Category: Actresses (Page 194 of 258)

Old Show, New Season: “House”

September 21, 2007 /

You wouldn’t have expected a show about an egotistical doctor who’s not only a curmudgeon but also a full-fledged drug addict to have a whole lot of staying power. In fact, way back when I received an advance copy of the pilot for “House,” these were the opening lines of my review: “Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Gregory House isn’t particularly likable; in fact, at times, he presents himself to others in such a fashion that it’s almost impossible to stand him.” The entire thrust of my piece was that the show was great and deserved to be a success, but I was highly skeptical that viewers would be willing to embrace such a unabashed anti-hero.*

Whoops. My bad.

(Actually, I hadn’t looked at that review since I wrote it, but now that I’ve scanned it again, I’d like to share another line, one which I’m quite proud of: “[House is] consistently grumpy as hell, walks with the aid of a cane as a result of a past malady, and pops Vicodin like they’re the jellybeans that he surreptitiously prescribes to a hypochondriac in the pilot episode.” Damn, you’d think I actually wrote for a living or something!)

By the end of Season 3, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) had managed to alienate his team – Drs. Foreman (Omar Epps), Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and Chase (Jesse Spencer) – to the point that all three of them had made the decision to get the hell out; he also hadn’t exactly endeared himself to Drs. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) or Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), either, but at least they had the advantage of not having to work directly under him. As Season 4 picks up, House is still flying solo, which is bad on a couple of different levels; for one, he can’t accomplish nearly as much without a team, and, worse, if he continues to be able to work just as well without a team, his ego will inflate to a heretofore-unimagined size. (Unsurprisingly, it’s Wilson who’s most concerned about the latter, since he pretty much lives to keep House’s ego in check.)

After realizing that isn’t nearly as easy to maintain his reputation as a genius without having other doctors to bounce theories off of (and finding that the janitor’s ideas just don’t match up to those of Foreman, Cameron, and Chase), House eventually concedes that it might be worth his while to dig up a new team…but, unsurprisingly, he does it on his own terms, weeding out the possible candidates by using a method that’s equally reminiscent of “Survivor” and “The Paper Chase.” Here’s a hint about the proceedings: he refuses to learn any of the candidates’ names…but he finds a way around needing to. By the way, one of the would-be team members is Dr. Lawrence Kutner, played by Kal Penn; we’re not telling whether he makes the cut or not, but we will say that, even in the one episode in which we’ve seen him, he’s already been better utilized than he was in his entire stint on “24.”

Will we see House’s old team again? Obviously. Will we see them sooner than later? Probably, since they’re still in the opening credits. The bigger question is, when we see them, will we really be seeing them? (Wow, how enigmatic of me.) Funny thing is, I’m not even in all that big a hurry to see them pop up; watching House interacting with fresh meat…uh, I mean, with new doctors…is a lot of fun. Also, I’m a little nervous about watching Chase and Cameron together again; Spencer and Morrison had been a couple in real life as well, but they recently broke up, and to see them still playing a couple on the show…I mean, how can you not think, “Wow, that’s gotta be weird for them”? I am, however, interested to see how the producers are planning to bring Foreman back into the mix, given that his departure seemed so definitive. I’d like to think it’d be too predictable for him to just realize that he misses the medical challenges he had while working with House, so I’m hoping they at least have some kind of twist to it. (I’m thinking maybe it’ll have something to do with Foreman’s mom, who’s battling mental deterioration…but that’s just a guess.)

Whatever else happens this season, at the very least, things are definitely starting strong for “House.”

Here’s a teaser:

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, TV, TV Dramas

Old Show, New Season: “Bones”

September 21, 2007 /

After two seasons on the air, developing its characters to the point where it’s clearly not just the Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz show, “Bones” will be returning on September 25th with Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan’s (Deschanel) team getting at least as much play as the show’s two leads.

Season 2 ended with Angela Montenegro (portrayed by Michaela Conlin) and Dr. Jack Hodgins (portrayed by T. J. Thyne) forced to abandon their wedding because of a last-second revelation that Angela was actually still married, and the credits rolled with Bones and Booth (Boreanaz) standing together at the altar. Anyone who spent the summer rooting for hope that the ceremony continued with those two basically spent the summer kidding themselves, but the matter is brought up in a discussion that the pair have in the Season 3 premiere. Speaking of discussions, there’s also much talk about Angela’s husband, who turns out to be this guy she married while on vacation several years ago; they were both very drunk, she never saw him again, and she can’t really even remember what he looked like, let alone his name, which makes it a little hard to find him and get a divorce. You may also recall that, at season’s end, Dr. Zach Addy (Eric Millegan), was off to Iraq. Does he come back? Well, given that he’s still in the opening credits, it’s a safe bet that, at the very least, he’s not gone for good; in the meantime, however, Bones needs to find a replacement for him.. Despite the fact that he left a few months ago, she still can’t bring herself to put someone else in his place, and she’s using that as a crutch to avoid going into the field with Booth, which is really starting to annoy him.

