Premiere Week Redux: Yay or Nay

Happy New Year everyone! I could say I resolve to write more than one blog post a month, but, you know, no promises there. I can promise I will post my top 10 list soon....ish. Before the Oscars at least.

This week saw a bunch of new TV show premieres, of which I flagged four to check out. And since I clearly don't have time to write about what I'm watching, I've decided it's time to stop giving middling shows multiple chances before dropping them. I mean, I still have full seasons of Nikita and No Ordinary Family on DVR that I somehow believe I may someday watch.

But no more. From now on, each show is getting a yay or nay after one episode. So while I haven't gotten to Shameless yet (and my disinclination to do so may suggest which way I'm leaning there), here's how the new system has worked on three new shows that premiered this week.

Episodes

I was pretty much onboard with this one from the promo alone. Entourage lost its ability to successfully mock Hollywood seasons ago, so there was a void for some other show to take its place. And at least so far, Showtime's new comedy about an unsuccessful transition of a British hit to American schlock brings in the satire and the laughs, Turtle-free.

Now, sure, some of the jokes are a little obvious. And there is one glaring flaw to the pilot: they barely introduce major character Matt LeBlanc, who by most critical accounts is the funniest part of the show. But that just means the show's bound to get even better. And with a British-style limited run of seven episodes, there's less time to lose focus.

Verdict: YAY

Lights Out

One of the downsides of the success of shows like The Sopranos and Mad Men and Breaking Bad are that now cable channels think every one of their shows should be dark, slow, and downbeat (which, by the way, none of those three previous shows entirely are). And as well-done and cinematic as some of the shows to follow are, at a certain point enough is enough. I need some entertainment in my TV.

This also ties into the trend to make TV shows more like movies. And when you get something as big scale and unpredictable as Lost, great. But for some movies, even good ones, two hours is plenty. Loved 127 Hours, but wouldn't want it to be a second longer. Which brings me to Lights Out, a cinematically-minded show that's well-done enough but I just don't want to watch 13 hours of it.

In some ways, Lights Out is like if you took Breaking Bad and replaced drugs with boxing. It's similarly about a guy with financial troubles forced to do something his family would disapprove of in order to provide for them. But the similarities end there. There's no humor, no immediate stand-out characters, and overall it's just kind of a bummer.

Now, I'm also not a fan of The Fighter (though fully support Christian Bale's upcoming Oscar win), so maybe I'm just not into boxing things. Or at least boxers. Just as Mark Wahlberg's character was the least interesting thing about the movie, here too I don't feel like the main guy is strong enough or interesting enough to anchor the show. And movies have so mined this kind of story before there just may not be too much new to say.

I dropped Terriers after one episode too, and weeks later critics were saying it was the best show on TV. So that could totally happen again. But Terriers was still a lot more fun. I'm not in any way saying Lights Out is a bad show or that you shouldn't watch it. But I've got dark cable drama fatigue, and this just isn't good enough to make the cut.

Verdict: NAY

The Cape

I won't write too much about NBC's latest attempt to get a superhero show going, since that would be somewhat unfair when I only made it a half hour into the two hour pilot. I didn't get to Summer Glau's introduction or even to where the main guy officially becomes "The Cape." But I still maintain that a half hour was plenty of time to label this craptacular.

To keep it brief, I'll just sketch out the reasons I labeled this with the c word. First off, ridiculously serious tone. This is a superhero show in the absolute most conventional sense. Music that rips off other superhero movies, dialogue that's ripped from a comic book; the only humor here is unintentional (though there's plenty of that). Next, bland main character. It may not help that he again looks identical to Mr. Schu from Glee and the main guy on Rubicon, but since he has less personality than either of them that can't be blamed. And again, the dialogue is just atrocious.

Verdict: NAY

Zombies, AMC Style

AMC immediately branded itself with Mad Men and Breaking Bad as a place for sophisticated, mature, and quality TV dramas. And since then it's been trying to help that brand grow. Rubicon attempted to take a similar approach to the political thriller...but forgot that political thrillers aren't supposed to be really, really boring. So now AMC's taking on the zombie genre, something radically different than the rest of its line-up.

The Walking Dead did begin as a comic book, and the pilot is certainly filled with lots of gore, but otherwise it fits right in at AMC for one clear reason: like the titular zombies, it moves very slooooow. At an hour and a half, the pilot has far more long silences than dialogue or action, setting the mood beautifully but not doing a ton for the plot. Most of the major characters beyond the protagonist are limited to a single scene, and the protagonist's lengthy walks around his ghost town might as well be happening in real time.

That said, it's not necessarily a bad thing just yet. This isn't a Rubicon case where we spend a half hour staring at a parked car and aren't entirely sure why. The silences do very much put us in the world of Rick Grimes, a sheriff's deputy who wakes up in the hospital after recovering from a gunshot wound to discover the world around him has greatly changed. There's a whole lot of emptiness, but the only signs of life come from those very much no longer alive. It may be pretty similar to the opening of 28 Days Later, but it's still effective.

Once he finds other survivors things pick up considerably. On a quest to find his wife and son, Grimes runs into a father and son getting by after their wife/mother joined the ranks of the dead. And we soon find out many of the people from Grimes' previous life are out there in a survivors' camp after all. Personally, I'd rather see what happens once Grimes meets up with them, but I get a sense that's how this 6 episode run will end.

If 6 episodes seems short for a first season, here's why it makes sense: this feels way more like a miniseries than a full series. That doesn't mean there's not more life in the show. It could turn out like the miniseries that initially launched Battlestar Galactica which, by the way, I didn't like nearly as much as the series that followed.

Ultimately, Walking Dead's pilot was strong enough to keep me going, but I'm not yet entirely sold. If the moodiness and slow pace of the pilot were intended to make an impression and help this stand out from other zombie things we've already seen (and there's not much else in the plot so far that does), then I'm cool with that. But if they really expect us to accept Rubicon-style pacing in a show about zombies (and zombies that are more sad than scary, for that matter), then I'm not so sure I'll be in for the long haul. Let's see how episode 2 goes.

RIP Lone Star

Today, Lone Star became the first cancellation of the new TV season. Which sucks, cause it was actually one of the better new shows. I still haven't seen the second and final episode, but judging from the pilot this was an entertaining and appealing show that, for better and for worse, was very different from everything else on TV. The fact that the show doesn't quite fit into any particular box (smart drama, trashy soap, or both?) made it hard to market, and harder to get people to watch. But still, how are people ignoring this and choosing instead to watch obvious crap like Shit My Dad Says and Outlaw?

Not that it matters much anymore, but the pilot centers on Bob/Robert Allen, a con man running two long cons simultaneously. In one, he's selling shares to non-existent wells to people in Midland, Texas, while living with his girlfriend. In another, he's married and working his way up in his father-in-law's oil company. And in both, his con man father is close by to monitor his progress.

