Author: John Paulsen (Page 8 of 79)

Five “must-see” new shows of the fall season

September 9, 2009 /

Our lead TV writer, Will Harris, is doing a bang up job of previewing the fall season as it grows closer, but I thought I’d throw in my $0.02 by mentioning the five new series that have me pumped about the fall lineup.

In order of premiere date…

1. “Community” (NBC), 9/17/09
Anyone that is a fan of Joel McHale on “The Soup” already knows about his foray into scripted comedy this fall. IMDB describes the plot this way…

Jeff (Joel McHale) used to be a lawyer. When the state bar association revokes his license for having fake college credentials — he floated by on his degree from Colombia, but is legally obligated to earn one in America — Jeff enrolls at Greendale Community College. Intent on taking the easy way out, he forms a study group in a half-assed attempt seduce a pretty girl (Gillian Jacobs) and tries to coast on through. What he soon ends up with, aside from a coffee klatch of sad clowns, is a second chance at an honest life.

The trailer looks great…

The series seems to be going for a feel like that of “The Office,” though obviously that’s a tough standard to live up to. McHale has star potential, and he should bring a significant fan base over from “The Soup,” which he is going to continue hosting for the time being.

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External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Smallville: Season 8

September 1, 2009 /

As the creators of “Smallville” prepared for Season 8, they were faced with a difficult question — how does the show move forward without Lex Luthor? Michael Rosenbaum left the series at the end of Season 7, and the Clark-Lex dynamic has always been the show’s backbone, so replacing Clark’s nemesis was a difficult task indeed. The creators compensated by adding Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) as the new head of LuthorCorp, and she’s almost as devious and ruthless as her predecessor. The season also amps up the romance between Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) while flirting with the prospect that Clark will someday soon fulfill his destiny and become Superman. Lastly, Clark learns that there’s another Kryptonian on Earth — and it’s Doomsday. These storylines, combined with appearances by Lana Lang, Plastique, Winslow Schott, Zatanna and the Legion of Super Heroes make for a fast-paced 22 episodes with little filler. Fans of Lex Luthor will certainly miss his presence, but there’s enough in Season 8 to keep things moving, especially with the prospects that Rosenbaum is rumored to be returning as a guest star in Season 9. Special features include commentary tracks for two episodes and several unaired scenes. There are also two featurettes — one focuses on director Allison Mack while the other investigates the making of Doomsday.

Click to buy “Smallville: Season 8”

External TV, TV, TV Action, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

“Defying Gravity” worth a look

August 27, 2009 /

Originally pitched to networks as “‘Grey’s Anatomy’ in space,” I was a bit leery heading into the first episode of “Defying Gravity,” which follows eight astronauts as they embark on a six-year mission through our solar system. The series is set in 2052, but features plenty of flashbacks to 2047, when this group of astronauts first started training for this mission.

I gave up on Ms. Meredith Grey a while ago, but I guess I can see the comparison. This series features a relatively small cast of core characters who live and work together. There’s an extremely cute heroine, Zoe (Laura Harris, who played Daisy Adair on the Showtime series “Dead Like Me”), and the gruff but likable hero, Maddux (played by the ever-watchable Ron Livingston, of “Office Space,” “Band of Brothers” and “Swingers” fame). The two are — wait for it — star-crossed lovers who can’t seem to get together despite an obvious attraction. There’s a history between these two, but I’ll stop there as to avoid ruining it for anyone.

This isn’t Maddux’s first time in space. On a previous mission to Mars, he was ordered to leave two crew mates by his commander, who is now running this mission years later. There is all sorts of ill will about that failed mission, which leads to loads of subtext and mean looks.

“Defying Gravity” is an ensemble drama, but Livingston and Harris are its heart and soul. Whether or not it’s for you will largely depend on whether or not you like these two characters. For something that falls in the sci-fi genre, it’s not terribly exciting or thrilling, but there’s a subtlety to the show that is engaging. With time, it ferments. And there’s an underlying sci-fi storyline that will keep the fanboys happy, at least for while.

I’m not sure that the series will last, as ratings have been less than stellar. It shed about 20% of its audience after the pilot, but has held onto virtually everyone who made it to the third episode. It’s slow place would seem to indicate one of those ambitious, long-term plans that may never see the light of day. But if it gets a second season, it’s worth a look on DVD.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Starz series “Crash” does its inspiration justice

August 25, 2009 /

After mowing through the first season of “Crash” on the Netflix streaming service, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The series is based on the same concept as the 2004 film of the same name — the lives of otherwise disparate Angelinos are ultimately connected.

