Blog Post
Saved By The Bell Turns 25
by manz
25 years ago today Saved By The Bell debuted on NBC and teenage television was changed with the introduction of heartthrob Zack Morris and the rest of cast of the show. The sitcom ran from 1989-1993. Can you believe it’s been 25 years since we first met Screech and the gang? And why does Mario Lopez (Slater) still look the same? Other things to ponder: The College Years, the summer beach episodes, the Hawaii episodes, The Max, Mr. Belding, the pleated pants and bright colors.
If you need to scratch that itch, check out seasons 1-4 on DVD. Or for more TV shows set in high school, explore the titles on this list.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. We also often get the new seasons of shows already available at AADL! Here are some new series on their way to AADL:
Resurrection, Season 1
What happens when a loved one, who was mourned and buried, suddenly appears at their family's front door as if not a single day has gone by? After the initial shock, would it be a blessing, or a curse? An astonishing story of mystery, relationships, and second chance.
Hinterland, Series 1,
A noir crime drama miniseries set in Aberystwyth, Wales, featuring DCI Tom Mathias against the backdrop of mountainous terrain, isolated farms and close-knit villages. BBC, in English and Welsh.
Masters of Sex, Season 1
Chronicles the lives of sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Masters, a successful OB/GYN, is conducting a secret study of human sexuality. Soon, he meets Virginia Johnson, a former nightclub singer who is now part of the hospital secretarial staff. He enlists her help with his study, and she quickly proves to be an asset to Masters' work. Together, they delve deeper than anyone before them into the science of sex and later become participants in their own research.
Vicious, Season 1
Tells the comedic story of aging partners Freddie and Stuart, two men who have lived together in their Covent Garden flat for nearly 50 years. Freddie was a budding actor and Stuart worked in a bar when they first met, but their careers are pretty much over and their lives now consist of entertaining their frequent guests, making sure that their aged dog Balthazar is still breathing, and hurling caustic insults at each other. (Starring Ian McKellan)
The Bridge, Season 1
When a murder victim is discovered on the bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez, detective Sonya Cross must work with her Mexican counterpart, Marco Ruiz, to catch a serial killer terrorizing both sides of the border. But their investigation will uncover shocking secrets and relentless danger that neither of them could possibly have imagined.
For more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
New TV on DVD: Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
by manz
Pac is back! The Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures television series offers plenty of nostalgia for those who grew up in the 80s playing the classic video game starring Pac. It’s also a great intro potentially allowing newer generations to fall in love with that little yellow C-shaped guy. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. The series first aired in the US in 2013, and there are two seasons thus far. Check out the episodes available at AADL, including Ghost Patrol!, Pac is Back!, The Adventure Begins, and All You Can Eat!.
Blog Post
Bletchley Circle
by Enzy
Do you love watching mysteries but feel like the genre is a little heavy handed with the male detective? If so, check out Bletchley Circle! With an extraordinary flair for code breaking and razor-sharp intelligence skills, four seemingly ordinary women become the unlikely investigators of a string of grisly murders in this original thriller, set against the backdrop of post-war London.
Season 1 introduces us to Susan. Her conventionality masks a sharp, inquisitive mind. She may appear every inch the typical 1950s wife and mother, but when she hears about a string of unsolved murders in London, Susan’s old Bletchley spirit is ignited. Secretly, Susan reconvenes the formidable foursome – bohemian and streetwise Millie; Lucy, with her brilliant photographic memory and Jean, the methodical no-nonsense organizer. A race against the clock ensues as the women work to outwit the culprit. Can they rekindle their singular expertise and discover the killer’s next move – before he strikes again?
Season 2 opens with the episode Blood on Their Hands. Former Bletchley Park girl Alice Merren is in prison awaiting trial for murder. Jean stands behind her innocence and tries to reunite the circle in an attempt to help one of their own. Lucy is now getting on well in a clerical job at Scotland Yard and keeping her head down, and Millie is working as a German translator. Susan is reluctant to get involved after the occurrences in season 1. The second episode Uncustomed Goods, Millie branches out into what she believes to be a harmless sideline of dealing in uncustomed goods. This endeavor leads to her being kidnapped and held in a seedy hotel by some gangsters. On discovering this, Alice goes to Jean and Lucy to help. The girls start to investigate in order to save their friend and, as they do so, uncover a much darker, hidden world of crime.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. We also often get the new seasons of shows already available at AADL! Here are some new series on their way to AADL:
Boy Meets World, Seasons 1, 2, 3
Cory is your average guy. He has a best friend from the other side of the tracks, a teacher that constantly keeps him on his toes, and a friend named Topanga whom he has trouble understanding. With the support of his parents and his brother Eric, Cory learns to cope with the roller coaster called growing up.