I think a lot of people were turned off by the idea of a guy sustaining two separate relationships, but while it may certainly make him an anti-hero, Josh Wolk has enough charisma as an actor that Bob/Robert remains likable. It also helps that he's trying to get out of the con life and actually believes he loves both of the women. The best stuff in the pilot involves his interactions with his dad, all of which feels like something out of a Sawyer flashback from Lost (which I mean in a good way). When it gets too far into the family drama with the oil company, then it heads a bit into Dallas territory.

So there's the issue right there. For the most part, it's a smart drama, but it's also a bit of soap. It's a con man show, but has a lot of other things going on. It's hard to tell from the pilot what would happen next, and I guess we may never know. Still, this one had a lot of promise, and I'll get to that second episode at some point, even if I don't ever get to see the third.

Premiere Week Part 2

Premiere week is now over, and I still have a lot to watch. But here are some quick takes on all the comedies I watched this week, both the returning and the new. New shows first.

If you listened to most critics on Fox's two new Tuesday night comedies, you'd set the series pass on Raising Hope and figure Running Wilde would be a complete waste of time. But personally, I liked Running Wilde better. It's certainly flawed and far from perfect, but when it comes to which one holds more promise and makes me laugh more, it's Wilde.

From the creator of Arrested Development, starring Will Arnett and featuring David Cross, Running Wilde has very much the same tone as its comedy classic predecessor. Steven Wilde (Arnett) is the rich son of an oil company owner who's never had to work or grow up in his life, and Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell) is an environmental activist who's spent the past six years in the Amazon. They had a thing when they were teens, and now Emmy's back in town. The show's narrated by Emmy's daughter Puddle, who otherwise chooses not to speak, and the rest of the supporting cast consists of the people who take care of Wilde and his competitively rich frenemy/neighbor.

Like most pilots, this one crams a lot into 22 minutes, so it's hard to tell what a normal episode will be just yet. Arnett and Russell's interactions could use some work, and nobody in the supporting cast has really stood out so well (though I sense potential in the neighbor character). But given the amount of talent behind this show, I bet all of that can be worked out down the line. In the meantime, the pilot has more laughs than most other comedies on TV, the three leads are all likable, and AD's style of humor is very much at work. There's even an overt reference to it with one of GOB's catchphrases.

Verdict: May ultimately go either way, but I'm certainly sticking with it for the time being.

As for the show that airs before it, Raising Hope, I'm betting this falls into the category of decent shows that just aren't for me. From the creator of My Name is Earl, the tone is very similar: sweet and funny, but way more sweet than funny, with a cast of colorful hicks. Jimmy (Lucas Neff) is a young pool skimmer trying to figure out his life's purpose when he ends up in charge of a baby for fairly entertaining reasons. His parents want him to give it away since they barely managed to raise him, but he's determined. So the show's about the three of them not-so-successfully trying to raise the baby.

There's a big missed opportunity by taking the baby's mother out of the picture by the 15 minute mark, since she was one of the better characters. And the pilot's best moment may be an inside joke about My Name is Earl's cancellation. Since otherwise the show's more about awww moments than big laughs. And when it does go for laughs, it tends to be in the broader slapstick direction, especially those involving Cloris Leachman's often-topless senile grandmother. And it doesn't have as strong a hook or characters as Earl did. It wants to be the next Modern Family, but it's just not as clever.

Verdict: I'll give it one or two more episodes to be sure, but this one just isn't for me.

Speaking of Modern Family, it came back this week very true to form: no frills, no crazy plot developments, just simple hilarity. Of the three plotlines this week, I'm calling Mitchell and Cameron the funniest, as Mitchell sets out to build Lily a castle using his supposed college theater abilities while Cameron and Jay try to keep him as far away from the tools as possible. Mitchell defending himself while accidentally cutting down the flowers is classic. But plenty of good stuff elsewhere as well, with the Dunphys taking one last trip in the car they hadn't used in years, and Gloria getting jealous of Manny's study date. MF continues to be the most consistently funny show on air.

On to NBC's Thursday, where Community started off the set with plenty of cliffhangers to resolve. Last year I gave Community three episodes then let it go. But it takes time for a comedy's ensemble to gel together, and when I gave it another shot this summer I ended up really liking it.

The premiere sure makes it seem like this could be a break-out year for the show. With season 1 ending with all sorts of love quadrangle drama, this week addressed everything in a way that stayed funny and set up the rest of the season. Overexposed as she may be, Betty White's guest spot totally worked, and it will be interesting to see how letting Senor Chang into the study group will alter the dynamics.

With The Office and 30 Rock increasingly heading into old age, Community's quickly becoming NBC's top show to watch on Thursday nights.

30 Rock started its 5th (!!!) year with plenty of meta references to the fact that nobody expected it to last this long. It's also no longer top comedy dog now that buzz has shifted over to Modern Family and Glee. Which I think is a good thing, as all the overhyping didn't really serve what's basically a fun little gem. And with lowered expectations, it still delivers.

It does seem 30 Rock is the place to go for dramatic actors trying to prove they can do comedy, as Matt Damon follows in Jon Hamm's footsteps to reprise his season finale role as Liz's pilot boyfriend Carol. Having initially played the role pretty straight, Damon definitely gets laughs as he reveals Carol to be kind of needy. Too bad he can't stay too long if he wants to keep making movies.

Elsewhere, the Kenneth-gets-fired plot continues, as Tracy misses him while he settles in at CBS (sorting the Letterman audience by attractiveness). A bit of a missed opportunity as Jenna is given a producer credit only to give it up by the end of the episode. Would have been fun to see her fight with Liz and Pete on stuff throughout the season. And no sign of Danny, except on Glee. There's a danger this season will continue on the all Jack and Liz's love lives, all the time track it keeps heading on, but so far so good.

Finally, The Office maybe should have ended a few seasons ago (why do they want to continue after Michael leaves?), but it always starts its seasons strong and this year was no exception. Last year we met some summer interns, and this year we got Luke, the new office assistant. Who's also Michael's nephew. And sucks at his job. Which led to plenty of hilarity and great Michael moments.

Even better, a return to the Jim and Pam pranks of old, which had been neglected since the writers decided all Jim and Pam could do was be cute. Unfortunately, Dwight continues to become more of a sitcom caricature with every second he's onscreen. Enjoying Kelly thinking she's smart and professional without backing it up. Sad for Andy that Erin left him for Gabe. And not really sure what the deal with the lip dub thing at the beginning of the episode was about. A take-off on a youtube video I haven't seen?

If this year's like the past few years, The Office has 5 good episodes in it before it starts to drag again. But all the writer interviews I've read say they're stepping it up for Michael's last year, so maybe this will be a return to form. It's certainly possible.

Premiere Week Part 1

With SOOOO many shows premiering this week, both new and returning, it's going to be awhile until I get to everything I'd like to. Possibly weeks. So in order to leave myself time to actually watch some of these shows, I'm just going to do a whole bunch of quick takes on everything I've seen so far all at once.

