Is This Thing On?

Hello?


Is this thing on?

Insert feedback noise here

Yeah, it has been awhile, hasn't it.

No, no.  No need to look over at the archives.

I'm aware that it has been over a year.

Sometimes, you just need to get back on the horse.






So, what have you been up to since we last talked?



Since last I was on, I awarded another couple of Josh's Choice For Best New Show of the Season.

Those were awarded to

Once Upon a Time for the 2011-2012 year (narrowly beating out New Girl)

and Arrow for the 2012-2013 year (narrowly beating out Elementary)

This year, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has the early lead, although I'm enjoying Hostages as well, and look forward to marathoning some Blacklist and Sleepy Hollow soon.


Other big news includes the movement of television off of television.

We had the long awaited fourth season of Arrested Development on Netflix (which, in my opinion, was epic), and a couple of shows that have been getting rave reviews.  House of Cards, staring Kevin Spacey damn near won the Emmy this year (haven't seen it yet. I know, I know, it is in my queue).  And I will be shocked if Orange is the New Black doesn't win the Emmy next year.

Orange is the New Black is one of the best first seasons of television I have ever seen.  It is at times laugh out loud funny, unbelievably heartbreaking, and always amazing.  Incredible acting (the star of Orange is the New Black is the same actress who I liked so much in Mercy, which was the subject of a Before Its Time blog post, a show no one but I watched, although more people should have.)



And of course, we are closing in on the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who.  I really needed to get back to Blogging just so I could give that the coverage it deserves!


Other huge Doctor Who news occurred recently with the recovery of nine episodes that were previously missing.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary, I will be doing a few Doctor Who posts over the next few weeks, including a look at a favorite story (or in a few cases seasons/groups of stories) from each Doctor, a post on missing episodes and the hope of more episodes returning to the BBC in the near future, and of course a review of the 50th Anniversary and Adventures in Space and Time after they air.

So, a lot to look forward to in the near future.

Assuming, of course, that school along with my three jobs don't keep from giving this blog the attention it deserves.

The goal, of course, and the point of this post, was to get myself to get back to blogging.

So, if you're interested in keeping me active again here at Fat Train, a comment or two would probably go a long way in keeping me honest!

Until Next Time, I hope this reaches somebody out in the old Interwebs!

Pilot Reviews and First Look at JCFBNSOTS 8

The pilot reviews are up, if you haven't checked them out yet...

For my review of Up All Night and Free Agents go here...

For my review of Whitney and New Girl go here...

For my review of 2 Broke Girls and How To Be A Gentleman go here...

For my review of Pan Am and Prime Suspect go here...

For my review of Unforgettable and Person of Interest go here...

(My thoughts after Terra Nova, although not a proper Pilot Review, is here...)

The competition actually looks pretty fierce this year after last year was a bit of a disappointment (although the ultimate JCFBNSOTS 7 award winner was unquestionably deserving regardless of the lack of competition.)

First off, all four of the major networks are in the running (some a little more strongly than others)

NBC has a contender in Up All Night, although it is probably towards the rear of the chase right now.

ABC only has one contender with Pan Am, but it is certainly towards the front of the pack.

FOX and CBS each have two strong contenders (New Girl and Terra Nova from FOX and 2 Broke Girls and Person of Interest from CBS).

Right now, I would have to say that Terra Nova, New Girl, Pan Am, and 2 Broke Girls are pulling away from the competition, but it is still early.

Until Next Time, stay tuned as the season progresses for more info on this highly contested race!

Pilot Reviews: Whitney and The New Girl

More Pilot Reviews (although I promise I am not doing every new show this year).

WHITNEY

Whitney Cummings, a comedienne, has two shows she created on television this season.  This one, she also stars in as the title character.

While Whitney herself is pretty funny, she is not (as of yet) a very accomplished actress.

Of course, neither was Jerry when Seinfeld started, and neither was Larry when Curb Your Enthusiasm started.

The difference is that everyone else in Seinfeld and Curb were fantastic actors and actresses, but that isn't really the case here.


In fact, for me, the only convincing character was Whitney's boyfriend, Alex (played by Chris D'Elia).

Everyone else really came across a little awkwardly.

Sadly, that even included Maulik Pancholy (who is fantastic as Alec Baldwin's assistant Jonathon on 30 Rock), so perhaps the problem goes beyond just acting.

There were moments that were somewhat funny, and lines that should have been funny, but I wasn't really finding myself extremely amused.

Overall, I feel like something is missing from the presentation; it just isn't working.

Pilot Grade: 63%

Interesting Fact: Whitney Cummings also created 2 Broke Girls, which doesn't also star her, and is much, much funnier.

THE NEW GIRL

First off, I am a huge Zooey Deschanel fan.  She is unbelievably talented.

Here she is playing a slightly neurotic young woman who finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her.  She moves out and ends up moving in with three guys she finds through Craig's List (or some internet equivalent).

Hijinx ensue.

The pilot does a very good job of setting up the characters (although one of them, Coach, is actually replaced in episode two), but doesn't quite fire on all cylanders right off of the bat.  But then, very few sitcoms do at first.  In fact, in the past ten years, only How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family have started out of the gate at the top of their game.  Many, many other great sitcoms, including Parks and Recreation, which is probably the best sitcom on right now, and Big Bang Theory started out worse than New Girl did.

Although it is cheating a little bit since this is a pilot review, if you stick with this show to the third episode, you will be rewarded.  It really hits its stride with episode 3 and you can see how good this show is going to be.

Pilot Grade: 83%

Interesting Fact: Zooey Deschanel also wrote and sings the shows theme song.

Until Next Time,

For my review of Up All Night and Free Agents go here...

For my review of 2 Broke Girls and How to Be a Gentleman go here...

For my review of Pan Am and Prime Suspect go here...

For my review of Unforgettable and Person of Interest go here...

(My thoughts after Terra Nova, although not a proper Pilot Review, is here...)