Here is the first trailer for NBC’s upcoming series, Day One.

It reminds me somewhat of a cross between “Heroes“, “Lost” and dare I say, “FlashForward” (well, the trailer for FlashForward). The framework seems clear enough – a disparate group of people have to work together to survive a global event. What isn’t so clear is WHAT took place? I hope they don’t go down the stereotypical “alien” route – if anything “V” has that covered. The ambiguity is intriguing however – it will probably lead me to watch the pilot and maybe a few episodes after that.

I’m not totally sold on the trailer, some of the ‘moments’ had me rolling my eyes. That said, Day One looks like it has potential.

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R.I.P. Michael Jackson. Some of his songs are, and always will be, amongst my very favourite.

Flash Forward premieres on September 24 on ABC.

This is a great tune -- so fresh, so clean, this one is big. The radio edit (above) is actually better -- I’m not against cursing on songs but in this case it spoils the unedited version.

Best scene: has to be the van ride with ‘match-maker’ Hurley, Miles and Dr. Chang.

Rating: 8/10

The 5 buzz-teasers that were released the other day are fairly interesting. Nothing overly special..more like ABC testing the water, which is fine. Should the show get picked up, I’m looking forward to some more viral to follow up on this.

Yeah, I’m going to go see this — Wolverine always was my favourite X-Men character – throw in Gambit and how could I not want to see this movie? Plus, Keamy’s in it! Yay!

In a move intended to strike back at the encroaching Hulu, YouTube on Thursday announced a series of partnerships that will enable it to stream a range of full-length movies and television shows.

The pics and episodes, which will be streamed on a separate section on YouTube as free ad-supported content, encompass a host of library titles from studios including Sony and Lionsgate and television networks as well as a number of indie pics.

The deal comes in the wake of a previous YouTube pact with MGM for television shows and full-length films and follows a pact with Disney for shortform excerpts of content from ABC and ESPN.

Sony’s James Bond tentpole “Casino Royale” and CBS’ new mystery series “Harper’s Island,” as well as pics including Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” and Richard Linklater’s “Slacker,” are part of the deals.

The move reflects YouTube’s increasing aggressiveness in attracting more advertising revenue through premium content while balancing it with enough copyright protection to make the studios comfortable.

Now that’s evolution for you. In the long-run, this will certainly strengthen YouTube’s brand and scope — building on its user-added content with more premium features.

I’m not sure I’d pay to watch movies on YouTube for a while yet though.

Source: THR

• Really glad they showed us how Ben came to have Alex — I always knew that he rescued the child, as opposed to just taking her. The additional reveal that it was Widmore’s personal order to kill Danielle (and Alex) gave further credence to the idea that Ben is one of the shows heroes. I enjoyed seeing younger Ben stand up to Widmore’s demand to kill Alex. I am intrigued by Widmore’s later claim that the island did want Alex dead. If that’s the case then this further muddies the Island’s character — although there are perhaps many things we still do not know about life and death in relation to the ‘bigger picture’. Still, this was some nice vindication for Ben fans!

• I’m really not sure about the casting for young Ethan and Charles Widmore! Ethan is a brunette and that guy looked nothing like how I’d imagine a 40-something year old Charles Widmore would look. That said, it was rather funny to see young Ethan volunteer to infiltrate Danielle (considering he later kidnapped Claire) — I wonder what he would have done in Ben’s position?
• Danielle didn’t put up much fight to hold on to Alex did she? I’m not sure that a mother would be perturbed from looking for her child for 17 years just because of whispers — it’s not as if Ben was even that scary. I guess Danielle was all about the self-preservation.
• So Caesar’s dead and he wasn’t a Widmore spy after all? Wow, cheeky diversion, writers! (unless he was, and Ilana is one of Ben’s peeps)
• Why was Lapidus in so much of a hurry to get back to the Hydra island? Having previously left, there was very little for him back for, especially given the nature of the folks on that island.
• “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Clearly Ilana and friends know more about the island than I thought. Nice reveal!
• Even I have to admit that Ben told a few lies in this episode! Although he probably told just as many truths.
• I’m SO relieved that Ben didn’t murder Penny! (or Desmond for that matter). When he saw Charlie it was clear that he didn’t have the heart to do it, and I was mighty pleased that he didn’t. Too many people were far too quick to write Ben off as the murderer of Penny. I was also glad that he asked Sun to tell Desmond sorry (for shooting him). Forgiveness is a big aspect of the afterlife, it would seem.
• Ben summoning Smokey — “I’ll be outside” — now that was weird. For a moment I couldn’t tell whether he was prepping a mud bath or calling the island’s security system!
• This episode gave us further insight into the relationship between the Island and Smokey — they do appear to be one in the same thing. Smokey is at the very least an extension of the Island, and not a separate entity living on it.
• It was interesting to see how Charles left the island — in handcuffs! Last season I theorised that Ben tricked Charles out of his leadership position — I was almost right, but ultimately the suggestion is that Charles broke the rules (he had an off-island baby — Penny isn’t Island born), and seeming;y wasn’t committed to the island. It was clearly a difficult decision for Ben.
• Locke suggests that Ben is more “corporate” than he likes to think he is. He has a point, Ben did develop the ‘brand’ of the “hostiles” somewhat — he moved them out of the jungle and into the barracks, he gave them a logo (seen on the backs of the guards who marshaled Charles to the submarine), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the Mittelos Bio Science cover was his brainchild. That said, I don’t see much wrong with that — unless the island was opposed to it.
• The temple scenes were great, although perhaps the execution of Smokey engulfing Ben wasn’t as good as it could have been? I spent most of those scenes worrying whether or not this was the end of the road for Ben. It didn’t ‘feel’ like a ‘death’ episode, but the title posed a lingering threat.
• Good to see Ben being spared by the island — anyone who doubts that Ben is one of the good guys, with the Islands best interests at heart, only has to watch this episode.

Good episode overall, but a bit loose in places. Not the best Ben centric.

Overall rating: 7.5/10