So that’s where we stand. But without offering up too many spoilers, it’s worth mentioning that the season premiere sets up a plot line connected to the case the team investigates during the episode which has the potential to continue for several episodes, if not the entire season. I think it’s a good thing, although I can’t help but be reminded of other procedural dramas which have gone with similar plot lines; “Bones” is one of those shows that maintains a solid viewership without necessarily being one of Fox’s matinee series, and I don’t know that they need to shake up the dynamic but so much…but, y’know, even with that having been said, clearly, it’s about time Bones and Booth got together already! (After all, the show’s creator, Hart Hanson, said it himself: “It’s season three; I think we’d better see something!”)

Here’s a teaser for what to expect in the upcoming weeks:

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Reviews, TV, TV Dramas

Superhero TV

September 20, 2007 /

If you’re a regular Bullz-Eye.com reader, you know that we’ve been championing “Heroes” since well before it even left the starting gate, laying it on the line back in our 2006 Fall TV Preview by offering the bold declaration, “This is gonna be the water-cooler show of the season.” Yes, we were right – well, us and probably hordes of other people who said the exact same thing – but in a world where the media often does its best to shorten our collective memories (and attention spans), we feel like it’s our job to remind you of something you really shouldn’t forget: “Heroes” wasn’t the first TV show about individuals with abilities beyond those of mere mortals. (Hell, it’s not even the only one on the air right now!)

In celebration of the new season of “Heroes,” we’ve taken a look back at some of our favorite superhero TV series, both live-action and animated; we’ve even set aside a separate section for TV movies, specials and failed pilots. In no way is this thing 100% comprehensive – for example, we hear good things about “M.A.N.T.I.S.,” but no one on the staff remembered enough about the show to write about it – but we’ve tried to hit as many highlights of the genre as we felt comfortable discussing. We’re sorry if that means suffering the wrath of all those rabid “Captain Nice” fans, but that’s just the way it goes. If it helps, though, here’s a clip from that show:

Phew. That bomb’s been defused. And with that out of the way, it’s up, up, and away to our feature!

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Pilots Revisited: “Moonlight”

September 20, 2007 /

Welllllll…it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. But it didn’t exactly find me cheering for more, either.

Over the past few months, you may or may not have thrilled to the saga of “Moonlight,” CBS’s decidedly troubled drama about a vampire turned detective who in no way resembles this dude I know who used to work for Wolfram & Hart, so here’s a quick recap of the highlights and lowlights of what’s happened:

It started off being called “Twilight,” under the writing team of Trevor Munson (“Lone Star State of Mind”) and Ron Koslow (“Beauty and the Beast”), with executive producers Joel Silver and Gerard Bocaccio; Alex O’Laughlin (“The Shield”), Amber Valletta (“Hitch”), Rade Sherbedgia (“24”), and Shannon Lucio (“The O.C.”) were hired to star, and Rod Holcomb was set to direct. But, then…

1. The name changed from “Twilight” to “Moonlight.”
2. Lucio departed, eventually to be replaced by Sophia Miles (“Underworld”).
3. David Greenwalt, possibly because he missed working on “Angel,” came aboard as the show runner.
4. Amber Valetta and Rade Sherbedgia departed and were replaced by Shannyn Sossamon (“Dirt”) and Jason Dohring (“Veronica Mars”), respectively.
5. David Greenwalt, possibly because he quickly grew tired of all the “Angel” jokes, left as show runner, citing “health reasons,” and was replaced by Chip Johannessen.

As a result of all these changes, the show was retooled so many times that even when CBS offered its presentation for the show at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in July, the best they could offer us as an example of what to expect was a segment with the groan-inducing title of “Interview with a Vampire,” where the main character of “Moonlight” – Mick St. John – sits in a dark room and is quizzed by an off-screen journalist about what it’s like to be a vampire.

I don’t know about you, but no-one on the press tour was very impressed, and, basically, we were all left thinking, “Oh, God, this thing is gonna do a major, major bellyflop”…and this was before David Greenwalt left! (He was basically the only reason any of us were maintaining a shred of hope for the show.)

So here we are in that middle ground between mid-September and late September, with the premiere of “Moonlight” only a handful of days away, and, finally, we’ve gotten our hands on what’s almost certainly going to be the version of the pilot which airs on 9/28. And…oh, right, this is where you came in.

The first bad sign is that the series opens by recycling the “Interview with a Vampire” footage that was screened at the press tour. That ain’t good. I mean, yeah, it sets up the mythos of the vampire for the purposes of this particular show – they don’t sleep in coffins, garlic doesn’t do them any damage, sunlight ain’t good for ’em but it doesn’t make ’em burst into flame outright, and so forth – but it’s set up as being something that Mick is dreaming, and, well, it just feels lazy. From there, the first smile-inspiring moment came when we realized that Kevin Weisman (Marshall Flinkman on “Alias”) had quietly slipped into the cast. Weisman plays the cameraman of Beth Turner (Myles), an online TV journalist who, while investigating the murder of a co-ed, invents a tagline which suggests that the killing is rather vampiric in nature. This suggestion catches St. John’s ear, and he heads over to the scene of the crime, where he encounters Beth and realizes that he recognizes her from an encounter they had some years before…and, yes, that connection is paramount to the premise of “Moonlight.”

