Well, the pilots have been slowing down, there are just a few left. One of them was last Sunday, I watched it online, Life is Wild on the CW.
LIFE IS WILD
The show is your typical Sunday night family type show that used to dominate the screen. You remember, Highway to Heaven, Life Goes On, Touched by an Angel, 7th Heaven: the family drama. I don't know how successful this one will be, partly because if I wasn't such a big fan of Smallville, I might not have even realized that this show existed. I hadn't heard a thing about it despite having read about (I thought) all of the upcoming shows so that I would be able to review each of them. Somehow this one slipped through the net. I actually saw the commercials for it during Smallville, but quickly forgot about it, until I saw trailers for the second episode during Reaper this week, so I went online to see if I could watch it. Thankfully, the pilot was available on cwtv.com and I am able to give you this review. As I said at the beginning, it reminds me of the old family friendly dramas, not that there is anything wrong with that. Life Goes On was a great television show, and 7th Heaven was pretty good in it's prime. It seems that the show is going for the realistic family feel that Kyle XY has down pat, but Life is Wild falls a little bit short of that. The family for the most part doesn't feel completely realistic, in fact it feels forced. The premise of the show feels a bit forced as well. The whole show has a cheesy feel to it. Of course so did 7th Heaven; this show can overcome the cheesiness just like that one did. Despite it's flaws, the show has undeniable heart, and the fact that it's set in Africa is pretty cool, if only because Africa itself is undeniably cool. While it took a long time for me to really get into it, primarily because I didn't find the family too realistic, the story (while predictable and cheesy) ultimately won me over in the last act. I let myself just fall for the traps that the show was setting, and ultimately enjoyed it. Yeah it's predictable, yeah it's cheesy, but it is what it is, and if you just accept that, than you can enjoy the show. As another plus, the lead actress, Leah Pipes is amazing. She's the best actor on this series, by far, and adds believability to the rest of the cast simply by having the story told through her character. I really think that Life is Wild has the potential to be the type of show that the others I mentioned were, but it's going to have to have a lot more visibility first. It deserves a look just because I think that there is a place for that type of show on network, even if the network is the CW. I'll always remember growing up and watching Highway to Heaven, then later watching Life Goes On, and finally 7th Heaven together as a family. I would like for other families to have that same experience, and I think this show can provide it.
Interesting fact: The show is actually filmed on location in South Africa, and is based on a British TV show titled Wild at Heart.
Pilot Grade: 79%
Other thoughts about tv shows... SPOILERS INCLUDED
Chuck: I'm caught up now, and this show just keeps getting better, the third episode was the first to have the opening credits. The theme music is Short Skirt, Long Jacket by CAKE!
Heroes: At first I really didn't like the fact that Claire's new friend could fly, we already know someone who can fly. But with the reveal about Sark's power (I call him Sark because that's who he was on Alias, I'm talking about Hiro's hero from ancient Japan) it is clear that powers can and do repeat, which I guess makes sense considering that it is an evolutionary thing there would be some repeats. My other problem was with Peter. I didn't understand why he didn't just use his power to get the box, but I guess that it makes sense that without knowing who he is, he doesn't have any faith in his powers either (much less know exactly how to use them). I'm wondering if because of the plot holes in season one, I'm just expecting them here in season two, or if there actually are weaknesses in this show. I honestly am not sure which, but I'm not ready to give up on Heroes yet.
Friday Night Lights: As regular readers might recall, this was last years winner of Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Year Award. After one episode of season two, I am very worried it will not be able to sustain it's success. Granted, that success was largely critical, as it was not watched by a large amount of people, but the first episode had a few moments in it that I found incredibly hard to accept. That is very disappointing as the best part of this show last year was that it was incredibly real. I hope that it corrects itself soon as I love this show too much to watch it destroy itself.
Prison Break: This show is strangely addictive. I've quit on it three times only to get myself caught right back up on it and watching it again. I can't explain why. I really hope that Sarah Tancredi
NBC: Man, even with the worry about Heroes and Friday Night Lights, you've got to be impressed with NBC. Every one of their new shows was impressive, and with each episode, Chuck, Journeyman, Bionic Woman, and Life each just get better.
Until Next Time, Kudos to NBC.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Catching Up and it Turns Out I'm Not the Only One Missing LOST
So, due to all of the sports, I'm a little behind on my television viewing. That should be easier now that baseball is over. (Yes, I realize that technically baseball is still going on, but the pain of being swept out of the first round makes it hard for me to watch baseball without bursting into embarrassing tears.) What's also bad is that the one series I predicted would be a sweep was the only series that wasn't. Oh well. Try again next year. (For the record though, I have the Indians beating the Rockies in the World Series.)
Anyway, to get to my point, I only just watched the second episode of Chuck. In the episode, Chuck is undergoing tests by some Government Doctor, and he's looking at pictures that trigger the computer in his brain, one of which is of an airplane. Seeing it Chuck says, "Oceanic Flight 815 was shot down by surface to air missiles ... who worked on subterranean ... beneath the ... internationalairport ." That's all I was able to understand despite watching the scene about a hundred times. Not that it really has any bearing on our friends so recently from the mysterious island, as so far as I can tell there is no connection between this show, Chuck, and LOST. My feeling is that it was just a tiny shout out to LOST, but still it was a heart stopping moment when Chuck mentioned that fateful flight.
Anyway, I thought I'd share this shout out sized treat with you, my reading public (small though you are) as something to help tide you over a little bit at least as we patiently (or try anyway) wait for LOST to return.
Anyway, to get to my point, I only just watched the second episode of Chuck. In the episode, Chuck is undergoing tests by some Government Doctor, and he's looking at pictures that trigger the computer in his brain, one of which is of an airplane. Seeing it Chuck says, "Oceanic Flight 815 was shot down by surface to air missiles ... who worked on subterranean ... beneath the ... international
Anyway, I thought I'd share this shout out sized treat with you, my reading public (small though you are) as something to help tide you over a little bit at least as we patiently (or try anyway) wait for LOST to return.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Pilot Reviews Moonlight, Aliens in America, and Pushing Daisies
MOONLIGHT
Now, those of you that know me well know that I love sci-fi and fantasy, and that includes shows with mythological creatures such as Vampires. I also love mystery due to reading lots of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew growing up, moving from that into the great Agatha Christie. So, a melding of the two is a recipe for success, at least in my opinion, and I'm glad that a television show finally melded these two loves I have into an exciting and interesting show. Of course that sentence was relevant years ago when Joss Wheden brought us the fantastic show ANGEL. Then, also, there is the amazing book series, recently turned into a pretty good television series, The Dresden Files. Both of those are far more interesting and original than Moonlight, a show about a private investigator who also happens to be a Vampire. Unfortunately, the show is pretty uninspired. The pilot is incredibly predictable, I had the whole thing figured out less than 15 minutes in. The acting wasn't anything special, and the dialogue was pretty boring. The only thing in the pilot that I liked was the friend vampire of the main character vampire (sorry it wasn't interesting enough of a show for me to remember names). He had some life to him (interesting since the character he was playing is one of the undead). Other than some funny moments provided all to briefly by him, the show had no real redeeming qualities.
