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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, June 26, 2015 2 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media A ren't we lucky that our pets love us? I grew up with a Rottweiler, who could have done major dam- age to the soft, juicy little 10-year-old who dressed him in her brother's jacket, used him as a pillow and pretended to eat his treats. My family fed him, housed him, petted him and spoiled him, but when you get down to it, the only reason I got through any giv- en day without getting mauled was because he chose not to. Animal attacks do happen, of course, domestically and otherwise, but considering how many potentially lethal beasts are roaming the planet, they're not exactly hurting the human population. Humans may be the dominant species, but we're by no means the strongest. If the lions, tigers and bears of the world were to suddenly get it into their heads to push back against the people that are steadily encroaching on their turf, we'd find ourselves in a mess of trouble (oh my!). It's a situation that is the focus of "Zoo," a new drama com- ing to CBS. Based on James Patterson's No. 1 bestselling novel of the same name, the series follows a wave of vi- cious animal attacks on hu- mans throughout the globe. As these attacks become more cunning and violent, it becomes clear that this is far from normal animal activity. "Zoo" premieres Tuesday, June 30, on CBS. Patterson has sold more than 300 million copies of his books, and 10 of his novels have been adapted for the screen, including "Kiss the Girls," "Along Came a Spider," "Women's Murder Club" and "Alex Cross." "Zoo" — which has sold more than four mil- lion copies worldwide and is available in six languages — was originally intended for the big screen actually, but execs thought there was enough material to warrant a longer story. The author himself is more than confident that his work will translate well to the small screen: "People always say that the book is always better than the movie," he said at CBS's summer press event. "In this case, I think the series is going to be better than the book." "Mad Men's" James Wolk leads the cast as American zo- ologist Jackson Oz, who offers safaris in the African wild. He begins to notice unusual be- havior in the animals he works with on a regular basis, and before long, he's wrapped up in the desperate race to figure out what's causing them to suddenly turn against humans en masse. Starring alongside Wolk is French actress Nora Arnezeder ("Safe House," 2012) as for- mer diplomat Chloe Tousig- nant, who takes refuge and teams up with Wolk as things start to get hairy (no pun in- tended) with the animals. "Revolution's" Billy Burke plays Mitch, a veterinarian who generally prefers to spend his time with animals than with other people. Kris- ten Connolly ("House of Cards") plays Jamie, a young journalist who has noted and been tracking the unusual ani- mal behavior and is out to get the whole story behind it. Mankind's superior intelli- gence has taken us a long way, but if "Jurassic Park" has taught us anything, it's that this by no means makes us in- vincible against things with pointy teeth and razor-sharp claws. OK, so "Zoo" doesn't have dinosaurs, but it has teeth and claws aplenty. Catch the premiere Tuesday, June 30, on CBS — and may- be stop using your Rottweiler as a pillow. Robynwood Home 2 x 2 coverstory James Wolk stars in "Zoo" Top of the food chain The animals are going rogue in CBS' thrilling new drama By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: There was a movie whose name I can't remember, about a man who takes his son and daughter with him to Brazil. While he was working, the kids go into the jun- gle. They are surprised by some natives and the son is taken. Twenty years later, the son returns to the city looking for his father and they are eventually reunited. What was it called? A: The plot doesn't go down quite like you describe it, but nonetheless it sounds like you're thinking of 1985's "The Em- erald Forest." The only difference from your description seems to be in the circumstances of the son's return, but I won't go into those for fear of spoiling a 30-year-old plot (this way maybe you'll get a little suspense when you see it again). Rest assured, there was no trend in rainforest-tribal-kidnapping movies in the past few decades, so this is pretty definitely the one. It was quite well received at the time, even screening at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for a few awards, including the charmingly obscure best-poster honor from France's Cesar Awards. Q: I loved the crime series "Backstrom." Is it coming back, or has it been canceled? A: I'll try to deliver this news with a little more tact than Rainn Wilson's spectacularly rude detective would do: "Back- strom" gave it a good try, but the numbers just weren't there. If I were to be more "irascible" (which is how Fox describes Wilson's character) about it, I'd say that the more people saw of "Backstrom," the less they liked it. It premiered to fairly good ratings, but shed viewers pretty steadily from there. This was a bit surprising because the premise seemed solid. Fox has been doing well with crime-comedy with "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and people loved watching Rainn Wilson be un- comfortably blunt when he played Dwight Schrute on NBC's "The Office" for nine hit seasons. Yet the combo didn't work for "Backstrom," and so the sea- son 1 finale that aired at the end of April is now the series fina- le. The show's chances were probably hurt by the fact that ex- pectations were very high. People have been looking for great things out of Wilson after "The Office," and his "Backstrom" character also drew a lot of comparisons to Fox's previous lov- able grouch, Dr. Gregory House of "House M.D." Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. hollywoodQ&A Fly Creek General Store 1 x 6 Brandon's Feed & Seed 2 x 2 299793 Hours: Mon-Sat6am-9pm;Sun7am-7pm 607-547-7274 BLT & SIDE $ 5. 99 299892 ETHANOL FREE FISH FILET $ 5. 99 COMBOS PULLED PORK $ 5. 99 BUN & SIDE & SIDE GAS 2-HOT DOGS $ 5 99 & SIDE . & SIDE & SIDE & SIDE Celebrating 125 th Anniversary ~ 1890-2015 Daily Star The

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