Television

NBC has just acquired the rights to a thriller drama set in the middle of nowhere. Siberia is about a bunch of reality contestants who get dropped off in the wilds of Tunguska, where, 100 years prior, a meteor landed. Early on a contestant is injured in the mysterious area and soon the contestants realize that no help is coming and they are on their own to survive.

Network: NBCOriginal Air Date: October 31st, 1978In the 70's, a renegade filmmaker named Wes Craven was making a name for himself at the drive in circuit with Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. Looking for something mainstream, or perhaps just looking for a good paycheck, Craven's next project was Summer of Fear, which was based on the Lois Duncan young adult novel of the same name. Craven cast Linda Blair as the spunky but put-upon Rachel Bryant. The Bryants are welcoming Rachel’s cousin, Julia (Lee Purcell) into the family fold after her parents are tragically killed in a car accident. Shy but beautiful Julia manages to work her way into the hearts of everyone around her, including Rachel's hunky beau, Mike (Jeff McCracken). Peppy Rachel is the only one who seems to think that there’s something wrong with Julia and her strange Ozark accent (she only spent her summers there). It appears Julia is wielding her magic on all who come across her. And I think you can figure the rest out... Obviously, this is not nearly as shocking or unnerving as Craven’s previous work, but Summer of Fear is still an enjoyable little thriller with much to appreciate. On the commentary track, Craven admits to being drawn to the family structure aspect of the movie and the idea of treating someone involved in the supernatural as though they are just like any other outsider welcomed into a working class family.Linda Blair is up to the challenge of playing the likeable teenager who solves the mystery. She’s cute as ever here (even with the bad perm) and her knowledge and love of horses adds to one of the more gruesome moments of the film.Lee Purcell is also perfectly cast as Linda’s nemesis. You know Julia is evil but you are never quite sure what her motives are or where she'll strike next. Just a few years later, Purcell would go from a young woman in Summer of Fear to a seductive mother in Valley Girl! My goodness, she is ageless (and still looks fantastic)! Rounding out the affable cast is a then-unknown Fran Drescher, soap opera legend MacDonald Carey and Jeff East, pre-young Clark Kent in Superman.The main audience of Summer of Fear will be people, like me, who remember seeing it as a kid. It was so successful when it originally aired on Halloween in 1978 (could that Halloween have been any better?!?) that a theatrical version, titled Stranger in Our House was released overseas.But most importantly, the film is a wonderful trip down memory lane. Summer of Fear brings to mind the heyday of the made for television movie. Very few titles have gotten their dues on DVD, but the now-defunct Artisan label has made a pretty good disc for nostalgia buffs. It has a beautiful, if slightly flawed, transfer with crisp, clear images – A nice change from the blurry dubs I usually see of TV movies.The commentary track, featuring Wes Craven and producer Max Keller, takes a casual but informative look at the work that goes behind the making of a small screen film. Fans of Craven may also be interested in his other two TV movies Invitation to Hell (go Susan Lucci, go!) and the thought provoking Chiller, both of which have also been released on DVD but to lesser results (click here for a review of Chiller). For those of you with a taste for bitchy witches try doing a double feature of Summer of Fear with the sadly obscure but wonderfully fun TVM classic Midnight Offerings.