Interesting fact: The one character that I liked in the show, played by Jason Dohring, is a cult favorite character in the sadly departed show Veronica Mars.
Pilot Grade: 11%
ALIENS IN AMERICA
There has been a lot of talk about the death of the sitcom, which in my opinion is a very sad thing if it is true. When a sitcom is really good, it can remain in the watching public's consciousness forever. I'd like to think that the sitcom isn't dying, we're just in a lull of good sitcoms being produced. Thus far this season doesn't seem to be changing that situation for the most part. Happily, Aliens in America is the exception. This show was extremely funny (which is a necessity for a sitcom, it's part of the definition people, yes ABC I'm talking to you), the situations, while taken to a bit of a funny extreme, where at the same time extremely believable, as were the characters, which made for that all important element, heart. So far Seinfeld is the only show that survived (and indeed prospered) without it, and no one else is Seinfeld. It was funny, the dialogue was sharp and funny, and the actors were all excellent. It managed to take a possibly sensitive subject and find the humor and heart in it. For those of you who don't know, it's about a middle class family in Wisconsin who decides to take on a foreign exchange student, expecting a blond haired, blue eyed, athletic European, but instead they get a Pakistani Muslim. Horrified, the mother wants to return him. She tries to explain to her husband that he could be a terrorist,
"Some of them pass themselves off as students. Bill O'Reilly says so. You need to watch more news."
"Honey, it's Midora Wisconsin."
"What so now Midora's not important enough to blow up? Where's your civic pride?"
Through a majority of the episode, the mother is not shown to have the best qualities, but that's just to set up the moment at the end that brings a little bit of a tear to your eyes for a reason other than because you've been laughing nonstop (although that is also true). This is a show that comes around at the right time, but it is about more than Muslims are a lot like us, it's also funny, like a sitcom should be.
Interesting Fact: David Guarascio and Moses Port, the creators of this program are both former writers of the sitcoms Just Shoot Me and Mad About You.
Pilot Grade: 94%
PUSHING DAISIES
Visually stunning, well acted, and superbly written, this is a show with some promise. The pilot was very well executed. It was funny and suspenseful at just the right times. It had some great lines and great moments between the characters. The main character, Ned says to his childhood sweetheart, who he is unable to ever touch again, "I'm not into the hug."
She responds, "Than you haven't been hugged properly, it's like an emotional Heimlich."
That's awesome.
Later in the episode there is this exchange between Ned and his business partner played by the great Chi McBride.
Chi: "You know what? I'm glad you did it. It makes the worst thing I ever did seem insignificant."
Ned: "Listen to you all Judgey-judge."
Chi: "Judgey-judge?"
Priceless. The comedy is primarily dark comedy, which is dicey, but when it's done right, I love it. This show does it right. Add in the visual look of the show, which is beautiful on top of being original, and you've got a good show. Add in the emotional punch of the un-requitableack to life, but if they ever touch again, then she's dead for good. That's just genius. So there is a lot to like about the show. I wasn't a huge fan of the omnipotent narration. It fits, I guess, but I would have liked to see them go a different route. The other thing is I'm not exactly sure where the show goes from here. I'm guessing it becomes a bit of a mystery show, with them having to solve various cases each week, which is different than I was expecting. I would have liked a better idea of the direction the show was headed from the pilot. Overall, however, it appears that it might be a good show. At the very least it will be a treat for the eyes each week.
Interesting fact: It is Executive Produced by the great Barry Sonnenfeld who directed Men in Black and Get Shorty, and used to be the Cinematographer for the Coen Brothers.
Pilot Grade: 91%
Until Next Time, Glad to see we finally got some positive reviews again.
Now, those of you that know me well know that I love sci-fi and fantasy, and that includes shows with mythological creatures such as Vampires. I also love mystery due to reading lots of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew growing up, moving from that into the great Agatha Christie. So, a melding of the two is a recipe for success, at least in my opinion, and I'm glad that a television show finally melded these two loves I have into an exciting and interesting show. Of course that sentence was relevant years ago when Joss Wheden brought us the fantastic show ANGEL. Then, also, there is the amazing book series, recently turned into a pretty good television series, The Dresden Files. Both of those are far more interesting and original than Moonlight, a show about a private investigator who also happens to be a Vampire. Unfortunately, the show is pretty uninspired. The pilot is incredibly predictable, I had the whole thing figured out less than 15 minutes in. The acting wasn't anything special, and the dialogue was pretty boring. The only thing in the pilot that I liked was the friend vampire of the main character vampire (sorry it wasn't interesting enough of a show for me to remember names). He had some life to him (interesting since the character he was playing is one of the undead). Other than some funny moments provided all to briefly by him, the show had no real redeeming qualities.
Interesting fact: The one character that I liked in the show, played by Jason Dohring, is a cult favorite character in the sadly departed show Veronica Mars.
Pilot Grade: 11%
ALIENS IN AMERICA
There has been a lot of talk about the death of the sitcom, which in my opinion is a very sad thing if it is true. When a sitcom is really good, it can remain in the watching public's consciousness forever. I'd like to think that the sitcom isn't dying, we're just in a lull of good sitcoms being produced. Thus far this season doesn't seem to be changing that situation for the most part. Happily, Aliens in America is the exception. This show was extremely funny (which is a necessity for a sitcom, it's part of the definition people, yes ABC I'm talking to you), the situations, while taken to a bit of a funny extreme, where at the same time extremely believable, as were the characters, which made for that all important element, heart. So far Seinfeld is the only show that survived (and indeed prospered) without it, and no one else is Seinfeld. It was funny, the dialogue was sharp and funny, and the actors were all excellent. It managed to take a possibly sensitive subject and find the humor and heart in it. For those of you who don't know, it's about a middle class family in Wisconsin who decides to take on a foreign exchange student, expecting a blond haired, blue eyed, athletic European, but instead they get a Pakistani Muslim. Horrified, the mother wants to return him. She tries to explain to her husband that he could be a terrorist,
"Some of them pass themselves off as students. Bill O'Reilly says so. You need to watch more news."
"Honey, it's Midora Wisconsin."
"What so now Midora's not important enough to blow up? Where's your civic pride?"
Through a majority of the episode, the mother is not shown to have the best qualities, but that's just to set up the moment at the end that brings a little bit of a tear to your eyes for a reason other than because you've been laughing nonstop (although that is also true). This is a show that comes around at the right time, but it is about more than Muslims are a lot like us, it's also funny, like a sitcom should be.
