Three Up
3. Don Draper. In tonight's episode, he got to learn that Betty called him about her malady and didn't tell her husband, got to mess with a teenage girl's head and mock Harry Crane when trying to sign the Rolling Stones to do a Heinz ad, is still married to Megan, and didn't have to do any actual work. Not a bad outing. He also has the result of the firm's EOE "ad" working for him. She's named Dawn, which kind of cracks people up.
2. Michael Ginsberg. He's the newest copywriter at SCDP, brought in to work the Mowhawk account. His initial meeting with Peggy doesn't go well - he's spends most of it channeling Woody Allen, but with more crazy. He almost talks himself out of meeting Don, but has a good enough portfolio for Peggy to give him a chance to meet Don. In that meeting, Michael is normal, almost charming, or at least is when Peggy lets him talk (as she keeps interrupting to hold off his neuroses). He also lives with his (I'm assuming) widowed dad, who sings what I assume is a Hebrew blessing over his son when told he got the job. I think I'm going to like these two.
1. Pete Campbell. The episode doesn't start well for him - Roger moved a meeting regarding Mohawk out of Pete's new office and into his own - but Pete gets the last laugh when he assembles the SCDP staff to announce Mohawk's return. That he gets to do so and intimate that Roger will be working under him on the account is icing on the cake.
Three Down
3. Harry Crane. He accompanies Don to sign the Rolling Stones, and gets in to see them. He even gets them to sign on to sing an ad for Heinz. Except that the group he actually signs are The Tradewinds. This might not be such a bad deal in a decade, as it looks like they'll become the band Styx (assuming Wikipedia is right about their early years and I'm making the correct logical leap). Crane then pounds sliders (he's got the munchies after smoking a joint with a teenaged girl) and complains about not getting food when he brings dinner home for the family. Don gets to mock some more, but more gently than last week. Pretty much the usual sad sack Harry as usual.
2. Roger Sterling. He's all set to handle the Mohawk account and even have his own creative staffer to handle the writing, but then gets presented as the "day to day" guy on the account by Pete. This makes him feel even more ineffectual than usual, as he notes to Don over a drink. I do like that these two are friends (of a sort) again. Don better get used to hearing this type of complaint, though.
1. Betty Francis. Betty has gained a significant amount of weight since we last left her, and it's due to something she's carrying. Sadly for her, it's not a baby. It's a lump on her thyroid, which is discovered when she goes to get a prescription for diet pills at the suggestion of her mother in law. Thankfully, the lump is benign, but this does suggest that her weight gain is psychological. From the last scene, where she's sharing ice cream sundaes with Sally, it seems that food is the lone place she's finding happiness in her current situation, even though Henry clearly loves her. Henry also learns of her call to Don from Don, when he calls to check up on her diagnosis. That's probably mitigating some of those feelings.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Mad Men: Three Up, Three Down
So Mad Men is finally back, and with it a new attempt at a regular feature: Three Up, Three Down. The idea here is to identify the three characters who had the best and worst turn of events per episode. Hopefully this won't be too much of a rip-off of Grantland's character power rankings.
Three Up
3. Pete Campbell - I generally enjoy watching Pete's flailing around and getting the cold shoulder from the other partners, as he usually gets what he deserves. But facing marginalization due to his crappy office and Roger's continual crashing of his meetings, and an ongoing issue at home as Trudy works through post-partum depression, it was kind of nice to see him win one. He got his bigger office and managed to pull a nice one over Roger, sending him to Staten Island for a phantom 6 am meeting. I'll admit to also liking the awkward moment he had with Peggy when she was with Joan's baby, more for my own entertainment than anything else.
2. African-Americans. As a group they've never fared well on this show; Don almost got a man fired in the first episode by asking about his smoking preference, and Carla got a raw deal when Betty let her go. So when a group showed up at the SCDP office after seeing the EOE ad they ran to tweak Y&R for their water-bombing protesters, it was a strong move forward. I'm very excited to see the integration of the SDCP office.
1. Megan Draper. I don't know if there's a supporting character that's become more important more quickly than Don's secretary-turned-wife. Her ability to make Don happy and her quick rapport with the kids marked a sea change in Don's personal life. Her further willingness to accept Don's past and embrace it shows even greater capacity to lead Don away from the darkness in his life. And then there was her performance of "Zou Bisou Bisou" at the surprise birthday party she threw for Don, equal parts charming, sexy, and kind of goofy. Throw in her kinky cleaning in lingerie make-up sex plan and she's absolutely riveting. Well done Jessica Pare, and here's to hoping you spend more of the season singing in French than writing coupons for condiment companies.
Three Down
3. Lane Pryce. I almost went with Peggy here for her pot-influenced dressing down of Don at his own birthday party, but in retrospect Lane gets the nod as we really saw in this episode the loneliness that's at his core. Sure, his wife is in New York now, but they are contented at best. The continuing cash flow issues at home and work aren't helping. And then there was his not-so-subtly racist decision to hold onto a wallet he found in a cab rather than hand it over to the non-white driver. His phone banter with the owner's "girl" was sad-cute, which just became sad when the owner showed up to claim his wallet and can't stop talking about what a gentleman Lane is. Pryce's pep talk to Joan helped balance things out a bit, but I was kind of worried he was going to make a pass at her. I still am, to be honest.
2. Harry Crane. I have a feeling he'll show up here often, as he is SCDP's punching bag. Still, it was a pretty bad episode for him. He gave Don a walking stick for his birthday, which went over as well as you'd think. He spent a fair amount of time telling Stan what he'd do to Megan if given a chance - with Megan standing behind him for most of it. Finally, he allows himself to be bought out of his old office so Pete could have a better space. The $1100 aside, a pretty sad week for Harry. He'll have more.
1. Roger Sterling. You know Roger is facing the an ever-expanding void when he has to start crashing Pete's meetings in order to stay in front of clients. And then he has to pay off a secretary to spend some time covering his office! Roger has sunk, and can't quite find a way out. That's as true at home, where he realizes he's lost the Marry Your Secretary sweepstakes to Don. He's dismissive of Jane in a few settings, making one wonder at what point she'll become the next ex-Mrs. Sterling. That their bickering led to spoiling the surprise of Don's birthday party was just icing on the cake. Roger really needs to find a new client to occupy his time.
Three Up
3. Pete Campbell - I generally enjoy watching Pete's flailing around and getting the cold shoulder from the other partners, as he usually gets what he deserves. But facing marginalization due to his crappy office and Roger's continual crashing of his meetings, and an ongoing issue at home as Trudy works through post-partum depression, it was kind of nice to see him win one. He got his bigger office and managed to pull a nice one over Roger, sending him to Staten Island for a phantom 6 am meeting. I'll admit to also liking the awkward moment he had with Peggy when she was with Joan's baby, more for my own entertainment than anything else.
2. African-Americans. As a group they've never fared well on this show; Don almost got a man fired in the first episode by asking about his smoking preference, and Carla got a raw deal when Betty let her go. So when a group showed up at the SCDP office after seeing the EOE ad they ran to tweak Y&R for their water-bombing protesters, it was a strong move forward. I'm very excited to see the integration of the SDCP office.
1. Megan Draper. I don't know if there's a supporting character that's become more important more quickly than Don's secretary-turned-wife. Her ability to make Don happy and her quick rapport with the kids marked a sea change in Don's personal life. Her further willingness to accept Don's past and embrace it shows even greater capacity to lead Don away from the darkness in his life. And then there was her performance of "Zou Bisou Bisou" at the surprise birthday party she threw for Don, equal parts charming, sexy, and kind of goofy. Throw in her kinky cleaning in lingerie make-up sex plan and she's absolutely riveting. Well done Jessica Pare, and here's to hoping you spend more of the season singing in French than writing coupons for condiment companies.
Three Down
3. Lane Pryce. I almost went with Peggy here for her pot-influenced dressing down of Don at his own birthday party, but in retrospect Lane gets the nod as we really saw in this episode the loneliness that's at his core. Sure, his wife is in New York now, but they are contented at best. The continuing cash flow issues at home and work aren't helping. And then there was his not-so-subtly racist decision to hold onto a wallet he found in a cab rather than hand it over to the non-white driver. His phone banter with the owner's "girl" was sad-cute, which just became sad when the owner showed up to claim his wallet and can't stop talking about what a gentleman Lane is. Pryce's pep talk to Joan helped balance things out a bit, but I was kind of worried he was going to make a pass at her. I still am, to be honest.
2. Harry Crane. I have a feeling he'll show up here often, as he is SCDP's punching bag. Still, it was a pretty bad episode for him. He gave Don a walking stick for his birthday, which went over as well as you'd think. He spent a fair amount of time telling Stan what he'd do to Megan if given a chance - with Megan standing behind him for most of it. Finally, he allows himself to be bought out of his old office so Pete could have a better space. The $1100 aside, a pretty sad week for Harry. He'll have more.
1. Roger Sterling. You know Roger is facing the an ever-expanding void when he has to start crashing Pete's meetings in order to stay in front of clients. And then he has to pay off a secretary to spend some time covering his office! Roger has sunk, and can't quite find a way out. That's as true at home, where he realizes he's lost the Marry Your Secretary sweepstakes to Don. He's dismissive of Jane in a few settings, making one wonder at what point she'll become the next ex-Mrs. Sterling. That their bickering led to spoiling the surprise of Don's birthday party was just icing on the cake. Roger really needs to find a new client to occupy his time.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
There goes the Fred Flintstone cameo
I mentioned it in passing in the last post, but Fox officially cancelled Terra Nova yesterday, and for the claims it's being shopped around it's probably not coming back. This doesn't bother me terribly, as I'd given up on the show a while ago (though I've seen in more than one place that it was improving with the last few episodes).
