Anyone Else Watching?

New Shows, Old Faces

2009-03-04T17:20:55Z

I really like March for four reasons: spring break (thank God), warmer weather, college basketball (Go Heels!), and midseason replacements.

There are three shows debuting this month I am particularly curious about. Two of the shows feature some of my favorite actors and one is a do-over of a long cancelled show.

Castle

Castle looks fun, if fairly ordinary. It's a procedural about a mystery writer who helps a tough and attractive female cop investigate crimes. Basically, it's The Mentalist meets Bones. The shows ace in the hole is definitely Nathan Fillion as Castle. Fillion is well known to sci-fi geeks for his turn as Malcolm Reynolds on Joss Whedon's cult fave Firefly. The guy is a very likeable and charismatic lead who deserves a big break.I cant wait to see how he fares in something this mainstream.

Premieres March 9th at 10pm on ABC

Kings

So Kings is a bit more interesting. Basically, it looks like the Bible meets Dallas. Now I am not a particularly big fan of either the Bible or Dallas, but I find the combination of the two oddly intriguing. The show is a modern day retelling of the story of David (of David and Goliath fame). The odd combination of biblical storytelling and 80's cheese is not the only reason I am excited.

Kings cast includes Ian Mcshane and Susanna Thompson. Mcshane is a Golden Globe winner for his work on the unfairly cancelled Deadwood and Thompson was fantastic on ABC's Once and Again. Both should be fun to watch on a weekly basis.

2 hour premiere March 15th at 8pm on NBC

Cupid

This has got to be the strangest midseason replacement in quite awhile. The first version of the show, featuring a pre-Entourage Jeremy Piven, lasted all of 15 episodes in 1998. ABC decided to let Rob Thomas, who created the original, redo the show with Bobby Cannavale as the titular character. Both versions of the show follow a man named Trevor who believes he is Cupid. Trevor must unite 100 couples before he can return to his home on Mount Olympus. Definitely a fairly original idea, at least the first time around.

I really enjoyed the first version of the show. I think it featured Piven's best work to date (well maybe not) and Rob Thomas is great, but did we really need another take on it? I'm not so sure. I am really curious about this one.

Premieres March 31st at 10pm

Chuck: Odds and Ends

2009-03-04T00:06:08Z

Here is a nice write-up of the Chuck panel from Wondercon yesterday.

Samuel Beckett is Visiting Chuck

The most exciting news is that Scott Bakula is guesting as Chuck and Ellie's dad. was one of my favorite shows as a kid so I am excited to see Bakula pop up again.

A clip of the cast talking about working with Bakula is available here if you are interested. I hope that the turn could lead to a comeback for him. Hey, if Mark Harmon can comeback and headline a top 3 show, anything is possible.

The writers also mentioned that "Jeffster," the greatest band you've never heard of, is going to make another appearance. Their performance of Toto's timeless hit "Africa" was unforgettable.

Anyone else looking forward to the album? Me, I cant wait.

Last Nights Episode

Good episode last night. I do think that the writers have to start advancing the whole Chuck/Sarah thing. Every week they seemingly wrap-up the whole "Will they? Wont they?" angle, only to back track the next week. I understand that the relationship is a key part of the show and I generally enjoy it. I just hope they find a new spin to keep it fresh.

I think the introduction of Cole Barker was a good start in shaking things up. Cole, a Bond-like MI:6 agent, took one look at Sarah and decided he wanted to "butter her biscuit." What a great line. You'll never hear me say it, mainly because there is no way in hell I could pull it off, but great line nevertheless.

Kudos to Jonathan Cake for his performance as Cole. I had not seen him in anything since Empire, ABC's atrocious miniseries from a few summers ago. Amazing the difference good material makes. I am looking forward to seeing him again next week.

My Man Crush on Michael Westen

2009-03-03T00:13:53Z

Man Crush? Really????

According to urbandictionary.com, a man crush is when a straight man has a "crush" on another man, not sexual but kind of idolizing him. The "man crush" is not a new concept. Just look at this website.

Anyway, having defended the sanctity of the "man crush", I guess I have to explain mine.

Why Michael Westen deserves to be crushed on (is that too gay?)

Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) is the main character on Burn Notice. He is a spy who is burned by his employer (spy speak for being canned and having your identity/bank accounts erased) and dumped in Miami. While trying to find out who burned him, Michael pays the bills serving as a one man A-Team.

Now the whole "one man A-Team" description should be enough reason for me to think he is really cool, but there is so much more.

