# Premium Channel Highlights: April 2011



## bdowell (Mar 4, 2003)

*April 2011 premium channel highlights*
Note the change from "premieres" to "highlights" as not all of these programs will/may be premieres, but most would be what viewers would consider highlights on those premium channels. Hopefully that's a more appropriate term, though as always Pablo and other's hardwork in identifying what programs really are premiering is always appreciated!

-- Information will be updated as I can gather it all up, check back later for updates for most of these premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) --

*Starz* Highlights:

April begins with the premiere of the epic Starz original series "_Camelot_." Tales of King Arthur come to life every Friday at 10:00 p.m. (et/pt). The 10-part series stars *Joseph Fiennes* (_Shakespeare in Love_), *Eva Green* (_Casino Royale_), *Jamie Campbell Bower* (_The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn_) and *Tamsin Egerton*, The series takes a fresh approach to telling the Arthur story with Fiennes as the wizard Merlin, Green, in her first television role, as the powerful sorceress Morgan; Campbell Bower as Arthur and Egerton as Guinevere.

There's a *Toy Story* marathon on Saturday, April 16 with *Toy Story* airing at 6:05 p.m., followed by *Toy Story 2* at 7:26 p.m. leading up to the Starz Saturday Night Premiere of *Toy Story 3* at 9:00 p.m.

The Starz Saturday Premieres for the month of April are *Eat Pray Love* (4/2) starring *Julia Roberts*, *Richard Jenkins* and *Javier Bardem*; *Toy Story 3* (4/16) starring *Tom Hanks*, *Tim Allen* and *Joan Cusack*; and *The Other Guys* (4/23) starring *Will Ferrell*, *Mark Wahlberg* and *Dwayne Johnson*.


4/2/2011 - *Eat Pray Love* (Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins, Javier Bardem)
4/16/2011 - *Toy Story 3* (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack)
4/23/2011 - *The Other Guys* (Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson)

I bought *Eat Pray Love* on Blu-ray so that my daughter could watch it and so I could loan it to a former co-worker that was very interested in seeing it. I may eventually watch it myself but I suspect it's really not aimed at most males in the populations. *Toy Story 3* was every bit as good as the earlier films in the series. Highly recommended. For those that aren't bothered by Will Ferrell, *The Other Guys* was ok. I enjoyed it, but if you are tired of Ferrell, you may wish to pass.

*Encore*

Encore "Spotlights" *John Travolta* with a five-film marathon on Sunday, April 17th.

Encore Westerns has a "*Six-Gun Salute*" to *James Stewart* with eight films on Sunday, April 24th.

*HBO*
Touted via HBO's March 2011 downloadable guide or other sources: HBO mini-series *Mildred Pierce* (starts March 27, Sundays 9PM), HBO original series *Game of Thrones* (starts Sunday, April 17, 9PM), *Sex and the City 2*, and *Cinema Verite*.

4/2/2011 - *Sex and the City 2* (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, John Corbett, Chris Noth)
4/9/2011 - *Jonah Hex* (Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox)
4/16/2011 - *Lottery Ticket* (Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Keith David, Charlie Murphy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Terry Crews, Loretta Devine, Ice Cube)
4/16/2011 - *World Championship Boxing* (Berto vs. Ortiz/Khan vs. McCloskey)
SUNDAY 4/17/2011 - *Game of Thrones* series premiere
4/23/2011 - *Cinema Verite* (Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini, Patrick Fugit, Kathleen Quinlan, Lolita Davidovich, Shana Collins, Thomas Dekker) 9PM

In that mixed blessing category, with the death of my wife going on a few years ago now, I wasn't subjected to *Sex and the City 2*. Not that I might not enjoy some portions of it, but if I'm remembering the reviews fairly well, I was probably spared some pain in not having to see it. I might be able to say something similar about *Jonah Hex*. On the trailers alone, I opted to avoid, avoid, avoid. I did see *Lottery Ticket* on a Blockbuster Blu-ray rental. It was actually pretty good and entertaining.

*Cinemax*
Touted via March 2011 downloadable guide: *Splice* and *The Kids are Alright*.

4/2/2011 - *Splice* (Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Abigail chu, Delphine Chaneac, David Hewlett, Brandon McGibbon)
4/9/2011 - *Repo Men* (Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alice Braga, Rza, Carice Van Houten)
4/16/2011 - *Clash of the Titans* (Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Danny Huston, Jason Flemyng, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Polly Walker, Luke Evans, Tine Stapelfeldt, Pete Postlethwaite)
4/23/2011 - *Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief* (Logan Lerman, Brandon Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman, Jake Abel)
4/30/2011 - *The Kids are Alright* (Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Eddie Hassell, Yaya Dacosta)

Of that list, I've only seen (so far) *Repo Men*. I enjoyed that, but my friend was falling asleep in the theatre while watching it. I have *Clash of the Titans* on Blu-ray, and also have *Percy Jackson...*, but have yet to get around to watching either.