Tales of the Gold Monkey, The Complete Series
Set in 1938, in a backwater corner of the South Pacific, a young American adventurer and his ragtag group of friends become involved in death-defying hijinks, transporting people-on-the-run in a well-worn Grumman Goose seaplane.
DCI Banks, Season 1
Based on the bestselling Inspector Banks novels by Peter Robinson, the show follows the tenacious Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his headstrong partner Annie Cabbott as they attempt to solve three gruesome crimes.
For more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL
by manz
More new shows are soon to hit the shelves! The library is always acquiring additional TV shows, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. We also often get the new seasons of shows already available at AADL! Here are some new series on their way to AADL:
Ray Donovan, Season 1
Ray Donovan is the go-to guy who makes the problems of Los Angeles celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear. This powerful family drama unfolds when his father is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.
True Detective, Season 1
In 2012, Louisiana State Police Detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart are brought in to revisit a homicide case they worked in 1995. As the inquiry unfolds in present day through separate interrogations, the two former detectives narrate the story of their investigation, reopening unhealed wounds, and drawing into question their supposed solving of a bizarre ritualistic murder in 1995. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson.
For more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. We also often get the new seasons of shows already available at AADL! There are a lot of new-to-AADL series making their way to the library. Check the list and place your holds!
Under the Dome, Season 1
The small town of Chester's Mill is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by a massive transparent barrier. The epic story of a town in peril unfolds as the residents struggle to maintain control and ultimately figure out the truth about the dome.
The Paradise, Season 1
Set amidst the Victorian splendor of Britain's first department store, The Paradise is a rags-to-riches story of a young girl who falls in love with the intoxicating charms of the modern world. As Denise finds her feet as a lowly shop girl, she must navigate her way through power struggles, intrigues, and affairs. When the shop's dashing and reckless owner, John Moray, spots her talents, she knows she can use this opportunity to rise to great things. BBC.
The Following, Season 1
When a notorious serial killer Joe Carroll escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy, a psychologically scarred veteran who captured Carroll nine years earlier, after Carroll murdered 14 female students on a college campus where he taught literature. Knowing Carroll better than anyone and close with Carroll's ex-wife, Claire, Hardy works closely with an FBI team, which includes no-nonsense agent Jennifer Mason and sharp upstart Mike Weston, and soon discovers that Carroll was not only communicating with a network of killers in the outside world, but has much more planned than just a prison escape - and there's no telling how many additional killers are out there. (Starring Kevin Bacon!)
Hannibal, Season 1
FBI Agent Will Graham hunts the most notorious serial killers. He is both gifted and cursed with an extraordinary ability: he can think, see, and feel like his prey. What he doesn't know is that his new partner has an extreme past. While pursuing a cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams Graham with a psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Lecter tests Graham every step of the way, playing a game all his own, while they work to unravel the mystery and catch the killer.
Da Vinci's Demons, Season 1
In a world where thought and faith are controlled, one man fights to set knowledge free. Leonardo Da Vinci is tortured by a gift of superhuman genius. He finds himself in a conflict between truth and lies, religion and reason, past and future. His quest for knowledge nearly becomes his undoing, but Da Vinci's genius prevails and he emerges as an unstoppable force that lifts an entire era out of darkness and propels it into light.
Devious Maids, Season 1
Meet five women bonded together by their jobs, their dreams and the dirt they sweep under the rug: Aspiring singer Carmen; Rosie, who longs to be reunited with the child she left back in Mexico; Marisol, whose outward identity masks a desperate hidden agenda; and Zoila and her daughter Valentina, both employed by unhinged Genevieve Delatour. Before it's over, illicit affairs will be revealed, depraved secrets exposed, and the sordid details behind a shocking murder are discovered.