Sam and Fiona

While Michael is a real bad ass, his friends are awesome too.

Sam Axe (cool last name) is a former spy who loves his beer and is always on the look out for a wealthy woman to take care of him financially. If that isn't enough, he is played by the amazing B-movie star Bruce Campbell.

Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) is a former IRA operative and Michael's ex-girlfriend. The New York Times aptly describes her as "someone who can build explosives like the rest of us make toast."

The Things You Can Learn From Michael

Have you ever wondered about the best way to breach a door? How about how to make a car bullet-proof using 15-20 phonebooks? Thats the kind of really cool stuff you learn every week watching Michael go about his business.

So, you may be saying to yourself, "When will I ever need to make my car bulletproof or breach a door?" Well you might be surprised, but I can also see your point.

What about when you are being hassled at a bar? Happens to all of us right? Thanks to Michael Westen I know the best way to survive a bar fight- do you?

Suits, Steely Cool and Yogurt

Now I am not a suit guy. I don't even own a suit. But Michael Westen almost makes me wish I did. There is something about a guy casually disarming a highly trained operative all while wearing a tailored suit. It adds a sense of effortlessness to the proceedings I find highly entertaining.

Michael also carries himself with a "steely cool" (think Steve McQueen). Now Micheal, unlike the A-Team, is not averse to killing. When he does not kill someone, it's not because he has had a crisis of conscience, but because it would cause another mess that needs cleaning up.

I love the very casual, effortless way Michael goes about his business. He is always better than everyone else. You would think that would get boring after awhile, but it doesn't.

Finally, Michael loves yogurt. I too love yogurt. It's pretty much the only thing we have in common so I just thought I would mention it.

In Case You Too are Feeling the Love

Burn Notice's season 2 finale is this Thursday at 10 p.m.

Ed and the Beauty of the $10 Bet

2009-02-24T23:11:52Z

Some great news for fans of semi-obscure and long cancelled shows everywhere- It looks like Ed is coming to DVD at long last. Ed really started my obsession with television. It was the first show I followed on a weekly basis. I even taped it so I could rewatch episodes in those quaint days before Hulu and DVD. From there, my fascination with T.V. grew to the obsessive peaks that I have now reached (gotta give Tivo its due as well).

The $10 Bets

One of the highlights of every episode was the $10 bets between Ed and his best friend Mike.

Nothing was out of line for these guys when $10 bucks were on the line:

chugging an entire bottle of syrup, ordering a shirley temple on a first date, or even asking where the lettuce was in a super market (only catch was Ed had to pronounce it as "letoos"). I would never do any of those things for $10 bucks, but it was a ton of fun to watch Ed and Mike do it every week.

I loved the things that these guys would come up with simply to try and find their best friends point of no return on the embarrassment scale. The whole thing felt like something two friends would do, which was kind of the whole point.

It All Comes Down to the Characters... Duh

What set Ed apart was that the characters laughed with each other like real people while having conversations that felt genuine. It did not feel like actors reading from a script waiting to get to a punch line. I have to say I am a sucker for shows that can do that.

All the bizarre stuff they did on Ed, including the bets, wouldn't have been nearly as funny or memorable if the characters hadn't been "real" enough to be embarrassed about having to do something really stupid for $10 bucks.

A guy ordering a Shirley Temple on a first date is not funny unless he is really uncomfortable doing it. Actually, I guy ordering a Shirley Temple is funny anytime but I am thinking you get my point.

Comedy is always important but you have to create great characters for any of it to work. For 4 years, Ed was an awesome example of what happens when great characters and great comedy meet.

Two of My Favorite Bets for Your Viewing Pleasure

One for Mike as well

Gotta Love Scrubs and Big Ed

2009-02-24T04:25:13Z

Scrubs has been awesome this year. Its been great to see the show return to form after a couple of down years. Love the new interns. Jo/Denise and her obsession with "chubbsters" (Because she says "they are so grateful that they try harder"). And then there is Ed, who is quite the trendsetter.

Ed is the kind of guy that is happy with being in the middle of the pack. When other interns are busy studying their medical textbooks, Ed is busy setting up a Matrix movie marathon or listening to the "Da Vinci Code" audiobook.

I know what you are thinking- An audio book, "The Da Vinci Code" really? I guess Dan Brown's brilliant twists and turns (I wish there was a sarcasm font) are too confusing to read on the page. Seriously, Dan Brown sucks. My next blog may be about how much he sucks, but I digress.