*Showtime*
Showtime Original series *The United States of Tara* and *Nurse Jackie* both return for a new season beginning on March 28.

4/2/2011 - *The Joneses* (Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth) 10PM
4/9/2011 - *Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley*
4/16/2011 - *Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling*
4/23/2011 - *Jon Lovitz Presents* 9PM
4/30/2011 - *Jake Johannsen: I Love You* 9PM

NEW Showtime Original series *The Borgias* will premiere with a special 2 hour episode on Sunday, April 3, 2011 9/8C.

*The Movie Channel*
It looks like The Movie Channel will be continuing their *Splatterday* on Saturdays line-up of horror themed films (double feature of horror themed movies on Saturday nites actually).
(If you aren't a horror fan then it seems that The Movie Channel is going to have slim pickin's for you )

*epix* news:

Hopefully Epix will provide some advance notice of what they'll have in April but for now keep checking their site for information: epixhd.com


3/5/2011 - *Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too* (Tyler Perry, Sharon Leal, Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba)
3/7/2011 - *Harry Brown* (Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Liam Cunningham, Iain Glen)
3/13/2011 - *Lindsey Vonn: In the Moment* EPIX original documentary
(approx??) 3/18/2011 - *Princess Kaiulani* (Q'orianka Kilcher, Barry Pepper, Will Patton, Shaun Evans, Jimmy Yuill, Julian Glover)
3/20/2011 - *Killers* (Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl)

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Thanks again to all of the nice folks that contribute to this information and help to keep everyone else here informed.

To those that want to add information, if you [ quote ] this initial information you can easily copy and paste the formatting I've used to use for whatever you'd like to add :up:


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## bdowell (Mar 4, 2003)

Starz and Cinemax information is fairly complete (for now). HBO is still sketchy since they don't yet have much of their April schedule available. Showtime is assumed to be their usual lazy selfve and Epix is likely not to have their information up until we're pretty much rolling right up on their premieres. Hopefully this all helps someone plan out some of their TV watching :up:


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## pablo (Oct 11, 2007)

bdowell said:


> *Showtime*
> Showtime Original series *The United States of Tara* and *Nurse Jackie* both return for a new season beginning on March 28.
> Highlight information to come (hopefully)
> 
> ...


Awesome! :hurah:


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## Dario33 (Dec 15, 2008)

A lot of shows in April. :up:

Camelot
The Borgias
Game of Thrones
Nurse Jackie
United States of Tara


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## bdowell (Mar 4, 2003)

I've updated some of the information for HBO based on information they have available so far. Unfortunately their current information still stops mid-month for April, so it'll still be a while before the last couple of weeks information is known.


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## bdowell (Mar 4, 2003)

Some advance information for HBO (yay!):


5/7/2011 - *Lady Gaga Presents The Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden*


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## bdowell (Mar 4, 2003)

Updated to add Showtime information and added information on HBO content.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Showtime...4/2/2011 - The Joneses is a pretty good movie and not very popular.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Wednesday April 6 HDNet Movie Channel is offering a sneak preview of _Ceremony_. From this review:


> Max Winkler's Ceremony, an indie comedy starring Michael Angarano (Snow Angels, Gentlemen Broncos), Lee Pace (The Fall, A Single Man), Reece Thompson (Rocket Science) and also Uma Thurman (who needs no introduction). It's a smart indie with some snappy dialogue, but it's a wonderfully amusing film about two friends who learn their is more to life than just chasing after older women. Well, at least that's what Angarano learns, as the plot involves him attempting to crash Thurman-Pace's wedding as he's in love with Uma and doesn't want her to marry him.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

"Talking Funny" April 22 on HBO


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## seanbr (Aug 24, 2010)

HBO

4/30 A Nightmare on Elm Street

Visually faithful but lacking the depth and subversive twists that made the original so memorable, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake lives up to its title in the worst possible way.

epix

this info could have come earlier, but its nice to have now.

4/10 8pm

The Winning Season

4/17 the last airbender

Despite flashy special effects, The Last Airbender squanders the potential of its popular source material on an incomprehensible plot, laughable dialogue, and a joyless sense of detachment.


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