Interesting Fact: David Guarascio and Moses Port, the creators of this program are both former writers of the sitcoms Just Shoot Me and Mad About You.
Pilot Grade: 94%
PUSHING DAISIES
Visually stunning, well acted, and superbly written, this is a show with some promise. The pilot was very well executed. It was funny and suspenseful at just the right times. It had some great lines and great moments between the characters. The main character, Ned says to his childhood sweetheart, who he is unable to ever touch again, "I'm not into the hug."
She responds, "Than you haven't been hugged properly, it's like an emotional Heimlich."
That's awesome.
Later in the episode there is this exchange between Ned and his business partner played by the great Chi McBride.
Chi: "You know what? I'm glad you did it. It makes the worst thing I ever did seem insignificant."
Ned: "Listen to you all Judgey-judge."
Chi: "Judgey-judge?"
Priceless. The comedy is primarily dark comedy, which is dicey, but when it's done right, I love it. This show does it right. Add in the visual look of the show, which is beautiful on top of being original, and you've got a good show. Add in the emotional punch of the un-requitableack to life, but if they ever touch again, then she's dead for good. That's just genius. So there is a lot to like about the show. I wasn't a huge fan of the omnipotent narration. It fits, I guess, but I would have liked to see them go a different route. The other thing is I'm not exactly sure where the show goes from here. I'm guessing it becomes a bit of a mystery show, with them having to solve various cases each week, which is different than I was expecting. I would have liked a better idea of the direction the show was headed from the pilot. Overall, however, it appears that it might be a good show. At the very least it will be a treat for the eyes each week.
Interesting fact: It is Executive Produced by the great Barry Sonnenfeld who directed Men in Black and Get Shorty, and used to be the Cinematographer for the Coen Brothers.
Pilot Grade: 91%
Until Next Time, Glad to see we finally got some positive reviews again.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Pilot Reviews Cavemen and Carpoolers
The reviews of the fall pilots continues with what ABC is advertising as a "Man Date", I know that some men are bad at planning dates, but this is just embarrassing.
CAVEMEN
Well, I was actually looking forward to this show. I love the commercials. Unfortunately, the actors from the commercials aren't in the show. Sadly, what works brilliantly in a 30 second spot fails miserably in a 30 minute show. In the commercials, one of the cavemen takes huge umbrage to the portrayal of his people in the Geico commercials, and his sarcastic response to the situation is hilarious. In the show, they make Nick more of a Sape (short for Homo Sapian) hater than a Caveman defender. It's not funny, it's a little sad actually. Speaking of funny, I wonder if they even attempted for funny in this show. Generally that's the point for sitcoms, but I didn't laugh at all during the episode. I was greatly disappointed, and will most likely just wait for more commercials to get my caveman fix.
Interesting fact: This is the second show that was based on a commercial. Bob the talking baby got a television show after pitching for an Internet business. That show failed miserably, but luckily, Bob was able to get another job as the pitch man, er, baby, for Quiznos.
Pilot Grade: 0%
CARPOOLERS
When you have two television shows in one hour, you hope that at least one of them is good. Sadly for ABC Tuesday nights, such is not the case here. While I'm a fan of Jerry O'Connell from his fine, fine work on that awesome television show Sliders, he's not the greatest actor in the world. He could probably do alright in a comedic role on a sitcom, after all he was really good in Jerry McGuire, but it would require better writing, and a much better situation than this one. I really don't know how this even got green-lit. Is there anything worse than driving to work? Not much. So why in the world would you think that the drive to work is a good place to stage a television show? The characters aren't very interesting, and the pilot did a very poor job of making them seem at all realistic. For the second consecutive supposed comedy I failed to laugh. At least in this show, I could tell they were jokes, unlike in Cavemen. Sadly, they still weren't funny. At least they tried though.
Interesting fact: Fred Goss who plays Gracen was last on the ABC comedy Sons and Daughters which was a largly improv type show and despite not being watched by many people was a very enjoyable show that has become a cult favorite. I don't see the same for this show.
Pilot Grade: 7%
Until Next Time, tonight is the pilot of Pushing Daisies, one of the most anticipated shows of the year
CAVEMEN
Well, I was actually looking forward to this show. I love the commercials. Unfortunately, the actors from the commercials aren't in the show. Sadly, what works brilliantly in a 30 second spot fails miserably in a 30 minute show. In the commercials, one of the cavemen takes huge umbrage to the portrayal of his people in the Geico commercials, and his sarcastic response to the situation is hilarious. In the show, they make Nick more of a Sape (short for Homo Sapian) hater than a Caveman defender. It's not funny, it's a little sad actually. Speaking of funny, I wonder if they even attempted for funny in this show. Generally that's the point for sitcoms, but I didn't laugh at all during the episode. I was greatly disappointed, and will most likely just wait for more commercials to get my caveman fix.
Interesting fact: This is the second show that was based on a commercial. Bob the talking baby got a television show after pitching for an Internet business. That show failed miserably, but luckily, Bob was able to get another job as the pitch man, er, baby, for Quiznos.
Pilot Grade: 0%
CARPOOLERS
When you have two television shows in one hour, you hope that at least one of them is good. Sadly for ABC Tuesday nights, such is not the case here. While I'm a fan of Jerry O'Connell from his fine, fine work on that awesome television show Sliders, he's not the greatest actor in the world. He could probably do alright in a comedic role on a sitcom, after all he was really good in Jerry McGuire, but it would require better writing, and a much better situation than this one. I really don't know how this even got green-lit. Is there anything worse than driving to work? Not much. So why in the world would you think that the drive to work is a good place to stage a television show? The characters aren't very interesting, and the pilot did a very poor job of making them seem at all realistic. For the second consecutive supposed comedy I failed to laugh. At least in this show, I could tell they were jokes, unlike in Cavemen. Sadly, they still weren't funny. At least they tried though.
Interesting fact: Fred Goss who plays Gracen was last on the ABC comedy Sons and Daughters which was a largly improv type show and despite not being watched by many people was a very enjoyable show that has become a cult favorite. I don't see the same for this show.
Pilot Grade: 7%
Until Next Time, tonight is the pilot of Pushing Daisies, one of the most anticipated shows of the year
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Pilot Reviews Big Shots and Gossip Girl
I contemplated not even doing Gossip Girl. No one would notice, right? I mean it's on the CW for goodness sake. Most people haven't even heard of the CW and no one I know knows what CW stands for (for the record, neither do I), but I have taken on this responsibility, and so preform it fully I shall. (Okay, sorry about the Yoda there, sometimes I get a little carried away.) Anyway, the pilot reviews continue , and while there's been a string of mostly positive reviews, well, as they say, all good things must come to an end.
