Alllllright, so, I've been getting totally bogged down in all these TV reviews of late, as I try to catch up with the new Fall season. Just too much to write about and not enough time, and ... since it's been nearly a week since I wrote up any TV reviews, I present to you: The TV Review Lighting Round! Quick thoughts on a veritable cornucopia of TV Stuff, with reviews, hopefully, limited to a mere few sentances each. Bite-sized yet packed with chewy goodness. Enjoy:
FOX SUNDAY NIGHT:
KING OF THE HILL - Every so often this show does a really, really weird episode. This was one of them, but not one of the better "weird" eps the show has had - it was all about usually-conservative Hank rallying to keep around a high school football tradition where the girls play a football game while the guys dress in drag and play the part of cheerleaders. Hank seemed a bit out of character here, and while there were some fun moments, this ep left me a bit puzzled and wasn't as solid as the great Season Premiere or second ep. Hopefully next week will be a return to form.
MY GRADE: C+
THE SIMPSONS - Plot-wise, Sunday's ep, in which Homer becomes a tow-truck driver, was about on par with the last few episodes of the season - aka, not that great. But, luckily, the jokes really hit the mark this week, making for some exceptionally funny moments. My favorite was Homer amusing a bunch of truck drivers with "made-up" stories ripped from movie plots, and Homer's version of "Shrek" was particularly classic. Not a great ep, but pretty funny.
MY GRADE: B
FAMILY GUY - After last week's ep, in which the show went old-school and signifigantly toned-down the random cutaways and obligatory appearances by various 80's TV stars, this one did a complete 180 and was one of the most cutaway-packed eps ever. It felt self-concious too, as this ep had a ton of self-referential jokes including a few self-depracting lines mocking the fact that the ep had so many random cutaways. I'm not sure why this was the case, but I much preferred the more solid storytelling and character-driven humor from last week's ep. On the other hand, this ep threw so much against the wall that inevitably some of it worked, so there were a few good jokes here and there. But thanks to all the cutaways, the main plot of Joe getting the use of his legs back felt rushed and saddled with some way-too-random elements to quickly advance the story.
MY GRADE: B -
FROM LAST THURSDAY:
MY NAME IS EARL - Last week featured a pretty crazy plotline about two gang leaders at Camden County prison who turned out to secretly be gay and in love. The plot alternated between funny and being a bit over the top, and I stil lwish the writing on this show was a bit tighter and smarter. Randy and Crab Man still crack me up though.
MY GRADE: B
THE OFFICE - I got some huge laughs in this ep, namely from Creed, who was passing himself off as young and hip to avoid the returning Ryan's rumored firing of anyone considered old and obsolete. Ryan himself was pretty funny as a blackberry-toting corporate star, though I wish he had been featured more and not kept as a peripheral character. Instead, much of this too-long hour was devoted yet again to the increasingly unhinged Michael Scott, who is getting dangerously close to becoming annoying rather than funny. Part of it is that they need to tighten the reigns on Steve Carell - stop letting him babble on for so long all the time! And part of it is that they need to refocus Michael Scott and let him be more the insecure, kind of creepy guy from Season 2 and not so much the Homer Simpson he is becoming thus far in Season 4.
MY GRADE: B
30 ROCK - I welcomed the return of last season's breakout comedy with open arms, and it was great seeing Jerry Seinfeld return to TV (his interaction with star-struck Kenneth the Page was hilarious!). Overall though, this ep felt a bit off in terms of the jokes, and though there were some funny ideas (MILF Island, anyone?), the execution felt a little bit flat. Still, there was a lot to like here, the cast is great, Baldwin's delivery is always spot-on, and I'm hoping that the show is just getting warmed up - next week's return of Will Arnett is a very, very good sign.
MY GRADE: B+
SMALLVILLE - A marked improvement over the season premiere, this was a fun ep that put the spotlight on Clark's newfound cousin Kara. This pe had some cool moments between Clark and Kara, Lois and Chloe, and an interesting Lana-Lex confrontation. There was still some of the typical Smallville lameness (as long as he's been a part of the show, I HATE Jor-El as a plot-device - what is the point of having Clark's dead father as some kind of all-knowing and slightly sinister disembodied voice?), but I am liking the beginnings of what could be a really cool Lex - Kara storyline.