What I did find interesting was this piece (which made me change the original title of this post) talking about longer-range effects of the cancellation. I have mixed feelings about each point.
Harder to get sci-fi on prime time network TV - this is probably true, though it was hard enough to get sci-fi on beforehand that it may not matter much. Fox does seem the most disposed to bring sci-fi shows to air, and I expect they'll lick their wounds and try again. That or they'll get on the Once Upon a Time/Grimm fantasy train - is HBO still trying to get American Gods on the air?
Tighter budgets - I suppose the cancellation could exacerbate this, but isn't this where network TV was heading given smaller audiences?
Less ambitious programming - not sure I buy this, the networks have every incentive to continue being ambitious in the face of competition from basic cable, the Internet, etc. They need to manage how that ambition is used, something that I think comes through with shows like Awake, whose double-track story is ambitious in a way that networks can handle in the current financial climate.
I suppose we will see fewer shows set 85 million years in the past, though.
It was a true family-friendly show - well, sort of - I don't know if some of the dino violence was really good for all ages - but it was a more family friendly than, say, The River. I don't expect this cancellation will put the kibosh on networks trying to find shows that appeal to the kids and their parents, but I do wonder if that's even worth it anymore. Aren't the kids off in their room streaming Disney Channel shows or something while the folks are in the living room watching Dancing With the Biggest Loser Network Fashion Stars?
What I did find interesting was this piece (which made me change the original title of this post) talking about longer-range effects of the cancellation. I have mixed feelings about each point.
Harder to get sci-fi on prime time network TV - this is probably true, though it was hard enough to get sci-fi on beforehand that it may not matter much. Fox does seem the most disposed to bring sci-fi shows to air, and I expect they'll lick their wounds and try again. That or they'll get on the Once Upon a Time/Grimm fantasy train - is HBO still trying to get American Gods on the air?
Tighter budgets - I suppose the cancellation could exacerbate this, but isn't this where network TV was heading given smaller audiences?
Less ambitious programming - not sure I buy this, the networks have every incentive to continue being ambitious in the face of competition from basic cable, the Internet, etc. They need to manage how that ambition is used, something that I think comes through with shows like Awake, whose double-track story is ambitious in a way that networks can handle in the current financial climate.
I suppose we will see fewer shows set 85 million years in the past, though.
It was a true family-friendly show - well, sort of - I don't know if some of the dino violence was really good for all ages - but it was a more family friendly than, say, The River. I don't expect this cancellation will put the kibosh on networks trying to find shows that appeal to the kids and their parents, but I do wonder if that's even worth it anymore. Aren't the kids off in their room streaming Disney Channel shows or something while the folks are in the living room watching Dancing With the Biggest Loser Network Fashion Stars?
New on TV Roundup
Quickish hits on three news shows I've been/just started watching.
Alcatraz is the one that most fits my interests. In 1963, the prison closed and the prisoners were transfered... except they weren't. They've been showing up in the present day - at the behest of whom it's not known - and doing the sorts of things that got them sent to the Rock in the first place.
Set against them is an unlikely pairing of a San Francisco cop and a comic book store-owning Ph.D. who is an expert on Alacatraz. They work, nominally, for a secretive federal agent who heads up a group that apparently expected the inmates to return and has been working to find them. He also has an assistant who appears to have also been a psychologist attached to the prison at the time of the vanishings. Confused yet?
For all the time traveling and whatnot, the show itself isn't that hard to sort out. The plots are split into the current time and an early '60s timeline when the prisoners were still in prison. That timeline includes appearances by the warden, a deputy warden (who didn't jump) and the prison doctor (who apparently did). Conceptually it makes sense, but in practice I think it's limiting, as the current day plot lines all seem to end out of the blue. Better that than a lot of exposition, I suppose.
Decent cast - Sam Neill plays the fed, Jorge Garcia gives us Lost fans a fix as the Ph.D., Parminder Nagra as the shrink, and Robert Forster as the cop's "uncle" - but they don't have enough to work with.
Ratings have been meh, and Fox is cranking through episodes in a way that guarantees it won't air during May sweeps. Still, now that House and Terra Nova are gone, there's a pretty large hole to plug on Mondays.
Theoretically, that hole could also be plugged by Touch, which was previewed a while ago and will start to air regularly later this month. It's the story of a man (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who has to parse the number-based clues brought to light by his son (who is autistic, or who has a condition similar to autism, it's still being sorted out). In the preview episode it led Keifer to delay a man from boarding a bus, which allowed him to be on site to save a bunch of kids from dying on a burning bus (it also turns out the guy used to be a fire fighter, and he had some sort of interaction with Keifer's wife, a 9/11 victim, on that day).
If this all sounds vaguely one-worldy mystical, it's because the show is from the mind of Tim Kring, who took a similar look using people with superpowers on Heroes. This isn't that sort of show at all, but there's a similarity of tone and feel, from the subplot involving a cell phone to the somewhat self-important opening narration (which is still light years less annoying than what Heroes used to throw at us).
Hard to say where this is going based on one episode, but without more substance to balance out the show's main gimmick I don't think it'll do well long-term.
Finally, I finally watched the first episode of Smash, NBC's Broadway drama, and I was pleasantly surprised. It has a good cast used well, from Debra Messing's slightly neurotic show writer to Anjelica Huston's imperious producer. The show also helps makes cosmic sense of Katherine McPhee's loss to Taylor Hicks on American Idol all those years ago. She plays the ingenue who is up for the lead in a new musical about Marilyn Monroe, squaring off against the long-time chorus girl played by Megan Hilty (a Broadway lead in her own right).
All of the characters fill some sort of stereotypical role, such as the lecherous but brilliant director and the alternatively supportive and put-upon husband, but the acting and writing is good enough to keep things fresh. I am not looking forward to the inevitable clashes from the adoption Messing's character and her husband are trying to finalize, though. I'd much prefer some garden-variety cheating.
A strong premiere has given way to middling ratings, it's getting some help now by airing right after The Voice. Even with average numbers, Smash benefits from airing on NBC, which has great yawning chasms on its schedule, especially where drama is concerned. And based on some of the pilots NBC is working with (including an hour-long dramatic take on The Munsters and a show which appears to be based on the educational computer game Oregon Trail), you'd have to think Smash will be back. I just hope NBC doesn't try to push it as their big hit drama. The show's not strong enough for that. It really needs to be treated as the sort of solid show that NBC can build upon. God knows they have a lot of building to do.
Alcatraz is the one that most fits my interests. In 1963, the prison closed and the prisoners were transfered... except they weren't. They've been showing up in the present day - at the behest of whom it's not known - and doing the sorts of things that got them sent to the Rock in the first place.
Set against them is an unlikely pairing of a San Francisco cop and a comic book store-owning Ph.D. who is an expert on Alacatraz. They work, nominally, for a secretive federal agent who heads up a group that apparently expected the inmates to return and has been working to find them. He also has an assistant who appears to have also been a psychologist attached to the prison at the time of the vanishings. Confused yet?
For all the time traveling and whatnot, the show itself isn't that hard to sort out. The plots are split into the current time and an early '60s timeline when the prisoners were still in prison. That timeline includes appearances by the warden, a deputy warden (who didn't jump) and the prison doctor (who apparently did). Conceptually it makes sense, but in practice I think it's limiting, as the current day plot lines all seem to end out of the blue. Better that than a lot of exposition, I suppose.
Decent cast - Sam Neill plays the fed, Jorge Garcia gives us Lost fans a fix as the Ph.D., Parminder Nagra as the shrink, and Robert Forster as the cop's "uncle" - but they don't have enough to work with.
Ratings have been meh, and Fox is cranking through episodes in a way that guarantees it won't air during May sweeps. Still, now that House and Terra Nova are gone, there's a pretty large hole to plug on Mondays.
Theoretically, that hole could also be plugged by Touch, which was previewed a while ago and will start to air regularly later this month. It's the story of a man (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who has to parse the number-based clues brought to light by his son (who is autistic, or who has a condition similar to autism, it's still being sorted out). In the preview episode it led Keifer to delay a man from boarding a bus, which allowed him to be on site to save a bunch of kids from dying on a burning bus (it also turns out the guy used to be a fire fighter, and he had some sort of interaction with Keifer's wife, a 9/11 victim, on that day).
If this all sounds vaguely one-worldy mystical, it's because the show is from the mind of Tim Kring, who took a similar look using people with superpowers on Heroes. This isn't that sort of show at all, but there's a similarity of tone and feel, from the subplot involving a cell phone to the somewhat self-important opening narration (which is still light years less annoying than what Heroes used to throw at us).
Hard to say where this is going based on one episode, but without more substance to balance out the show's main gimmick I don't think it'll do well long-term.
Finally, I finally watched the first episode of Smash, NBC's Broadway drama, and I was pleasantly surprised. It has a good cast used well, from Debra Messing's slightly neurotic show writer to Anjelica Huston's imperious producer. The show also helps makes cosmic sense of Katherine McPhee's loss to Taylor Hicks on American Idol all those years ago. She plays the ingenue who is up for the lead in a new musical about Marilyn Monroe, squaring off against the long-time chorus girl played by Megan Hilty (a Broadway lead in her own right).
All of the characters fill some sort of stereotypical role, such as the lecherous but brilliant director and the alternatively supportive and put-upon husband, but the acting and writing is good enough to keep things fresh. I am not looking forward to the inevitable clashes from the adoption Messing's character and her husband are trying to finalize, though. I'd much prefer some garden-variety cheating.
