred

into the train’s run and references past Tailie uprisings that may be the ones we see unfold in the series.

That film was itself an adaptation of the 1982 graphic novel “Le Transperceneige,” by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film’s director and screenplay writer, Bong Joon-ho, also wrote the screenplay for the 10-episode “Snowpiercer.” Bong received three Academy Awards for his 2019 film “Parasite”: Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. That film, like “Snowpiercer,” is a sharp examination of the classist structure of society and the violence and deception it often takes to ascend beyond the class you happen to be born into. In “Parasite,” being poor is a stink that you just can’t wash off, and in “Snowpiercer,” you’ll always be sent back to where you came from

From the list, find each word and circle its letters in the puzzle to reveal a message relating to this week's theme

Gone Fishin’

ALEWIFE ALLIGATOR

“Snowpiercer”

Videoreleases

Enter the Fat Dragon

Once a shining example and the best of the Hong Kong Police Special Task Force, Fallon Zhu (Yen) drops rank and gains some pounds after his fiancée (Chow) leaves him. When an old colleague promises Zhu a transfer if he takes on a mission for him, Zhu jumps at the opportunity to be a

cop again and soon finds himself escorting a suspect to Japan. But things don’t go according to plan, and Zhu must enlist some unconventional help to take on the baddies of Japan and find out what’s really going on.

Director:KenjiTanigaki.Stars:DonnieYen,TeresaMo,JingWong, NikiChow,NaotoTakenaka,Tetsu

“Everyone was great! From receiving the estimate to dropping it off and picking it up! Very friendly and explained the entire process. Perfect, Can’t tell there was ever an accident! I will refer you guys to everyone I know..” — Satisfied Customer.....Shannon (Toyota owner)

Watanabe,HiroHayama,Louis Cheung.2020.96mins.Action.

Castle in the Ground

The opioid crisis takes center stage in a film that follows teenager Henry (Wolff) after his mother (Campbell) dies from illness. Numb from grief, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with his troubled neighbor, Ana (Poots), who introduces

him to the world of opioids. As the opioid crisis reaches the streets of their small town, Henry and Ana’s drug use begins to bring them severe affliction instead of the escape they seek.

Director:JoeyKlein.Stars:Alex Wolff,ImogenPoots,NeveCampbell,TomCullen,KeirGilchrist,KiowaGordon.2019.105mins.Drama.

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Donnie Yen stars in “Enter the Fat Dragon”

By Jessica Gosse TV Media

WHAT’S NEW ON PEACOCK

“Psych

2: Lassie Come Home”

On Wednesday, July 15, don’t miss this sequel to the 2017 film “Psych” — which was itself a film continuation of the popular crime comedy series of the same name — when it premieres on the new NBC streaming service Peacock. James Roday (“A Million Little Things”) and Dulé Hill (“Suits”) star, reprising their roles as the hilarious crime-fighting duo Shawn Spencer and Burton “Gus” Guster, who return to Santa Barbara when their former chief, Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, “Galavant”) is ambushed and left for dead. Now, to help Lassie, Shawn and Gus must investigate their chief’s personal and professional life. Unfortunately, the rest of the precinct doesn’t welcome them back with open arms, leaving Shawn and Gus with only their unusual tactics and no backup. As the case progresses, they learn there may actually be a supernatural angle this time around.

“Brave New World”

NBC brings Aldous Huxley’s classic dystopian science fiction novel to life in a new series premiering Wednesday, July 15, on the new

streaming service, Peacock. The series takes place many years in the future when a supposedly utopian society has been created by enforcing a strict hierarchy and class system as well as prohibiting monogamy, money, privacy and even family. Harry Lloyd (“The Theory of Everything,” 2014) stars as Bernard Marx, a citizen of New London. Bernard is a psychologist, and

through advanced sleep-learning, he begins to understand how peace is really maintained in New London, but his criticisms of the system lead him towards potential exile. Then, while on vacation in the Savage Lands with the beautiful Lenina Crowne (Jessica Browne Findlay, “Downton Abbey”), the two get in the middle of a violent rebellion and are saved by John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich, “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” 2018). As it turns out, John’s mother, Linda (Demi Moore, “Indecent Proposal,” 1993), is from New London, but, after getting lost during a trip with her lover (who is one of the society’s directors), she never returned, as their relationship resulted in a shameful pregnancy. Seeing them as a possible way to avoid his own exile, Bernard brings Linda and John back to New London with them, but John’s arrival quickly disrupts the harmony of their world.

“Intelligence”

David Schwimmer (“Friends”) stars as NSA special agent Jerry Bernstein in this British workplace comedy premiering Wednesday, July 15, on Peacock. When Jerry transfers from the U.S. to the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters as a liaison for cybercrimes, he clashes with others in the office, especially the unit chief. As an arrogant self-described maverick, Jerry shakes things up and causes a power struggle within the quiet office. However, not everyone has the same disdain for him that the chief does, and Jerry recruits Joe (Nick Mohammed, “The Martian,”

(“When Louis Met ... Jimmy,” 2000) tries to give viewers an inside look into the world of Los Angeles Scientology with this film, which joins the Hulu lineup on Monday, July 13. With a large number of A-list celebrities among its ranks, such as action star Tom Cruise (“Mission: Impossible”), TV star and weightloss guru Kirstie Alley (“Cheers”) and Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear,” 1991), it’s no surprise that Scientology was and is such a prominent topic of discussion. The documentary shines a light on how secretive the institution is as Theroux is denied access to their facility multiple times, and many members refuse to speak while he is filming. Although Theroux’s intention was to gain knowledge, the film comes across almost as a mockumentary, as many of his interviews are with eccentric personalities and spiral into chaos.

she realizes he hadn’t paid the mortgage on their house in months, and now she is going to lose her home. In a bold and surprising move, Cami offers to let Rachel and her daughter move in with her and Aster. Tensions rise as the four women struggle to find a connection beyond their deceased husband/father, and secrets begin to come out.