Glee was probably the returning show I was most looking forward to, and the premiere reminded me how much fun this show is, if also why it's often called out as problematic. Beginning with a list of all the criticisms people have made about the show, the premiere went on to exemplify one of the bigger ones: fitting 5 episodes' worth of plot into a single hour. Which is why I wouldn't say the episode itself ranks among Glee's best.

But as far as setting up the new season goes, it definitely did the job. Coach Bieste throws a whole new twist into the Schue/Sue relationship, and fun to see them working together for a change. Just about every major kid character had some kind of change: Finn getting kicked off the football team, Artie losing Tina, Rachel having to compete with newcomers, Quinn back as captain of the Cheerios, etc. New characters (Sunshine, Sam, and the new Vocal Adrenaline coach) were introduced in such a way that you got a good sense of them without them taking away from the leads. And great musical numbers combined with good Sue Sylvester lines made for a very enjoyable hour of TV.

Going right to the theme episodes next week with a Brittany Spears homage may be a bit too soon, but hey, we knew this wasn't Mad Men. Glee doesn't take its time. The important thing is that all of the fun, energy, and humor of the first season is still very much intact here in year two, and this will continue to be the show I actually watch the night it airs.

I've got a lot of pilots I still need to get to, but the one new show I know I'll be sticking with is Boardwalk Empire. Between Martin Scorsese directing and Sopranos alums running the show, the pilot had a lot to live up to. And as far as I'm concerned, it succeeded. Personally, I'm getting a little of sick of shows on HBO, AMC, and FX that take their sweet time getting to the point, making you sit through a few dreary hours before getting amazing by the fifth episode. Boardwalk Empire is not like that. There's so much action, character, and, yes, actual humor in the opener alone that this isn't just a prestige show; it's actually entertaining.

Beginning right at the beginning of Prohibition, the show centers on Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), a city councilman in Atlantic City, New Jersey who puts together a bootletting operation to keep his city wet. He plays the politician by telling the temperance ladies he's one of them, then makes deals with New York (in the form of Michael Stuhlbarg's Arnold Rothstein) and Chicago (meet young Lucky Luciano and Al Capone). But just as central is Nucky's driver Jimmy (Michael Pitt), a young guy who turned down Princeton to fight in WWI, who plays the Christopher to Nucky's Tony. And at the same time, the Feds are trying to close the operation down, specifically Michael Shannon's Van Alden.

I've heard some criticism of Steve Buscemi as the leading man, and I will say I'm reserving judgement on that front. He definitely plays the part well, but as an excellent character actor he doesn't quite have the gravitas of, say, a James Gandolfini. But with so many great supporting players that may not make a difference. Michael Pitt's character is already emerging as just as much of a protagonist. And while much of the cast can be hard to distinguish as "white guys who look alike," enough stand out right away that everything should fall into place a lot earlier than in other HBO historical series like, say, Rome.

Obviously the production values of the $18 million pilot are extraordinary, and that's a reason to check it out alone. The show brings old Atlantic City to life in a big way, and the visuals are amazing to watch. You can tell the pilot was directed by Scorsese since it has the feel of his movies, which may have a lot to do with why it's so watchable. This is no dry history lesson, but a show that brings its era to life in much the same way Mad Men does, except with a lot more violence.

Given that the showrunners previously worked there, the show feels a LOT like The Sopranos, but in a good way. If you've been looking for something to fill that void, this is definitely it. And if you haven't, it's still a different enough show you might find something to like. With no other new shows breaking out as big hits the way Glee and Modern Family did last year, this seems to be it. HBO certainly thinks so, having already renewed it for a second season. If the rest of the season lives up to the promise of the pilot, we'll be seeing Boardwalk give Mad Men a scare at the Emmys next year.

How I Met Your Mother had what was pretty widely considered a weak fifth year. The showrunners are the first ones to admit that, so they wanted to step it up big time for season six. And in a lot of ways, this week's premiere showed the benefits of listening to your fans. It was a very back-to-basics episode, taking place almost entirely within the bar on a single night. Ted got to be the focus again (but not in an obnoxious way), and every character generally acted like themselves.

But while the rest of the episode was perfectly solid and enjoyable, it's the ending that makes this a great premiere and one that should re-hook any questioning fans. The show may be more of a "Friends for the 21st century" than an actual story about Ted meeting his wife, but this week brought the mother story a big step forward by revealing they meet at a wedding. The bigger surprise: Ted is the best man at the wedding! Ted doesn't know that many people. Marshall and Lily are already married. So the two most obvious guesses would be Barney or Robin. Though maybe it's Rachel Bilson marrying her new girlfriend. Why she'd chose some guy she dated for all of a minute as her best man I don't know, but she does at least she would presumably invite the mother-to-be.

Ah well, plenty of time to keep speculating. I'm certainly intrigued to find out.

Ok, catching up with some stuff from last week, Top Chef: Just Desserts premiered last Wednesday and while it's certainly not up to original flavor standards, I'd rank it above Masters. Like in the original, Desserts has contestants who really care about winning, so it's not all a good-natured lark like for the pros. The personalities are even bigger than on the regular version, so it almost feels more like Project Runway (not saying that's a good thing, just observing). But most importantly of all, there are so many delicious looking desserts that I will immediately need to run out to Crumbs after every episode. Total food porn.

If that weren't enough, everyone's favorite TC judge Gail Simmons is hosting, and Hubert Keller is supposed to show up somewhere down the line. It's hardly appointment TV, so too bad it's on during the busy fall instead of, say, the summer, where it would be exactly the right type of fluffy fun I'm looking for. But as a placeholder for real Top Chef, it works.

Finally (and STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE TOP CHEF FINALE YET), I finally saw the Top Chef finale tonight, and somehow stayed spoiler-free beforehand. Which made me all the more shocked by the result. It was clear from the episode that Kevin's was the meal they liked best, so in that sense he deserved to win. But it wouldn't have been clear that he would be Top Chef from any other given episode this season. He always seemed like one of the chefs that was good enough to stay in but not good enough to win too much. Then again, Ed sealed his fate when he decided to delegate the entire dessert course, and Angelo was working with a pretty severe disadvantage. Kevin did seem REALLY happy about it, so it's hard to hold it against him. But he seems more like another Hosea than one of the more obvious winners.

Fall TV Season Begins

Premiere week may not be for another week still, but this past week already saw the premieres of two new shows that caught my attention: FX's Terriers and The CW's Nikita (that's right, I'm letting the Ashley Tisdale cheerleading show Hellcats go by unwatched). I'm still planning to do a full fall TV preview post at some point, but in the meantime here's verdicts on these two pilots.

First up Terriers, a light detective drama starring The Tao of Steve's Donal Logue and True Blood's Michael Raymond-James as unlicensed private detective partners. The two leads are very likable with lots of good banter between them, and the generally breezy tone makes this a perfectly enjoyable hour of TV.