BIG SHOTS
I sort of had some hopes for this show, after all, I have loved each of the four stars in previous shows, The Practice, Alias, Sports Night, and Titus, the four of them together should be great, right? Wrong. Don't put all the blame on the actors, though. This was probably some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard. And actually, I think Christopher Titus has grown tremendously as an actor. I really look forward to seeing him in something good. His schedule will most likely be open pretty soon. I talk a lot about the vaunted Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Year award, well I'm giving Big Shots a "shot" at a different award. Josh's Choice for Most Likely to Be Cancelled First Award. Not only was the dialogue bad, but the storylines were forced and ridiculously predictable. It was like, what would be the most ridiculous bad television story we can come up with next? Oh, yeah, let's do that, we'll have the mistress and the wife be friends. That's good, but I have a better one, let's have a different character accidentally pick up a hooker with apenis , that'll be classic. Yeah, but not as classic if a cop catches them. Good point, we'll put it in the pilot. Oh, then we can use the catch phrase "Track down the Tranny." It'll be as big as "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." There is more, but I'm getting tired of rehashing a very painful hour of television. This show had no redeeming qualities, and I really can't imagine anyone being interested.
Interesting fact: Four really good actors, who have been in really good shows, for some reasonagreed to be in this one.
Pilot Grade: 1% (Because Titus's acting skills have actually greatly improved from his sitcom when he was just funny, now he's funny and he can act.)
GOSSIP GIRLS
This show should probably also be cancelled, but I recognize that I am no where close to the target audience for this show, and they therefore couldn't care less what I think. I haven't read the books on which this series is based, so I don't know how true to them the storylines are, but for as well as those books sell, I figured the premise would be stronger than the one in the tv show. There is a secret person who has a website and she calls herself, are you ready for this?, Gossip Girl. She knows all and sees all, and then tells everyone about it. And of course everyone is checking the website at all times for the latest gossip except for the two main characters who coincidentally all of the gossip is about. Right. Well, at least the dialogue is more believable than in Big Shots. I'm assuming that 12-17 year old girls (at least some of them) might like this show, but I can't imagine anyone else being able to garner any enjoyment out of it. The characters are completely unlikeable. One of them has a rant similar to the one given by the youngest Darling son in Dirty, Sexy, Money, about how hard it is to be a rich kid from a rich family. Boo eff-ing hoo. In DSM, however, the great Peter Krause calls him on it immediately, and we're supposed to realize how utterly spoiled these people are to imagine even a moment of regret for the lives that have been handed to them. In Gossip Girl on the other hand, I think that we're actually supposed to feel sorry for the character saying it. Yeah right. I'm sorry his character's so stupid.
Early in the episode there is this exchange.
Girl: Someone saw Serena getting off at Central Station.
Boy: Good, things were starting to get dull around here.
Me: Doesn't look like this is helping any.
Interesting Fact: The Gossip Girl is played by Kristen Bell, otherwise known as Veronica Mars, which used to be on UPN before it was the CW, and was a far superior show.
Pilot Grade: 13% (I might not have liked the characters, but I believed in them a lot more than the ones in Big Shots.)
Until Next Time, the positive reviews had to end at sometime, right?
BIG SHOTS
I sort of had some hopes for this show, after all, I have loved each of the four stars in previous shows, The Practice, Alias, Sports Night, and Titus, the four of them together should be great, right? Wrong. Don't put all the blame on the actors, though. This was probably some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard. And actually, I think Christopher Titus has grown tremendously as an actor. I really look forward to seeing him in something good. His schedule will most likely be open pretty soon. I talk a lot about the vaunted Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Year award, well I'm giving Big Shots a "shot" at a different award. Josh's Choice for Most Likely to Be Cancelled First Award. Not only was the dialogue bad, but the storylines were forced and ridiculously predictable. It was like, what would be the most ridiculous bad television story we can come up with next? Oh, yeah, let's do that, we'll have the mistress and the wife be friends. That's good, but I have a better one, let's have a different character accidentally pick up a hooker with a
Interesting fact: Four really good actors, who have been in really good shows, for some reason
Pilot Grade: 1% (Because Titus's acting skills have actually greatly improved from his sitcom when he was just funny, now he's funny and he can act.)
GOSSIP GIRLS
This show should probably also be cancelled, but I recognize that I am no where close to the target audience for this show, and they therefore couldn't care less what I think. I haven't read the books on which this series is based, so I don't know how true to them the storylines are, but for as well as those books sell, I figured the premise would be stronger than the one in the tv show. There is a secret person who has a website and she calls herself, are you ready for this?, Gossip Girl. She knows all and sees all, and then tells everyone about it. And of course everyone is checking the website at all times for the latest gossip except for the two main characters who coincidentally all of the gossip is about. Right. Well, at least the dialogue is more believable than in Big Shots. I'm assuming that 12-17 year old girls (at least some of them) might like this show, but I can't imagine anyone else being able to garner any enjoyment out of it. The characters are completely unlikeable. One of them has a rant similar to the one given by the youngest Darling son in Dirty, Sexy, Money, about how hard it is to be a rich kid from a rich family. Boo eff-ing hoo. In DSM, however, the great Peter Krause calls him on it immediately, and we're supposed to realize how utterly spoiled these people are to imagine even a moment of regret for the lives that have been handed to them. In Gossip Girl on the other hand, I think that we're actually supposed to feel sorry for the character saying it. Yeah right. I'm sorry his character's so stupid.
Early in the episode there is this exchange.
Girl: Someone saw Serena getting off at Central Station.
Boy: Good, things were starting to get dull around here.
Me: Doesn't look like this is helping any.
Interesting Fact: The Gossip Girl is played by Kristen Bell, otherwise known as Veronica Mars, which used to be on UPN before it was the CW, and was a far superior show.
Pilot Grade: 13% (I might not have liked the characters, but I believed in them a lot more than the ones in Big Shots.)
Until Next Time, the positive reviews had to end at sometime, right?
Pilot Reviews Life and Dirty, Sexy, Money
The premiere reviews continue (for others, see below)...
LIFE
So, the first of these that I did was for the Fox show K-Ville, which I felt was just a stereotypical cop show. Truth be told, before watching this one, I figured that it would be too. I was wrong. Sure, it is a cop show, and there are plenty of cop show things that happen in the episode, but at the same time it's original. First of all, I really like the premise, it's about a cop who was wrongly imprisoned. He spent 12 years in jail for something that he didn't do. When he got out (and was given a fat settlement by the city) he rejoined the police force that had turned its back on him. It gives an interesting set up for a serialized show. The running plot line will of course be the main character working on figuring who set him up, but at the same time, he's a cop and he's going to do his job. When his partner asks him why he came back, he tells her (again NBC with the interesting female character) that while he was locked away, he thought "I'm a cop" and that's what kept him going, that knowledge of himself. I talked about in my K-Ville review that there wasn't anything that special to put it above any of the other cop shows on tv, with Life, however, it's different. The main character is very intriguing. He's got an attitude that's original. The show intersperses the action with documentary style talking heads about the main character, giving it an interesting take on getting to know the character by seeing what others think about him, as well as seeing how he acts by himself as well as around others. His partner is interesting too, very multi-dimensional, and I'm looking forward to the development of her almost as much as the main character. There is a central mythos to the show which is intriguing, but the show seems content to work like the procedurals (CSI, Law & Order) and give the main importance to the case of the week. It's an interesting combination that I have been thinking would be a good idea for a television show and I'm interested to see how they make it work.