I like that writers on Scrubs are using Ed to make that point. That is awesome and one of the reasons I love the show. They will go after anybody. Like with Ed and his Dan Brown tapes, they do it in ways that tell you something important about the characters.

Have no Fear, Ed is here

Thanks to yet another Presidential Address, no new episode tomorrow but these clips of Big Ed are an acceptable substitute. I particularly love his work with the bear claw. The whole bear claw thing has to make you at least a little curious.

A Little More Ed

"Where's The Me Time?"

2009-02-21T00:08:01Z

Friday Night Lights is my favorite show. Unfortunately it is always on the edge of cancellation thanks to low ratings. The show tracks the life of several beautifully drawn characters in Dillon, Texas, a small town obsessed with its high shool football team. Every week, the show deals with faith, love, family and friendship in an honest and extremely entertaining fashion. The characters are what make the show special. Not to mention the depth and humanity that characterize them all. To introduce the uninitiated, I thought every Friday I would write a profile on a character from the show.

Riggins

I decided to start with Tim Riggins, who is probably the fan's favorite. Riggins has been the biggest surprise of the show. The first few episodes he seemed like he was going to be there as window dressing. A guy who only seemed to care about the latest rally girl in his bed and where his next beer was coming from.

We need to make some memories

As the show progressed, Riggins like all the other characters, began to show a depth not often found on network television. His relationship with his best friend Jason Street and with his best friend's girl, Lyla Garrity, showed their was a complexity beneath the surface. As the show continued Riggins who never expects too much from himself, always managed to stay on his feet no matter how hard he was pushed. As he survived hardship after hardship Riggin's carefree attitude and sense of humor emerged as a kind of poignant bravery.

Riggins generates a lot of laughs to go along with all that complexity. The humor is always based in reality and is consistently true to the characters. That is another great strength of the show.

Turning Point For Riggs?

season three has been a real showcase for Taylor Kitsch, (Who is destined to be a movie star) the actor who plays Riggins. His character's romantic relationship with Lyla Garrity has given Riggins a whole new emotional depth. His decisions effect someone else now and it has been fascinating to watch a character so set in his ways, try to bend to be the kind of guy his girlfriend needs him to be. Their odd couple romance has been a real treat. That may be the best thing about Friday Night Lights. These fictional characters constantly surprise you. They change and grow in ways that make them as human as the people that make up the shows small but dedicated following.

Keep the Lights On

Friday Night Lights is finishing up what will most likely be its final season Friday's at 9 p.m. on NBC. I understand that it isn't the coolest time to watch T.V., it is Friday after all. But maybe some Friday before you go out surf over to NBC while you are getting ready to go out. Or you can watch all the show's episodes for free online here. I encourage you to take a trip to Dillon, you may just find yourself wanting to go back. Tim Riggins is just one of many great characters you will meet.

Next week I'll be talking about the indelible Landry Clarke.

Different Doesn't Usually Last

2009-02-18T02:18:51Z

A couple of months ago, 10 p.m. on Tuesday night would mean a new episode of Eli Stone.

Eli Stone showed a lot of promise from the get go. The title character, played by a very solid Jonny Lee Miller, is a lawyer living in San Francisco who has a fairly normal life until he has a vision of George Michael performing "faith" on his living room coffee table. It turns out that Eli has a brain aneurysm that often leads to visions of a musical variety. Visions that may be God's way of telling Eli he is a modern day profit.

If that all sounds quirky, well it was. It was also original and often times very moving. Not to mention that the show featured a stellar ensemble including the always great Victor Garber and Loretta Devine.

Besides its emotions, the show wore its politics on its sleeve. Eli's cases varied from a mother suing a pharmaceutical company because she believed that their vaccine caused her son's autism, to a case involving prisoners' rights. Most focused on topical "liberal" issues, but all the cases approached the politics respectfully and thoughtfully.

Tough Reality

The show last aired an episode December 30th. The episode ended on a cliffhanger, with Eli's aneurysm bursting after an argument with his brother. However it was not the last episode produced. The show received a 13 episode order after its first season and there are four episodes waiting to be aired. The financial realities mean the episodes will most likely be burned off this summer. They will air though, and there is always a likely season 2 DVD release.

Who knows if Eli Stone could have fulfilled its promise. Many shows that air for a long time don't. But it aired 22 episodes that reached for a quality a show like CSI:Miami has never approached in its more than a 100 episodes.

