Category: TV (Page 399 of 595)

Pilots Revisited: “Moonlight”

September 20, 2007 / Will Harris

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

Kitchen Nightmares: Peter Nearly Peeters Out

September 20, 2007 / Mike Farley

Last night was the first official U.S. based episode of Gordon Ramsey’s new show, “Kitchen Nightmares.”
As we talked about yesterday, this is a show where Ramsey comes in and revamps a restaurant that is in trouble due to poor management, kitchen operations, or both.

So the inaugural guinea pig was Peter’s Italian Restaurant in Babylon, New York, which is on Long Island’s South shore. The restaurant is family owned and operated, but the principle owner is Tina, but her brother Peter, who the restaurant is named after, acts like the boss and for all intents and purposes, IS the boss. In fact, his employees say he secretly aspires to be in a “Goodfellas” movie, and if you see Peter and watch him operate, that is no stretch by any means. He’s big, Italian, and imposing.

Ramsey meets with all of the employees–chef Robert, sous chef John, Tina and Peter, their mom and dad, and waiter Angelo. His first order of business is to sample some of the food, and he quickly finds out that it’s not prepared the way it should be….the crab cakes are cold in the middle and served on browning lettuce. And the lobster in the lobster ravioli tastes like “baby food.” Not a good start.
Ramsey also quickly notices that the kitchen equipment is outdated and barely functioning, and that Peter’s selfish behavior is bringing the entire restaurant and its staff down. He has even been taking money from the restaurant’s tiny profits, putting them more in a hole.

In between all this, there are two instances of bill collectors coming to the restaurant, and Peter shows everyone why he should be in a mob movie…hell, this guy could have been Tony Soprano’s right hand man. Anyway, Peter threatens both bill collectors, telling them that he’s going to beat the crap out of them right in front of the restaurant….which he doesn’t, but it’s all good television anyway….and a good train wreck along the lines of “COPS.”

So Ramsey’s first order of business is new kitchen equipment, which makes Robert practically do back flips. He says he can finally cook the way he’s supposed to. Meanwhile, this change makes Tina and the rest of the staff incredibly happy and gives them an emotional boost. Next, Ramsey says they need to distinguish themselves from the other restaurants in the area, so he suggests and implements a “family style” menu, featuring less items that are served to the tables family style. The idea is great, but Peter sabotages the execution of it by eating some of the food meant for customers. It really gets interesting when Ramsey tells Peter to “go F–K yourself.” And Peter doesn’t know quite how to respond, which makes it even better.

In the end, Ramsey tells Peter that he needs to ultimately take responsibility for his actions, that he’s bringing everyone else down. You’d think a guy like Peter wouldn’t listen, but he really does…he goes home, comes back the next day and is basically a changed man. And with that, the whole dynamic of the restaurant changes. Peter is nice to everyone–employees and customers alike. And the end result is that Peter’s Italian Restaurant starts to make money again.

If I could take two things from this episode, it’s that no one can intimidate Gordon Ramsey–not even the most intimidating mobster wannabes….and that the man knows how to run a restaurant. Dare I say it, but I think this show is better than “Hell’s Kitchen.” I guess the ratings will tell us if I’m right.
Till next week…..

Kitchen Nightmares, Reality TV, TV

Old Show, New Season: “Las Vegas”

September 20, 2007 / Will Harris

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

Let’s talk “Back To You”

September 19, 2007 / Will Harris

Did anyone catch the premiere of “Back to You” this evening, or were you all too busy trying to spot evidence of child welfare violations in “Kid Nation”?

If you saw it, I’m curious as to what you thought. There have been a lot of mixed reviews about the show floating around, some calling it the savior of the traditional multi-camera sitcom, others call it a waste of Grade-A comedic talent. Personally, I thought the pilot was just…okay. Not fantastic (except for Fred Willard), not awful, just…okay. I’ve now also had a chance to check out the second episode, “Fish Story,” and…well, I gotta tell you, I feel exactly the same way about it.

It’s great to see Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton on the small screen again, and, yes, they do seem to have a chemistry, but right now, the banter isn’t up to par with what we’ve come to expect from either of them. It’s pretty lazy stuff. I’m much more interested in seeing the rest of the ensemble cast begin to blossom; Ty Burrell’s delivery as Gary Crezyzewski is nice and dry, and, well, Fred Willard can do no wrong in my eyes, but, criminey, two episodes in, and I still feel like Josh Gad’s performance as Ryan Church is nothing more than an imitation of Chris Farley’s motivational speaker who lives in a van by the river!

Anyway, here’s a clip from the pilot, if you missed it tonight:

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

Kitchen Nightmares

September 19, 2007 / Mike Farley

If you liked Gordon Ramsey’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” you’re going to love his new show, “Kitchen Nightmares,” that airs tonight on FOX at 9 pm EST/8pm CST. I first saw this show on the BBC channel and I knew if it ever aired in the States it would do well.

That day is here, and after screening the first two episodes, I can tell you, it’s even better than the British versions I’ve seen. Why? Because Americans are more lazy, hot headed (remember this one in particular) and just plain dumb when it comes to running restaurants. Okay, that’s a generalization. But you get the idea. The premise of the show is that Ramsey visits restaurants and gives them a makeover in design, menu, and overall management of restaurants that are struggling.

Starting tomorrow I’ll be blogging about each episode, so come back and please read my notes after you watch the show. Yeah, that means you have to actually watch the show. But I know you’ll like it. No, really!

For a teaser of the show on YouTube, click here