Rogue, Season 1
Grace is a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective who is tormented by the possibility that her own actions caused her young son's mysterious death. In her quest for the truth, Grace goes rogue and falls deeper into a forbidden relationship with Jimmy Laszlo, head of the city's most powerful and dangerous crime family. To stay alive, Grace must help Jimmy find the traitor in his midst, while knowing he may have played a role in her own tragedy.
Graceland, Season 1
It seems like a sweet deal when new FBI agent Mike Warren's first assignment lands him in a beautiful L.A. beachfront mansion with other young undercover government agents, including his idol, legendary FBI agent Paul Briggs. But loyalties are tested and lives are put on the line when Warren is ordered to secretly investigate Briggs.
Atlantis, Season 1
Washed up on the mysterious shores of Atlantis, Jason searches for his missing father and stumbles into deadly rituals that test his quick reactions and physical strength. Perilous trials, from leaping over charging bulls and fighting the dreaded Minotaur, to surviving the rites of Dionysus and the temptations of a snake-headed goddess, ensue. No matter how great the danger, Jason can count on his two new friends, studious Pythagoras and portly Hercules, to lighten the battle with a laugh.
For more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for the HOTTEST TV shows and the NEWEST TV shows.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. Here are some new series on their way to AADL:
Orange is the New Black, Season 1
Brooklynite Piper Chapman's wild past comes back to haunt her 10 years later and results in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper trades her comfortable New York life for an orange prison jumpsuit and finds unexpected conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric group of inmates. The critically acclaimed show is from the creator of Weeds and premiered as a Netflix-only TV show. The show is based on the memoir.
The Returned, Season 1
A seemingly random group of people find themselves in a state of confusion as they attempt to return home. What they don't know is that they have been dead for several years, and no one is expecting them back. Buried secrets emerge as they grapple with reality, struggling to reintegrate with their friends and families. But they aren't the only ones back from the dead. Their arrival coincides with a series of gruesome murders that resembles the work of a serial killer from the past.
Maverick, Seasons 1- 4
There were never more charismatic cowboys than Bret and Bart Maverick. Right from the beginning of the very first episode, Bret cons and card-sharks his way from town to town, followed later in the first season by Bart, who knows all his brother's tricks and then some. The Maverick boys, equally adapt with six-shooters as they are with a deck of cards, run up against poker cheats, outlaws, bandits, Indians, sheriffs, cattle hustlers, fortune hunters and even ghosts.
Ripper Street, Seasons 1 and 2
Haunted by the failure to catch London's most evil killer, Jack the Ripper, Inspector Edmund Reid now heads up the notorious H Division, the toughest police district in the East End. Reid and his men find themselves fighting to uphold justice and the rule of law, always fearing the Ripper is coming back for another reign of terror.
For more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Writing & Publishing
Nerd Nite Ann Arbor: June 19, presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.
Thursday June 19, 2014: 7:00pm to
9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)
Adults
Blog Post
Mystery Science Theater 3000
by Enzy
If you enjoy watching bad movies and are unaware of Mystery Science Theater 3000 you are missing out. But don’t worry,AADL has a large number of MST3K films to keep you busy for a while. Along with his robot friends Joel (or Mike depending on the season) is shot into space and forced to watch terrible movies. They cope and retain their sanity by jesting throughout these terrible, terrible films. Here are just a couple of the nuggets that exist in the amazing history of this television show.
Volume 18, Disc 4: Jack Frost: In this unique Russian fairy tale, two lovers must conquer the most bizarre ordeals of the supernatural.
Volume 10.2, Disc 2: Swamp Diamonds: With an undercover cop in tow, a gang of female prison escapees hunts for hidden diamonds in a Louisiana swamp, kidnapping a geologist along the way. Includes short: "What to do on a date."
Volume 26, disc 2: Alien from L.A.: This is perhaps the bad movie to end all bad movies. In this 1980's twist on Journey to the Center of The Earth, Kathy Ireland plays an awkward teen in search of her missing archaeologist father, only to stumble into a deeply underground civilization unaware of life on the surface. Adventure ensues.