Eli Stone got a decent shot at survival, but like many shows, just couldn't find an audience. That is a reality for most shows. In a time when more and more procedurals are replacing shows that attempt to create anything that is different or challenging, it's important to remember what can be accomplished when show runners go for unique and not just more of the same old stuff (CBS, I'm talking about you).

If you are looking for something a little different, or if you just really like George Michael (you will find no judgements here), the first season dvd set available on amazon.

Bartowski, Chuck Bartowski

2009-02-17T21:43:54Z

Chuck is a lot of fun. The basic premise is kind of silly; A computer geek gets government secrets downloaded into his brain and becomes a spy. He is paired with two veteran agents. John Casey, a no nonsense NSA agent with a love for Ronald Reagan and inflicting pain on terrorists. And the beautiful CIA agent Sarah Walker, who may or may not love Chuck. Hilarity, of course ensues.

Watching last night's episode, I couldn't help but think about why Chuck isn't more popular. It has a procedural aspect, which is a format designed to attract casual viewers, while providing enough mythology that makes tuning in on a weekly basis highly rewarding.

Fulcrum

Chuck has slowly been building an interesting mythology. This year the writers have advanced the whole idea of the "evil CIA" group Fulcrum, begun in season 1. I think that has really strengthened the mission-a-week format of the show. Fulcrum is more of an old school spy group: Less SD-6 and more SPECTRE. This weeks episode featured Chuck and Sarah going undercover in a neighborhood that turned out to be a Fulcrum installation, which set up an interesting path for the show as the season winds down. Chuck isn't just about the spy stuff though,

It's Really Funny Too

What is great about Chuck, is that it does an excellent job at balancing the serious with the absolutely silly. Jumping between tones is really tough to do well. It usually leads to wildly uneven television. Chuck keeps it light without taking away the dramatic stakes of the human relationships and missions. Most of the really silly stuff takes place at the Buy More (basically Best Buy) where Chuck works. Here is a great example of the kind of humor the show loves to do. Note the Pop Culture reference as well:

Goes Beyond DeLoreans and Back to the Future

While many shows are self-aware and include a lot of pop-culture references, Chuck is perhaps the most unabashed about it. From missions that take place at Nakatomi Plaza to characters named Ned Ryerson, the episodes are jam-packed with references to other material. Last nights episode ended with a great homage to not one but two of the Indiana Jones movies (in the same scene no less). If you don't find that impressive then you probably wont find this blog at all interesting... sorry.

So if that is your first taste of Chuck I hope it encourages you to give the show a shot. For those who have watched before, I hope I captured some of what you love about the show. You can find all of the season 2 episodes here and you can buy the first season for under $20 here. The Show is on Mondays at 8 p.m. on NBC

Intro + Mutant Enemy Returns

2009-02-16T03:41:13Z

Welcome to my first blog post.

I am going to use this space as a forum for what I hope is reasonably intelligent and articulate conversation about great t.v. that is being ignored by most of the viewing public.

Deciding to invest time in a show is a big decision and one that often ends in disappointment. Most shows fail. That simple fact can make watching television as stressful as it is entertaining. If you are watching a show that is not a big obvious hit you are running the chances of getting emotionally invested in a story that you may never get to see the end of.

Deciding to make that choice and going against the odds is a big deal for me. The shows I am going to be writing about are ones I think are worth choosing to say "Screw it, that show is just too damn good not too watch whether I get to see the ending or not."

Whedon is back!!

On that slightly cheesy and impassioned note, I would be remiss if I did not quickly mention that Joss Whedon, king of shows no one watches, has a new show on fox called Dollhouse.

The show premiered Friday to really terrible ratings. I thought it was a solid first episode that showed a lot of promise. I really liked three aspects in particular

1.) Tahmoh Penikett

Penikett, of Battlestar Galactica fame, was super as Paul Ballard, the government agent investigating the rumors about the Dollhouse's existence. Great departure for him from his work on Battlestar as Helo. Particularly loved the scene in the office with his superiors intercut with his sparring session. Great and simple introduction that told us a lot about the character in a short amount of time.

2.) Dushku's New Watcher

Love Harry Lennix as Echo's "handler". I see a relationship developing between the two very similiar to that of Buffy and Giles from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Whedon's most well known effort. The pull between doing his job and protecting a girl that he cares about is good drama for Lennix. The character of Boyd Langdon should be a great one.

3.) Why Echo?

The father of the kidnapped girl raises the question of how the Dolls are selected for their assigments. I hope they explore that idea further as I thought it was the most intriguing part of a fairly generic kidnapping subplot.