But with all the crime shows on these days, is a straight-up detective series enough to cut it? The clips of upcoming episodes make it clear this is not just a case-of-the-week procedural, and that the events of the pilot will have repercussions on the rest of the season. But while watchable enough, the set-up's not quite intriguing enough to keep me coming back. I'd be curious to hear if things pick up down the line, but with so much else to try out, this just doesn't stand out enough to warrant a DVR pass.

On the other hand, I'm a little surprised to say I will be giving Nikita at least one more episode. I haven't seen the movie or the original USA TV show, but I can say that the newest update is a lot Alias and a lot Dollhouse. But since I like both those shows and neither is still on the air, I'm ok with that.

Nikita (Maggie Q) was part of a secret government organization called Division that trained attractive young people to be assassins. But something turned her against them, and now she's waging a one-woman war to take them down. Meanwhile, Alex (Lyndsy Fonesca) is a new Division recruit, just starting her training. With other familiar faces including The O.C.'s Melinda Clark, 24's Xander Berkeley, and Shane West, it's an appealing group.

The pilot crams in a lot, and it's clear this won't be the most character-based show on TV, but it's got potential. Between this summer's Covert Affairs and the fall's Undercovers, there's a bunch of new spy shows but this is the only one attempting an Alias-like mythology (though without the Rambaldi stuff, I hope). After a few episodes it may turn out to be more of a cheesy CW execution than some of the other genre shows it aspires to be, so I may bail after episode 2 or 3. But I could use a fun action show, and it's possible this could be it.

Christmas in August

Mad Men typically takes its time to get its seasons started, doing a slow build that pays off big time by the finale. But after two episodes, it seems season 4 is no typical Mad Men season. That extra energy present in the season 3 finale that had been absent in the rather gloomy and downbeat season preceding it was back in full force in last week's premiere, as we watched Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce well into their start-up mode and very much in action.

There's a new feel to this season, and so far the change is for the better. Sure it's sad to see characters like Paul go, but that just means more time for favorites that had been neglected last year, like Peggy and Roger. And I imagine we'll see everyone soon enough, seeing as we've already had returns from Freddy Rumsen and Glenn, both of whom I'm pretty sure haven't been seen since season 2. Though I may need to refresh my Mad Men memory. Is Peggy's boyfriend new, or was he on last season?

As fun as the premiere was, it was actually the second episode I'd put as the first classic of the season. As odd as it may be to watch a Christmas episode in the midst of this heat wave filled summer, it was certainly a great one. Last week I think we witnessed the emergence of Diva Don - Don's the star of the new agency and everyone else pretty much has to do what he wants. But Don's star was nothing compared to that of Lucky Strike Lee, who's previously used his power to get Sal fired. As the sole person keeping the new venture afloat, he got to act like a little kid and have everything his way. The big party, the present, and most forcefully Roger in a Santa suit all came about to attend to his desires. Who else thought Roger might put the company in jeopardy by punching him in his over-tanned face?

While Roger was swallowing his pride to keep the agency going, Don didn't worry about his. Needing to be tucked in at night first by the nurse down the hall and then his secretary, it's clear his post-divorce life isn't going so hot. Though this week's Don's storyline was really ruled by his secretary, who I can't say I had noticed before (did she come over from Sterling Cooper or was she new last week?) but did a pretty great job establishing her character within the one episode. From competently yet flirtily taking care of Don's holiday shopping to thinking her crush had gone requited only to seemingly be paid off to keep quiet, she got quite the arc for a character whose name I still don't know. May be interesting to see if that continues this season.

Finally, I guess Glenn was always kind of creepy, but he definitely went big time creepy this week. I'm not sure if his sneaky phone calls or his breaking in was worse, but he seems to be getting kind of stalkerish towards Sally. Or maybe he's just trying to make Betty jealous. I have to admit I'm not minding the diminished screentime for Betty so far. Her courtship with Henry last year took away valuable time from the office. She's clearly sticking around, but for now at least she's taking up an appropriate amount of the episodes.

Oftentimes when shows try to change things up, it either fails miserably (Weeds moving to the Mexican border) or devolves back into the show the writers were trying to escape from (Nip/Tuck moving to LA). But while it's only been two episodes, it's looking like the move to SCDP was just what Mad Men needed after all. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new agency manages.

Elsewhere on AMC, Rubicon, the network's third original series, premiered last night. Due to a DVR mix-up I've only seen the first of the two episodes, but I can't say I'm excited to keep going. While the premise certainly sounds like my kind of show and the opening credits had me intrigued, Rubicon's pilot had to be one of the slowest moving hours of TV I've ever seen. I swear if they eliminated every long silence it would have been a third as long.

So what did happen? Not too much. Kim Bauer's ex now has Will Schuester's hair and first name and works at some government office where he sits around and does crossword puzzles all day. One of the crossword puzzles turned out to be dangerous and got his boss/father-in-law killed. This caused him to stare at a parking lot for 20 minutes. And....that was the first episode!

I will say that the preview for coming episodes did look a whole lot more interesting, but maybe that's because they took the entire season's worth of plot and condensed it to 30 seconds. I don't want to dismiss this one too soon because I wasn't wowed by Breaking Bad either and now I've got 3 seasons to catch up on since everyone says it's the best show on TV. But so far Rubicon is feeling to me like Treme did: something that's slow and boring but gets critical acclaim anyway. While I now know Treme never did pick up, there's still a chance Rubicon could. Did anyone watch the second hour? Will it change my mind? Or should I just enjoy Mad Men and not worry about what comes after it?

This Week in Summer TV

This week, my TV season fully transitioned from regular season to summer, with the finales of Glee and Top Chef Masters, and the premieres of two shows I thought I'd give one (and only one) episode each: Persons Unknown and Work of Art. I already discussed Glee, but here's my brief takes on the other three:

Persons Unknown sounds cool on paper: a bunch of people are kidnapped and put in a mysteriously empty village where they're watched by unknown people. Sounds a little like The Prisoner meets Lost, right? Well, if NBC hoped you'd think that, they didn't work too hard to make it known. I didn't hear about the show until the day of, which makes it all the more clear this is just typical summer burn-off.

But summer trash can still be summer fun. If there's any show Persons Unknown really resembles it's Harper's Island - CBS' attempt to do a weekly horror series that, well, didn't do so well. Like Harper's it's got kind of an intriguing idea, but also like Harper's it's undone by a rather C-level execution. By the end of the first hour, you don't really know anything about any of the characters, other than that they're all kind of annoying. And they don't really do much but wander around and yell "How do I know you're not THEM?!?!"

In the promo at the end, NBC's emphasized that the show will give you answers, and soon. But what they seem to forget is that people wanted answers on Lost so badly because they really cared about the questions. And so far this scenario just isn't quite creepy enough. Lost had the Monster and the polar bear. The Prisoner had the giant bubble and the question of why No. 6 resigned. Persons Unknown has grainy video footage and a bunch of Chinese guys saying "Please" a billion times a second. That's not gonna cut it.