My Grade: B+
FROM LAST WEDNESDAY:
GOSSIP GIRL - Okay, wow, this show is getting GOOD. I didn't think I'd be all that into this one from the pilot, but episode 2 was excellent and now episode 3 comes along and totally sucks me in. I give the show a lot of credit -the writing is great, with plenty of nice character moments (all the characters are becoming surprisingly three-dimensional) and some great one-liners ("Princeton doesn't offer a major in 'slut!'"), and has a pretty freaking talented young cast. There is also the prefect blend of over-the-top soapy antics (field-hockey catfight!), and genuinely interesting plot-twists. This ep in particular was really well-constructed, and I'm really liking where things are going, and can't wait for tonight's ep. When all is said and done, this may shape up to be the Best New Show of the season.
MY GRADE: A
BACK TO YOU - I'll be honest, I'm starting to sour on this show and am not sure if I'll be watching again. I found this third episode to be flat, predictable, and just not funny or clever enough to keep me interested. I kept wanting to laugh at Fred Willard's goofiness, for example, but he just wasn't given any decent jokes to take advantage of his hilarious delivery. The back and forth between Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton is already getting way old, and the other supporting characters just seem very cliched (Chris Farley-esque fat guy, typical token sexpot female, etc).
MY GRADE: C
FROM MONDAY:
PRISON BREAK - So last week I was telling everyone that Sarah was clearly dead, Seven-style, and no one seemed to believe me. After this ep, I think it's pretty obvious that I was a-head of the curve, so to speak (sorry, bad joke). Now obviously, having the Michael-Sarah romance cut off so abruptly (again, so to speak ...) is not the ideal, but given the circumstance where the actress playing Sarah has up and bolted the show, I think the writers did a nice job of raising the stakes and setting the stage for Michael to eventually have a breakdown and become completely unhinged, which should be interesting given how cool and collected he usually is. Meanwhile, Mahone was once again awesome, thanks to the brilliant work of William Fichtner, and, T-Bag is finally making his power-play, which is going to be a lot of fun to watch play out. Again, I love how unpredictable this show can be, and how it is willing and able to have as much fun and be as over the top as it wants, embracing its B-movie nature so as to be one of the most purely badass hours of TV on the air. PS - loved Bellick getting owned by Lechero and his crew at episode's end, and, equally cool beans was Scofield's escape plan entering Phase 1 - business has just picked up. My one 0ther complaint: this Whistler guy is still kind of a cipher, annoyingly - what's his deal already?
My Grade: A -
HEROES - I agree with the critics who say that Heroes seems stuck in "rinse, wash, repeat" mode. I mean, in the case of our Runaway Immigrant Teens, how many times can we see them go through the exact same ordeal week after week? Part of the problem, is, again, the structure of these eps. With 5 minutes spent on one plotline, then 5 minutes on the next, none receive a satisfying degree of focus or advancement. And, many of the scenarios our characters find themselves in are just flat-out boring. I mean, of all the things they could have done with Peter - having him mixed-up with an Irish street gang? That's what they went with? Claire's high school storyline is sappy and cliche, and and a lot of the writing just seems lazy (ie, she points out that she feels pain, yet actually cuts off her own toe as an experiment?). Hiro in Japan has been a snooze-fest and seems to be following the most predictable path possible. And the two most promising storylines - the Legacy Virus thing and the Watchmen murder mystery (see, the show's best stories all come from comic books!), were very much pushed aside in this ep. Sylar's return was not all that dramatic, and I don't think Nikki and Micah actually did anything? That being said, the ep nearly redeemed itself with a pretty badass ending sequence, which accomplished two very necessary things: it reminded us that HRG is a somewhat evil bastard and not just a doting family man, and also, more generally speaking, brought Mr. Bennet back into the spotlight, where he should be. So, my main question is ... how many more weeks until KRISTIN BY-GOD BELL does her part to get me interested in this show again?
