TV Bits: ‘Cursed’, ‘Archer’, ‘Unfortunate Events’, ‘Westworld’, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

In this edition of TV bits:

The legend of King Arthur is getting yet another re-imagining
A trailer for Archer season 9
A new Series of Unfortunate Events clip
That amazing instrumental cover of “Heart-Shaped Box” from the Westworld trailer is now available
Alex Kurtzman will direct Star Trek: Discovery season 2 premiere
A new teaser for Fear the Walking Dead

It’s been approximately ten minutes since someone decided to adapt the legend of King Arthur, so it’s time for someone to give it another go yet again. Deadline reports that Netflix will tackle the tale of the once and future king, and they’ve brought comic book writer Frank Miller on board to help. Miller will team with writer/producer Tom Wheeler to adapt Cursed, based on Miller and Wheeler’s upcoming graphic novel of the same name. Per Deadline, “Cursed is a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, told through the eyes of Nimue, a teenage heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the powerful (and tragic) Lady of the Lake. After her mother’s death, she finds an unexpected partner in Arthur, a young mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword. Over the course of her journey, Nimue will become a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins, and their complicit King Uther.” While we just had a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, I’ll admit this idea sounds different enough that it might be interesting.

Archer started off as a spy parody, but over the years, the show has evolved to essentially reboot itself. Now, the show is rebooting again as Danger Island, which now, in season 9, centers on “semi-functioning alcoholic seaplane pilot, Sterling Archer, a lush on the lush South Pacific island of Mitimotu in 1939. While the rest of the world is concerned about the impending Second World War, Archer is only concerned with who’s buying his next drink. Along with his trusty co-pilot Pam, Sterling must navigate quicksand, cannibals, super-intelligent monkeys, poison darts, pirates, and did we mention quicksand? Welcome to the mysterious and deadly world of Archer: Danger Island.”

A Series of Unfortunate Events season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. To celebrate the arrival of the new season, why not watch this clip from the series. The clip concerns an event at VFD headquarters. VFD stands for Volunteer Fire Department, and, as the Unfortunate Events Wiki explains, “The Volunteer Fire Department (V.F.D.) is a fictional secret organization within the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The purposes of the organization are never made clear, although the name of the organization is connected to various interpretations of the word “fire.” V.F.D. members have been known to participate in various (and often unusual) academic pursuits, cryptography, disguise training, crime prevention, espionage, animal conditioning projects, and social activism. The organization’s most known tenets include both extreme secrecy and dedication to the organization itself, with membership beginning from early childhood. Its motto is ‘The world is quiet here.'” This clip features Jacques and Lemony Snicket (Nathan Fillion & Patrick Warburton), Uncle Monty (Aasif Mandvi), Aunt Josephine (Alfre Woodard), Jacquelyn (Sara Canning), Dr Orwell (Catherine O’ Hara) and of course, Neil Patrick Harris‘ Count Olaf.

The Westworld season 2 trailer dropped the other day, and it was pretty damn fantastic. Overlaying all the exciting imagery was a damn cool instrumental cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box.” The cover was arranged by series composer Ramin Djawadi, who also handles the music for Game of Thrones. If you watched that trailer and immediately thought, I need the full version of that cover (as I did), you’re in luck! The cover is online, and you can listen to it above.

Alex Kurtzman has some history with the Star Trek franchise, having written 2009’s Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Kurtzman is also the executive producer on the series Star Trek: Discovery, and is the show’s co-creator with Bryan Fuller.. Variety reports that Kurtzman will step behind the camera to helm the two-hour season 2 premiere of Discovery. Star Trek: Discovery “begins roughly a decade before Captain Kirk’s five-year mission — as portrayed in the original “Star Trek” from the 1960s — and a century before the events of “Star Trek: Enterprise.” The series follows the crew of the USS Discovery as they encounter new worlds and civilizations, delving into familiar themes and expanding upon an incident that has been talked about within the franchise’s universe, but never fully explored.”

Does anyone watch Fear the Walking Dead? I’m assuming the answer is yes, since the show continues to air, unobstructed. The Walking Dead brand is too strong for AMC to ever kill, and so here we are, with two distinct Walking Dead shows. Here we have a teaser for season 4, which adds Jenna Elfman to the cast. Fear the Walking Dead returns to AMC on April 15 at 10/9c immediately after the Season 8 Finale of The Walking Dead.

A sign of the apocalypse has begun. Reports of a rapidly changing world for unknown reasons underscore this gritty drama, a prequel to AMC’s uber-popular “Walking Dead.” The story is told through the lens of high school guidance counselor Madison Clark. The widowed mother is raising two children single-handedly and maintains a relationship with English teacher Travis Manawa, her apocalyptic partner. The challenge of blending their families is exacerbated by unforeseen chaos, and a necessary survival of the fittest takes hold.

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