A strong premiere has given way to middling ratings, it's getting some help now by airing right after The Voice. Even with average numbers, Smash benefits from airing on NBC, which has great yawning chasms on its schedule, especially where drama is concerned. And based on some of the pilots NBC is working with (including an hour-long dramatic take on The Munsters and a show which appears to be based on the educational computer game Oregon Trail), you'd have to think Smash will be back. I just hope NBC doesn't try to push it as their big hit drama. The show's not strong enough for that. It really needs to be treated as the sort of solid show that NBC can build upon. God knows they have a lot of building to do.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Real Housewives of Lima, Ohio
I don't watch any of the Real Housewives shows on Bravo - I have no interest and figure they're about as real as Desperate Housewives - and generally dislike it when one of the women on the show crosses over into the mainstream for some reason.
But I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at NeNe Leakes' turn as McKinley High synchronized swimming coach Roz Washington. It's wasn't the most nuanced performance - she basically yelled all of her lines at Sam Evans in one go - but it seemed to fit the character. I think in very limited doses, she could become a fun part of the show.
That being said, how does McKinley afford a synchronized swim team? Shouldn't they take that money and put it towards hiring teachers who, I don't know, teach? Or maybe an assistant principal who can roam the halls and take down slushy assailants? I know making a list of the improbable goings-on on Glee could be a full-time job, but this one's been sticking in my head for a while.
(That and the fact that Rachel and Kurt only seemed to know about NYADA when Emma told them about it. In what universe do two hyper-motivated Broadway wannabes not know about this school? It's almost as unbelievable as Rachel not knowing Cats had wrapped.)
But I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at NeNe Leakes' turn as McKinley High synchronized swimming coach Roz Washington. It's wasn't the most nuanced performance - she basically yelled all of her lines at Sam Evans in one go - but it seemed to fit the character. I think in very limited doses, she could become a fun part of the show.
That being said, how does McKinley afford a synchronized swim team? Shouldn't they take that money and put it towards hiring teachers who, I don't know, teach? Or maybe an assistant principal who can roam the halls and take down slushy assailants? I know making a list of the improbable goings-on on Glee could be a full-time job, but this one's been sticking in my head for a while.
(That and the fact that Rachel and Kurt only seemed to know about NYADA when Emma told them about it. In what universe do two hyper-motivated Broadway wannabes not know about this school? It's almost as unbelievable as Rachel not knowing Cats had wrapped.)
Friday, February 10, 2012
Closing the House
So word came this week that this will be the final season for House, which will wrap after eight snarky and Vicodin-fueled seasons. No question the show stayed too long at the fair, as the last season or two haven't been the most interesting. You know you're in trouble when you can't make the main character's jail time an interesting - or at least fun - episode.
A number of people have pointed to the House-Cuddy relationship as the thing that turned the series, but I think the problems predated that. For me, the break seemed to start when House hired the new team. I don't have anything particularly against the actors, but I found the characters alternately flat (Taub, for all of his foibles, is not that interesting) and gimmicky (Thirteen: she has no name! she's bisexual! she has Huntington's! she's disappeared! now she's back! now she's gone again!). Bringing back Chase and Foreman hasn't helped, as Chase has no obvious purpose other than having sex with women, while Foreman has regained some value as House's boss.
I actually think the new team members could have helped inject some life into the show, but between Adams' relentless optimism and Park's rudeness we just got more archetypes for House to play against each other.
Which leads to the biggest problem the show's had - where to take House. The show seemed to be going somewhere when House was committed - a relatively clean House trying to get beyond his natural instincts would have been something to watch - but House just fell back into his old ways. Which, while possibly realistic, wasn't as much fun.
There were other stumbles along the way. The third season story arc where House is the subject of a cop's obsessive investigation was excruciating, and the less said about Martha M. Masters the better. But in the main, I think the show ran out of ideas on how House's life was supposed to go. I can only hope the show comes up with something fitting for the finale.
A number of people have pointed to the House-Cuddy relationship as the thing that turned the series, but I think the problems predated that. For me, the break seemed to start when House hired the new team. I don't have anything particularly against the actors, but I found the characters alternately flat (Taub, for all of his foibles, is not that interesting) and gimmicky (Thirteen: she has no name! she's bisexual! she has Huntington's! she's disappeared! now she's back! now she's gone again!). Bringing back Chase and Foreman hasn't helped, as Chase has no obvious purpose other than having sex with women, while Foreman has regained some value as House's boss.
I actually think the new team members could have helped inject some life into the show, but between Adams' relentless optimism and Park's rudeness we just got more archetypes for House to play against each other.
Which leads to the biggest problem the show's had - where to take House. The show seemed to be going somewhere when House was committed - a relatively clean House trying to get beyond his natural instincts would have been something to watch - but House just fell back into his old ways. Which, while possibly realistic, wasn't as much fun.
There were other stumbles along the way. The third season story arc where House is the subject of a cop's obsessive investigation was excruciating, and the less said about Martha M. Masters the better. But in the main, I think the show ran out of ideas on how House's life was supposed to go. I can only hope the show comes up with something fitting for the finale.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
What if... there were no hairdressers?
I won't be watching tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy for a while, but based on the ads I can one thing for sure: the greatest change if the doctors had made different decisions in their lives seems to be their hair. There are some fugly 'dos on tap, and I don't know if I'll be able to focus when I finally do watch the episode as I'll be too distracted.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
X-ed Out Factor
So the big TV news today is the house clearing at The X Factor, as host Steve Jones and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul were shown the door. From what I can gather, Jones was thought to be too hard on contestants, Scherzinger never connected with fans, and Abdul was too "soft," which could hardly have been a surprise given the light touch she used for criticism on American Idol.
As much as this shake-up puts the show in the news, I don't think it will do anything to correct what I saw as the main problem with the show when it first aired: the format is tired and the show itself too derivative of the other music performance reality shows. I think what's really hampered the show was The Voice, which beat The X Factor to featuring live performances and teams mentored by an industry heavyweight. The only twist The X Factor could come up with - having the teams be all of one type - didn't bring enough interest, especially with the team made of groups. If you have to create two groups out of rejected individual performers, then you may want to reconsider if you need a team of groups at all.
I suppose some really big names may bring in more viewers - Mariah Carey is getting mentioned quite a bit as a future judge, and there's been some idle speculation about Ryan Seacrest moving over to host - but regardless of who they bring in, what the show really needs is a truly fresh approach. I have no idea what that would be, but I'm not the one getting paid millions by Fox. Good luck, Simon.
As much as this shake-up puts the show in the news, I don't think it will do anything to correct what I saw as the main problem with the show when it first aired: the format is tired and the show itself too derivative of the other music performance reality shows. I think what's really hampered the show was The Voice, which beat The X Factor to featuring live performances and teams mentored by an industry heavyweight. The only twist The X Factor could come up with - having the teams be all of one type - didn't bring enough interest, especially with the team made of groups. If you have to create two groups out of rejected individual performers, then you may want to reconsider if you need a team of groups at all.
I suppose some really big names may bring in more viewers - Mariah Carey is getting mentioned quite a bit as a future judge, and there's been some idle speculation about Ryan Seacrest moving over to host - but regardless of who they bring in, what the show really needs is a truly fresh approach. I have no idea what that would be, but I'm not the one getting paid millions by Fox. Good luck, Simon.
Friday, December 30, 2011
New Year, Old TV
I'm not much of a New Year's celebrant, and from a TV perspective it offers up two of my least favorite offerings - Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve and the Tournament of Roses parade. The former offers too much hype and the painful appearance of Dick Clark, whose post-stroke speech is often incomprehensible. I hope that every year will bring a sign of improvement, but have been disappointed. The parade, meanwhile, bores me. I don't like watching parades on TV generally, and am annoyed that this particular parade is covered by something like 20 networks at the same time.
The one New Year's TV tradition I absolutely love is the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy. It's a great alternative to the aforementioned crap and when bowl games get out of hand. As a service to you, dear readers, here's a schedule of when some of the more notable episodes will run (all times Eastern):
Saturday
"In Praise of Pip" (9:30 am) - I tend to enjoy all of the Klugman episodes, and find this one about a bookie who learns that his son has been wounded in combat especially poignant. It's taken on greater meaning now that I have sons of my own.
"The Rip Van Winkle Caper" (12:30 pm) - one of my favorite "gotcha" episodes, though more for the way the gang at the center of this heist disintegrates, proving there truly is no honor among thieves.
"The After Hours" (4:30 pm) - I find this episode creepy, less for the ultimate reveal than for the department store, with its missing floors and such. I kind of fear having the same thing happen to me.
"A Game of Pool" (5:30 pm) - to me this is the first classic episode of the marathon, as Jack Klugman's pool shark faces off against the greatest hustler of them all (Jonathan Winters) - even though the hustler is dead.
"Stopover in a Quiet Town" (7 pm) - I have to admit I like this episode because I like the comeuppance served to the main characters, a disagreeable couple who wake up after a bender unsure where they actually are.
"A Penny for Your Thoughts" (8 pm) - Dick York plays a bank clerk who can hear people's thoughts. I like the comedic tone of the episode, and it's one of my favorite ones where an unexpected circumstance allows a meek character to succeed.
"Nick of Time" (10 pm) - a newlywed couple finds themselves at the mercy of a penny-operated fortune-telling machine when their car breaks down. The episode features William Shatner as the husband.
"Kick The Can" (11 pm) - I admit I like this story of a nursing home resident who tries to get his fellow elderly to play like children more for its later reference on The Simpsons than for the actual episode. But it's still a good one.
Sunday
"The Midnight Sun" (12 am) - an enjoyable episode, both for the way people cope with the slowly inevitable date Earth now has with the sun, and for the way the episode resolves as a quasi-gotcha.
"People Are Alike All Over" (12:30 am) - enjoyed for the idea that aliens, rather than being giant insectoids with a taste for human flesh, are jerks just like the rest of us.
"Two" (2 am) - Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson star as what might be the last combatants in a war that's killed everyone else. The leads do a nice job of acting this out without the help of lengthy dialog.