Interesting Fact: Damian Lewis who plays the main character was Major Dick Winters in HBO's Band of Brothers. Sarah Shahi, his partner, was the best part of NBC's short lived sitcom Teachers, and before that was Will Tippen's assistant and some time love interest on the great Alias.
Pilot Grade: 98%
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
Peter Krause is, as always, awesome, as is Donald Sutherland as the head of the rich and spoiled Darling family. At first, I thought this show might be a bit of a one trick pony, how will Peter Krause get the wacky rich family members out of trouble this week? While that will certainly play a part in the show, I think that the writers will do a decent job of developing the characters enough that you might care what trouble they're getting into. I certainly started to care for the characters just based on the pilot, and that's somewhat of an accomplishment seeing as they are all rich, spoiled brats and generally unlikeable in all respects. But what really sold me on this pilot (besides the brilliant acting of Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland) is the mystery plot line reveal towards the end of the episode. I totally didn't see it coming, and am drawn in by it completely.
Interesting Fact: The senator hopeful Darling's (played by Stephen Baldwin, unlike Adam from Chuck, actually of the Baldwin clan) transgendered girlfriend is actually played by a transgendered woman, born Brenden McDaniel, and now known as Candis Cayne.
Pilot Grade: 96%
Until Next Time, I'm not doing one for Private Practice if you're wondering, because the pilot for this show was actually last season as an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Truth be told, I'm glad that that's the case as I'm not a fan of Grey's Anatomy I wouldn't like Private Practice anyway.
LIFE
So, the first of these that I did was for the Fox show K-Ville, which I felt was just a stereotypical cop show. Truth be told, before watching this one, I figured that it would be too. I was wrong. Sure, it is a cop show, and there are plenty of cop show things that happen in the episode, but at the same time it's original. First of all, I really like the premise, it's about a cop who was wrongly imprisoned. He spent 12 years in jail for something that he didn't do. When he got out (and was given a fat settlement by the city) he rejoined the police force that had turned its back on him. It gives an interesting set up for a serialized show. The running plot line will of course be the main character working on figuring who set him up, but at the same time, he's a cop and he's going to do his job. When his partner asks him why he came back, he tells her (again NBC with the interesting female character) that while he was locked away, he thought "I'm a cop" and that's what kept him going, that knowledge of himself. I talked about in my K-Ville review that there wasn't anything that special to put it above any of the other cop shows on tv, with Life, however, it's different. The main character is very intriguing. He's got an attitude that's original. The show intersperses the action with documentary style talking heads about the main character, giving it an interesting take on getting to know the character by seeing what others think about him, as well as seeing how he acts by himself as well as around others. His partner is interesting too, very multi-dimensional, and I'm looking forward to the development of her almost as much as the main character. There is a central mythos to the show which is intriguing, but the show seems content to work like the procedurals (CSI, Law & Order) and give the main importance to the case of the week. It's an interesting combination that I have been thinking would be a good idea for a television show and I'm interested to see how they make it work.
Interesting Fact: Damian Lewis who plays the main character was Major Dick Winters in HBO's Band of Brothers. Sarah Shahi, his partner, was the best part of NBC's short lived sitcom Teachers, and before that was Will Tippen's assistant and some time love interest on the great Alias.
Pilot Grade: 98%
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
Peter Krause is, as always, awesome, as is Donald Sutherland as the head of the rich and spoiled Darling family. At first, I thought this show might be a bit of a one trick pony, how will Peter Krause get the wacky rich family members out of trouble this week? While that will certainly play a part in the show, I think that the writers will do a decent job of developing the characters enough that you might care what trouble they're getting into. I certainly started to care for the characters just based on the pilot, and that's somewhat of an accomplishment seeing as they are all rich, spoiled brats and generally unlikeable in all respects. But what really sold me on this pilot (besides the brilliant acting of Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland) is the mystery plot line reveal towards the end of the episode. I totally didn't see it coming, and am drawn in by it completely.
Interesting Fact: The senator hopeful Darling's (played by Stephen Baldwin, unlike Adam from Chuck, actually of the Baldwin clan) transgendered girlfriend is actually played by a transgendered woman, born Brenden McDaniel, and now known as Candis Cayne.
Pilot Grade: 96%
Until Next Time, I'm not doing one for Private Practice if you're wondering, because the pilot for this show was actually last season as an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Truth be told, I'm glad that that's the case as I'm not a fan of Grey's Anatomy I wouldn't like Private Practice anyway.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Pilot Reviews Reaper and Cane
So, the fall premieres have continued, and thus so will my takes and grades on them. So far I've done K-Ville, Back to You, Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Journeyman, and Bionic Woman, today I give you my thoughts on Reaper and Cane.
REAPER
This premiere was pretty good, and definitely funny. The cast is exceptional and the dialogue was spot on. I hope that the series will continue to have the type of dialogue that it had in the premiere, as the influence of the director was quite evident, and I'm not sure that the show will be able to still have that feel without him at the helm. Kevin Smith (aka Silent Bob) directed the pilot, and his influence in many of the one on one scenes in particular was clearly strong. There were many moments that felt like Kevin Smith moments, and that's a good thing, I just hope that it continues even when he isn't directing. On the negative side, I felt like for a comedy (which this mainly is) the dark moments were just a little too dark, particularly a moment with a dog and a car door and a man and his Zamboni. Both those scenes really felt out of place with the feel of the rest of the episode. I'm certainly not against dark humor, and there is a place for some dark humor in this show, but it needs to be proportionate to the humor throughout the rest of the show, and at times I don't think that it was. My other big problem with the show was the portrayal of the female characters. Now this is something that I think there is plenty of time and room to correct, but in the pilot I was very disappointed with the female characters, they were not strong characters at all. Maybe it's because in the majority of the other pilots that I've seen thus far, strong females play a part in them (and a major role in Bionic Woman, Chuck, and Journeyman, good job NBC.), but it was very disturbing how weak the female characters were in this show, which is kind of surprising since the show is created by two females. Hopefully this will be something that the show addresses as it continues.
Interesting fact: The main character, Bret Harrison, was last seen (well maybe not actually "seen" since I seem to be one of the few to actually have watched the show) as the main character in The Loop, on Fox, which was actually a pretty funny comedy which was a previous contender for Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Season, and his best friend on Reaper, Sock, played by Tyler Labine, was Dave on former Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Season award winner Invasion.
