This Season’s Pilots

It has been a long time since I have written anything, mostly because my new job has left me with so little time to sit down and write. But now that things are settled, I am hoping to get back to writing more regularly.

So without further adieu, thoughts about some of the new shows this fall:

Up All Night- I wanted to like this show more than I did. Following a young couple with a baby who seek to remain “young” while growing into their own as parents, the series stars two big name comedic actors: Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Add Maya Rudolph to the mix and it seems like a surefire win. But for some reason the first few episodes did not do it for me. They lacked laugh out loud moments and I did not find myself connecting to the characters. Arnett was more likeable here than in Running Wilde, but still he lacks the charm he had in arrested development. I have heard that it has more recently gotten better and I am considering trying it again sometime when I get the chance.

Free Agents- This show sort of grew on me but unfortunately it was canceled before it grew on anyone else. The show is about a two co-workers who are attracted to each other as they grapple with the end of their former relationships (one through death one through divorce). Not exactly the funniest of premises, but not too bad either.

The Secret Circle- I am a little torn on this newest CW show. For one thing, I don’t love the main actress Britt Robertson in this role. I thought she was great as Lux in Life Unexpected, but somehow she doesn’t do it for me here. My bigger issue is that a lot of the action involves chanting words over and over and staring at things until something happens. it doesn’t make for a visually impressive show. Even Charmed, which had chanting witches, had other things to make the fight scenes more action-filled. Pru had telekinesis, Piper could stop time and later blow things up, Phoebe could fight on top of her hover ability, and Paige could teleport herself and other objects. The bad guys could throw fire balls and do other impressive things. This is what the show is missing.

Ringer- Sarah Michelle Geller back on TV! Well, I wasn’t as thrilled as I thought I would be. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, but it is missing the charm of Buffy (in large part because it doesn’t have the great comedic asides and I prefer the butt-kicking Buffy to the prissier character we see now). I have not had the time to follow this consistently so instead it is on my list of shows to get back to when everything else is on hiatus.

The X Factor- I love singing shows as much as the next person but this just felt like a reiteration of American Idol without the charming judges and no twist to draw me in. Sure, I stopped watching during the audition stages to maybe it gets better from there, but with so many other shows to watch, I just didn’t have the time to commit to yet another singing competition.

Revenge- I like Emily Van Camp a lot. Even more, I like the idea behind this soapy if not as mysterious as I’d hoped show. I have only had the chance to see the pilot, sadly, but it too has been put on my “watch during the hiatus season” list.

Unforgettable- I’m not sure about this one. Other than the gimmick that the main character has a perfect memory, there wasn’t much to set this show apart from the other cop procedurals out there. For now it is relegated to “try it out when I have time” but I don’t have a ton of hope for this one.

Prime Suspect- I was a little doubtful on this one. For one thing, there was the weird hat. A woman trying to gain respect from her fellow cops would not wear that stupid thing. For another, even though I definitely believe that the world of police still has a lot of male-female issues, it is hard to reconcile that with all the cop shows out there with strong central female characters. Ultimately, the central struggle being gender issues just wasn’t compelling enough for me. I’d rather shows that show woman as strong and capable to change people’s minds than actively drawing attention to it.

A Gifted Man- I didn’t have any hopes for this one about a self-absorbed surgeon who sees his dead wife and begins questioning his life. It feels a lot like that Philanthropist show fmor a few summers ago. It just isn’t deep enough.

Suburgatory- About a girl who is moved to the suburbs with her dad after he finds condoms in her drawer. Overall I like this show. Not the best of comedies to be sure, but it is fun in its own way. My one complaint: the voice over. I have always felt that voice overs must be done just right to be worth it but this show doesn’t quite do it.

Charlie’s Angels- The biggest problem with this already canceled remake mostly comes from the poor casting choices. While I liked Minka Kelly as the tutor in Parenthood, she did not feel believable as a hardcore car thief. The other actors were little better. To have worked, I think this remake needed to be made darker and more modern, instead it felt campy.

Homeland- I was late getting into this one only because I didn’t have enough time when it first started but I kept hearing good things and now I am finally back. I am glad to find it just as exciting as I’d heard. I am not the only one who is glad to see Claire Danes out from wherever she has been hiding.

