Trending
MOST READ
Food-industry heroes: Cameron Davies and Matthew Marshall of Cruising Kitchens

Food-industry heroes: Cameron Davies and Matthew Marshall of Cruising Kitchens

Best of SA 2012 Critic Pick: Countless food shows featuring celebrity chefs have cast a bright light on the "back of the house," the kitchens that create the artful delicacies that drive restaurant success. 4/25/2012
2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

Best of 2012: 2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List 4/25/2012
Remembering the remarkable Mr. Starcke

Remembering the remarkable Mr. Starcke

Arts & Culture: We lost a genuine San Antonio original with the passing of 90-year-old author, Broadway producer, New Age lecturer, confidante to stars and scalawags alike, world traveler, bon vivant and raconteur sans pareil Walter Starcke on October 25, 2011. By William Jack Sibley 11/2/2011
Best River Walk Restaurant

Best River Walk Restaurant

Best of SA 2013: 4/24/2013
'The Flu Season'

'The Flu Season'

Arts & Culture: A quarter of the way through The Flu Season, Will Eno’s 2003 absurdist exercise set in a psychiatric hospital, patients in the TV room watch a report on how an entire family fell through early-winter ice and died. Skating on a thin dramatic surface, the pla By Steven G. Kellman 5/17/2013
Calendar

Search hundreds of restaurants in our database.

Search hundreds of clubs in our database.

Follow us on Instagram @sacurrent

Print Email

Primal Screen

Monsters in the making: 'Face Off' and 'Fatal Honeymoon'

Photo: Courtesy photo, License: N/A

Courtesy photo

Face Off


Hillbilly Handfishin’ (7pm Sun, Animal Planet)
The reality series’ second season is much like its first. In each episode, Oklahoma fishermen Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson take a bunch of tourists into lakes and creeks to “noodle” for catfish. Noodling involves pulling the fish out of holes with your feet and hands — and, apparently, a lot of yelling and cursing.

No, there’s not a lot of variety here. Not a lot of sophistication, either. People splash around in the water, get covered in mud, and wave their slimy catfish in the air. The show is watchable, though, thanks to the friendly approach of Bivins and Jackson.
“This fish looks like it was beat with an ugly stick!” somebody screams as the latest 20-pound monster comes wriggling out of its hole.
Hillbilly Handfishin’ looks like it was beat with an ugly stick, too. That’s part of its charm.

Hollywood Heights (8pm Mon-Fri, Nickelodeon)
Base on a Mexican telenovela, this series follows a teenager (Brittany Underwood from One Life to Live) on her path from shy high school senior to music superstar. Among the huge cast are gorgeous delinquents, would-be supermodels, a good-hearted pop idol, lots of concerned parents, and an eccentric movie mogul played by none other than James Franco.

Franco’s presence suggests that Hollywood Heights is no ordinary Nickelodeon production. Yes, it’s basically a teen soap opera, but one with wit and energy and loads of chemistry among the actors. Unlike the many adult soaps with a showbiz setting — including the recent Smash and L.A. Complex — the series feels no pressure to be edgy and raunchy, and thereby avoids falling flat on its face from the strain. Instead, the tone is amiable, and the characters are the sort you want to keep inviting back into your living room. They’ve worn well over the summer.

Recently in Screens & Tech
  • 'Renoir': The painter, his model, and his son It is hard to think of a father-son combination that distinguished itself more in two different art forms than the Renoirs’ père et fils... | 5/15/2013
  • Primal Screen: 'American Masters' (8pm Mon, PBS) When you tune into an American Masters program about Mel Brooks, you know it’s going to be fun. As a Borscht Belt entertainer, TV comedy writer... | 5/15/2013
  • Primal Screen: 'North America' (8pm Sun, Discovery) This seven-part nature documentary takes us on a stunning tour of the continent, gliding from the Canadian tundra to the Utah desert to... | 5/15/2013
We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
comments powered by Disqus