No characters and weak acting and dialogue is one thing. But if this is gonna go for the campy guilty pleasure that is really its only hope, there's gotta be a bit more going on. I wouldn't mind watching another episode, but at the end of the day, I'd rather spend that time working through my TV on DVD.

Last night Bravo unveiled their newest entry into the Project Runway/Top Chef family: Work of Art. It's basically Project Runway with art instead of fashion. Take a bunch of wacky creative types, give them a mentor (but now with an accent!), and have them judged by a panel of experts in their field.

If "Project Runway with art" sounds good to you, you'll probably enjoy this show. Magical Elves make good reality TV, and it certainly feels like Bravo-era Project Runway. And unlike the Lifetime editions, this show actually does have some colorful characters and maybe even some talent (not that I'd have any idea).

But another part of me feels like this is to Project Runway what Top Chef Masters is to Top Chef: it's watchable enough, but it doesn't feel quite as right as the original. The new mentor doesn't have quite the spark of Tim Gunn, and the judges don't have the zing of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. I'm also a little iffy on the concept. The artists all get to work in their own media, so you've got painting vs. photography vs. photoshop. No wonder the photographers came out on top; which do you think takes longer?

Again though, the reason I can't get into it is I'm just not that into art. And I'm over Project Runway. Really, the only reality TV I want to be seeing is shows involving food. So while I'm not opposed to having this on in the background, if I'm watching Bravo this summer it's for Top Chef.

Speaking of which, Top Chef Masters aired its season finale this week, and we again saw one of the biggest differences between the spin-off and the original: everyone on Masters always makes good food. The finales are never about who's going to win; it's about watching a whole lot of food porn. So the fact that the three came so close in the end is no surprise; any one of them could have won. But it was nice that Marcus did. Guess I should try out Aquavit some time.

If You Wish Modern Family Replaced Laughter with Tears...

....then you'll love NBC's new drama Parenthood! At least that's my impression after catching up on the pilot last weekend. It's aired two episodes since then, and I hear they're a definite improvement. But after such a downbeat and unpleasant pilot, I see no need to give it a second chance.

As you may remember if you watched any given 30 seconds of the Olympics, NBC has made quite a big deal promoting Parenthood as their next (ok, only) big thing. You may also remember the promos emphasizing the "comedy" part of the "comedy/drama" label they're trying to put on the show. But if there was any "comedy" in the pilot, it came only in the form of lame Grey's Anatomy-style banter that just came off as forced as unfunny. No, this one's a drama with a capital D and that rhymes with C and that stands for Crying.

Parenthood is a "family drama" in the tradition of shows like Six Feet Under and ABC's very similar-sounding Brothers and Sisters, but Parenthood ups the ante with a family so big I spent most of the pilot just trying to figure out who everyone is. I mean, there's FOUR central siblings, but one of them wasn't given any major plots so how was I supposed to know she wasn't just a guest star? When you add in spouses and kids, plus two parents, you can see why the list of regular cast members ran longer than on any HBO show. That's a lot to introduce in one hour.

So who do we have? Well, the show centers around four siblings. There's Adam (Peter Krause), an all-around good guy who's struggling with the realization that his son has Asperger's. His sister Sarah (Lauren Graham) is a single mom who's moved back in with their parents to get her life back in order. Dax Shepard plays the family black sheep, and continues to remind us why Kristen Bell is too good for him (in real life). Erika Christensen had a glorified cameo, so it's hard for me to say what her story is. And the parents didn't do too much either.

As you might guess, the Asperger's storyline gets a lot of the "very special" moments. I'm talking multiple scenes with "touching, heartfelt" music while people cry onscreen. Though Sarah's the angstier one, yelling and crying far more than any other character. At a certain point, I started to feel like the pilot just crammed five after school specials together into one hour.

Despite all of that, I might be tempted to tune in again if I connected more with the characters. The cast is certainly impressive, with Krause already having successfully fronted Six Feet Under and Sports Night, Graham had Gilmore Girls, and while I know he's done bigger things, I still give Craig T. Nelson highest credit for The Incredibles. But while Krause is likable and charismatic enough to get me to buy all the emotion in his story, I can't say I cared much for anyone else. Graham may have charmed as Lorelai, but as Sarah she's so far coming across as shrill and annoying. Mae Whitman plays the annoying teenager a bit too well. And Dax Shepard is still Dax Shepard.

At the end of the day, there are already better shows doing what Parenthood is trying for. If I want to watch interconnected families, you better believe I'm picking the hilarious Modern Family over this piece of depression. And if I want something heartwarming and cheesy, at least Life Unexpected is fun and filled with much more likable characters. So nice try NBC, maybe next time it will work out. And if Parenthood ends up proving me wrong somewhere down the line, let me know and I might give it another shot.

FX Swim

Grade: B-

Well, we're only a few weeks into TV midseason, and already I'm behind. Having chosen the Golden Globes over 24 last night, I'll soon be 4 hours behind in one show alone, in addition to the pilot of Human Target, last week's doubleshot of 30 Rock, and the penultimate Dollhouse. Speaking of Dollhouse, the series finale has been preempted by the Haiti telethon, so it will now air on January 29th at 8 PM.

But one thing I have cleared off my DVR is Archer, FX's first animated comedy. FX has had a number of successful dramas, between The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, and Damages, but hasn't been quite so lucky on comedies. Sure, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has turned into quite the cult hit, but FX is still seeking a companion show to fill the hour.

Archer, created by writers for various Adult Swim programs, feels like it would have been more at home wedged between Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021. It's about a spy organization called Isis, run by the titular antihero's mother, voiced by Jessica Walter. Joining Walter in the impressive voice cast is her former Arrested Development costar Judy Greer, SNL's Chris Parnell, and ex-Nip/Tucker Aisha Tyler. In the pilot, Archer's tasked with training his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in spycraft. In the second episode, he invents a mole to doctor his expense accounts, only to discover a real mole.

The show seems to want to be The Tick, but so far it hasn't reached that level. Like most of Adult Swim, Archer is amusing enough, but would probably be funnier if viewed in a crowded dorm late at night while in the midst of some kind of high. The second episode's better than the first, as it puts the focus on Archer instead of viewing him through the other guy. But for a show making fun of spy stories, these first two episodes have been completely tied down in the office. There's plenty of other shows doing a better job with office culture, so why not let Archer be a spy?

It looks like next week will already be more mission-focused, and the show will probably get funnier over time. But like Adult Swim, this seems like the kind of thing that might be fun to get caught in while channel surfing, but not worth setting to your DVR.

The Good Fit for CBS

Although not one of my more anticipated fall premieres, The Good Wife managed to make its way onto my pilot list due to all the good reviews calling it the best new drama this season. I've now seen a couple of episodes, which pretty much validated what I expected all along: it's a perfectly well-done show that's just not for me.