"The Lonely" (4 am) - a man sentenced to a long stretch alone on an asteroid is sent a robot companion to help pass the time. A bit predictable in the outcome, but a nice example on how no man can be an island.
"The Arrival" (5:30 am) - a plane arrives at an airport without passengers, and each of the three men investigating the incident see something different. If I'm remembering this episode correctly, the ending is given kind of out of the blue.
"The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" (7:30 am) - a young man comes back to life at his own funeral, and has to convince the town that he's not the devil. You can imagine how that turns out.
"The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms" (11:30 am) - three National Guardsmen get more than they bargained for during their weekend drill when they happen upon Custer's Last Stand. Probably my favorite time travel episode.
"It's a Good Life" (2 pm) - classic episode about a town that lives to please a small boy (Billy Mumy), who can use his mind to make life unpleasant - or non-existent - if you displease him.
"The Invaders" (4:30 pm) - dialog-free story about a woman fighting off alien invaders.
"Living Doll" (7:30 pm) - Telly Savalas plays a man who has his life threatened by one of his daughter's dolls. We have a number of toys here that speak in a similar voice and with similar phrases to the doll, so I've taken to making up creepy statements like "it's murder time" when the toys come out.
"The Obsolete Man" (8 pm) - the lesser known of Burgess Meredith's bookcentric episodes, in this one he plays a librarian who is to be put to death because society no longer needs books. I do like this one for the impassioned defense of knowledge at the end.
"Time Enough at Last" (9 pm) - the other episode, where Meredith plays a bank teller who only wants time to read - and gets it when a nuclear strike happens while he's in the vault. May have the best-known gotcha ending of the entire series.
"A Stop at Willoughby" (9:30 pm) - an ad exec finds himself wanting to get off at this idyllic town, but always just misses the stop. He finally makes it off at the end of the episode, with a neat gotcha as to the nature of Willoughby at the end.
"The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (10 pm) - a neighborhood loses power, and the fear that it's due to an alien invasion leads residents to turn on each other, thinking that each is an advance scout for the invasion.
"To Serve Man" (10:30 pm) - the other entrant in the best-known gotcha ending, although there's a tacked on bit at the end that kind of ruins the surprise. Nicely done overall, though.
"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up" (11 pm) - alien invasion played more for humor, as an alien is tracked to a local diner. The ending is a double gotcha, which I really enjoyed the first time I saw it.
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" - another classic, featuring William Shatner as an airplane passenger who keeps seeing a gremlin outside the plane, trying to cause a crash. He's the only person who sees it.
Monday
"Nightmare as a Child" (2 am) - a teacher is freaked out by a girl who knows too much about the teacher's past. I've probably under-represented the supernatural episodes, but this is one I remember liking.
"What's in the Box" (2:30 am) - a nagging couple finds their marital trouble is now being reported on the TV. I really think this would be a great basis for a movie version of The Lockhorns.
Enjoy this weekend's trip into an alternate dimension!
The one New Year's TV tradition I absolutely love is the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy. It's a great alternative to the aforementioned crap and when bowl games get out of hand. As a service to you, dear readers, here's a schedule of when some of the more notable episodes will run (all times Eastern):
Saturday
"In Praise of Pip" (9:30 am) - I tend to enjoy all of the Klugman episodes, and find this one about a bookie who learns that his son has been wounded in combat especially poignant. It's taken on greater meaning now that I have sons of my own.
"The Rip Van Winkle Caper" (12:30 pm) - one of my favorite "gotcha" episodes, though more for the way the gang at the center of this heist disintegrates, proving there truly is no honor among thieves.
"The After Hours" (4:30 pm) - I find this episode creepy, less for the ultimate reveal than for the department store, with its missing floors and such. I kind of fear having the same thing happen to me.
"A Game of Pool" (5:30 pm) - to me this is the first classic episode of the marathon, as Jack Klugman's pool shark faces off against the greatest hustler of them all (Jonathan Winters) - even though the hustler is dead.
"Stopover in a Quiet Town" (7 pm) - I have to admit I like this episode because I like the comeuppance served to the main characters, a disagreeable couple who wake up after a bender unsure where they actually are.
"A Penny for Your Thoughts" (8 pm) - Dick York plays a bank clerk who can hear people's thoughts. I like the comedic tone of the episode, and it's one of my favorite ones where an unexpected circumstance allows a meek character to succeed.
"Nick of Time" (10 pm) - a newlywed couple finds themselves at the mercy of a penny-operated fortune-telling machine when their car breaks down. The episode features William Shatner as the husband.
"Kick The Can" (11 pm) - I admit I like this story of a nursing home resident who tries to get his fellow elderly to play like children more for its later reference on The Simpsons than for the actual episode. But it's still a good one.
Sunday
"The Midnight Sun" (12 am) - an enjoyable episode, both for the way people cope with the slowly inevitable date Earth now has with the sun, and for the way the episode resolves as a quasi-gotcha.
"People Are Alike All Over" (12:30 am) - enjoyed for the idea that aliens, rather than being giant insectoids with a taste for human flesh, are jerks just like the rest of us.
"Two" (2 am) - Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson star as what might be the last combatants in a war that's killed everyone else. The leads do a nice job of acting this out without the help of lengthy dialog.
"The Lonely" (4 am) - a man sentenced to a long stretch alone on an asteroid is sent a robot companion to help pass the time. A bit predictable in the outcome, but a nice example on how no man can be an island.
"The Arrival" (5:30 am) - a plane arrives at an airport without passengers, and each of the three men investigating the incident see something different. If I'm remembering this episode correctly, the ending is given kind of out of the blue.
"The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" (7:30 am) - a young man comes back to life at his own funeral, and has to convince the town that he's not the devil. You can imagine how that turns out.
"The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms" (11:30 am) - three National Guardsmen get more than they bargained for during their weekend drill when they happen upon Custer's Last Stand. Probably my favorite time travel episode.
"It's a Good Life" (2 pm) - classic episode about a town that lives to please a small boy (Billy Mumy), who can use his mind to make life unpleasant - or non-existent - if you displease him.
"The Invaders" (4:30 pm) - dialog-free story about a woman fighting off alien invaders.
"Living Doll" (7:30 pm) - Telly Savalas plays a man who has his life threatened by one of his daughter's dolls. We have a number of toys here that speak in a similar voice and with similar phrases to the doll, so I've taken to making up creepy statements like "it's murder time" when the toys come out.
"The Obsolete Man" (8 pm) - the lesser known of Burgess Meredith's bookcentric episodes, in this one he plays a librarian who is to be put to death because society no longer needs books. I do like this one for the impassioned defense of knowledge at the end.
"Time Enough at Last" (9 pm) - the other episode, where Meredith plays a bank teller who only wants time to read - and gets it when a nuclear strike happens while he's in the vault. May have the best-known gotcha ending of the entire series.
"A Stop at Willoughby" (9:30 pm) - an ad exec finds himself wanting to get off at this idyllic town, but always just misses the stop. He finally makes it off at the end of the episode, with a neat gotcha as to the nature of Willoughby at the end.
"The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (10 pm) - a neighborhood loses power, and the fear that it's due to an alien invasion leads residents to turn on each other, thinking that each is an advance scout for the invasion.
"To Serve Man" (10:30 pm) - the other entrant in the best-known gotcha ending, although there's a tacked on bit at the end that kind of ruins the surprise. Nicely done overall, though.
"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up" (11 pm) - alien invasion played more for humor, as an alien is tracked to a local diner. The ending is a double gotcha, which I really enjoyed the first time I saw it.
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" - another classic, featuring William Shatner as an airplane passenger who keeps seeing a gremlin outside the plane, trying to cause a crash. He's the only person who sees it.
Monday
"Nightmare as a Child" (2 am) - a teacher is freaked out by a girl who knows too much about the teacher's past. I've probably under-represented the supernatural episodes, but this is one I remember liking.
"What's in the Box" (2:30 am) - a nagging couple finds their marital trouble is now being reported on the TV. I really think this would be a great basis for a movie version of The Lockhorns.
Enjoy this weekend's trip into an alternate dimension!
Thursday, November 03, 2011
New on TV: Pan Am
It's 1963. The jet age has dawned, and we're going around the world with the crew of a Pan Am Clipper. That crew is made up of a captain searching for his gone-missing stewardess girlfriend, his co-pilot who appears to be Pan Am's version of Pete Campbell, and four stewardesses. Two are sisters, one the black sheep of the family, the other the golden child who bolted from her own wedding and wound up on the cover of Life magazine after joining Pan Am. One is a burgeoning feminist/free thinker, as we're shown by her living in the Village and having some guy at her apartment using Marx as an excuse to not answer the phone. The fourth is a Frenchwoman who was apparently sleeping with a married man, which she learned when he brought his family on a flight.
Oh, and did I mention that the black sheep has been recruited by the CIA at the suggestion of the stew who went missing?
Ridiculous espionage subplots aside, there is a certain charm to this show. The sisters have a troubled relationship, but they're secure enough with each other to be honest and have each other's backs when their manipulative mom shows up on a flight. The captain, as much as he's trying to project the alpha male characteristics expected of someone in his position in 1963, is clearly hurting, and his dedication to find his girlfriend is a welcome vulnerability.
The other characters, well, I'm not so sure where they're going. They may be a little to tightly defined as horndog/bohemian/French, and it'd be nice to see them get some range.
As for the show's ability to capture Mad Men's vibe, well, no. They try very hard, certainly with the costumes and music, but try too hard by inserting incidental dialog that sounds like a forced attempt to remind us that it's 1963. The writers do not have Mad Men's ability to come up with dialog that sounds like it would be spoken by people in the 1960s but not sounding like they're trying to prove that it's the 1960s.