Pilot Grade: 87%
CANE
The new show on CBS starring Jimmy Smits (West Wing, NYPD Blue, Star Wars Episode III) wasn't one that I really expected to like despite being a fan of Smits, but I have to admit the pilot really intrigued me. Jimmy Smits, along with producing the show, stars as an adopted son as well as son in law of the head of a Sugar Cane CEO played by Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope). Elizondo finds out that his cancer has returned and he doesn't have long to live, prompting him to give control of the company over to his son in law Alex (Smits) instead of his natural son Frank (played superbly by Nestor Carbonell). This seemed rather straight forward from the previews, and I figured that the show would be pretty predictable. Well, there is a whole lot more going on, and the pilot is chock full of intrigue, drama, and suspense. I suppose that it has a bit of a soap opera-ish quality to it on the basest level, but the acting and dialogue are so superb that you buy into it completely. It has been compared to Dallas in some reviews, and while that isn't a show that I ever watched, I know enough to say that on some levels I can see the comparison (and in the show they even make a blatant sugar to oil comparison) I think that this show will be a lot less campy than Dallas on occasion was. I'm looking forward to seeing more and finding out what the repercussions of the actions in the pilot will be.
Interesting Fact: Kevin McKidd on Journeyman is not the only former star of Rome finding their way to network television, Polly Walker who was Atia of the Julii appears as Ellis Samuals, the daughter of Elizondo's chief rival, and it appears that despite the far different accent (Southern instead of the English accent that Romans always have in film and television) she is up to her old tricks of using her sexuality to achieve what she wants. Also, Nestor Carbonell who plays Frank is the mysterious non-aging Richard from LOST, so I hope that his job on Cane doesn't keep him from continuing to make the occasional appearance on our favorite Island.
Pilot Grade: 96%
Until Next Time, the new season is shaping up to be a good one!
REAPER
This premiere was pretty good, and definitely funny. The cast is exceptional and the dialogue was spot on. I hope that the series will continue to have the type of dialogue that it had in the premiere, as the influence of the director was quite evident, and I'm not sure that the show will be able to still have that feel without him at the helm. Kevin Smith (aka Silent Bob) directed the pilot, and his influence in many of the one on one scenes in particular was clearly strong. There were many moments that felt like Kevin Smith moments, and that's a good thing, I just hope that it continues even when he isn't directing. On the negative side, I felt like for a comedy (which this mainly is) the dark moments were just a little too dark, particularly a moment with a dog and a car door and a man and his Zamboni. Both those scenes really felt out of place with the feel of the rest of the episode. I'm certainly not against dark humor, and there is a place for some dark humor in this show, but it needs to be proportionate to the humor throughout the rest of the show, and at times I don't think that it was. My other big problem with the show was the portrayal of the female characters. Now this is something that I think there is plenty of time and room to correct, but in the pilot I was very disappointed with the female characters, they were not strong characters at all. Maybe it's because in the majority of the other pilots that I've seen thus far, strong females play a part in them (and a major role in Bionic Woman, Chuck, and Journeyman, good job NBC.), but it was very disturbing how weak the female characters were in this show, which is kind of surprising since the show is created by two females. Hopefully this will be something that the show addresses as it continues.
Interesting fact: The main character, Bret Harrison, was last seen (well maybe not actually "seen" since I seem to be one of the few to actually have watched the show) as the main character in The Loop, on Fox, which was actually a pretty funny comedy which was a previous contender for Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Season, and his best friend on Reaper, Sock, played by Tyler Labine, was Dave on former Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Season award winner Invasion.
Pilot Grade: 87%
CANE
The new show on CBS starring Jimmy Smits (West Wing, NYPD Blue, Star Wars Episode III) wasn't one that I really expected to like despite being a fan of Smits, but I have to admit the pilot really intrigued me. Jimmy Smits, along with producing the show, stars as an adopted son as well as son in law of the head of a Sugar Cane CEO played by Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope). Elizondo finds out that his cancer has returned and he doesn't have long to live, prompting him to give control of the company over to his son in law Alex (Smits) instead of his natural son Frank (played superbly by Nestor Carbonell). This seemed rather straight forward from the previews, and I figured that the show would be pretty predictable. Well, there is a whole lot more going on, and the pilot is chock full of intrigue, drama, and suspense. I suppose that it has a bit of a soap opera-ish quality to it on the basest level, but the acting and dialogue are so superb that you buy into it completely. It has been compared to Dallas in some reviews, and while that isn't a show that I ever watched, I know enough to say that on some levels I can see the comparison (and in the show they even make a blatant sugar to oil comparison) I think that this show will be a lot less campy than Dallas on occasion was. I'm looking forward to seeing more and finding out what the repercussions of the actions in the pilot will be.
Interesting Fact: Kevin McKidd on Journeyman is not the only former star of Rome finding their way to network television, Polly Walker who was Atia of the Julii appears as Ellis Samuals, the daughter of Elizondo's chief rival, and it appears that despite the far different accent (Southern instead of the English accent that Romans always have in film and television) she is up to her old tricks of using her sexuality to achieve what she wants. Also, Nestor Carbonell who plays Frank is the mysterious non-aging Richard from LOST, so I hope that his job on Cane doesn't keep him from continuing to make the occasional appearance on our favorite Island.
Pilot Grade: 96%
Until Next Time, the new season is shaping up to be a good one!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Pilot Reviews Big Bang Theory and Journeyman
Continuing with the theme of the last few posts, I'm giving my thoughts and grades to each of the new premieres on network television this fall (excluding the reality shows which I prefer to ignore). So far I've done K-Ville and Back to You (three posts ago) and Chuck and Bionic Woman (two posts ago). Here are the other two shows that premiered tonight
BIG BANG THEORY
Yeah, it had it's moments, and I like the lead Johnny Galecki a lot. You might know him from Suicide Kings, but more likely as David Healy on Roseanne. Not so sure about his roommate, played by Jim Parsons. He got some great lines in the episode, but I never really laughed at them. Looking back at the lines, I should have laughed, but I just didn't like the delivery. The character really seems a little too ridiculous to me, I guess. I also wasn't too thrilled with the female lead, mainly, again because the character didn't appeal to me. I doubt I'll pay too much attention to this show. If I'm too lazy to find the remote after How I Met Your Mother (which was, as always, Legen... wait for it, and I hope you aren't lactose intolerant, because the next part of the word is... dary) I might leave it on, but it's not one that I'll have to watch.
Interesting fact, Kaley Cuoco who plays the female lead in the show was on an episode of My So Called Life as young Angela Chase, Claire Danes's character.
