The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, June 1, 2012 2 coverstory By Dee Wright TV Media W nity where no one locks their doors, and the big social event of the year is Pancake Day at the local church. The towns- people and the local Cheyenne tribe live in a peaceful but deli- cate balance. That is, until four high school boys get drunk and rape a Cheyenne girl who has fetal al- cohol syndrome. The sentences that the boys faced were mini- mal, and the tribe was insulted, putting the townspeople in fear of an attack. Two years later, one of the boys is found killed in the woods. While many assume it's a hunting trip gone wrong, the sheriff smells foul play. A&E's newest scripted series, "Long- mire," premieres Sunday, June 3. elcome to Absaroka County, Wyo. It's a small, quiet commu- Walt Longmire has been wearing the sheriff's badge in Absaroka County for almost 25 years. His rough-and-tumble way of getting answers has some citizens praising him and others fearing him. He has managed to keep a fair bal- ance in town for many years, but the boy's murder has his reputation on the line. Longmire's reign may be in- terrupted when one of his dep- uties decides that he could do a better job as sheriff and plans to run against him in the next election. On a more personal note, Longmire has been mourning the loss of his wife, and his grown daughter has been urging him to get out of his depression if he wants to stay the sheriff. The TV show is based on a series of Western-crime novels written by Craig Johnson. Johnson has published eight novels -- pretty much one a year since 2004 -- that follow Old-school authority A&E dips into Western-themed trend Katee Sackhoff stars in "Longmire" Longmire and his small-town struggles. Robert Taylor stars as the re- vered sheriff, but it's likely not the Robert Taylor most people would think about first. The first Robert Taylor that comes to mind is likely the black-and- white film star who appeared in more than 50 movies be- tween 1934 and 1968. "Longmire's" Taylor is from Australia, and most of his pre- vious roles have been Down Under. He did, however, have a minor role as Agent Jones in "The Matrix" (1999). Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Henry Standing Bear, Long- mire's ally and middleman with the Cheyenne tribe. Phil- lips is one-eighth Cherokee, so his portrayal of a Native is not much of a stretch, though he is representing a different tribe. Phillips has had an extensive career throughout the past 25 years, including "Young Guns" (1988), "Dangerous Touch" (1994) and "Supernova" (2000). Recently, he appeared in indie film "Filly Brown" (2012), which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Bailey Chase stars as Branch Connally, Longmire's new com- petition for the sheriff's badge. Chase starred in TNT's Oscar- nominated series "Saving Grace", alongside Holly Hunt- er. He also starred in two sea- sons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as Graham. Katee Sackhoff stars as Vic- toria Moretti, a deputy who helps Longmire find new meaning in his post as he tries to reinvent himself to the townsfolk. Sackhoff starred in Season 8 of "24" as a high- profile computer analyst whose criminal background is revealed throughout the sea- son. She also starred as Capt. Kara (Starbuck) Thrace in the "Battlestar Galactica" revival on Syfy. seems to be spreading. It's hardly a new concept -- "The Lone Ranger" hit the small screen in 1949 -- but lately, there's a resurgence in cow- boy-type series. AMC's "Hell on Wheels" has amassed a large viewership in its first season, and it came close to breaking records held by AMC's main hit, "The Walk- ing Dead." Filming for Season 2 of "Hell on Wheels" started last month, and it's expected to hit television in the fall. "Longmire" has been com- pared to FX's hit series "Justi- fied," which revolves around the old-school law enforce- ment in a small community. In "Justified," Timothy Olyphant stars as deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in Kentucky. Af- ter Givens executes a member of the mafia, the murder has been ruled "justified," but Giv- ens is transferred to a small- town police force to avoid fur- ther conflict. Cassidy Freeman stars as Longmire's daughter, Cady, who urges her father to move on after her mother's death. Freeman starred as Tess Mercer in the WB/CW hit series "Smallville," as well as the low-budget 2010 horror film "YellowBrickRoad." Old-school authority fig- ures have become a popular trend in television, and it other Western series -- HBO's "Deadwood" won eight Em- mys in only three seasons, but they were all for technical and production skills such as cos- tumes and makeup. Olyphant did get an Emmy nod for the last season of "Justified." Episodes of "Longmire" are based on the novels by John- son, but Johnson also serves as a writer for the series. He shares the writing credits with Hunt Baldwin and John Cove- ny, who'd previously worked together writing TNT series "The Closer" and "Trust Me." Olyphant also starred in an- Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media DVD, but I've been waiting and waiting for the rest of the series. When is it going to be released? A: It's been a long time since Season 3 of "The Nanny" was released on DVD, but given Sony's incredibly slow release schedule so far, the fourth season is barely past due. As frustrating as this is for Fran fans, it can be a source of Q: The first three seasons of "The Nanny" are out on hope, too. It's been a little more than three years since Season 3 came out, but that one came three years after Season 2. That said, the second edition came just a year after the first one. This could either mean that the new one is due any time now, or, mathematically, not for another six years if they keep tripling the release gap -- which, incidentally, would put the Season 6 release date in 2126, so let's hope that's not the case. Those who can't wait that long for another dose of Fran Drescher need only wait until the fall, when she will lend her voice to the animated comedy "Hotel Transylvania." The star- studded voice cast also includes Adam Sandler, Steve Buscemi and teen star Selena Gomez. The film re-imagines Count Dracula as a hotelier who tries to keep his resort a secret from the human world. Q: Last year, AMC had a show called "Hell on Wheels" about the Union Pacific Railroad being built. This is UP's 150th anniversary, so I thought it would be back this year, but it's not. What happened? A: There's still time, though AMC just recently started shov- eling coal on the fire to get a new season on the way. It will likely miss the actual 150th anniversary of the railroad by about five months. According to Union Pacific's flashy new site to commemo- rate its big birthday (UP150.com), the railway was created when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act on July 1, 1862. Filming for Season 2 of "Hell on Wheels" began in May, with the production company, Nomadic Pictures, predicting an 80- day shoot. That means shooting will run almost to the end July, and with post-production to think of, the new season likely won't premiere until the fall, which at least puts it within the 150th year, and only a year past the first-season debut. The series stars Anson Mount as a former Confederate sol- dier who's working for the railroad as he hunts the man who killed his wife and son. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.