It's finally here, fellow Sharknado lovers!
I hope I gave you plenty of notice last week so you could clear your calendars. If not, here's your final reminder. You have one more day to arrange to have Wednesday evening free to indulge your inner silliness.
Sharknado, last year's international phenomenon, encores at 6 p.m. Wednesday on Syfy, followed at 8 by Sharknado 2: The Second One. Make it an event.
You don't have to go as far as one fraternity I heard about that plans to turn the movies into a drinking game and down a shot every time someone gets eaten. You'd be plastered before the first commercial. Just relax, let the absurdity flow over you and enjoy.
The Sharknado films are so bad , cheesy and over the top, they're good. These companion offerings are the best Syfy B-movies yet. And that's saying a lot with competition from the likes of Chupacabra vs. the Alamo, Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Mansquito, Arachnoquake, Sharktopus and its sequel, Piranhaconda.
The Sharknado movies do happen to have plots, but here's all you need to know.
In the original, a freak monstrous storm devastates Los Angeles, sucks up sharks and leaves the streets flooded and infested with the man-eaters.
Ian Ziering (Beverly Hills, 90210) and Tara Reid (Josie and the Pussycats) save the day.
In Sharknado 2, the action moves to New York where a similar storm rains sharks on the Big Apple. Ziering and Reid reprise their roles.
The major difference is that since the first movie was such a pop culture sensation, Sharknado 2 drew a ton of guest stars. They include Mark McGrath, Kari Wuhrer, Vivica A. Fox, Judah Friedlander, Kelly Osbourne, Judd Hirsch, Perez Hilton, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Andy Dick, Robert Klein, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, Biz Markie, Downtown Julie Brown, Richard Kind, Kurt Angle and Billy Ray Cyrus as the doctor.
Yes, a doctor. It's not a stretch -- Billy Ray showed us his acting chops in Doc (2001-2004) and Hannah Montana (2005-2011).
Don't laugh. That's steadier work than Ziering and Reid have gotten in recent years.
FROM THE PRESS TOUR
• Fargo. For those who asked, yes there will be a Season 2 for Fargo, but the earliest it can air will be fall 2015.
Executive Producer Noah Hawley told the annual Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills last week that the cast and crime are changing, but some of the characters will be the same, only younger.
The series will be set in 1979 in North Dakota with a younger version of the Lou Solverson character (played by Keith Carradine in Season 1).
His daughter, Molly, who Allison Tolman portrayed, is just 4 years old. Tolman, who began the series as an unknown, earned a best supporting actress Emmy nomination for her outstanding effort as officer Molly Solverson.
Fargo earned 18 Emmy nominations and we'll find out how it goes at the awards at 7 p.m. Aug. 25 on NBC.
Local connection: Tolman is a Texas native, but her grandmother, Natalie Tolman, lives in Hot Springs.
• Downton Abbey. At another TCA panel, PBS revealed Downton Abbey will be back for Season 5 on Jan. 4. That's three months after it airs in Britain, so avoid those spoilers.
Any dish? Juicy tidbits?
Michelle Dockery and Allen Leech, who play in-laws Lady Mary Crawley and Tom Branson, were emphatic in saying there will be no romance between their characters. Lady Mary and Tom are widowed and have become closer in their grief.
"They're after the same thing for Downton. Sustainability," Leech said.
Dockery added that they're also "both looking for love." (I'm on Team Tony for Mary.)
"But not with each other," Leech chimed in.
Season 4 ended on the beach. Season 5 will begin in 1924 with Britain's first-ever socialist government being elected into power.
• Sherlock. The BBC drama will, indeed, be back for Series 4, but the date is up in the air. There will be four episodes and a Christmas special of the series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
• Sons of Anarchy. The FX panel at TCA revealed that Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson will guest star in the forthcoming seventh and final season that debuts Sept. 9.
• Breaking Bad. Finally, AMC told the press tour that it plans to air reruns of every single episode of Breaking Bad.
The series will encore from 4 p.m. to midnight every Sunday from Aug. 10 through Oct. 5.
Can't get enough? AMC will throw in some extras, including interviews with cast and crew, before each episode.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 07/29/2014