Still, this is a pleasant enough show, and the airline setting does allow for a broad range of locales and potential plots. I don't know how much of a chance we'll have to explore the world with this crew, though, as the show's ratings are dismal, thanks in no small part to the anemic numbers put up by Desperate Housewives, whose last season is, almost unbelievably, stupider than any of the previous seasons. I also don't see a good time for them to move the show to without possibly making the show weaker, ratings-wise.
So while this experiment in ripping off basic cable is going better than The Playboy Club, I wouldn't actually call it a success. It's likeable enough, but it doesn't keep me from hoping that March 2012 would just get here already.
Oh, and did I mention that the black sheep has been recruited by the CIA at the suggestion of the stew who went missing?
Ridiculous espionage subplots aside, there is a certain charm to this show. The sisters have a troubled relationship, but they're secure enough with each other to be honest and have each other's backs when their manipulative mom shows up on a flight. The captain, as much as he's trying to project the alpha male characteristics expected of someone in his position in 1963, is clearly hurting, and his dedication to find his girlfriend is a welcome vulnerability.
The other characters, well, I'm not so sure where they're going. They may be a little to tightly defined as horndog/bohemian/French, and it'd be nice to see them get some range.
As for the show's ability to capture Mad Men's vibe, well, no. They try very hard, certainly with the costumes and music, but try too hard by inserting incidental dialog that sounds like a forced attempt to remind us that it's 1963. The writers do not have Mad Men's ability to come up with dialog that sounds like it would be spoken by people in the 1960s but not sounding like they're trying to prove that it's the 1960s.
Still, this is a pleasant enough show, and the airline setting does allow for a broad range of locales and potential plots. I don't know how much of a chance we'll have to explore the world with this crew, though, as the show's ratings are dismal, thanks in no small part to the anemic numbers put up by Desperate Housewives, whose last season is, almost unbelievably, stupider than any of the previous seasons. I also don't see a good time for them to move the show to without possibly making the show weaker, ratings-wise.
So while this experiment in ripping off basic cable is going better than The Playboy Club, I wouldn't actually call it a success. It's likeable enough, but it doesn't keep me from hoping that March 2012 would just get here already.
New on TV: Terra Nova
It's 2149, and Earth is screwed. Population growth, pollution, whatever, it's clear that the planet is not going to be able to sustain life - at least human life - for much longer. At some point in the relatively recent past, a hole in space-time was discovered that allows people to be sent back 85 million years on to a parallel Earth. The idea, apparently, is that this new Earth will serve as a lifeboat for at least a segment of humanity.
That's where the Shannon family comes in. They've been selected for the 11th pilgrimage (mom is a doctor), but there's wrinkle; dad is in prison thanks to his assault on a police officer who discovered that the family had an illegal third child. Mom is apparently more resourceful than first thought, as she engineers a lame escape for her husband and lays down enough bribes to get him through the portal - with their third child.
Terra Nova is run in a quasi-military camp style, led the no-nonsense commander who founded the colony as the very first pilgrim. But there's trouble in the past, as a group of people from the sixth pilgrimage - know as Sixers - split off from Terra Nova and are actively trying to thwart it. They live in the jungle, steal supplies and energy as needed, etc. They also have a belief - not stated explicitly but suggested via comments as subtle as a jackhammer - that this new Earth is actually the old Earth, and the Terra Nova settlement is a ploy made by various people back in 2149 to gain or maintain power.
The Shannons, for their part, get mixed up in this pretty quickly when the dad saves the life of the commander, leading him to a favored spot on the commander's security team. The dad has also been a captive of the Sixers, and is beginning to suspect there's more here than meets the eye. There is also a variety of family drama - a son who resents his dad for being away, a daughter who's already caught the eye of a solider, and none of it is all that interesting.
In fact, this write up is, I think, at least as interesting as the show, a condition I ascribe to the lack of dinosaurs. Oh, there's at least one dino per episode - and there was one episode where a flock of flying dinos attack the Terra Novans, as they've built their settlement on the dino's nesting ground - but the real draw for watching this show isn't to see what bits they've ripped off from Lost or how problematically on the nose it was for them to cast the Marine commander from Avatar as the Terra Nova commander. I want to see dinosaurs, lots of them, preferably fighting each other. That would be at least as interesting as the whole thing with the Sixers (which I think they've tipped too early) and much more interesting than the family dynamics stuff.
Bottom line, I'm a little disappointed with the show, and the ratings suggest that I'm not alone. My thinking: more dinos, more ratings. Make it happen, Fox.
That's where the Shannon family comes in. They've been selected for the 11th pilgrimage (mom is a doctor), but there's wrinkle; dad is in prison thanks to his assault on a police officer who discovered that the family had an illegal third child. Mom is apparently more resourceful than first thought, as she engineers a lame escape for her husband and lays down enough bribes to get him through the portal - with their third child.
Terra Nova is run in a quasi-military camp style, led the no-nonsense commander who founded the colony as the very first pilgrim. But there's trouble in the past, as a group of people from the sixth pilgrimage - know as Sixers - split off from Terra Nova and are actively trying to thwart it. They live in the jungle, steal supplies and energy as needed, etc. They also have a belief - not stated explicitly but suggested via comments as subtle as a jackhammer - that this new Earth is actually the old Earth, and the Terra Nova settlement is a ploy made by various people back in 2149 to gain or maintain power.
The Shannons, for their part, get mixed up in this pretty quickly when the dad saves the life of the commander, leading him to a favored spot on the commander's security team. The dad has also been a captive of the Sixers, and is beginning to suspect there's more here than meets the eye. There is also a variety of family drama - a son who resents his dad for being away, a daughter who's already caught the eye of a solider, and none of it is all that interesting.
In fact, this write up is, I think, at least as interesting as the show, a condition I ascribe to the lack of dinosaurs. Oh, there's at least one dino per episode - and there was one episode where a flock of flying dinos attack the Terra Novans, as they've built their settlement on the dino's nesting ground - but the real draw for watching this show isn't to see what bits they've ripped off from Lost or how problematically on the nose it was for them to cast the Marine commander from Avatar as the Terra Nova commander. I want to see dinosaurs, lots of them, preferably fighting each other. That would be at least as interesting as the whole thing with the Sixers (which I think they've tipped too early) and much more interesting than the family dynamics stuff.
Bottom line, I'm a little disappointed with the show, and the ratings suggest that I'm not alone. My thinking: more dinos, more ratings. Make it happen, Fox.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Making it Better - The Walking Dead
While it attracted a huge audience, the start of the second season of The Walking Dead did remind me of some of the things I didn't particularly like about the first season. Unfortunately, they're mostly about the acting. Still, in the interest of improving things, here are my five suggestions for making the show even more zombieriffic.
1. Actually use the word 'zombie.' While I understand (to some extent) the use of the term "walker," I have hard time believing that no one has used that term to describe what, culturally, we've known as zombies. I can only assume that the world depicted on the show never considered zombies as a concept, or did and called them walkers from the start. Anyway, the occasional dropping of the z-word would be a nice touch, if just to remind us that the show putatively takes place in our present.
2. Less chat, more splat. AMC is developing a bit of a rep for shows that are slow-moving and very talky (I think the last episode of Rubicon is just wrapping up now). That's an unfortunate tendency when you have a show whose hook is zombies and the killing of zombies. It seems like most interactions with the undead happen off camera or from the zombie point of view. We get to hear the kill, but not to see it, which is a shame. If we've learned anything from recent zombie movies, it's that we want to see the Zs dispatched in a gruesome fashion. The direction this show is taking makes the Foley artists happy, I'm sure, but zombies are more of a visual thing, and the show should open things up.
3. Use the chaos to your advantage, cast-wise. Look, this show doesn't have the strongest cast, and on top of that a number of characters are downright annoying. With a show like this, it should be easy to correct such things; annoying cast member gets eaten, less annoying cast member is found along the road or something. I think most fans have at least one character they'd gladly sacrifice in the hopes of improving overall quality. And while we're on the subject...
4. Bring back Merle Dixon. If you're going to have stereotypical characters, you might as well have ones that are maximally stereotypical and, if possible, crazy. Merle Dixon hits on all cylinders, and probably moreso now that he's down to one hand. Michael Rooker made Merle a mesmerizing figure, and it's a shame we got so little of him. I'm hoping he does return soon as the king of the zombies or something.
I would also appreciate a reunion with Morgan Jones, if only so we could have...
5. An end to the walkie-talkie monologues. I don't need to hear Rick fill the first minute of the show with exposition and half-baked suggestions (for example, telling Morgan to stay off the roads when Rick and company are just about to get on the road). I also blame these for the torpor that the pace of the show is stuck in. Start with some action and keep the pace up.
Still, all of this takes a back seat to what may be the real problem with the show: turmoil amongst the staff. Between the plan to fire all the writers and use freelancers and the parting of the ways with two executives (including Frank Darabont), the mess in this part of the show must have an impact on the actual product. Get your house in order, folks. We want to see some good old fashioned zombie killin'.
1. Actually use the word 'zombie.' While I understand (to some extent) the use of the term "walker," I have hard time believing that no one has used that term to describe what, culturally, we've known as zombies. I can only assume that the world depicted on the show never considered zombies as a concept, or did and called them walkers from the start. Anyway, the occasional dropping of the z-word would be a nice touch, if just to remind us that the show putatively takes place in our present.
2. Less chat, more splat. AMC is developing a bit of a rep for shows that are slow-moving and very talky (I think the last episode of Rubicon is just wrapping up now). That's an unfortunate tendency when you have a show whose hook is zombies and the killing of zombies. It seems like most interactions with the undead happen off camera or from the zombie point of view. We get to hear the kill, but not to see it, which is a shame. If we've learned anything from recent zombie movies, it's that we want to see the Zs dispatched in a gruesome fashion. The direction this show is taking makes the Foley artists happy, I'm sure, but zombies are more of a visual thing, and the show should open things up.
