I caught this pretty much by accident last week (it's on during the dinner hour on the MyTV affiliate in New Hampshire), and it was interesting, if not particularly compelling.
A group of five contestants try to solve a crossword puzzle, with two contestants playing for money and three others acting as spoilers. If the spoiler gets a word correct, they can choose to replace one of the money contestants, who then moves to the spoiler's podium. So if you like marginal word games and lots of walking, this show is for you!
At the end, the player with the most money gets to play the bonus game, which is 90 seconds to complete the puzzle. It's enough time, though the rigamarole that the contestant has to go through for each word - say the clue number, host repeats, screen zooms in on word, host reads hint, player gives and spells answer, host verifies - there's a lot of time lost in process.
The big prize was a trip to Mexico, which harkens back to the great syndicated game shows of the 1980s. If only AMC were still around to give away Eagle station wagons to five-time champions.
So no, it's not a great show. It's better than the likes of Starface, though.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The South Shan't Rise Again
We have our first casualty of the new TV season, as Fox yanked Nashville after just two airings. Given its similarity in set-up to the youth-oriented Laguna Beach, I'm not sure why Fox put this show on Friday nights, when most of the young people are out doing stuff.
This is one of the shows I skipped over in the LaPlaca in favor of shows like Cane and Rules of Engagement, both of which did well in their season premiers this week. I am not going to do well this year.
This is one of the shows I skipped over in the LaPlaca in favor of shows like Cane and Rules of Engagement, both of which did well in their season premiers this week. I am not going to do well this year.
Monday, September 17, 2007
New Season, New Losers?
As a new season gets into gear tonight, let's take a look at the shows whose demise I've predicted in the LaPlaca Open, ranked in order of bonus points I'll get if the show gets the axe:
10: Carpoolers - I've read nothing positive about this show, and the promos on ABC have not been helping. It also features Jerry O'Connell, who I don't exactly think of when it comes to comedy.
The one saving grace this show may have is that it's not up against any blockbusters. And if Cavemen manages to draw people in, it may survive as the bridge into Dancing With the Stars.
But I don't think so.
9: Moonlight - It's bascially Angel for the moms of that show's fans. That or this show about a LA vampire turned detective is just an amazing coincidence.
Fridays are pretty quiet to begin with, so I'm not sure how this will fare against the praised but lightly sampled Friday Night Lights or ABC's new female-centered line up of Women's Murder Club and Men in Trees.
8: New Amsterdam - more immortal crime fighters, but this time a NYC cop whose been living for hundreds of years. Fox pushed this back to mid-season, which suggests a lack of confidence and, hopefully, a mid-season burn off.
7: Lipstick Jungle - another mid-season pick, not sure why I went with it other than it seems awful late in the game to try to rip off Sex and the City. For now it looks like it's going to take the Sunday at 10 spot for NBC, which seems an odd replacement for Sunday Night Football.
6: Cavemen - I thought there was a rush to judgement on this show based on its genesis from Geico ads, but when the negative press continued based on early show reviews, I figured I'd jump in. Novelty may keep this afloat for a while, and I hope we don't have a repeat of Til Death where enough people watch to keep the show going until it finds itself.
5: Rules of Engagement - kind of desperation pick, really. I'm hoping it gets lost between Heroes and 24. I should have gone back and taken a shot at Notes From the Underbelly.
4: Scrubs - I didn't read that this was an official last season, so I got uck here. Just didn't rank it highly enough.
3: According to Jim - yes, I went back to the well. It can't live forever. Can it?
2: Cane - kind of counter-intuitive, given the growth in Hispanic programming, but reviews are pretty marginal, and I'm counting on the desire not to watch crap transcending ethnicity. It has to, otherwise we'd still be stuck with Freddie.
1: Chuck - a total guess here, based on what reviews I could find. Could work with Heroes, perhaps by cutting that show's bombast with some humor.
Popular picks I didn't make:
Viva Laughlin - really should have gone with it. The bizarre factor will only keep it on the air for so long.
K-Ville - I have hopes for this show, given that it's not set on either coast and has a cast whose diversity isn't the obvious by-product of a marketing team. I do worry that Fox will make it more about swamp boat chases and New Orleans atmosphere than anything else.
Samantha Who - passed because it had a couple of decent early reviews and it has a nice time slot - at least for the fall. It may fade when it starts sharing Monday with Wife Swap rather than Dancing With the Stars.
Life - a cop unjustly sent to prison uses his experience when he rejoins the force after being released. It does have a very tought time slot, as Wednesday at 10 already has CSI: New York and the new Dirty Sexy Money.
Nashville - given its tankalicious debut last week, a clear miss for me.
10: Carpoolers - I've read nothing positive about this show, and the promos on ABC have not been helping. It also features Jerry O'Connell, who I don't exactly think of when it comes to comedy.