Pilot Grade: 74%
JOURNEYMAN
Less than twenty four hours ago I called Chuck perhaps the greatest pilot ever made. Fester (capitalized only because it is starting a sentence) always says I am too quick with the word "genius", well, perhaps I was a little too quick with my pilot praise for Chuck, because at that time I had yet to see Journeyman. This show blew me away. The trailers, that anyone who has been to the movies or watched NBC recently has surely seen, fill you in on the basic plot, somehow, the main character, played with great intensity by Kevin McKidd last seen as Lucius Vorenus on HBO's brilliant Rome, travels back in time. But it's far more than that, he is sent back with a purpose, sent back to change someone's life. He travels to various times in the life of that person, to put them in a spot to do something important. Right as the viewer figures this out, along with our hero, they most likely start to think, okay, yeah, it's cool and all, but I've seen this before, it was called Quantum Leap, that's when the pilot pulls off an amazing "what the fu..." moment, thirty minutes into the episode (in real time, with out commercials, I don't know when it happens with commercials, sorry, watched it online thanks to Amazon Unbox.) This is definitely a powerful show, that I can not wait to keep up with. It's got a thriller oriented premise, but it packs an emotional punch, and the story is set up in a way that I think that is going to continue. I can't wait to find out.
Interesting fact: Moon Bloodgood, who plays Olivia, was last seen on Daybreak, where Taye Diggs lives the same day over and over again. Apparently, she's really drawn to shows about mishaps in the space-time continuum.
Pilot Grade: 100%
Until Next Time, NBC which did so well in last year's JCFBNSOTS awards is definitely off to a hot start!
BIG BANG THEORY
Yeah, it had it's moments, and I like the lead Johnny Galecki a lot. You might know him from Suicide Kings, but more likely as David Healy on Roseanne. Not so sure about his roommate, played by Jim Parsons. He got some great lines in the episode, but I never really laughed at them. Looking back at the lines, I should have laughed, but I just didn't like the delivery. The character really seems a little too ridiculous to me, I guess. I also wasn't too thrilled with the female lead, mainly, again because the character didn't appeal to me. I doubt I'll pay too much attention to this show. If I'm too lazy to find the remote after How I Met Your Mother (which was, as always, Legen... wait for it, and I hope you aren't lactose intolerant, because the next part of the word is... dary) I might leave it on, but it's not one that I'll have to watch.
Interesting fact, Kaley Cuoco who plays the female lead in the show was on an episode of My So Called Life as young Angela Chase, Claire Danes's character.
Pilot Grade: 74%
JOURNEYMAN
Less than twenty four hours ago I called Chuck perhaps the greatest pilot ever made. Fester (capitalized only because it is starting a sentence) always says I am too quick with the word "genius", well, perhaps I was a little too quick with my pilot praise for Chuck, because at that time I had yet to see Journeyman. This show blew me away. The trailers, that anyone who has been to the movies or watched NBC recently has surely seen, fill you in on the basic plot, somehow, the main character, played with great intensity by Kevin McKidd last seen as Lucius Vorenus on HBO's brilliant Rome, travels back in time. But it's far more than that, he is sent back with a purpose, sent back to change someone's life. He travels to various times in the life of that person, to put them in a spot to do something important. Right as the viewer figures this out, along with our hero, they most likely start to think, okay, yeah, it's cool and all, but I've seen this before, it was called Quantum Leap, that's when the pilot pulls off an amazing "what the fu..." moment, thirty minutes into the episode (in real time, with out commercials, I don't know when it happens with commercials, sorry, watched it online thanks to Amazon Unbox.) This is definitely a powerful show, that I can not wait to keep up with. It's got a thriller oriented premise, but it packs an emotional punch, and the story is set up in a way that I think that is going to continue. I can't wait to find out.
Interesting fact: Moon Bloodgood, who plays Olivia, was last seen on Daybreak, where Taye Diggs lives the same day over and over again. Apparently, she's really drawn to shows about mishaps in the space-time continuum.
Pilot Grade: 100%
Until Next Time, NBC which did so well in last year's JCFBNSOTS awards is definitely off to a hot start!
Heroes Season 2, first thoughts
Well, I'm really not sure that this show can sustain the success that it had last season. It ended pretty poorly, so I'm hoping that the writers can recreate the magic. New mysteries were introduced in the premiere, and it kept my interest (I don't get NBC very good, so I figured I would just wait and watch it later on-line, but I stuck through the bad reception, and I really didn't think I would, even through the annoying car commercials played over and over every commercial break.) I was disapointed that there was no Nikki, Micah, D.L. moment in the episode, however I loved the introduction of Hiro's hero, the samurai of the past played by none other than David Anders who was the deliciously evil Sark on Alias. Anyway, here's hoping that the show can regain the momentum it somehow lost at the very end of last season, it was at the very least a good start.
Until Next Time, stay tuned for some new premiere reviews!
Until Next Time, stay tuned for some new premiere reviews!
Pilot Reviews Bionic Woman and Chuck
BIONIC WOMAN
First off, let me say how much I love Katee Sackhoff, she plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, and what appears to be the villain of this show. And she's a great villain. She adds all kind of life to the show. That isn't to say that Michelle Ryan doesn't add life to the show, it's just that her character is really freaked out and trying to figure things out, Katee's character (I feel like we're close enough to be on a first name basis) on the other hand is used to her, shall we say, accouterments, and actually quite proud of them (and proud of where some of them are). It's safe to say that she steals the pilot, and I really hope that she sticks around for awhile, and considering where she was at the end of last season of BSG (that's the cool way to refer to Battlestar Galactica) she'll probably have the time to give this show, although you never can tell with Galactica. From the looks of the pilot, that'll be the case on this show as well. The car crash scene, which if you've seen a movie in the last two months, or watched any NBC at all in the last few weeks you've seen a bit of, is unbelievable. I actually watched it like ten times in a row trying to tell if it was CGd. I'm sure that it was, but it looks incredibly real. Not to mention horrifying. The action is great, the central mythos of the show is set up well in the pilot episode, but I'm not sure that I buy the relationship between Jaime (our heroine) and Will (her doctor boyfriend). The dialogue between them seemed really forced, which is odd since this show comes from the creators of BSG who make not only the dialogue but the entire strange senario in which the show takes place seem incredibly believable. There are extenuating circumstances to their relationship which are revealed early on in the episode, and since part of their discussion is really a DTR, which are never easy, and probably always seemed forced from the outside, I'm willing to suspend the disbelief and see where it goes. The other thing I found a little lacking in the episode was the feeling that it was extremely rushed. I think that this would have worked much better as a two hour pilot instead of trying to convey the entire idea and introduce all of the side characters and the mystery that is requisite in a show such as this in just one hour. Other than those two minor quibbles, I found Bionic Woman to be an outstanding hour of television, and I can't wait to see more.
Interesting fact: Katee Sackhoff is not the only BSG actor to have a role in the show, Mark Sheppard, who played Baltar's lawyer on a recent storyline (and was Badger on Firefly), and Aaron Douglas, who plays Chief Tyrol, also appear in the pilot, and will likely have at least a little bit of a run on Bionic Woman.