My Grade: B -
CHUCK - I remain a huge fan of the goodness that is Chuck. So far, each episode has given me some big laughs, some cool spy stuff, some excellent geek shout-outs, and even a well-choreographed, over-the-top action scene or two. I thought Monday's episode built on all this cool stuff, and continued to spotlight the supporting cast, particularly the Buy More crew. But the real star here may just be Adam Baldwin, who is getting better each week as a more comedic version of Jack Bauer. Baldwin is second to none (okay, maybe Bruce Campbell) when it comes to delivering an acerbic one-liner, and he had a few great ones here. And I like the introduction of what looks to be a recurring villain in La Ciudad - on a series like this, you can't have too many femme fatales. Also, how can you not love Captain Awesome teaching Chuck how to Tango? My main complaints in a general sense are: a.) there's something kind of annoying about Chuck's sister- maybe throw her into some danger to make her a bit more likable? and b.) the bit of romantic tension between Chuck and Sarah is already seeming slightly forced - I say give Chuck a new love interest, or else a real reason to bond with Sarah other than the obvious.
My Grade: B+
JOURNEYMAN - There's a lot to like about Journeyman, but I'm finding the episodes to be a bit boring in spight of some solid writing and an pretty good cast. I honestly just get turned off by the fact that such a cool story device as time travel has been used thus far as a means to futher the love triangle between Dan, his wife, and Livia, and as a way to facilitate weekly human-interest stories that, so far, have been deathly serious and slightly bland. Where's the fun, the fantasy, the adventure, the action? I love Kevin McKidd in his role as time-traveling Dan Vassar, but even in this week's ep, where he travels to the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, the episode seemed to be so straightforward, so without a real sense of drama and excitement, that I found myself tuning out as time went on, hoping for some great twist or plot thread to sneak along and hook me in. I guess I wish this show was a bit more Sliders and a little less Early Edition.
My Grade: B-
ALIENS IN AMERICA - With its second ep, Aliens in America continued to show why it is one of the best new comedies of the season. The main character is one of the best high school kids to be on TV in a while, in terms of being realistic and relatable and yet very funny - it's almost enough to warrant comparisons to the late, great Freaks and Geeks. The little dynamics of high school are captured exceedingly well here - even if you didn't have a Pakistani exchange student as a best friend - who can't relate to the situation of having a geeky high school buddy who you're not sure if you should dump or hold on to, lest you risk your spot on the social ladder? My only comment that can be construed as a bit negative is that I'm still not 100% sold on the parents here - the mom is a bit TOO cold and snobby - she needs a small injection of humanity so as not to be totally unlikable ... and man, it's still jsut weird seeing Luke from Gilmore Girls as the dad so soon after that show ended its lengthy run. But man, this is a great show that deserves all the attention and viewers it can get.
My Grade: A -
TUESDAY SHOWS:
REAPER - Man, I really want to like this show, but its really starting to lose me. It's just been to forumlaic week in and week out since the pilot. Granted, this was only the third episode, but already the show has fallen into an overly familar pattern. Worse, it's a formula that tends to throw generic monsters-of-the-week at the characters, placing less emphasis on the action and drama in favor of the ongoing relationships stuff, which is fairly bland and predictable and not overly interesting. Meanwhile, Ray Wise is great, but, um, isn't he the devil? He's acting way too nice, and I wish there were some hints that he had some huge, evil scheme going on in the background, or something. I feel like this show just feels like a softer, less substantial, and less sharply-written or acted version of CHUCK. I need something to keep me coming back, and while the show can be funny and amusing, it needs something more to justify me spending an hour with it each week.
MY GRADE: C+
Whew, that was a lot of reviews. Excited for BIONIC and PUSHING DAISIES tonight ... and I have a lot more to talk about that isn't neessarily movie or TV - related, but for now, this is what I've got, so enjoy it. PEACE.
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