3. Use the chaos to your advantage, cast-wise. Look, this show doesn't have the strongest cast, and on top of that a number of characters are downright annoying. With a show like this, it should be easy to correct such things; annoying cast member gets eaten, less annoying cast member is found along the road or something. I think most fans have at least one character they'd gladly sacrifice in the hopes of improving overall quality. And while we're on the subject...
4. Bring back Merle Dixon. If you're going to have stereotypical characters, you might as well have ones that are maximally stereotypical and, if possible, crazy. Merle Dixon hits on all cylinders, and probably moreso now that he's down to one hand. Michael Rooker made Merle a mesmerizing figure, and it's a shame we got so little of him. I'm hoping he does return soon as the king of the zombies or something.
I would also appreciate a reunion with Morgan Jones, if only so we could have...
5. An end to the walkie-talkie monologues. I don't need to hear Rick fill the first minute of the show with exposition and half-baked suggestions (for example, telling Morgan to stay off the roads when Rick and company are just about to get on the road). I also blame these for the torpor that the pace of the show is stuck in. Start with some action and keep the pace up.
Still, all of this takes a back seat to what may be the real problem with the show: turmoil amongst the staff. Between the plan to fire all the writers and use freelancers and the parting of the ways with two executives (including Frank Darabont), the mess in this part of the show must have an impact on the actual product. Get your house in order, folks. We want to see some good old fashioned zombie killin'.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Nostalgia Isn't What it Used to Be
So now that the expected cancellation of Charlie's Angels is official, can the networks agree to a five year moratorium on trotting out new versions of old shows? There are some successes (Hawaii 5-0) and qualified successes (Nikita, 90210) in these revivals, but then you have these: Knight Rider, Night Stalker, Bionic Woman, Cupid, V, and Melrose Place (and if you want go back a little farther, throw in Dragnet, Star Search, Hunter, The Twilight Zone, and Family Affair). It may be too early to say where Prime Suspect is going, but based on ratings it's more likely to join the latter group.
The danger in this, of course, is that we get more offshoots of existing shows. I'd hate to prevent the return of The Five Mrs. Buchanans if what we get instead is NCIS: Presque Isle. Actually, I'd like to see how CBS would pull that off, though the jokes about Presque Isle not being on the water would probably wear thin after the second episode.
The danger in this, of course, is that we get more offshoots of existing shows. I'd hate to prevent the return of The Five Mrs. Buchanans if what we get instead is NCIS: Presque Isle. Actually, I'd like to see how CBS would pull that off, though the jokes about Presque Isle not being on the water would probably wear thin after the second episode.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Beauty of DVR Viewing
The number of shows we record on our DVR generally has us catching up with regular season shows over the summer and watching summer programming during the first half of the new season, with occasional sampling of new shows to see if we're going to keep watching them. This puts me behind the eight ball in discussing developments on existing shows (like how much Glee apparently sucks this year, save Dot Marie Jones), but it has given us a great new approach to some of the summer shows, most notably Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef.
.The approach is simple: watch one episode of each show each night until it's over. I know this sort of condensed season viewing isn't new for folks (especially those of you who stream seasons or watch DVDs), but it's been very helpful for these two shows specifically, as:
1. You can blow through episodes quickly, as you can skip over the ads and excessive recapping (really, I don't need 30 seconds to remind me of what happened two to four minutes ago). Not too unlike regular DVR viewing, but some added value for these shows.
2. You get to know the contestants very quickly. This is less of a problem on Hell's Kitchen, whose contestants tend towards oversized personalities. But it's really helpful for Master Chef, whose contestant pool starts large and, even with a quick cutdown, remains large enough to allow you to lose people in the first few weeks. You see these people every night, though, and it's easier to keep track of folks.
(An aside for Master Chef: please stop the in-program ads for your knives and cookware. Graham Elliot deserves better, I think.)
I will say that this has helped Master Chef seem more compelling this season, though some more interesting competitors have helped, too. They're certainly easier to take than the braying jackasses who tend make up most of Hell's Kitchen.
.The approach is simple: watch one episode of each show each night until it's over. I know this sort of condensed season viewing isn't new for folks (especially those of you who stream seasons or watch DVDs), but it's been very helpful for these two shows specifically, as:
1. You can blow through episodes quickly, as you can skip over the ads and excessive recapping (really, I don't need 30 seconds to remind me of what happened two to four minutes ago). Not too unlike regular DVR viewing, but some added value for these shows.
2. You get to know the contestants very quickly. This is less of a problem on Hell's Kitchen, whose contestants tend towards oversized personalities. But it's really helpful for Master Chef, whose contestant pool starts large and, even with a quick cutdown, remains large enough to allow you to lose people in the first few weeks. You see these people every night, though, and it's easier to keep track of folks.
(An aside for Master Chef: please stop the in-program ads for your knives and cookware. Graham Elliot deserves better, I think.)
I will say that this has helped Master Chef seem more compelling this season, though some more interesting competitors have helped, too. They're certainly easier to take than the braying jackasses who tend make up most of Hell's Kitchen.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Down the Rabbit Hole
Between the negative reviews and the falling numbers over its first three episodes, it should be no surprise that NBC's The Playboy Club was the first new show to get cancelled. Really, the writing was on the wall when Aaron Barnhart tabbed it American Dreams with boobs.
The more surprising info in that EW article is that Whitney got picked up for a full season. While it's not bleeding viewers, last week episode underperformed the previous year's episode of Outsourced. Then again, Outsourced got a full season, so it could just be that NBC will take the hit to have some stability. That must make Maria Bello happy, though reruns of Prime Suspect will show up in The Playboy Club's former spot for the next few weeks, which may help.
The show that's being mentioned as the long-term replacement is the newsmagazine Rock Center with Brian Williams. Based on the name I'm assuming the show is about football, or musicians, or football-playing musicians.
The more surprising info in that EW article is that Whitney got picked up for a full season. While it's not bleeding viewers, last week episode underperformed the previous year's episode of Outsourced. Then again, Outsourced got a full season, so it could just be that NBC will take the hit to have some stability. That must make Maria Bello happy, though reruns of Prime Suspect will show up in The Playboy Club's former spot for the next few weeks, which may help.
The show that's being mentioned as the long-term replacement is the newsmagazine Rock Center with Brian Williams. Based on the name I'm assuming the show is about football, or musicians, or football-playing musicians.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
New on TV: New Girl
If you read enough reviews of new TV shows, you start to see broad narratives develop as to why a show will succeed or fail. This isn't surprising, as mass media loves nothing more than adopting an already-developed narrative over something original. In the case of New Girl, though, the narrative is dead on.
The amount to which you love or hate this show will correlate exactly with how much you love or hate Zooey Deschanel.
But first, the set-up: a bohemian/free spirited/whatever adjective best describes Zooey Deschanel woman named Jess catches her boyfriend cheating on her, leading her to move out and find new lodgings with three (or four) men, who aren't that good with women to begin with, never mind the strange, weepy mess they've just taken on. The guys help Jess get back on her feet while she helps them... make rent, I suppose. Jess also has a model best friend (literally), whose main purpose here seems to be as translator between Jess and the guys.
So, Zooey. She plays Jess in the sort of charmingly quirky (or, as I've seen the role described, "adorkable") that doesn't exist in real life, but works on TV as a refreshing break from how women are usually portrayed in sitcoms. And it's a good thing that it's a sitcom, as I think it'd be hard to take Jess for more than 30 minutes in a sitting. Suffice it to say I'm on the fence about Zooey's adorkability, at least in this case.
The roommates are the sort of clueless men who, left to their own devices, would be on an ABC sitcom that gets cancelled before Thanksgiving. There's Schmidt, one of those "bro" guys who seems to put half of his take home pay into a "Douchebag Jar" and who, not surprisingly, has a highly inflated sense of self. Then there's Nick, a bartender who can't get over his last break up but at least acts rationally otherwise, making him the most likely roommate to fall in love with Jess whenever ratings demand that happen. Winston, a former pro basketball player (in Latvia), rounds out the group as the guy who is trying to figure out just what the hell happened while he was gone.
(There is also another character, Coach, who may or may not be a roommate, thought he was but he's apparently only in a couple of episodes. He owns a gym that also appears to be the location of the apartment.)
I know it'd be hard to have this show without the guy roommates - that being the whole point of the show, the guys and Jess trying to sort each other out - but they drag down the show. I'm especially not fond of Schmidt, who I think they're trying to make into some iconic supporting character, and trying too hard.
Overall it's not a bad show, but I'm not feeling compelled to watch regularly, which I guess tracks with the whole narrative I started with.
The amount to which you love or hate this show will correlate exactly with how much you love or hate Zooey Deschanel.
But first, the set-up: a bohemian/free spirited/whatever adjective best describes Zooey Deschanel woman named Jess catches her boyfriend cheating on her, leading her to move out and find new lodgings with three (or four) men, who aren't that good with women to begin with, never mind the strange, weepy mess they've just taken on. The guys help Jess get back on her feet while she helps them... make rent, I suppose. Jess also has a model best friend (literally), whose main purpose here seems to be as translator between Jess and the guys.
So, Zooey. She plays Jess in the sort of charmingly quirky (or, as I've seen the role described, "adorkable") that doesn't exist in real life, but works on TV as a refreshing break from how women are usually portrayed in sitcoms. And it's a good thing that it's a sitcom, as I think it'd be hard to take Jess for more than 30 minutes in a sitting. Suffice it to say I'm on the fence about Zooey's adorkability, at least in this case.
