Yellowjackets, The Big Leap and Finch

 My Top Three This Week

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers.The holidays are upon us as we move from Pumpkin Spice to Cranberry Bliss. Hallmark is already churning out Christmas and has been for awhile. But some of us are not quite ready for this. So many new seasons of favorite shows are back like You and In the Dark and Dexter. A few new ones are making their way to the small screen.

1) Yellowjackets now streaming on Showtime is already creating buzz. This disquieting thriller has got a great cast. Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher just to name a few of the amazing talents involved in this series. The story revolves around a girl's soccer team whose plane crashes in the Ontario wilderness on their way to a big game, leaving a handful of survivors. Through a series of flashbacks in the pilot episode, we see some of the survivors dealing with current day issues as adults and their trauma as young girls in the aftermath of the crash. We discover that this group of women made a pact to never discuss what happened in the wilderness and how they survived. Something very bad happened and someone is reaching out to find out the real story. This Lord of the Flies mash-up with Alive is sure to disturb your sensibilities.

2) The Big Leap a Fox original series streaming on Hulu is not to be missed. A faux behind the scenes look at a dancing competition called The Big Leap that is  on a fake Fox line-up. A group of random people (maybe not random) are invited to audition for a dance competition where a group of differently talented people will train to put on Swan Lake in the finale. Back stories and character tie-ins as well as cast rivalries and romances make this a great watch. The dancing and acting is amazing , from the dancers to the producers you will fall in deep with the story lines. The handsome  never aging Scott Foley is so great as the disarming Nick Blackburn and Simone Recasner is a breath of fresh air as Gabby. Anna Grace Barlow and Adam Kaplan is spoiled twin dancers are hilarious and heartbreaking and then we meet their stage mother played by Missi Pyle- things could not get better!!! I could go on about the talent in this series but watch for yourself!!

3) Finch starring Tom Hanks on Apple+TV is probably the best thing I have seen him in for many years.Tom is brilliant playing Finch- a robotics engineer who has survived a solar flare and is holed up with his dog Goodyear and his robotic assistant Dewey. He has thrived with this companionship for some time, staying underground and out of the 150 degree UV rays. Finch is dying and is trying to build a robot to take of his beloved pet Goodyear. The self -named Jeff is a very quick learning robot that seems more human every time he speaks.The only issue -Jeff isn't bonding with the dog and time is running out before a massive storm hits St. Louis. Finch, Jeff, Goodyear and Dewey head to San Francisco in a tricked out motorhome to see some of the world and find a more peaceful place to settle. This road trip sets the pace that leads us to the inevitable end. You will laugh and cry and fall a little bit in love with Jeff.