Pilot Grade: 95%
CHUCK
I honestly thought after I finished watching Bionic Woman that it would get the highest grade I would give out. Sure it had a couple of minor issues, but I was pumped after watching it, and knew that it was a strong pilot. Let me start by saying that Chuck might just be the best pilot ever shot. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this show. It is hilarious, the action is at times breathtaking, the acting is superb, the dialogue is spot on, and the premise of the show is a perfect match for the type of show that it is. Yvonne Strzechowski (and I have no idea how to pronounce that) is going to be the breakout star of the season. She's unbelievably hot (and the filmmakers take full advantage of that fact) but she's also got action ability (she could probably teach Sidney Bristow a thing or two) and acts as a great "straight man" to the comedic stylings of Zachary Levi, our unwitting hero. Levi is dead on as a charming, yet nerdy guy, who finds out that he's now a part of something far bigger and more important than anything he's used to, saving the world at $11/hour. Add in Adam Baldwin (no relation) as another fed, and you've got a great comedic threesome to carry this show. Adam Baldwin, of course, was Jayne on the short lived, but much loved, Firefly, and it appears that the spirit of Jayne is alive and well in the character of John Casey. Morgan, Chuck's best friend, played by Joshua Gomez (who had a run on Invasion, a previous Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Year award winner) is very funny, especially in his interactions with Chuck's sister, played by Sarah Lancaster (from Saved by the Bell: The New Class, I admit, I looked that up on IMDb, I didn't know it off the top of my head, I recognized her as the gift shop girl from season 2 of Scrubs). But no question, the top secondary character is the boyfriend of Chuck's sister, Captain Awesome. I hope that he becomes a recurring character, because he cracked me up. Anyway, the episode is perfectly plotted, considering that it has to introduce the characters, the concept, and has an action filled "mission" of sorts added in. It pulls all of this off perfectly. Another great thing about this show is that while it's an action/spy show, it is also a comedy, and it recognizes that by not taking itself too seriously, but by relying on the comedic arena for the most part, making the thriller aspects that much more thrilling when they occur.
Interesting Fact: It is produced by and the pilot was directed by McG, who also directed the two Charlie's Angels movies as well as the just released We Are Marshall.
Pilot Grade: 100%
Until Next Time, more pilot reviews to come!
First off, let me say how much I love Katee Sackhoff, she plays Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, and what appears to be the villain of this show. And she's a great villain. She adds all kind of life to the show. That isn't to say that Michelle Ryan doesn't add life to the show, it's just that her character is really freaked out and trying to figure things out, Katee's character (I feel like we're close enough to be on a first name basis) on the other hand is used to her, shall we say, accouterments, and actually quite proud of them (and proud of where some of them are). It's safe to say that she steals the pilot, and I really hope that she sticks around for awhile, and considering where she was at the end of last season of BSG (that's the cool way to refer to Battlestar Galactica) she'll probably have the time to give this show, although you never can tell with Galactica. From the looks of the pilot, that'll be the case on this show as well. The car crash scene, which if you've seen a movie in the last two months, or watched any NBC at all in the last few weeks you've seen a bit of, is unbelievable. I actually watched it like ten times in a row trying to tell if it was CGd. I'm sure that it was, but it looks incredibly real. Not to mention horrifying. The action is great, the central mythos of the show is set up well in the pilot episode, but I'm not sure that I buy the relationship between Jaime (our heroine) and Will (her doctor boyfriend). The dialogue between them seemed really forced, which is odd since this show comes from the creators of BSG who make not only the dialogue but the entire strange senario in which the show takes place seem incredibly believable. There are extenuating circumstances to their relationship which are revealed early on in the episode, and since part of their discussion is really a DTR, which are never easy, and probably always seemed forced from the outside, I'm willing to suspend the disbelief and see where it goes. The other thing I found a little lacking in the episode was the feeling that it was extremely rushed. I think that this would have worked much better as a two hour pilot instead of trying to convey the entire idea and introduce all of the side characters and the mystery that is requisite in a show such as this in just one hour. Other than those two minor quibbles, I found Bionic Woman to be an outstanding hour of television, and I can't wait to see more.
Interesting fact: Katee Sackhoff is not the only BSG actor to have a role in the show, Mark Sheppard, who played Baltar's lawyer on a recent storyline (and was Badger on Firefly), and Aaron Douglas, who plays Chief Tyrol, also appear in the pilot, and will likely have at least a little bit of a run on Bionic Woman.
Pilot Grade: 95%
CHUCK
I honestly thought after I finished watching Bionic Woman that it would get the highest grade I would give out. Sure it had a couple of minor issues, but I was pumped after watching it, and knew that it was a strong pilot. Let me start by saying that Chuck might just be the best pilot ever shot. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this show. It is hilarious, the action is at times breathtaking, the acting is superb, the dialogue is spot on, and the premise of the show is a perfect match for the type of show that it is. Yvonne Strzechowski (and I have no idea how to pronounce that) is going to be the breakout star of the season. She's unbelievably hot (and the filmmakers take full advantage of that fact) but she's also got action ability (she could probably teach Sidney Bristow a thing or two) and acts as a great "straight man" to the comedic stylings of Zachary Levi, our unwitting hero. Levi is dead on as a charming, yet nerdy guy, who finds out that he's now a part of something far bigger and more important than anything he's used to, saving the world at $11/hour. Add in Adam Baldwin (no relation) as another fed, and you've got a great comedic threesome to carry this show. Adam Baldwin, of course, was Jayne on the short lived, but much loved, Firefly, and it appears that the spirit of Jayne is alive and well in the character of John Casey. Morgan, Chuck's best friend, played by Joshua Gomez (who had a run on Invasion, a previous Josh's Choice for Best New Show of the Year award winner) is very funny, especially in his interactions with Chuck's sister, played by Sarah Lancaster (from Saved by the Bell: The New Class, I admit, I looked that up on IMDb, I didn't know it off the top of my head, I recognized her as the gift shop girl from season 2 of Scrubs). But no question, the top secondary character is the boyfriend of Chuck's sister, Captain Awesome. I hope that he becomes a recurring character, because he cracked me up. Anyway, the episode is perfectly plotted, considering that it has to introduce the characters, the concept, and has an action filled "mission" of sorts added in. It pulls all of this off perfectly. Another great thing about this show is that while it's an action/spy show, it is also a comedy, and it recognizes that by not taking itself too seriously, but by relying on the comedic arena for the most part, making the thriller aspects that much more thrilling when they occur.
Interesting Fact: It is produced by and the pilot was directed by McG, who also directed the two Charlie's Angels movies as well as the just released We Are Marshall.
Pilot Grade: 100%
Until Next Time, more pilot reviews to come!
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