The roommates are the sort of clueless men who, left to their own devices, would be on an ABC sitcom that gets cancelled before Thanksgiving. There's Schmidt, one of those "bro" guys who seems to put half of his take home pay into a "Douchebag Jar" and who, not surprisingly, has a highly inflated sense of self. Then there's Nick, a bartender who can't get over his last break up but at least acts rationally otherwise, making him the most likely roommate to fall in love with Jess whenever ratings demand that happen. Winston, a former pro basketball player (in Latvia), rounds out the group as the guy who is trying to figure out just what the hell happened while he was gone.
(There is also another character, Coach, who may or may not be a roommate, thought he was but he's apparently only in a couple of episodes. He owns a gym that also appears to be the location of the apartment.)
I know it'd be hard to have this show without the guy roommates - that being the whole point of the show, the guys and Jess trying to sort each other out - but they drag down the show. I'm especially not fond of Schmidt, who I think they're trying to make into some iconic supporting character, and trying too hard.
Overall it's not a bad show, but I'm not feeling compelled to watch regularly, which I guess tracks with the whole narrative I started with.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
New on TV: The X Factor
If you've consumed mass media for more than three minutes over the last year, you've seen or heard something about Simon Cowell's new singing competition show, The X Factor. And if you've consumed mass media for more than three minutes over the last decade or so, you've probably seen a show that's very similar to The X Factor.
As much as the show would like to stake a claim to originality or uniqueness, it's pretty much American Idol meets America's Got Talent meets The Voice meets (insert show here). Auditions happen, some good and some bad (thankfully, this show isn't drawing out the bad like AI does). Judges say things, and some contestants are passed through to the next stage of the competition, all in the hopes of winning the $5 million grand prize (now actually in cash rather than a potential for making that much).
That being said, there are some differences between this show and Cowell's old show. Contestants can be any age 12 and up, and can include groups. Those making it past the audition are put into four groups (men, women, groups and "older performers") for mentoring and development prior to competing. In fact, this sounds a lot more like The Voice than anything else.
The auditions also take place in front of a live audience (like The Voice, again, which makes me wonder who is ripping off who here), comprised of 4300 of the loudest, most easily entertained people the producers could find. Seriously, this audience will clap and holler for pretty much anything (outside of the guy who dropped his pants during his audition, he got booed). I do think the audience makes a difference - it can build or erode confidence depending on the performance, certainly - but I wish it was a little less manic.
The judging panel is comprised of Cowell, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger (replacing Cheryl Cole and her Geordie accent) and L.A. Reid. They do pretty much what judging panels do on these shows, and are thankfully more willing to be honest than the AI folks. I especially like L.A. Reid, who manages to be no-nonsense without being a jerk. The producers did try to drum up some sort of conflict with him and Cowell based on their disagreements over contestants, to no avail. At this point at least, there's no ill will there.
People who are into the whole Simon-Paula dynamic, or into the glitter and unicorn-filled world that exists in Paula's head, will be disappointed. In the early going, at least, they played nice and Paula was as coherent as the next person.
There's a heavy redemption angle to the show, as the ratio of successful contestant to compelling/emotional backstory was pretty much one to one. I will say that hearing about the importance of the audition or how someone's whole life is about this moment resonates more when its from a single mom in her 40s than some 19 year old whose "struggle" only exists in their head. I have nothing against redemption, just hoping this doesn't turn into Dr. Phil: The Musical or something.
Whether or not the show is worth watching hinges on your expectations. If you're expecting a singing competition that's new and fresh and full of Fox attitude, well, sorry, you're going to be disappointed. If you just like singing competitions and are sick of the parade of meh that's been coming out of AI the last few years, you may find something to like here.
As much as the show would like to stake a claim to originality or uniqueness, it's pretty much American Idol meets America's Got Talent meets The Voice meets (insert show here). Auditions happen, some good and some bad (thankfully, this show isn't drawing out the bad like AI does). Judges say things, and some contestants are passed through to the next stage of the competition, all in the hopes of winning the $5 million grand prize (now actually in cash rather than a potential for making that much).
That being said, there are some differences between this show and Cowell's old show. Contestants can be any age 12 and up, and can include groups. Those making it past the audition are put into four groups (men, women, groups and "older performers") for mentoring and development prior to competing. In fact, this sounds a lot more like The Voice than anything else.
The auditions also take place in front of a live audience (like The Voice, again, which makes me wonder who is ripping off who here), comprised of 4300 of the loudest, most easily entertained people the producers could find. Seriously, this audience will clap and holler for pretty much anything (outside of the guy who dropped his pants during his audition, he got booed). I do think the audience makes a difference - it can build or erode confidence depending on the performance, certainly - but I wish it was a little less manic.
The judging panel is comprised of Cowell, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger (replacing Cheryl Cole and her Geordie accent) and L.A. Reid. They do pretty much what judging panels do on these shows, and are thankfully more willing to be honest than the AI folks. I especially like L.A. Reid, who manages to be no-nonsense without being a jerk. The producers did try to drum up some sort of conflict with him and Cowell based on their disagreements over contestants, to no avail. At this point at least, there's no ill will there.
People who are into the whole Simon-Paula dynamic, or into the glitter and unicorn-filled world that exists in Paula's head, will be disappointed. In the early going, at least, they played nice and Paula was as coherent as the next person.
There's a heavy redemption angle to the show, as the ratio of successful contestant to compelling/emotional backstory was pretty much one to one. I will say that hearing about the importance of the audition or how someone's whole life is about this moment resonates more when its from a single mom in her 40s than some 19 year old whose "struggle" only exists in their head. I have nothing against redemption, just hoping this doesn't turn into Dr. Phil: The Musical or something.
Whether or not the show is worth watching hinges on your expectations. If you're expecting a singing competition that's new and fresh and full of Fox attitude, well, sorry, you're going to be disappointed. If you just like singing competitions and are sick of the parade of meh that's been coming out of AI the last few years, you may find something to like here.
The Fifth Dentist
If you're my age you probably remember the ads for Trident gum that noted that four out of five dentists would recommend Trident for their patients who chew gum. And if you were like me, this ad left one question: what did the fifth dentist recommend? (Turns out it was not to chew gum at all.)
The ad never impacted my gum chewing habits, but it did give me an early lesson in the importance of language. A lesson that was piqued again this morning when I heard an ad on the radio for NBC's Thursday night sitcoms. The announcer wanted us to tune in to Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and "the critically acclaimed Whitney."
That caught me aback, as the critical reaction to Whitney has been tepid at best (as noted here and here and here (scroll through), and here and here, for starters). So it makes me wonder: who, in this case, is the fifth dentist who is recommending Whitney?
The other idea that popped into my head is that NBC is trying to convince us that Whitney is critically acclaimed so it will fit with the other sitcoms, all of which actually are critically acclaimed (more or less, I'm hoping James Spader will bring some luster back to The Office). I'm thinking the people who actually watch the other shows will notice the difference (and those of us who watch the shows on DVR or On Demand will not really notice Whitney at all).
The ad never impacted my gum chewing habits, but it did give me an early lesson in the importance of language. A lesson that was piqued again this morning when I heard an ad on the radio for NBC's Thursday night sitcoms. The announcer wanted us to tune in to Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and "the critically acclaimed Whitney."
That caught me aback, as the critical reaction to Whitney has been tepid at best (as noted here and here and here (scroll through), and here and here, for starters). So it makes me wonder: who, in this case, is the fifth dentist who is recommending Whitney?
The other idea that popped into my head is that NBC is trying to convince us that Whitney is critically acclaimed so it will fit with the other sitcoms, all of which actually are critically acclaimed (more or less, I'm hoping James Spader will bring some luster back to The Office). I'm thinking the people who actually watch the other shows will notice the difference (and those of us who watch the shows on DVR or On Demand will not really notice Whitney at all).
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Bring Out Your Dead 2011
Another year, another entry in the Ted Marshall Open TV death pool. As in years past, you choose ten shows that you think aren't going to be around for the next TV season, and you get 20 points for each show that goes away, with bonus points based on how you rank them (10 points for the show you most expect to get the axe, 9 points for the second-most, etc.). So who did I go with this year?
10 points - Desperate Housewives, it was announced last month that this will be the final season for the residents of Wisteria Lane, probably for the best as it's likely going to spend this year getting its clock cleaned by The Good Wife over on CBS. Truthfully, ABC should have cut their losses and cut this show when they did the time jump a couple of seasons ago.
9 points - One Tree Hill, also announced last month that this would be the venerable CW show's final season. I have no real comment on that, having never watched a second of the show.
8 points - Chuck, OK fans, NBC has already announced that the show is going away after this season, so please don't send me hate mail. You can send cans of chickpeas or inflatable giraffes or whatever signature item Chuck may have to NBC in an attempt to change their minds, but I think this time it's for real.
7 points - Rules of Engagement, now in the territory of shows I think will get cancelled, I went with this one as it is the only first-run scripted program scheduled for Saturday night. Make whatever jokes you want about a Friday night death slot, but at least each network is trying to program the night. Being stuck in the Saturday night gulag with Cops, college football and reruns suggests that CBS isn't particularly concerned with how this show fares.
6 points - How to Be a Gentleman, an effete magazine columnist links up with a manly man to learn how to be more masculine in this show that will air in the post-Big Bang Theory timeslot. The casting gives some indication as to how the show landed such a nice slot - it includes Kevin Dillon, Dave Foley, and Mary Lynn Rajskub - but it is one of the least well-reviewed new shows, and will be competing with The X Factor, Parks & Rec and Charlie's Angels. Not a good combination.
5 points - Man-Up, which is one of the many shows ABC has tried to foist on us over the last few years about men being men, not the least of which is its lead in, the Tim Allen-led Last Man Standing. Odd that these two manly men shows will lead into Dancing With the Stars and Body of Proof, both of which you think would skew female. I suppose a lack of manly competition at the 8 pm hour may give these shows some life?