Beam her up: Gabby Douglas is back in the gym via Rickey.org Beam her up: Gabby Douglas is back in the gym The Associated Press New balancing act for Gabby Douglas: Olympic champ is back in gym, but no timeline for return Gabby better get ready for Rio 2016! She needs to take the Gold again! – Trey × Gabby Douglas had been looking forward to this appearance for a long time. The Olympic all-around champion returned to the gym Monday, going through her first practice since the London Games after meeting with coach Liang Chow to discuss her comeback plan. “She is very excited to be coming back,” Chow told The Associated Press. “She can’t wait any longer.” Douglas has always said she wanted to continue competing through the Rio Olympics in 2016. She is only 17, and Chow said in London that she hadn’t come close to reaching her potential. (The Olympics were only the fifth international event for Douglas.) But her life has been a whirlwind since London, where she also helped the U.S. win only its second team title. Her Olympic success, dazzling smile and captivating personality turned her into a worldwide celebrity, and she’s been going nonstop since the games ended. She was the AP’s female athlete of the year and one of Barbara Walters’ “10 Most Fascinating People” in 2012. She was the only female on Forbes’ recent list of 10 most influential athletes in the U.S. She had a guest spot on “The Vampire Diaries,” one of her favorite shows, and she performed at the Video Music Awards after walking the red carpet with the rest of the Fierce Five. Douglas and fellow Fierce Five members Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney did a 40-city gymnastics tour last fall, and she’s made dozens of other celebrity appearances. She signed deals with Nike, Kellogg Co. and AT&T, among others, and recently published her second book. Gymnastics was never far from her mind, though, and Chow got the sense from the text messages Douglas would send him that she’d eventually be back in the gym in West Des Moines, Iowa. “She’s the kind of person who wants to be achieving,” he said. “She wants to feel good about her improvement and her goal setting. That’s the attitude Gabby is about and now she can set out a goal and achieve it, through the sport.” Chow wouldn’t put a timetable on Douglas’ return, saying she has to get back in gymnastics shape before they can put a “realistic” training plan together. “I think 2014 is an excellent possibility for competition,” he said. But this won’t be an easy process, Chow said. Gymnastics is a sport that requires hundreds of hours of repetition to perfect skills, and Douglas has been out of action for nine months. “I did warn her, ‘If you think preparing for London was hard, preparing for Rio will be harder.’ There’s many challenges ahead of us,” Chow said. “Also, ‘You’re going to have to have a lot more patience with yourself. Nine months off, you have to get yourself in very good physical condition first before we even talk about the training plan for the next steps.” But Douglas is undeterred. “She understood,” Chow said, “and she is super excited.” Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. Users may not download or reproduce a substantial portion of the AP material found on this web site. AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or om

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Friday's final broadcast primetime ratings.

Katherine Moennig discusses her character Lena on SHOWTIME’s new show Ray Donovan.

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are hilariously annoying parents in the red band trailer for upcoming indie comedy "The Kings of Summer." In fact, the real-life married couple are so annoying that their respective kids (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso) decide to run away from home and build their own house in the middle of the forest, where they spend the entire summer living off of the land, playing with swords and running away from scary possums. Related Articles: 60 Summer Movies Looking for Your Box Office Bucks: 'Iron Man,' 'Star Trek,' Pacific Rim (Photos) 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Needs to Get Younger at Box Office - Fast Nick Offerman, 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' Big in Chicago read more

Rules of Engagement (CBS, 8:30 p.m.) — Series finale. One hundred episodes. That’s how long Grown Ups prequel Rules of Engagement has been on the air. One hundred goddamn episodes. Happy Endings? Fifty-seven. Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 7:30 p.m.) — “Peppermint Butler believes Bubblegum could use a suitor to get her out of her lab.” Just reading that sentence makes me smile. Adventure Time is delightful. The Goodwin Games (Fox, 8:30 p.m.) — Series premiere. Hello Goodwin Games. This comedy from the How I Met Your Mother guys, about three mismatched siblings (played by Scott Foley, Becki Newton, and T.J. Miller) who return home after their father dies, was supposed to premiere during the 2012-2013 season. Goodbye Goodwin Games. Defiance (Syfy, 9 p.m.) — “Nolan gets a blast from the past while a Castithan fugitive wreaks havoc in Defiance.” That synopsis should read, “Nolan gets a copy of Blast from the Past on DVD.” Fixed. Rectify (Sundance, 10 p.m.) — Season finale. Don’t leave us, Abigail Spencer, I mean, Rectify. We need you. LATE NIGHT GUESTS: Will Smith and the National on Letterman; Bradley Cooper, Heidi Klum, and The-Dream with Kelly Rowland on Leno; Ed Helms and Jewel on Kimmel; Heather Graham and David Benioff on Ferguson; Colin Farrell and Jaden Smith on Fallon; Ken Jeong, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and the Black Angels on Conan; Ellen Page on Stewart; and David Sassoon on Colbert. The post What’s On Tonight: ‘Rules Of Engagement’ Is Finally, Mercifully Ending appeared first on UPROXX.