Headsup: Tested Loyalties
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment requests we note that it provided a free copy of the first two titles featured below. The opinions I share are my own.
Out this month are three titles whose characters must deal with the challenges that come when loyalties and circumstance collide:
First we have Season Four of The 100, the post-apocalyptic drama that tells the story of inhabitants of a space habitat ("The Ark") who return to Earth after a massive nuclear event (which caused an almost total extinction of the human population) and their interactions with those on Earth who survived. In this season, the characters are reeling from the all-out war in Season Three while at the same time are faced with the discovery that Earth's atmosphere will soon be set on fire due to the meltdown of the existing nuclear reactors from lack of maintenance. Clarke and others try to find a solution using the Nightbloods' natural immunity to radiation while the twelve clans are faced with the decision of selecting those among them who will be afforded protection for five years in a newly-discovered bunker. Alliances are tested, relationships strained, and everyone must again fight for their own rights of survival.
Now out on DVD and Blu-ray is The 100: The Complete Fourth Season, which includes all thirteen episodes as well as bonus features, including the featurettes "From Outcasts to Leaders" (which examines the under-fire maturation of The 100), "Creating a [...]
First up is Bunnicula, the new animated series loosely based on the book (of the same name) many of us read and loved as kids by James and Deborah Howe. The story revolves about a vampiric bunny rabbit who instead of blood thirsts for vegetable juice, which gives him supernatural powers. In this (comedic) series, Bunnicula (voiced by Chris Kattan) teams up with his adoptive human Mina (a New Orleans teenager, voiced by Kari Wahlgren), Harold (her easy-go-lucky dog, voiced by Brian Kimmet), and Chester (her anxiety-ridden cat, voiced by Sean Astin) for otherworldly adventures with lots of laughs along the way. The series premiered in February of 2016 and is currently airing on Cartoon Network.
Next we have Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which pairs the rambunctious cartoon cat-and-mouse duo with beloved Roald Dahl icon Willy Wonka and other familiar characters. Based 
First we have The Story of China, written and hosted by the gold-standard-making historian Michael Wood. In this six-part documentary about the oldest continuous state on earth, Wood follows the stories of characters who formed China's history and cultural identity, including those who led the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties from 1500 BC to the twentieth century along with leaders in science, literature, and revolutionary political movements. A sprawling and vibrant story (charmingly told in Wood's posh British accent), The Story of China brings viewers face-to-face with the likes of The First Emperor, Xuanzang (famed Buddhist traveler), Su Song (often referred to as "China's Leonardo da Vinci"), Li Qingzhao (a female poet), and Mao Zedong (the Communist revolutionary also known as "Chairman Mao"), among many others. On his historical journey, Wood also examines the places where these stories took place, taking viewers back in time to see the Silk Road, the Yellow River, the Grand Canal, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and other amazing places that were the backdrop of China's journey over the last four thousand years. If you just want to check out the series (and haven't caught it live on PBS), you can currently 
First we have The Vampire Diaries, the story of a love triangle between teenage heroine Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and two brothers, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), which just happens to be set against the backdrop of the world of modern-day vampires. Based on the L.J. Smith novel series of the same name, the show premiered in September of 2009 and has had a successful run ever since. It garnered 112 award nominations and 37 wins, including multiple People's Choice, Teen Choice, and Young Hollywood Awards. Season eight follows Damon and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) as they continue to kill people while under the influence of a powerful and evil force, while at the same time Stefan, Caroline (Candice King), Bonnie (Kat Graham), and Alaric (Matt Davis) search for answers about the mysterious disappearance at the end of season seven. Matt (Zach Roerig) is in the mix as well, as it becomes apparent that an unknown family connection to Mystic Falls may be the key to saving the town from being destroyed.
First we have a collection of some of the lesser-known films of Jacques Rivette, a French film director and critic famed for his work during the New Wave movement in French cinema in the 1950s and 60s. Rivette began his career as a filmmaker at age twenty and over the course of his career made twenty-nine films (including notable titles L'amour fou (1969), Out 1 (1971), Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974), and La Belle Noiseuse (1991) ). Now available from Arrow Academy is The Jacques Rivette Collection, a trio of films from the latter part of his career. In 1975, Rivette and Stéphane Tchal Gadjieff (producer from Out 1) again joined forces with the goal of creating a love story, an adventure, a fantasy thriller, and a musical as a quartet of interconnected films dubbed Scènes de la vie parallèle, with each revolving around two central female characters. Unfortunately, after the back-to-back filming of Noroît (an adventure story of two pirates) and Duelle (a fantasy about the Queen of the Night and the Queen of the Sun) in the spring of 1975, Rivette suffered a breakdown a few days into production for Marie et Julien (which would have been the love story in the series); the director later said that he "broke down physically" and "had overestimated own strength". After a year of recovery, the idea of the film quartet was abandoned and Rivette turned to Merry-Go-Round (a surreal detective film), which ran 
First up is the fifth season of Major Crimes, the spinoff of the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series The Closer, which ran on TNT from 2005-2012 (ending when its star Kyra Sedgwick decided it was time to pursue other projects). The storyline and main characters were so well-loved that creators literally didn't skip a beat between the two shows, airing the premiere of Major Crimes on the same night as the finale of The Closer. Major Crimes follows the case-by-case challenges of the (fictional) Major Crimes Division of the LAPD and the interpersonal relationships between its officers. Starring two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor, the primary cast also includes G. W. Bailey (as Detective Lieutenant Louie Provenza), Tony Denison (as Detective Lieutenant Andy Flynn), Michael Paul Chan (as Detective Lieutenant Michael Tao), Raymond Cruz (as Detective Julio Sanchez), Kearran Giovanni (as Detective Amy Sykes), Phillip P. Keene (as Buzz Watson), Graham Patrick Martin (as Rusty Beck), and Robert Gossett (as Assistant Chief Russell Taylor).
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