I had considered going with Last Man Standing as well, as there is almost nothing nice being written about it, but after getting burned by Jim Belushi for years while incorrectly guessing the demise of According to Jim I get a little gun shy going after older male sitcom stars in relationship comedies.
4 points - Free Agents - speaking of poorly-reviewed shows, most of the real vitriol I've seen regarding new series has been for this latest adaption of a British comedy. At least until today, when Matt Gilbert of the Boston Globe kinda sorta said it was OK. It makes me wonder if most of the spleen vented at the show was over the ongoing inability of Americans to properly convert British shows. Regardless, it's apparently a stinkeroo that will not be saved by cast members like Hank Azaria and Anthony Head.
3 points - Whitney, one of NBC's two shows related to Chelsea Handler (the other, Are You There, Vodka?, bows in midseason, and while I was sorely tempted to choose it I've been swearing off midseason shows as the ones I pick tend to get renewed), starring comedian, Comedy Central roast regular and frequent Chelsea Lately guest Whitney Cummings. I've never seen her perform and don't watch Chelsea Lately or the Comedy Central roasts, but I know that both are edgier than your usual network fare, which makes it sad that she's been saddled with what might be the least edgy sitcom concept - the continuing saga of an unmarried couple living together. Reviews have been much more positive for Two Broke Girls, the CBS show she co-created and co-produces. Expect guest appearances starting sometime in January.
2 points - Unforgettable, the CBS show about a homicide detective who remembers everything from every day of her life - except, inconveniently, the details around the murder of her sister. Pretty much every review I've read of the show notes the irony of a show with this title being so, well, forgettable. Poppy Montgomery apparently adds nothing memorable outside of her first name, with this apparently being another in the long line of interchangable police procedurals.
1 point - Happy Endings, one of the 47 relationship comedies to premiere last season and apparently the only one that got renewed. Not sure why I went for this and not, say H8r, the CW's reality show where disliked celebs try to convince their biggest detractors that they aren't so bad. In retrospect I really should have gone with H8r, especially as Happy Endings will get to live in the shadow of Modern Family. Not that that helped Cougar Town all that much. Looking at the time slot, I could have also gone with I Hate My Teenage Daughter, which has racked up some of the most caustic reviews I've seen this season. So maybe a goof here.
And, as usual, there is an entry in the contest consisting of the top 10 shows picked by all participants. The ones I managed not to pick:
All My Children and One Life to Live, both of which I kind of assumed were already off the air, even though they were on the entry form. Pissed that I left so many easy points on the board.
The Playboy Club, NBC's attempt remora off of Mad Men. It's been getting fairly tepid reviews, and I'd toyed with the idea of including it, but in the end figured there were shows out there more likely to get cancelled.
Suburgatory, which I'm really surprised to see here based on the variety of positive reviews it's picked up. I suppose there's some resistance to the trope of the suburbs being hell compared to the city - it's not the most original premise - but from what I've read the show does manage to rise above its beginnings and fare well. Time slot may be a factor here, too - it's up against The X Factor and Survivor - so maybe ABC will do me a solid and swap it with Happy Endings?
10 points - Desperate Housewives, it was announced last month that this will be the final season for the residents of Wisteria Lane, probably for the best as it's likely going to spend this year getting its clock cleaned by The Good Wife over on CBS. Truthfully, ABC should have cut their losses and cut this show when they did the time jump a couple of seasons ago.
9 points - One Tree Hill, also announced last month that this would be the venerable CW show's final season. I have no real comment on that, having never watched a second of the show.
8 points - Chuck, OK fans, NBC has already announced that the show is going away after this season, so please don't send me hate mail. You can send cans of chickpeas or inflatable giraffes or whatever signature item Chuck may have to NBC in an attempt to change their minds, but I think this time it's for real.
7 points - Rules of Engagement, now in the territory of shows I think will get cancelled, I went with this one as it is the only first-run scripted program scheduled for Saturday night. Make whatever jokes you want about a Friday night death slot, but at least each network is trying to program the night. Being stuck in the Saturday night gulag with Cops, college football and reruns suggests that CBS isn't particularly concerned with how this show fares.
6 points - How to Be a Gentleman, an effete magazine columnist links up with a manly man to learn how to be more masculine in this show that will air in the post-Big Bang Theory timeslot. The casting gives some indication as to how the show landed such a nice slot - it includes Kevin Dillon, Dave Foley, and Mary Lynn Rajskub - but it is one of the least well-reviewed new shows, and will be competing with The X Factor, Parks & Rec and Charlie's Angels. Not a good combination.
5 points - Man-Up, which is one of the many shows ABC has tried to foist on us over the last few years about men being men, not the least of which is its lead in, the Tim Allen-led Last Man Standing. Odd that these two manly men shows will lead into Dancing With the Stars and Body of Proof, both of which you think would skew female. I suppose a lack of manly competition at the 8 pm hour may give these shows some life?
I had considered going with Last Man Standing as well, as there is almost nothing nice being written about it, but after getting burned by Jim Belushi for years while incorrectly guessing the demise of According to Jim I get a little gun shy going after older male sitcom stars in relationship comedies.
4 points - Free Agents - speaking of poorly-reviewed shows, most of the real vitriol I've seen regarding new series has been for this latest adaption of a British comedy. At least until today, when Matt Gilbert of the Boston Globe kinda sorta said it was OK. It makes me wonder if most of the spleen vented at the show was over the ongoing inability of Americans to properly convert British shows. Regardless, it's apparently a stinkeroo that will not be saved by cast members like Hank Azaria and Anthony Head.
3 points - Whitney, one of NBC's two shows related to Chelsea Handler (the other, Are You There, Vodka?, bows in midseason, and while I was sorely tempted to choose it I've been swearing off midseason shows as the ones I pick tend to get renewed), starring comedian, Comedy Central roast regular and frequent Chelsea Lately guest Whitney Cummings. I've never seen her perform and don't watch Chelsea Lately or the Comedy Central roasts, but I know that both are edgier than your usual network fare, which makes it sad that she's been saddled with what might be the least edgy sitcom concept - the continuing saga of an unmarried couple living together. Reviews have been much more positive for Two Broke Girls, the CBS show she co-created and co-produces. Expect guest appearances starting sometime in January.
2 points - Unforgettable, the CBS show about a homicide detective who remembers everything from every day of her life - except, inconveniently, the details around the murder of her sister. Pretty much every review I've read of the show notes the irony of a show with this title being so, well, forgettable. Poppy Montgomery apparently adds nothing memorable outside of her first name, with this apparently being another in the long line of interchangable police procedurals.
1 point - Happy Endings, one of the 47 relationship comedies to premiere last season and apparently the only one that got renewed. Not sure why I went for this and not, say H8r, the CW's reality show where disliked celebs try to convince their biggest detractors that they aren't so bad. In retrospect I really should have gone with H8r, especially as Happy Endings will get to live in the shadow of Modern Family. Not that that helped Cougar Town all that much. Looking at the time slot, I could have also gone with I Hate My Teenage Daughter, which has racked up some of the most caustic reviews I've seen this season. So maybe a goof here.
And, as usual, there is an entry in the contest consisting of the top 10 shows picked by all participants. The ones I managed not to pick:
All My Children and One Life to Live, both of which I kind of assumed were already off the air, even though they were on the entry form. Pissed that I left so many easy points on the board.
The Playboy Club, NBC's attempt remora off of Mad Men. It's been getting fairly tepid reviews, and I'd toyed with the idea of including it, but in the end figured there were shows out there more likely to get cancelled.
Suburgatory, which I'm really surprised to see here based on the variety of positive reviews it's picked up. I suppose there's some resistance to the trope of the suburbs being hell compared to the city - it's not the most original premise - but from what I've read the show does manage to rise above its beginnings and fare well. Time slot may be a factor here, too - it's up against The X Factor and Survivor - so maybe ABC will do me a solid and swap it with Happy Endings?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
At Least it Wasn't Raining
OK, I've finally seen the last episode of The Killing, and there are three things that bother me about the finale:
1. There is no way Belko Royce would get that close to Darren Richmond. The police and the press got their show by arresting Richmond at his rally, it seems highly unlikely they'd make him do the perp walk as well. Unless Mayor Adams is hoping for a Jack Ruby moment, in which case, thank you Belko.
2. How long will it take Richmond's defense to figure out the toll photo is a fake? If the cameras haven't been working for weeks, it's not going to be hard to discredit the photo. Unless the conspiracy against Richmond is very thorough, there's not going to be a way to remove all of the documented history of the cameras being out and produce "real" camera footage to back up the photo.
3. There is still no real physical evidence tying Richmond to Rosie as far as I can tell, making this Casey Anthony redux. Which I suppose will be OK if the purpose of Richmond's arrest is just to thwart his campaign.
Still, it was a very solid series and I'm looking forward to the second season. Kudos for the Emmy nods, especially Michelle Forbes, whose depiction of the shattered Mitch Larsen was quietly impressive.
1. There is no way Belko Royce would get that close to Darren Richmond. The police and the press got their show by arresting Richmond at his rally, it seems highly unlikely they'd make him do the perp walk as well. Unless Mayor Adams is hoping for a Jack Ruby moment, in which case, thank you Belko.
2. How long will it take Richmond's defense to figure out the toll photo is a fake? If the cameras haven't been working for weeks, it's not going to be hard to discredit the photo. Unless the conspiracy against Richmond is very thorough, there's not going to be a way to remove all of the documented history of the cameras being out and produce "real" camera footage to back up the photo.
3. There is still no real physical evidence tying Richmond to Rosie as far as I can tell, making this Casey Anthony redux. Which I suppose will be OK if the purpose of Richmond's arrest is just to thwart his campaign.
Still, it was a very solid series and I'm looking forward to the second season. Kudos for the Emmy nods, especially Michelle Forbes, whose depiction of the shattered Mitch Larsen was quietly impressive.
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