Grimm- The first of two fairytale centric shows, this one follows that Grimms are a family line with the ability to see supernatural fairytale’s true identities. The main character just comes into his gift and uses it, in combination with his job as a cop to help people. So far I have not been thrilled by this one. It felt very earnest, like it was trying very hard to be exciting.

Once Upon a Time- The second fairytale show of the season is a little more successful. In one reality, the characters are famous fairytale characters, in the other, they are cursed to forget their true identities and are stuck in a town where time never passes. But the main character, Jennifer Morrison plays the daughter of Snow White and the only character who can save them–dragged to town by the kid she gave up some years before. I can’t decide if I like the part of the show that is in fairytale land, but for one reason or another, I am really enjoying this show. Of course, it is so high-rated that clearly other people are too.

Person of Interest- I only had the chance to watch the first episode of this new series about people who track upcoming murders by finding people involved in the murder without knowing what part they will play–murderer or victim. It’s an interesting idea, but I wasn’t convinced by the pilot. It’s another one relegated to the “try later” list.

Last Man Standing- There’s something so nostalgic about this show. It, like Melissa and Joey, feels like one of those old school comedies like the ones we came to get to know Tim Allen from back in the day. Again, not the most intelligent or unique of comedies, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Hart of Dixie- Rachel Bilson plays a neurosurgeon who doesn’t care enough for her patients and ends up in the deep south as a doctor at a small practice. I don’t really love Rachel Bilson in this show, she sort of bumbles and stuff in a way that i don’t find endearing or even so believable in a surgeon. But for some reason I’m still enjoying the show.

There are still a number of shows I haven’t had a chance to watch but what are your favorite new shows so far?

Sabrina Matthews of SYTYCD Canada

Having enjoyed SYTYCD, I jumped at the chance to watch another season, albeit the most recent Canadian season. The season has proved to be exciting and impressive for a number of reasons, but the main thing I take away from the season is that Sabrina Matthews absolutely must come to the American version. Above all other choreographers, Matthews stood out as the most consistently impressive and inspiring of the choreographers. I can’t remember a single dance of hers that I did not like, which is saying something considering she choreographed ten routines (almost every week). Her choreography is heartfelt and brings the emotional element that the American audience (myself included) loves so much.

Check out some of her work:

What do you think? Should she be added to the US choreographer line up?

A Few New(ish) Shows

Happily Divorced- The show based on Fran Drescher’s life is surprisingly entertaining. You can’t help but wonder why anyone likes watching someone whose voice is so grating, but somehow it works in this show about a woman who learns after nearly two decades with her husband that he is gay. They get divorced but don’t have the respective money to live in separate homes (their house is unrealistically big for this issue, maybe it is time to get two smaller houses). I don’t care for her best friend Judi, who seems there for obvious laughs and little more. The show isn’t going down in the history books as a fantastic comedy, but there’s something enjoyable about killing time with it.

Death Valley- MTV’s latest foray into scripted television is a supernatural comedy about how a police station (specifically, the Undead Task Force newly formed within the LAPD) deals with the revelation that zombies and vampires are real. At the same time, they are being filmed, Office-style, for a documentary. This show isn’t of the quality that Awkward is, but the network’s scripted TV has always been hit or miss and this is somewhere in between. A lot of its laughs are a bit cheap and zombies are a bit silly. It feels like the show is mostly missing true characters (rather than a group of caricatures), but I’m still watching to see where it goes.

Strike Back- this show isn’t exactly new at all, in that it is in its second season, but it only just came to the US this year (with a partnership with Cinemax that is much like the Torchwood deal with Starz). I watched the first season (which is, in typical British form, only a few episodes long) and found it to be all right. The main character’s internal drama did not come across as strongly as it might have and felt largely removed from the action of the story (perhaps because his family and the guy who is giving him a hard time are always on the other side of the world). The six episode first season is divided into two episode arcs and the strongest one was easily the first, focusing on the kidnapping of a journalist by someone from the main character John Porter’s past. Porter is a retired Sergeant, after a mission in Iraq led to the death of two soldiers from his unit. he has since grown estranged from his family and struggled to get his life on track when he is called in to help save the journalist. The show wasn’t strong enough to jump to the top of my to watch list, but it will remain on my “watch when all that is on is reruns” list.