The show centers on Alicia (Julianna Margulies), the wife of a state's attorney (Chris Noth) who becomes an amalgam of Edwards, Spitzer, Blagojevich, and that New Jersey governor when he gets caught in a sex scandal, is forced to resign, and winds up in jail. With her husband in jail, Alicia goes back to working as a lawyer for the first time in over the decade, becoming a junior associate at a law firm run by her old college buddy played by Josh Charles (aka Sports Night's Dan Rydell).

As Law & Ordery as the timeliness may seem, it's actually the best part of the show. All of the leftover baggage from riding out the scandal - in addition to her husband's ongoing appeal - make Alicia one of the best-developed characters in any of the so-called character-based procedurals.

Because yes, sadly, once Alicia gets back to work, that's exactly what the show becomes. While we do see her at home and visiting her husband in jail, we mostly see Alicia in the office and in court. Yes, it's one of those shows where there's somehow a court case every week even though most cases take years. Not that the cases aren't interesting. There's a last-minute discovery to win the case in every episode, and every week there's a new judge with a big personality to spice things up. But after so many other lawyer shows have really covered this territory, I can't help but feeling like this is just one more.

There's a reason the show is doing well and has been picked up for a full season. Occupying what once was Judging Amy's timeslot, The Good Wife has a lot of the same appeal - a law procedural with a strong female protagonist at the center. And it is great to see Josh Charles back on TV, so many years after Sports Night. So if you like these kind of shows, as many people I know do, this one is well-executed. But if you're like me, and like your shows closer to Lost on the Lost to CSI scale, this is never going to be must-see.

The Seth MacFarlane Domination Continues

Seth MacFarlane is taking over TV. He's got Family Guy and American Dad on Fox. He's appearing in person on FlashForward. And now, with last week's premiere of Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, he's got 3/4 of Fox's Sunday night line-up. Only The Simpsons stands in the way of the animation block becoming "Seth MacFarlane night."

But with Cleveland's second episode airing tonight, I thought it was worth taking a look at MacFarlane's second attempt to clone Family Guy. Like American Dad, Cleveland attempts to replicate Family Guy character-by-character as much as possible. There's Cleveland (here taking over the Peter role), his high school crush (Lois), his overweight son (Chris), her daughter (Meg), and her too-mature-for-his-age young'in (Stewie). Plus a talking bear, a redneck, and a preppie white guy who lives with his mom as Cleveland's three friends.

Essentially, it's Family Guy with a few racial and geographical adjustments. And while the pilot didn't exactly make me laugh, it was still miles above American Dad (also true for any other scripted show on TV). I will say that the Family Guy trademarked cut-aways seem to be getting more desperate and less logical with time. It's starting to feel like amateur improv, where they don't actually know how to complete the joke after the set-up. I'm starting to think South Park may be right that the show is written by manatees.

Truth is, Family Guy was a show I LOVED when I was 13, but I outgrew its sense of humor a couple years ago, so Cleveland's not really aiming for me as its audience. But if you like Family Guy and can tolerate American Dad, you'll probably enjoy it just fine. And if nothing else, it's got a pretty good theme song:

Blah to the Future

Grade: B-

I know I'm a week behind, but I just caught the pilot to FlashForward, ABC's newest attempt to imitate its success with Lost. And I have to say, I'm disappointed. It's not that I was expecting Lost-level quality. That's far too much to ask. But while the concept is certainly a good one, the execution just isn't.

First off, I'm not bringing up Lost just cause this is a genre show on ABC - FlashForward does everything it possibly can to make you think of it, especially in its direct rip-off opening scene. Beginning with a close-up of its male lead waking up from unconsciousness (face, not eye, huge difference), the sounds of people screaming are gradually heard as our lead discovers the wreckage around him. There's even a sudden explosion. If you substitute the word "car" with "plane," it's Lost. When you toss in Penny and (later) Charlie as cast members and an Oceanic Airlines poster in the background, it's clear what the goal is.

Stepping aside from the easy comparisons though, let's look at what FlashForward is on its own. At the exact same time, everyone in the world passes out and has visions of April 29th at 10 PM. Well, not everyone - John Cho's character has the misfortune of being visionless, leaving him to spend the next 6 months wondering if he's doomed to die before then. Voldemort's brother sees himself leading an investigation into the event. His wife, Penny, sees herself with another man (sadly not Desmond). And a man on the brink of suicide sees himself alive.

So ok, that's a great idea for a show. You get to see what happens between point A and point B, and try to figure out whether they can change their fates or not. There's all sorts of mysteries, the coolest one being what's up with the one person on the planet who didn't get knocked out during the event. You can imagine all sorts of twists and turns to come along the way.

So what's wrong? Pretty much everything else. Despite aiming for Lost, the quality just feels B-level. The dialogue is continually laughable, the acting never quite convincing (which I'll blame on the writing, not the cast), and the general tone muffled and plodding. Worse, none of the characters really stand out as people you care where they are 6 months from now. Since most of the mysteries are character-based, that's no good. Also, it's too aware of the strength of its concept. The entire pilot consists of a series of "what did you see in your flash forward?" "Oh, I saw this, what did you see in your flash forward?" It's like "Real World: Visionquest." Yawn.

Because the concept does intrigue me, and because there's only so many shows that even put in the effort of trying to break new ground, I'll give this one three episodes before making up my mind. But I can tell you now that this has much more in common with Heroes, Prison Break, and, yes, The Nine - all shows that tried to be the next Lost and ultimately settled for something less. For another low-grade genre show, it could do the trick. But for something to replace Lost's ability to wow, I'm still waiting.

ABC Comedy: The Good and the Meh

ABC's struggled with comedy since Spin City went off the air, but this year it's making a comeback with its entire Wednesday night line-up devoted to comedy. While Hank and The Middle won't premiere til this week (and I have no desire to see them anyway), I did catch the Friday re-airings of Modern Family and Cougar Town. So does ABC have the next great sitcom on its hands? Let's take a look.

Grade: A-

Modern Family has been called "the next Arrested Development," which left me both intrigued and worried. I didn't want to watch some rip-off of my favorite show. Thankfully, it only resembles Arrested Development in 2 ways: it's about a dysfunctional family, and it's hilarious.

More so than drama even, I find comedy to be more about execution than ideas. Because on paper, Modern Family seems to be full of all the same family comedy cliches we've rejected since the laugh track went out of fashion (don't worry, there's no laugh track here). A dorky dad trying to seem hip in front of his kids? The mom worried about her teenage daughter around boys? Sounds like a TBS sitcom.

Yet whether through cast or writing, Modern Family takes what we know of the family sitcom and makes it funny and new again. The show centers on three different families who by the end of the pilot we know to all be related. First, there's the traditional family with parents (Lost's Julie Bowen plays the mom) and three kids. Second is an older guy (Married with Children's Ed O'Neil) with a much younger Colombian wife and her son. And lastly, a gay couple that have just adopted a baby from Vietnam.

While the show does go for the mockumentary format that so many single-camera comedies do these days, it's not as big a part of the show as it was on The Office or Arrested Development. On the other hand, it never feels too sitcommy either (cough Community cough), even with such over-the-top gags as the gay couple making a speech on an airplane over a misunderstanding or various mishaps involving a BB gun.

