Category: Fall TV Preview (Page 11 of 27)

Old Show, New Season: “House M.D.”

September 16, 2008 /

Although my esteemed colleague Ross Ruediger may have disagreed with me in his review of “House: Season 4,” as is his God-given right as a TV critic, I have to say that, personally, I probably enjoyed the fourth season of “House” as much as any season of the show to date. After ending Season 3 with the members of House’s team so infuriated with their fearless leader that they were moving on to greener pastures, I think just about everyone figured that Season 4 would’ve begun with them saying, “Okay, we were wrong, we’ll come back.” But they didn’t. Instead, we were treated to House playing his own version of “Survivor” as he selected a new diagnostic team, thereby giving America’s grouchiest doctor the opportunity to interact with a whole new crowd of characters, but we were also still provided with occasional visits from the original team. It was win-win, as far as I was concerned.

It was the two-part season finale (“House’s Head” / “Wilson’s Heart”) that really got me, though. The unfolding of the secrets locked within House’s memory, the tragic ending to the romance between Amber and Wilson, and the realization that the events which led to Amber’s death never would’ve been set into motion if House hadn’t been attempting to take advantage of Wilson for the umpteenth time…it was gripping drama, to be sure. But how on earth can the relationship between House and Wilson ever recover from something like that?

Based on the Season 5 premiere, it’s very possible that it may not…but, then, this is where the optimistic and cynical sides of my brain begin to do battle with each other.

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

Greetings to the New Show: “Fringe”

September 9, 2008 /

There’s a tendency among viewers to see the name “J.J. Abrams” and instantly consider it to be a mark of quality television. This is called “The ‘Lost’ Effect,” so named because Abrams is so intrinsically linked to “Lost” that those of us who are fans of the series – and, yes, I consider myself to be one – will tend to shrug off his failures because, hey, the guy was still responsible for “Lost,” so we’ve gotta at least give his stuff a shot, right? Now, in the interest of fairness, we should acknowledge that there are other individuals who subscribe to “The ‘Alias’ Effect” and “The ‘Felicity’ Effect”…though, oddly, you don’t hear much about “The ‘What About Brian’ Effect.” But I digress. My point here, really, is this: when it comes to the latest series to have Abrams’ name listed a producer, Fox’s “Fringe,” let’s all just try to keep things in perspective, view the show on its own merits, and try not to love it or hate it solely because he’s a part of it.

As it happens, “Fringe” has the advantage of featuring a couple of other names which give it added credibility, particularly amongst sci-fi fans: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Fox has really been pushing the fact that the duo wrote the script for “Transformers,” but for some reason, they don’t mention that they were called upon by Zack Snyder to assist with the script for “Watchmen.” Funny, that. Probably more important than either of those credits, however, is their longstanding working relationship with Abrams, having done time with him on “Alias” as both writers and executive producers and writing the screenplays for both “Mission: Impossible III” and the new “Star Trek” film. The collaboration has worked out well in the past, so there’s every reason to be hopeful that…

Dammit! See what I mean? I almost fell into being optimistic about “Fringe” just because Abrams is involved. Granted, he was only a third of that particular equation, but even so, I don’t want to do that. Not again. I did it with “Six Degrees,” and 13 episodes later, I was left a bitter shell of a TV critic. I can’t handle that kind of heartbreak a second time…particularly not when “Fringe” reminds me so much of still another show that was canceled too soon: “Threshold.”

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Pilots, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Greetings to the New Show: “Do Not Disturb”

September 9, 2008 /

Back in July, when every broadcast network other than CBS was being stingier than Ebeneezer Scrooge about sending out screeners of pilots (or, in NBC’s case, first episodes, since they don’t do pilots anymore), I was pleasantly surprised when Fox stepped forward and provided us with the pilot for their new sitcom, “Do Not Disturb,” which focuses on the staff of a high-class hotel.

But then I watched it.

After enduring the viewing experience, I was still surprised that they’d provided us with the pilot…but, now, instead of being surprised that they had finished product with which to provide us, I was simply surprised that they felt like the show was worth showing to us, let alone put on the air. I don’t know if you remember my posting after sitting through the TCA panel for the show, but if you don’t, then this one sentence should provide you with sufficient insight as to my feelings on the pilot:

I was perhaps one of the few fans of Jerry O’Connell’s previous series, “Carpoolers,” and hearing that Jason Bateman directed the pilot episode of this hotel-based sitcom, I walked in ready to love it, but sweet Jiminy Christmas, this thing sucked so much that it might as well have been sponsored by Oreck.

Yes, it was just that good…and at least one other person agreed with me: my esteemed evil twin, Bill Harris of the Toronto Sun, who described it as the least funny sitcom pilot to cross his path in a couple of years. I think it’s safe to say that this dissatisfaction was shared by others beyond just writers named William Harris, however, since Fox soon made the decision to air an episode other than the pilot when the series premieres on September 10th. As a result of this move, the network proceeded to send us an advance screener of this episode as well…and after more than a week of having it sitting in my house and taunting me, I’m finally going to steel myself and watch it. But know this: I’m doing it for you, dear readers. People say that critics sit on high and look down at everyone else, deciding what’s good and what’s not, and maybe that’s true sometimes, but let’s not forget the sacrifices they make for the people who read their work…and while we’re at it, let’s not forget to ask God to have mercy on my soul for at least the next 22 minutes or so.

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Pilots, Reviews, test, TV, TV Comedies

Greetings to the New Show: “True Blood”

September 7, 2008 /

You’ve got to give HBO credit: they know how to hype a new series.

The amount of pre-publicity for “True Blood,” the new series from Alan Ball (creator of the late, great “Six Feet Under”), has been so tremendous that it’s been almost impossible to ignore. I certainly saw my fair share of the hype when I was out in L.A., but the network’s viral marketing campaign for the show has taken awareness of the series far beyond California. It all started with BloodCopy.com, but there have been billboards, fake ad campaigns for a product called TruBlood, MySpace accounts, and more.

All this for a TV show about vampires…?

Actually, it’s a pretty savvy move on HBO’s part to throw their marketing muscle behind “True Blood,” which is based on Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampires Mysteries book series. Anyone who reads this blog knows that vampire-themed shows make for dedicated…oh, who are we kidding? They inspire straight-up obsession in their viewership, whether we’re talking about “Forever Knight,” “Angel,” or – yeah, baby! – “Moonlight.” HBO’s just playing it smart and getting the word out about the show from the get-go, to make sure it’s full-fledged event television when it premieres.

But is it…?

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Pilots, Reviews, test, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Old Show, New Season: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”

September 6, 2008 /

If you’ve read my review of the first season of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” then you already know that, although I felt the show lost a little momentum after its premiere, it kicked into overdrive with its fifth episode and roared full-throttle from there to the season finale. Granted, there were only a total of nine episodes in the strike-shortened season, but, still, the addition of the character of Derek Reese – John Connor’s uncle – into the mix not only turned the show from “not bad” into “pretty damned awesome” but also forced me to make the admission that, despite being a really terrible rapper, Brian Austin Green is actually quite serviceable as an action hero.

So if you watched the show last season, then there’s probably only one question to which you’re really dying to get the answer: did Cameron (Summer Glau) survive the bombing of her vehicle…?

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

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