The Lying Game- Yet another ABC Family show based on a book series. This show follows Emma and Sutton, twins who discover each other when they are teens. Sutton was adopted and has grown up in a life of privilege. Emma, on the other hand, has gone from one bad foster family experience to another. The girls’ personalities could not be more different–Sutton is the nasty queen-bee while Emma is sweet and desperate for love and acceptance. Sutton goes off to search for their birth parents while Emma pretends to be Sutton in order to cover for her. Things get complicated as the mystery of their birth grows and Sutton’s complicated life makes it difficult for Emma to maintain her cover. The mystery isn’t as engrossing and the series isn’t as addictive as Pretty Little Liars, but the show does have a charm of its own. (Perhaps the biggest problem is that while Emma is endearing, Sutton is not, whereas in Pretty Little Liars, all four girls are sympathetic. It may also be the lack of well-developed other characters.)

Born to Dance

As a sucker for all TV shows involving dance, I simply had to check out this new show. Laurieann Gibson sure has been making the rounds of the television world. In addition to The Dance Scene on E!, choreographer Laurieann (best known for her time on Making the Band) is also heading up a new show called Born to Dance on BET. The show is a dance competition in which Gibson searches for the best dancer–the winner receiving $50,000.

The biggest problem with this show is the number of dancers that start off the competition (20, few of which have gotten enough time for us to recognize in any significant way that does not involve their hairstyle) and the lack of clear elimination standards. It seems sort of arbitrary to how Gibson is feeling.

Each round, they work on two styles (last week’s was ballet and hip hop), perform the number they have learned in small groups, and then Gibson decides (with perhaps some consultation with her assistants) which two dancers will leave.

The most interesting part of the show, predictably, is watching Gibson’s version of tough love and passion–which usually means bringing dancers to tears and then saying something encouraging to make them feel at least a little better. We saw this same thing on Making the Band, Dance Scene, and whatever other random shows she has been on.

So far, the show doesn’t compare to America’s Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance, but to tide you over until those shows come back (sadly, So You Think You Can Dance just ended), it is fun to see some good choreographer and some bigger drama.

Friends with Benefits

NBC latest summer comedy follows five friends in search of the perfect significant other. There’s Ben and Sarah, close friends who talk incessantly about sex and hook up on the side, plus three others (a romantic, a hot bartender, and a guy who has only distinguished himself in that he doesn’t think people should hook up within the group and likes cougars–or perhaps just will take sex where he can get it).

After two episodes, I have not been able to learn who the other characters were (as evidenced above, I wasn’t even able to learn their names). I’m not sure how I feel about Sara and Ben, the two characters we do know. Perhaps we need to get to know them better before we decide if we should like them. Sara is a doctor with everything set in her life except her love life–she is desperate to find her significant other and outs up with a lot of ridiculous dates to do that. Ben is more of a player who finds silly reasons to break up with girls. We don’t know what he does for a living or anything else about him. The lack of explanation (how they became friends, what the group dynamic is, what everyone does for a living) is the problem with the show. Or at least the biggest problem. For comparison:

• How I Met Your Mother we learn immediately that Marshall and Ted are roommates and best friends from college, Marshall has been dating Lily (a schoolteacher as we see almost immediately) for years and is about to get engaged, we see how Barney and Ted met (Barney is a womanizer who always wears suits), and Ted (who is obviously a romantic) meets Robin (a reporter) in a bar after she moves to New York–all of this is established naturally within the first seven minutes.
• Friends has our main characters sitting in their usual haunt, Central Perk, where we find that Ross is getting divorced, Phoebe is eccentric, Monica is looking for love, Chandler is a joker, Joey is a womanizer, and Rachel has just run out on her wedding (and is obsessed with shopping) and becomes Monica’s roommate when she has nowhere else to go. Monica and Ross are siblings and Rachel went to high school with them. This is also established in the first seven minutes.
• Big Bang Theory we find out that Leonard and Sheldon are science geniuses/socially inept nerds who live together and they meet Penny when she moves in across the hall. (This show takes longer to establish the wider group of characters but these three are the core relationship of the show so it is the most important part of the show.) Raj and Howard only show up 14 minutes in, but they are quickly established as more nerds (with Howard obsessed with women and Raj silent).

Noticing a comedy pattern here, at least when it comes to friend-centric comedies–someone new comes into the picture, changing the group dynamics in some way. But Friends with Benefits doesn’t establish the group dynamic, how it is changed, and who everyone is.

