Glimpses of New: 'The Hunger Games,' 'Parenthood' S3, 'House' S8 & 'The Mentalist' S4

I was among the millions on the east coast who were without power for days – thanks Tropical Storm Irene – so on the night that the ever-so-brief first trailer for the upcoming film The Hunger Games was released I was playing Scrabble at the kitchen table by candlelight. And since I just got internet service back (believe me, it was frustrating to be an observer of pop culture when I couldn’t observe it), this morning was my first glimpse of what folks saw during the MTV VMAs.

It’s not much. It’s not very substantive. But it’s not horrible and doesn’t make me cringe, which is good. It was just too brief for me to make an assessment. My 13-year-old daughter and Hunger Games fan still has grave reservations about how Jennifer Lawrence will play Katniss Everdeen.



That being said, the promo for the third season of NBC’s Parenthood doesn’t offer us much new either, except the knowledge that the show will flash-forward in time, several months in fact, taking viewers from the moment when Kristina told Adam she was pregnant in the season finale, to her being in full bloom/almost-ready-to-pop pregnant and Adam is apparently terrified.

Wonder if Adam will have found a job yet when the new season begins? Imagine them having to move in with Zeek and Camille and Sarah and Drew?



House’s brief promo for the eighth season of the drama shows Dr. House incarcerated, not, as he was a couple of seasons ago, in a mental facility, but this time, in prison. Guess it wasn’t such a smooth move to drive his car smack into the front of Cuddy’s house, now was it?

How will House do now that Lisa Edelstein has jumped ship and will now be appearing in The Good Wife remains an open question. Her absence will leave a startlingly gaping hole, kind of like the one House left in Cuddy’s home

I’m beginning to think that House, the show, has a serious woman problem.



Another lead character who’ll be starting the fall season behind bars is Patrick Jane from The Mentalist who, in the season finale, fatally shot the serial killer in the middle of a shopping mall as said killer, Red John, was taunting him about how Jane’s wife and daughter smelled when he murdered them. Doubt that Jane will be getting many hot cups of tea in the clink.

What new show/film are you most looking forward to seeing?