Mostly though, the show's just funny. So far the traditional family's gotten the best material, being responsible for the above mentioned BB gun which led to some of the episode's funniest moments. With so many comedies satisfied with a couple laughs and some "awww"s, it's good to have a show that wants to keep you laughing throughout. So I don't need a 3 episode trial period here; this one's a keeper. If only I didn't already have 2 shows on Wednesdays at 9. That's why there's Hulu.

Grade: C+

Cougar Town probably isn't helped by its lead-in. Ratings-wise maybe, but it's not flattering to air the funnier show first. In all fairness though, it was actually better than I was expecting after all those unfortunate promos highlighting the show's least appealing moments. But even with a cast full of people I like (Courtney Cox, Freaks and Geeks' Busy Phillipps, Scrubs/Drew Carey's Christa Miller, and Dan Byrd from Aliens in America), this one's just not for me.

Most of the attention the show has received has followed the thread of "oh boo hoo, so hard for gorgeous Courtney Cox who's somehow still successful in real estate to find a man." But despite all the many speeches about how hard it is for 40-something women (even if they're Courtney Cox and look about 10 years younger), I'd say her problem is less her looks than her behavior. Her onscreen son puts it best: she says everything she thinks. Which after about 5 minutes gets really, really annoying.

And despite the fact that it was created by a man (Scrubs' Bill Lawrence, hence my interest), the show doesn't make much of an effort to attract male audiences. Lines like "I let my coochie cooch do the thinking" and "my uterus nearly flew out" just aren't what a guy wants to be hearing on a weekly basis. All of which makes the show fit in nicely with the network behind Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Desperate Housewives, but doesn't make it something for me. Final verdict: manproof.

Bored of Bored to Death

Grade: B-

Thanks to HBO putting it On Demand early (and thanks to my being home for Rosh Hashanah where I have access to it), I already got a chance to see the pilot to Bored to Death, which premieres on HBO tonight. Heading into premiere week, I had a feeling this one might get lost in the shuffle. And with far too many shows on my schedule, here's one I can count out.

I wanted to like Bored to Death. Really, I did. But it just wasn't happening. The show stars Jason Schwartzman as novelist Jonathan Ames (who's real, and produces the show). We first see him as his girlfriend leaves him because he "smokes too much pot and drinks too much white wine." Laughing yet? What about the twentieth time he says it? Unsure how to crack his second novel, Ames posts an ad on Craiglist offering himself as a private eye, and soon enough he's got a case.

A noir comedy is definitely my style, but there's no comedy to be found here. Maybe I laughed once. Probably not. And this isn't one of those fake comedies like Hung, that's a half hour long but doesn't even try to make you laugh. No, this one tries, it just doesn't succeed. Which is all the more impressive seeing as the rest of the cast features Zach Galifianakis, fresh off his Hangover hilarity, and Ted Danson, making a return to comedy after his brilliantly creepy turn on Damages.

It's not all in the writing either. There's something about the tone of the show that just doesn't work. Each scene is scored to downbeat indie music that may fit a Wes Anderson movie, but doesn't quite belong here. And sometimes the production values seem more like a student film than "it's not TV it's HBO." However, Bored to Death does have one thing going for it: it has a great theme song. If only the rest of the show matched it.

NBC Thursday

Thursday night marked the return of a number of shows on NBC. I don't watch Parks & Recreation (after that humorless pilot, it would take a lot for me to give it another shot), and SNL's pretty low priority, but I would like to chime in on a premiere and a pilot, in that order.

Count this week's episode of The Office in the category of "I can't believe they've never done an episode on this before." How in the world did it take five seasons to think of office rumors as fodder for comedy? However, unlike the other seemingly obvious idea (the Michael Scott roast), this one actually (mostly) worked.

On the one hand, amazing that Michael's attempt at obviously fake rumors so often came out true (most notably in Pam being pregnant). But far funnier were some of his less plausible rumors. My favorites: that Kevin had someone else inside him and that Toby was a virgin (not nearly enough Toby hating last year. I'm glad it's back). While seeing Michael end Stanley's marriage was maybe not so funny, it's nice to see this past-its-prime comedy still has some good ideas left in it. Maybe there is a sixth season left in it after all.

One final gripe though: it took five seasons to bring in interns, and that's all the show did with them? There's so many jokes to be made about interns, especially in that setting, and they barely scratched the surface. The new blood alone would have been welcome. Farewell, Jet Li, Julia Stiles, and Robin Thicke. We hardly knew ye. Or why Michael chose those nicknames (except Julia Stiles, he's right on that one).

Grade: B

First pilot review of the season! And critics said it's one of the better ones. I'd say it's got exactly three things working for it so far:

1. John Oliver. Hilarious in every single one of his scenes.

2. Joel McHale. While at first too sarcastic, he soon proved himself a likable and funny central character.

3. The writing is actually (if only sporadically) funny.

Otherwise, the show's more of a mixed bag. I'll add Britta (the girl Joel McHale keeps asking out) to the list of people I like, but the rest of the cast still seem too much like types. Abed had promise, until he turned into "guy who quotes movies constantly" (it's NEVER funny! when will they realize that!) It's funny to see Pete Campbell's wife as Aderall Annie, but the nickname seems the extent of her character. And Chevy Chase, well, I don't even know.

I also don't know how exciting a show about a study group can actually be. Will we have to actually see them study? I'm guessing the show will quickly become more of that, and do hope it can make a college-set show (other than Undeclared) work. And with Joel McHale's likability and some Arrested Development writers in charge, I'm certainly willing to give it a few more episodes. But if things don't pick up soon, I won't be bothering to find it once 30 Rock reclaims its time slot.

Space Anatomy

Just watched the pilot (only the first of last week's two hour premiere) to ABC's new "space opera" Defying Gravity, and if you heard it was Grey's Anatomy in space, you heard right. The problem is it's not a great fit. With one foot still in sci-fi mode, all the jokey sex talk, ponderous narration, and cheesy pop music feels like it's been forced in to get the show a slot on ABC's schedule (even if it is just over the summer). If you're waiting for a sci-fi show to take BSG's place, this isn't it.

The show centers on a six-year space mission to seven planets staffed by a crew of young, attractive, and international astronauts all with their own emotional baggage. The twist? "Something" is on board they're not supposed to know about, that presumably explains why two crew members suddenly get heart murmurs, the blonde one hears babies crying, and the Indian one feels the need to float off into space.

At least in the first hour though, that "something" isn't anything too important. Not when we've got flashbacks to Blondie's one night stand with Ron Livingston's lead five years earlier, who, by the way, seems to be trying to make us forget Sex and the City and Office Space with his best impression of what he thinks someone on Grey's Anatomy would act like. And a lot of talk about how he's "fated" to be on the mission after those heart murmurs get him added to the crew at the last minute. And a geek's quest for porn. And floating tomatoes.