The jokes are sort of eh, can’t think of any that really made me laugh out loud. It is clear that NBC doesn’t care all that much for the show–the late summer start date, Friday night schedule, virtually no promotion. It doesn’t help the show that a movie of the same name is in theaters at the moment. I wouldn’t count on this show being renewed.

Against the Wall

Lifetime’s newest foray into scripted television comes in the form of cop procedural series Against the Wall. Abby Kowalski comes from a family of cops, but when she passes her detectives’ exam, the only opening is in Internal Affairs. As someone determined to forge a career in homicide, Abby takes the opening (she needs two years before she can move into homicide), despite the fact that IA is hated by cops and will not be well received by he family.

Sure enough, her father stops talking to her and her bothers shut her out. Her mother tries to be supportive but it is difficult in a hostile home. Abby meanwhile has little social life and a lot of quirks (she is particularly clumsy and her only foray into a relationship is a secret affair with her brother’s partner that is nothing more than late night sex).

Though there is potential for exploration into a sector of the police that is often ignored and greatly disliked despite their necessity, all we see is some hostility. Perhaps going deeper into the idea that “we protect our own” would help matters. The show is the same as any cop show, though it lacks the complex characters to really back that up. (Abby at least is about as complex as a spoon.) It also doesn’t help that she has so many brothers it is hard to keep anyone straight. There are hints that her father had a run in with IA, which could be an interesting story to explore. The characters could use more fleshing out, the plots a bit more surprising. Overall, it is a fun hour, but it will not be topping any must see lists any time soon.

Lost Girl

SyFy’s latest international acquisition (if you consider Canada international) is Lost Girl, a popular Canadian series about a girl who has lived her life on the run because of her…condition. When she sleeps with someone they die. When she runs into others with unique abilities of their own, she learns that she is not human. She is a succubus and there is a complex world of Dark and Light “fae.”

The show has a few unique aspects to it that make it particularly interesting:

First and foremost, Bo, the main character, is bisexual. Considering how rare this is on television, especially in America, this makes for a particularly unique story. There are only two such characters I can think of offhand who are not simply gay or experimenting (Captain Jack Harkness of the recently imported Torchwood and Max of Make It or Break It).

Secondly, the world of the fae is interesting because although the two sides are Light fae and Dark fae, Bo is aligned to neither side and despite these the seemingly obvious division of good and bad, it is quickly clear that things are not divided so simply as that.

Finally, a succubus is not a common fantasy character on TV. The only other fleshed out succubus character I can think of offhand is Andie Bates on The Gates, who was only just beginning to discover her abilities. More often, a succubus is the bad guy in a single episode of a series.

The acting is probably not the best acting I’ve seen, but the story lines make up for this.

Web Therapy

Web therapy is about self-obsessed therapist Fiona Wallice who has created a new form of therapy–video chatting for three minutes. She hopes this will encourage her patients to get to the point quickly and allow her to treat more patients and thus earn more money.

I wasn’t sure what I would be getting with this show. Honestly, I had tried out the web series and found myself not thrilled. It’s not that it was bad, per se, it just didn’t have quite enough depth for me. It felt like it sacrificed story for laughs. When they announced that it was coming to Showtime, I had hopes that maybe they fleshed out the stories and went beyond the literal therapy sessions. I do love Lisa Kudrow after all.

What I found was a show that just felt like the web series strung together with a couple added scenes. There wasn’t enough depth to Fiona’s character (and too little screen time for anyone else to get to know them either).

After watching the first half hour episode, I knew I would not be watching any more. It is exciting to see web shows being given real consideration and being brought to primetime, but unfortunately, this one does not do it for me.

Melissa & Joey

I don't think this is what MJH really looks like but why is her hair so big?

I checked out this show when it first aired last August but couldn’t get into it. It was too predictable for me and couldn’t compare to the comedies on the broadcast networks. But my friend told me she was really liking it so I figured I would give it a second try and I have come to reconsider.

It is cute and funny in a throwback to old shows like Full House and Step by Step sort of way (delivery, jokes, and lessons included). But, I feel like it could be stronger.

It has a really interesting concept–two kids are basically abandoned by their parents after the father is caught pulling a Ponzi scheme (the father is on the run from the police and the mother was caught and put in jail) and have to be taken in by their once-partying aunt, Melissa, who has cleaned up her act and become a public figure. Also caught in the Ponzi scheme is Joey Longo, who becomes Melissa Burke’s nanny after he can’t get another job. And given the way comedies have been done lately (specifically, with more content and even addressing serious things) this could be a really intelligent comedy. Unfortunately, this unique idea is mostly ignored. These major issues could be addressed more. The only episode that really deals with it is when Rider is giving away his things to a kid in his school whose family was hurt by his dad. But there is so much more there.