Everybody likes a good vampire story. The problem is, “Moonlight” doesn’t look like it is a good vampire story. Since we’re talking about a bunch of bloodsuckers, it’s only appropriate that we should go for the jugular and say outright that, yes, “Moonlight” does suffer from its comparison to “Angel.” David Boreanaz was dark, brooding, and looked like both a vampire and a bad-ass; Alex O’Laughlin puts on sunglasses and leers at people and, frankly, he just doesn’t look very intimidating. As a vampire, Mick St. John’s greatest gift seems to be that he can leave a room quickly and quietly; the only truly kick-ass fight scene in the pilot comes via flashback, and it’s when he’s fighting his former wife, Coraline, who we’re led to believe is dead (which almost certainly means that she is not). The most intriguing character on the show isn’t even Mick; it’s his buddy and fellow vampire, Josef Konstantin, and, truthfully, he’s probably only intriguing because he’s played by Dohring, who comes off just as snarky here as he always did when he was busy being Logan Echolls on “Veronica Mars.”

Maybe I’m being too hard on “Moonlight.” Maybe the show will find its feet after everyone finally gets settled and comfortable. Unfortunately, based on what’s been offered up for the first episode, it’s looking like we might have another cheese-fest like “Forever Knight” on our hands…and as vampire-centric TV series go, that ain’t necessarily the one you want to use as a touchstone.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Pilots, Reviews, TV, TV Dramas

Old Show, New Season: “Las Vegas”

September 20, 2007 /

Well played, NBC-Universal. Well played, indeed.

You no doubt sensed I’d never seen an episode of “Las Vegas” before, since I’d never written about it before, but you knew that, as a full-fledged TV geek, I would’ve been nonetheless aware that the show was losing longtime major players like James Caan and Nikki Cox this season. You also would’ve known that, as a recipient of your daily updates, I would’ve been aware that the show was adding to its cast an actor who I’ve always found imminently watchable: Tom Selleck.

So what do you do?

You send me the previous season of “Las Vegas” – that’d be Season 4 – on DVD, then, a few days later, you send me an advance of the 5th season premiere, which features Selleck’s debut on the show. You knew I was curious enough about Selleck’s role that I’d at least want to check out the season premiere, and since any TV critic worth his salt knows that he should watch the previous season’s finale first, you knew you had me right where you wanted me.

So, yes, I admit it: last night, I watched the 4th season finale of “Las Vegas,” then followed up with the 5th season premiere, and I was hooked. Maybe it’s just that I was tantalized by all the flashing lights in The Montecito’s casino (though it’s more likely that I was tantalized by Nikki Cox, Vanessa Marcil, and Molly Sims), but whatever the case, that 4th season finale was really well constructed, moving back and forth from storyline to storyline at a frantic pace, always keeping you on your toes. The three stars of the episode were the plotlines involving Sam (Marcil) being locked in a steamer trunk by a psychopathic millionaire, Mary (Cox) wanting to go kill her abusive father who’d just been released from prison, and a Marine who’s losing his shit and is swearing to go AWOL if Danny (Josh Duhamel) doesn’t find a way to keep him from having to go on his 3rd tour of duty, and all ended in cliffhangers that, had I been watching the finale when it originally aired, would’ve made me want to throttle someone. Now that’s the sign of a good cliffhanger…and, now that I think about it, possibly the sign of a slightly unhinged mind as well. Whoops.

So how does the season premiere hold up?

Well, not to offer too much in the way of spoilers, but since it’s common knowledge that both Marcil and Sims are returning to the show for another season, we’re probably not giving away too much to say that Delinda (Sims) wasn’t killed by a bomb, and that Sam managed to get out of her predicament…and in an impressively shocking manner. In fact, the 2-hour 5th season premiere uses the framing device of having Sam talk to a therapist about recent events in both her life and the lives of her co-workers; it’s pretty clear, though, that the reason it’s two hours long is that the first hour is intended to wrap up loose ends from Season 4 and the second is to set the stage for what’s to follow in Season 5. Selleck plays A.J. Cooper, a cattle magnate who swoops in, pays off The Montecito’s 241 million in back taxes, and takes over ownership of the casino and resort; he’s an unknown commodity, so none of the employees know what to make of him…or, more importantly, if they’re going to be allowed to keep their jobs. (There’s not really much tension over that, though, since you know everyone who’s left standing by the second hour is still going to be a regular on the series.) Selleck gets the chance to use his skill at offering completely inscrutable facial expressions, which is always fun to watch, since you never know when he’s finally going to break into a smile.

So, okay, fine, I’ll keep checking in on “Las Vegas.” It’s mostly because of Selleck, admittedly, but even so, there still seem to be enough interesting events going on around The Montecito to make it worth occasionally programming it into my new TiVo.

In the meantime, enjoy this lovely montage, courtesy of NBC:

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Reviews, TV, TV Dramas

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