WHAT’S NEW ON DISNEY+

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” (2017)

2015), a bumbling computer analyst, to help him in a power grab.

WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX “Cursed”

Experience the legend of King Arthur from a new perspective with this new drama based on the novel by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, premiering Friday, July 17, on Netflix. Katherine Langford (“Knives Out,” 2019) stars as Nimué, who fans of the Arthurian legend will know as the enchantress who became the famed Lady of the Lake. “Cursed” puts a new spin on Nimué’s role in the legend, though, showing her as a young sorceress who must reunite the legendary sword Excalibur with a powerful sorcerer after her village is invaded. Traveling alone to find Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgard, “Vikings”), the great sorcerer she believes is destined to wield the sword and defeat the evil king who has invaded her land, she meets a charming mercenary named Arthur (Devon Turrell, “The Professor,” 2018), and the two team up. As their journey goes on, Nimué begins to wonder about the magic and prophecy of the sword, while it’s said to belong to the “one true king,” maybe it needs to be wielded by a queen.

WHAT’S NEW ON HULU

“My Scientology Movie” (2015)

Many people mock Scientology, saying it isn’t a real religion so much as a cult, given its creation in the 1950s by a science fiction author and its mysterious leader. Documentarian Louis Theroux

“The Rest of Us” (2019)

As an ex, you’re expected to hate your former partner’s new girlfriend or wife, right? That’s what society tells us, anyway. In this heartfelt drama, premiering Monday, July 13, on Hulu, the connection between first and second wife is deeply explored as an ex-wife and a mistress are brought together by tragedy. Cami’s (Heather Graham, “The Hangover,” 2009) husband, Craig, left her years ago for another woman, and she is now raising their teenage daughter, Aster (Sophie Nelisse, “The Book Thief,” 2013), on her own. Rachel (Jodi Balfour, “For All Mankind”), on the other hand, is the new wife and is living in the house that was once Cami’s while raising Tallulah (Abigail Pniowsky, “Channel Zero”), Craig’s new daughter. When Craig has a sudden heart attack, his death shocks both of the families, but Rachel’s life is turned upside down as

Despite now being on better terms with his older brother, Roderick (Charlie Wright, “Ingrid Goes West,” 2017), life doesn’t seem to be getting any easier for resident wimp Greg Heffley (Jason Drucker, “Every Witch Way”) in the fourth installment of this fun family series coming to Disney+ on Friday, July 17. Greg thinks things are starting to look up when he rescues his little brother from being stuck in a tube at a play area. But when he ends up getting a diaper stuck on his hand in the process, onlookers post pictures online and create an embarrassing meme called “Diaper Hands.” His dread grows as his parents, Susan (Alicia Silverstone, “The Baby-Sitters Club”) and Frank (Tom Everett Scott, “The Healing Powers of Dude”), then announce that they will all be going on a four-day road trip to Indianapolis to attend his grandmother’s 90th birthday. Luckily, Greg realizes that an event called Player Expo is happening nearby, and he plans to sneak off, meet his idol Mac Digby (Joshua Hoover, “Halt and Catch Fire”) and put the “Diaper Hands” meme to rest. However, Roderick catches on to his plan and insists on coming along. Hilarity ensues as their parents realize they’re gone and chase after them to try to get them to the birthday party.

James Roday and Dulé Hill star in “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home”

Nick Mohammed and David Schwimmer star in “Intelligence”

Charlie Wright, Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone and Tom Everett Scott in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul”

CHANNEL GUIDE

Lemon aid

Liz Lemon and friends tout NBC’s new season in ‘30 Rock’ special

rose, throwing a proverbial monkey wrench into shooting schedules across the industry.

Fresh “30 Rock” content is particularly exciting for the comedy’s fans who will get to see the offbeat characters once again, albeit in a very different setting. It’s unknown whether any of the characters will be seen at 30 Rockefeller Center, NBC’s New York home base and the setting of the original series, which premiered in 2006 and ran until 2013. Inspired by Fey’s real-life experience writing for the iconic late-night comedy series “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock” centered around Liz Lemon, the head writer for a sketch comedy series who struggled to balance the needs of her temperamental cast and writers with the demands of her overbearing network executive Jack “30 Rock’s” satirical look at the television industry from a true insider’s perspective made it a hit with critics, even earning praise from Huffington Post’s Chris Harnick, who ranked it among television’s best comedies along with “I Love Lucy” and “Seinfeld.” The show earned respectable ratings during its sevenseason tenure at NBC as well as numerous industry accolades, including 16 Emmys and seven Golden Globes. It holds the record for most Emmy nominations for a comedy in a single season with 17 Emmy nods for its second season. It was also honored with a prestigious Peabody Award in It’s no wonder that “30 Rock” fans remain loyal to this day. Some were probably hopeful that the new special may lead to more Liz Lemon in the future. However, there doesn’t seem to be much hope of that at this point. There were rumors of a “30 Rock” reboot back in 2018, but Fey debunked them when she appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in April of that year.

Tina Fey stars in NBC’s “30 Rock” special