It's actually a fairly watchable show, and I totally could have finished the two hours. But as with anything living off of something else's success, there's not anything too special about it either. So if you've got nothing better to watch this summer than Dance Your Ass Off, this might be a pleasant alternative. Just don't expect them to make it to the end of that 6 year mission.

Checking in With Showtime Mondays

Last week Showtime premiered its two summer shows, Weeds and Nurse Jackie. While I have yet to see tonight's episodes, I'd still like to take a look at whether these will be fun additions to the summer schedule, or have me running back out to the sun. Let's start with the returning show.

Going into its fifth season, Weeds was, to me, on notice. Sure, I loved Albert Brooks as Nancy's cranky, gambling addicted father-in-law, but when he jetted four episodes into last season, so did the show's quality. From the Mexican tunnel to Celia's drug addiction to Shane's increasingly obnoxious behavior, the characters just got so unlikable and the show so dreary that there was nothing fun left.

But the pregnancy cliffhanger left me intrigued enough to see where this season would go. And the verdict: inconclusive. It's not clear that any of last season's problems will necessarily be fixed. Nancy still seems to barely remember she has a family, Shane's still hanging with the sketchballs, and previews show Guillermo and Captain Till aren't going anywhere.

For now, at least, all that doesn't seem to matter. I'm still glad to have the show back. As disappointed I was to see Quinn return last season just to hold her mother ransom, it paid off with the comical series of phone calls in which no one would pay it. I liked that the non-Nancy section of the family (Andy, Silas, Shane, and I guess Doug) actually interacted.

I still miss the show about the pot-dealing suburban mom, and think the move down to the border was probably a mistake. But at least the premiere made me laugh. Even if the show does start sucking again in a few episodes, I'll still probably watch it to the end.

Moving on to something new, Nurse Jackie, to me, poses an interesting question regarding the trend of single character focused dramas out there. House is all about House, and Dexter is all about Dexter, but neither show would be as successful without the strong supporting casts and good stories to work from. But at least in the pilot, it seems like you watch Nurse Jackie just for Jackie. Is that enough? For many, it could be.

The show's a weird animal, a half-hour comedy-drama medical show that's more drama than comedy and wouldn't like to be called a medical show. Most of the show's in the hospital, but it never becomes a character the way hospitals do on shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, and ER. Other characters come and go - the arrogant but sloppy doctor, the British doctor Jackie's friends with, the other doctor she's sleeping with, a murse - but they have yet to make too big of an impression.

The show may very well exist solely as a showcase for Edie Falco, but she gives such a phenomenal performance that may be enough. She's certainly got a lot to work with: Jackie pops pills and sleeps around on the job, but is also damn good at what she does. And by the end of the pilot, it's clear we've just scratched the surface of who she is. So for Falco and Jackie, I'll give this one another try. But just as Dexter wouldn't be the same without Deb, I need more than one great character to keep me hooked.

The Private Practice Curse and Other TV Catch-Up

We heard the rumors that the CW had already passed on its Lily in the 80s themed Gossip Girl spin-off, and now we know why. Having just watched Monday's backdoor pilot (moving put me behind on TV, and no, I can't explain how I'm caught up on Gossip Girl but not on Lost), it seems that this is the worst potential spin-off since Private Practice.

Ok, this is probably the only spin-off since Private Practice. But think of all the similarities: a female character we like on the original show (Lily/Addison) goes into a spin-off and suddenly becomes a babbling, annoying mess (see: Lily's prostitute speech). The dialogue is uniformly horrible ("This is the part where you fall in love with me. It is, isn't it? You totally are." Guess what? We're not.) And the whole episode you just got annoyed every time they cut away from the original show.

I mean, come on, why would they put the crappy spin-off on the same week as the prom? Prom led to Buffy and Angel dancing to "Wild Horses" and the Sam/Cindy "Come Sail Away" dance on Freaks and Geeks (not prom, but still a high school dance). And in the few minutes not spent making us forget why we usually like Brittany Snow and demonstrating Cynthia Watros' horrible impression of adult Lily as CeCe, what did we get? Chuck finding new levels of softness planning Blair's prom. One step closer to becoming the guy from Twilight. Let's make a deal: we forget the spin-off was ever suggested, and you go back to making good episodes that focus on the kids. K?


Speaking of things related to Private Practice, I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy back in January somewhere along the ghost Denny storyline. But I happened to catch the last 5 minutes of tonight's finale, and (SPOILER ALERT) I couldn't help but notice it ended with Izzy and George about to board an elevator to heaven. Let's put aside the fact that this seems cribbed straight from Six Feet Under's second season-ender with Nate stepping up to the death bus, and just look at how sad this whole situation is.

Obviously, they know we know both actors want off the show. So either they're setting the actors free, or using real-life info to artificially build suspense. I have no idea what happened to George or any context, but the whole situation still bothers me. They're 2 of the 5 original interns, and without them Grey's is just a crappier, soapier version of ER. And couldn't they find a way to write them out that didn't involve super dramatic season finale cliffhanger death? So I found it sad, not for the intentional drama, but for remembering what the show once was.


On a more positive note, How I Met Your Mother has become more must-see than ever, now that they're talking about zooming in on the identity of the mother. I'm not sure how the whole Ted/Stella/Tony drama from Monday's episode plays into the overall story, but I do know a. next year's finale will involve Tony's movie about their love triangle, b. Barney's porn version of avoiding a speeding ticket was awesome, c. murder house, and d. Let's Go to the Mall ringtone.

Harper's Island's Killer Not Quick Enough

Grade: C



Well, it took me two weeks, but I eventually got around to catching the pilot to Harper's Island, CBS' new mystery/slasher/soap opera serial that airs its third episode tonight. If for some reason you were waiting for my review before checking it out, don't worry, you're not missing anything.

Which is a shame, because a TV show version of Ten Little Indians actually sounds like a fun idea. After all, the biggest benefit of a TV show is you can develop the characters over time, so the deaths will have more meaning than in a slasher movie, not to mention the reality TV fun of seeing who will get kicked off each week.

But this particular batch of characters makes the dullards of Cloverfield look like the cast of Lost. Some of them include the groom, the bride, the groom's female best friend who has issues with the island, the groom's obnoxious male friends, the bride's sketchy ex, the bride's rich father, the groom's ex-con black sheep brother, and Aaron Echolls.

Those descriptions right there are all you will ever need to know about those characters, as their only real purpose is to get killed off. The rest of the time the show could easily be mistaken for a daytime soap (seriously, look at that picture). Talking only in cliches while super dramatic music plays constantly (including some really bad pop songs from 3-5 years ago), the drama's way too cheesy to even appreciate on a camp level.

But the biggest mistake: they kill off Aaron Echolls in the very first episode! The only character remotely memorable/enjoyable to watch. Since he was the only one trying to have fun within all the silliness, I'm gonna say any reason to watch this series was cut off with the lower half of his body.