The one saving grace this show may have is that it's not up against any blockbusters. And if Cavemen manages to draw people in, it may survive as the bridge into Dancing With the Stars.
But I don't think so.
9: Moonlight - It's bascially Angel for the moms of that show's fans. That or this show about a LA vampire turned detective is just an amazing coincidence.
Fridays are pretty quiet to begin with, so I'm not sure how this will fare against the praised but lightly sampled Friday Night Lights or ABC's new female-centered line up of Women's Murder Club and Men in Trees.
8: New Amsterdam - more immortal crime fighters, but this time a NYC cop whose been living for hundreds of years. Fox pushed this back to mid-season, which suggests a lack of confidence and, hopefully, a mid-season burn off.
7: Lipstick Jungle - another mid-season pick, not sure why I went with it other than it seems awful late in the game to try to rip off Sex and the City. For now it looks like it's going to take the Sunday at 10 spot for NBC, which seems an odd replacement for Sunday Night Football.
6: Cavemen - I thought there was a rush to judgement on this show based on its genesis from Geico ads, but when the negative press continued based on early show reviews, I figured I'd jump in. Novelty may keep this afloat for a while, and I hope we don't have a repeat of Til Death where enough people watch to keep the show going until it finds itself.
5: Rules of Engagement - kind of desperation pick, really. I'm hoping it gets lost between Heroes and 24. I should have gone back and taken a shot at Notes From the Underbelly.
4: Scrubs - I didn't read that this was an official last season, so I got uck here. Just didn't rank it highly enough.
3: According to Jim - yes, I went back to the well. It can't live forever. Can it?
2: Cane - kind of counter-intuitive, given the growth in Hispanic programming, but reviews are pretty marginal, and I'm counting on the desire not to watch crap transcending ethnicity. It has to, otherwise we'd still be stuck with Freddie.
1: Chuck - a total guess here, based on what reviews I could find. Could work with Heroes, perhaps by cutting that show's bombast with some humor.
Popular picks I didn't make:
Viva Laughlin - really should have gone with it. The bizarre factor will only keep it on the air for so long.
K-Ville - I have hopes for this show, given that it's not set on either coast and has a cast whose diversity isn't the obvious by-product of a marketing team. I do worry that Fox will make it more about swamp boat chases and New Orleans atmosphere than anything else.
Samantha Who - passed because it had a couple of decent early reviews and it has a nice time slot - at least for the fall. It may fade when it starts sharing Monday with Wife Swap rather than Dancing With the Stars.
Life - a cop unjustly sent to prison uses his experience when he rejoins the force after being released. It does have a very tought time slot, as Wednesday at 10 already has CSI: New York and the new Dirty Sexy Money.
Nashville - given its tankalicious debut last week, a clear miss for me.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
What I Watched On My Summer Vacation
With the new season around the corner, figured it was high time to, you know, post something.
My plans for the summer, TV-wise, was to catch up with the backlog of recorded programs. That hasn't gone quite as planned, as we're only now up to the final finale for The Apprentice and are a good three or four episodes remaining on our other regular shows (most recent shocking plot twist: Mrs. McCluskey has her hubby stashed in her basement freezer on Desperate Housewives).
What's been slowing us down is our real-time (or close to real-time) summer viewing. Lots of food-related programming here - Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Dinner: Impossible. The wife also worked through all 700 hours of So You Think You Can Dance, most of which I was spared by the new placement of the computer relative to the TV.
Nerd programming also slowed us down, as we got through Simon Schama's The Power of Art while we have several History Detectives waiting for eventual viewing. I have solo nerd duty for Eureka, which I think I've enjoyed more this season than last.
We've had to pass on most other summer offerings, including a short-lived attempt to record Damages for future viewing. Sorry, Glenn.
This summer has proved to me, more than any other, that there is no more off-season for TV. I may never catch up.
My plans for the summer, TV-wise, was to catch up with the backlog of recorded programs. That hasn't gone quite as planned, as we're only now up to the final finale for The Apprentice and are a good three or four episodes remaining on our other regular shows (most recent shocking plot twist: Mrs. McCluskey has her hubby stashed in her basement freezer on Desperate Housewives).
What's been slowing us down is our real-time (or close to real-time) summer viewing. Lots of food-related programming here - Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Dinner: Impossible. The wife also worked through all 700 hours of So You Think You Can Dance, most of which I was spared by the new placement of the computer relative to the TV.
Nerd programming also slowed us down, as we got through Simon Schama's The Power of Art while we have several History Detectives waiting for eventual viewing. I have solo nerd duty for Eureka, which I think I've enjoyed more this season than last.
We've had to pass on most other summer offerings, including a short-lived attempt to record Damages for future viewing. Sorry, Glenn.
This summer has proved to me, more than any other, that there is no more off-season for TV. I may never catch up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)