So, I would ask for a more direct address of the issues at hand (what Mel has given up to take in her niece and nephew, the kids struggling with both what their parents did to others and the fact that they have been abandoned, more about what Joe’s life was like before and what he lost in the scheme besides a crappy ex…) and not just this general skating over the issues for the sake of over-light comedy. I’m also not sure I buy Mel as a former partier, she doesn’t seem cool enough to have been as rebellious as she is supposed to be. Maybe some ridiculous flashbacks?

Basically I want a better mix of serious and funny to make it more intelligent. Also, Melissa Joan Hart needs to be better dressed. Her clothes are so unflattering.

SYTYCD: Top 20 Results Show

Unfortunately, we will be losing four dancers this week and much like Travis Wall, I must say that i think the judges made a mistake not sending someone home last week. Perhaps instead of a bottom three it should have been bottom four at least?

But on to happier things–who choreographed that opening number? It is bizarrely excellently fun! Dave Scott!

Out comes Cat looking more glamorous than she has lately. The winning dancer will get a quarter of a million dollars, a spot as the dancer for gatorade, and shown on their website, along with Lauren.

Our first three couples are called onto stage and with no adieu we learn that as expected, Missy and Wadi are part of our bottom three. Caitlynn and Mitchell are obviously safe. I can’t imagine Sasha and Alexander would be in danger considering the fact that Debbie and Mary both cried. Sure enough, they are safe.

Up next are Miranda and Robert (he didn’t woo once last night and suddenly he wasn’t annoying!) are “pitted” against Melanie and Marko. If it’s one or the other, this is pretty obvious as far as decisions go…but luckily, it is neither of them. Tadd and Jordan are than matched with Ivetta and Nick and once again, the decisions are fairly obvious. Not surprisingly, Jordan and Tadd are safe while Ivetta and Nick are sent into the bottom three.

Ashley and Chris deserved to go home last week but did they redeem themselves this week? Presumably yes since we have only one more spot in our bottom three. Yup. This leaves us with two more couples: Ryan and Ricky and Jess and Clarice. Yet again the pairing seems to leave this decision fairly obvious. (Although I have a complaint with Jess, a little guy, being given a lift designed for a bigger guy.) But no, shockingly, Ryan and Ricky are in the bottom. Which means someone who doesn’t deserve it will be going home. (Or at least, someone I don’t want to go home.)

Rage Crew proves that it is still an extremely strong dance crew. Though I do wish their little girls weren’t kind of dressed like sluts, it’s a weird and disturbing look on small children.

Wadi is up first and I’m surprised to find his solo less exciting than I expected it to be.

Missy‘s was fun but still didn’t show her off as well as it might have.

Our resident tapper Nick comes of looking pretty cool and impressive. I was sort of fine with him leaving before, but actually, maybe not.

Ivetta is going to be at a disadvantage here because how is she supposed to impress with a dance style meant for partners? Sure she can move her hips and spin but that’s about all she can do.

Ricky shows off a solid solo too and if I wasn’t really hoping for Nick, i would totally pick him for his level of talent, acrobatics, and great lines.

Finally, Ryan who has a bit more energy than Missy and therefore comes a bit more dynamic, if once again too smiley.

The judges are sent packing (backstage) to discuss the results–did they always do that? LMFAO and Quest (from ABDC) perform next for a fun and exciting performance.

The judges return and have an unfortunate decision to make. Nigel says the decision is unanimous.

First for the girls: Missy can’t be faulted for anything in her dancing. Ivetta has graced this show with talent. Ryan didn’t show her best for her solo. The person that will be staying is: Ryan. No surprise there though I am sad to see Missy go. she hardly feels like she had a fair chance.

Now for the boys: Wadi hasn’t had time to show his skill but didn’t show his best. Nick is going to be a star. Ricky has never danced so well as he did today and he is therefore staying.

What do you think? Do you agree with the eliminations?

I think the biggest show I would make for the show is allowing us to vote for individuals despite their performance as a pair. Because why should Missy for example be in the bottom just because Wadi wasn’t good (though I don’t think Missy was as good as the judges said).