1. K-Ville: I forgot that the guru guide was set to record this one, but I'm glad it did. I don't expect much from Fox (see Back To You), so maybe that played to this show's advantage, but I liked this show a lot. I think. It's about New Orleans - present day, post-Katrina - and a couple cops who stick around for the city they love. Now, the action scenes are not great. They're really choppy, probably to cover up for a low-budget and time constraints. But this show isn't about the action scenes so it's okay. It's really more about the people trying to cope even years later with Katrina, and in that sense, the characters really resonate. They're realistic (the pop word here is "gritty"), they're human, they're normal. I think they a good job incorporating the deep South culture without overplaying it, too. I'm not willing to say that it's great, but I thought the first episode was pretty good/really good. It'll stay on the list for the Fall. As a side note, the cameo by multiple Lost characters was unexpected. When "Ethan" shows up, you know he's going to be a bad guy - he's approaching Steve Buschemi creepy, without the Steve Buschemi. (Two TiVo thumbs up)
2A. Chuck: I'll start by saying that none of the NBC shows really appealed to me, but I was willing to give them a shot. Of the four new ones (Chuck, Life, Journeyman, Bionic Woman), I was most excited about Life - mostly because Damian Lewis was amazing in Band of Brothers. We'll get to Life, but first Chuck. This show is alright. The best thing this show does is not try too hard to be totally realistic. The premise of the show isn't realistic, so why try and make it something it is not? The action isn't special, but it's not too bad. The premise is a little iffy, but there's a good mix of light-hearted fun and seriousness. Fortunately, the fun heavily outweighs the seriousness, because this show would suck if it took itself seriously. The best thing they have done with this show is embrace the ridiculous, and that is what makes it work. Chuck is charming for a dork - something I aspire to, so I guess that's part of why I like this show. The supporting cast is pretty good too. (One TiVo thumb up)
2B. Life: Like I said, I'm pretty excited about Life. So far, so good. It's the good
old cop drama, except with a twist. Lewis does a good job with his quirky zen-influenced character, bringing a good mix of sensitivity and ruthlessness to a complicated character. If you haven't seen the commercials, he was wrongly convicted for murder then released 12 years later with a hefty ransom and a job as detective back on the force. Oh yeah, his wife left him, his personal financial manager is an Enron-type corporate guy he met in jail. All the other cops hate him because he's still a con in their eyes, and he's pretty close with his female lawyer - guess what she's attractive. As you can see, there's a lot to work with. Since it's a little late on the scene with the whole quirky cop thing (see Colombo, Monk, Cracker), it may be hard to keep it unpredictable. The jury is still out, but I'm intrigued. (One TiVo thumb up)3. Journeyman: I had no interest in this show, but I watched it during lunch over the last couple of days, and I have to say, it wasn't bad. By the end, I was impressed and maybe hooked. A promising storyline helps. I know the whole "I liked this show when it was called Quantum Leap" joke is an easy one, but there's more to the show than ripping off an old show. The lead guy is intriguing. The running story is tempting. With the exception of time travel, I thought the plot was realistic. Plus, the guy has an iPhone - at the very least, I'm waiting to see how long it works for him. (no thumbs)
4. Bionic Woman: Um, so this show... it's about a bionic woman. A secret government procedure administered by the boyfriend with secrets after a pretty rough wreck gives a woman a bunch of bionic special powers. I don't know about this one. It's not bad, but I wasn't really hooked. A show like this is going to have to rely on some pretty good action sequences and a sequence of events that don't leave you thinking, "Wait a minute... that can't be right...." I'm just not sure that can be done with this show. (no thumbs)
5. Back to You: It just plain sucks. From the ten-years-too-late Chris Farley overexcited, sweaty fat guy bit, to the AWFUL laugh-track, to the predictable and stupid punch lines, I did not like this show at all. The plot stinks, too. I thought it was a comedy, until the last five minutes got strangely serious. I can't figure out why Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton signed up for this. I can figure out why Fred Willard signed up. Christopher Lloyd writes and produces. No, not that one. Apparently this guy won a lot of awards with Frasier (he also worked on Wings and Golden Girls). (Three TiVo thumbs down)
1 comment:
I was excited about "Back to You." Apparently I will not have a new show to rescue me from the miseries of constant schoolwork
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