It stars Dennis Hopper as Ben Cendars, a past-his-prime record mogul. In reality, Hopper is playing the same role he always plays — a man with great presence and intelligence who may or may not be totally insane. He takes a young wannabe rapper (Jocko Sims) under his wing as he tries to wrest control of his record company from his resentful daughter (Kari Matchett).

Another (and more dominant) storyline revolves around a married police officer (Ross McCall) who, via a car crash, gets involved with a beautiful but dangerous gypsy (Moran Atias). His partner (Arlene Tur) is having an affair with a dirty detective (Nick Tarabay) who is moonlighting for a Korean kingpin. A gang-banger-turned-paramedic (Brian Tee) gets tangled in this web, and a detective from another precinct (Tom Sizemore) is called in to investigate.

The series also follows a Guatemalan immigrant who makes the trek through Mexico to the U.S., a married couple that loses their life savings in the real estate market, and a homicide detective who is tasked with keeping a young witness alive long enough to testify against a murder suspect.

As we learned on “The Shield,” dirty cops make for excellent television, and while “Crash” isn’t quite as gritty, it serves as a nice fix for those missing Vic Mackey and Co. I’d also recommend it to those that liked “Southland” in that it’s successful in telling a big story that involves a lot of different moving parts. Unlike these two series, “Crash” is on pay cable, so the creators have even more freedom to tell their story.

Season 2 debuts on Starz on September 18. Between this series and the excellent comedy “Party Down,” Starz has something going.

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Movies, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

“Almost Famous” director’s cut…worth your time?

August 10, 2009 /

After reading Bill Simmons’ tribute to “Almost Famous,” which he deems the quintessential movie of the aughts (a.k.a. the ’00s), I felt compelled to track down the “Bootleg Cut” (a.k.a. “Untitled”) to see what the hullabaloo was about. Here is what Simmons had to say about the extra footage in the DC.

Best four extra scenes from the director’s cut: Russell and William talking music before the first Stillwater concert; Jeff Bebe’s interview with William during which he utters quote No. 23; Penny’s birthday cake scene; and Russell and Jeff making up at the end and botching their man-hug. There’s also an 11-minute scene in which William makes his mother listen to “Stairway to Heaven” — yes, the entire song — in an attempt to get her to understand rock ‘n’ roll. It’s indescribable. I loved it; some hated it. Crowe couldn’t get the rights to the song, so it didn’t matter. More importantly, how is this not on YouTube? Wasn’t YouTube invented for stray clips like that?

FYI, quote No. 23 is…

Show me any guy who ever said he didn’t want to be popular, and I’ll show you a scared guy. I’ve studied the entire history of music. Most of the time, the best stuff is the popular stuff. It’s much safer to say popularity sucks, because that allows you to forgive yourself if you suck. And I don’t forgive myself. Do you?

A few thoughts…

– The version I saw had a running time of 2:41 and didn’t include an 11-minute scene where William plays his mother “Stairway to Heaven” in order to convince her that he should be able to complete his assignment for Rolling Stone. I’ve only been able to find that scene here, and since Cameron Crowe was unable to get the rights, the viewer has to play his own copy of the song. I always felt that it was out of character for William’s mother to let him go on tour with a rock band with so little discussion, and this great “Stairway to Heaven” scene fills in some of these blanks. In the version I saw, Elaine’s decision still seemed rushed.

– I have mixed feelings about the other four scenes that Simmons mentioned. I thought Penny’s birthday cake scene was terrific, especially towards the end when Jimmy Fallon’s character broke the news that she wasn’t going to with the band to New York. Kate Hudson’s reaction was a nice bit of acting and the movie is better as a whole because it’s clear that inside the tough exterior of Penny Lane, there is just a normal girl — and she’s in love. I also thought Bebe’s quote about popularity was insightful but not crucial. The other two scenes — Russell’s first interview with William and Jeff and Russell’s make-up scene — were extraneous. Russell’s eagerness and availability to talk contradicted the sense throughout the remainder of the movie that William wouldn’t be able to get his interview with Russell.

I’d recommend “Untitled” to fans of the original that haven’t seen it in a while. Jeff’s problems with Russell seem more fleshed out and the relationship between the two has more closure. In fact, all of the various storylines seem a little deeper, and that’s no surprise since the DC runs about 38 minutes longer.

Does it make it better? I’ll let you be the judge. The movie worked really well in its original form, but after watching the DC, I certainly wouldn’t say that the extra footage hurts the film.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie DVDs, Movies

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