Steven Helmer Publications

Even though I like watching television, I rarely watch a show when it first airs. This is because networks have very short leashes and I have no interest in getting invested in a series only to see a cancellation after only a few episodes. To be fair, there are plenty of series out there that probably shouldn't have even gotten to a first season but there are also just as many that were cancelled out of impatience despite plenty of shows taking more than one season to find their audience ( M*A*S*H comes to mind). Here are four I personally think should have been given more than one season. Forever (2014) I love a good mystery and this Ioan Gruffudd -led series about a doctor who, much like a video game character, respawns whenever he is killed, had plenty of them. Why couldn't he die? How old was he? Why did he always respawn near water? Throw in the fact it was also a crime drama, and you have a series that, if given more time, could have gone down a number of different road...

Synopsis: After years of being a bachelor, Det. Mike Lowrey finally gets married, only to have his wedding nearly ruined by his partner, Det. Marcus Burnett, having a heart attack. Burnett survives but soon after leaving the hospital, the pair learn their former mentor, Captain Howard, is being accused of working for the drug cartels. Not wanting their deceased captain's name to be tarnished, Mike and Marcus conduct their own investigation, with the help of Mike's criminal son, Armando, and soon find themselves being framed both as accomplices and murderers. Who's in it? The movie stars Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Vanessa Hudgens , Jacob Scipio and Ioan Gruffudd. Review: After binge-watching the first three movies in the series on Monday, my wife and I decided to finish things up with Bad Boys: Ride or Die last night. As is the case with most movies with multiple sequels, this installment showed signs of the series needing to come to an end. However, that didn't...

Synopsis: A family returns home from vacation and is unaware of numerous cameras that have been set up in their house. During the night, they are imprisoned inside the house and while everything is broadcast live on the internet, are stalked by a pair of killers. Who's in it? The movie stars Bella Thorne , Chandler Riggs , Ioan Gruffudd , Natalie Martinez and Maya Eshet. Review: I came across this film Sunday morning and, thinking it looked like it would at least be entertaining, wound up watching it with my wife that evening. Unfortunately, while it wasn't the worst slasher flick I've seen, it also wasn't anything special. I don't use the phrase "paint-by-number" very often, but that description fits this movie perfectly. It's just a very basic film that makes no real attempt to add any depth to its main characters and periodically adds additional characters, like an uncle and boyfriend, in an obvious attempt to up the body count. My biggest pet p...