Category: Fall TV Preview (Page 17 of 27)

Old Show, New Season: “My Name Is Earl”

September 21, 2007 /

When we last left Earl, he was in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Yep, that’s right: Earl’s desire to keep doing right by karma led him to accept the blame for something that his ex-wife, Joy, had done, so that she could stay out of jail, have her half-sister’s baby, and continue to raise her other two kids. A noble gesture, to be sure. Too bad the end result didn’t work out so well for Earl. Or Randy. Or Joy and Darnell, either, for that matter. In fact, really, the only person who didn’t end up suffering from the effects of Earl’s departure is Catalina…which might explain why she has precious little to do during the first two episodes of Season 3 of “My Name Is Earl” except give life to a mustachioed hand puppet named Little Earl.

These first two episodes – a 2-parter entitled “My Name Is Inmate #28301-16” – are, unfortunately, pretty disappointing…and, worse, the disappointment begins within only a few seconds of the first episode. Despite the season finale ending with the discovery that Earl was going to be sharing a cell with his old buddy Ralph (Giovanni Ribisi), the season premiere begins with the realization that we probably won’t be seeing a whole lot of Ralph after all. Actually, though, that’s really just a minor quibble; after all, we do hear Ralph, and when we do, you’ll get at least one big laugh. The biggest problem is that this season is starting off feeling way too real.

The characters on “My Name Is Earl” have always felt uncomfortably close to people I’ve known in my life – I’m from Virginia, so, believe me, I’ve known and loved my fair share of white trash in my time…and, to a certain extent, I still do – so that reality isn’t what I’m talking about. I’m really speaking of two aspects: Earl struggling to survive in prison, and Randy struggling to survive without Earl. There’s certainly comedy to be had in having Earl behind bars, but when there are people getting shivved, you’re definitely playing closer to the “maybe not as ‘ha-ha’ funny as it’s supposed to be” side of things. But, really, the worst part is Randy, and how incredibly stupid he’s gotten just over the course of the past few months. Yeah, he was dumb before, but now the writers have got him walking into oncoming traffic when there are clearly cars whizzing by him. It’s actually reached a level where you feel bad for the guy, where he’s crossed the line from “dumb” into “clinically retarded,” and that’s just not funny. It’s clear that the writers wanted to play up his stupidity so that it would show just how useless he is without Earl, but it’s just not working at all.

The producers have admitted that they’re in no rush to get Earl out of jail, and it’s clear that they’re at least going to try to stick to their guns, but after last season’s successful use of plots arcs like Randy and Catalina’s Green-card marriage and Joy’s 3-strikes-and-you’re-in-prison situation (not to mention her pregnancy), things were really looking good for “My Name Is Earl,” and it’s a shame to think that they’re going to screw with the dynamic in such a major way…especially how poorly the first fruits of this season have turned out.

But to end this write-up on a positive note, the most hopeful thing to emerge from the show’s camp for the new season is this:

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

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

The Sports Guy needs your help

September 20, 2007 /

ESPN’s Bill Simmons loves NBC’s “Friday Night Lights.” So do I. Do us both a solid and check out at least the first four episodes of Season 1, which is available now on DVD at your local video store and online at NBC.com. It may take you a while to work through the season, so just be sure to TiVo the first few episodes of Season 2 (which starts Oct. 5) so you can get all caught up.

Like many, Simmons watched the first episode and wasn’t impressed:

I watched the pilot when it originally aired, but I didn’t love it: too much puke-cam (the camera stopped moving so much in later episodes) and an unspeakable sports inconsistency (Dillon High completes a game-winning Hail Mary that could have happened only on a 140-yard field). Once the abysmal ratings were announced, I assumed the show was doomed and opted not to waste my time with Episode 2.

Then, his buddy sent him an early release Season 1 DVD set from Japan:

As he predicted, the Sports Gal and I ripped through all 22 episodes in a week, learning the Japanese words for “play,” “stop” and “pause” in the process. Quite simply, FNL is the best date show ever, an improbable cross between The O.C. and every sports show you ever wanted Hollywood to make. It’s the first show my wife and I have loved equally, but for different reasons. What can be better than that?

If you do give it a shot, let me recommend the impeccable acting, the lively football scenes (although they tend to go overboard on exciting finishes), the risky story lines and especially Coach Taylor’s family, the most authentic household in recent TV history. Every nuance is nailed, every hug seems genuine, every fight makes sense, every sarcastic barb and flustered reaction ring true. If there are better TV actors than Kyle Chandler (Coach) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Coach), I haven’t TiVoed them. Pay particular attention to the astonishing two-parter in which an older assistant sets off a racial powder keg before a big playoff game. If FNL were Michael Jordan, Lyla Garrity’s slam-page episode would be the 63-point game in Boston (the coming-out party), and the two-parter would be the 1991 Finals (the moment considerable potential is realized).

Look, I’m the biggest White Shadow fan on the planet … and even I concede that FNL is the greatest sports show ever. Shadow died prematurely because the story line called for it to graduate too many key characters at once. I can live with that. FNL is going to die prematurely because five times as many Americans would rather watch an acerbic British guy belittle dreadful singers on a reality show. I can’t live with that.

So please, please help me and every other FNL fanatic. Watch the show. Spread the gospel.

Amen, brother.

Are there any other FNL fans out there?

External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

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

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