Review - Dads and Brooklyn Nine-Nine

FOX premiered two new comedies this week: one had received early critical acclaim, the other ... not so much. Let's get to it!

Co-executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, Dads stars (above, L-R) Martin Mull (Roseanne), Giovanni Ribisi (Friends), Seth Green (Family Guy, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer) and Peter Riegert (The Good Wife, The Sopranos). Pretty impressive cast with a lot of comedy experience.  So how is the show?

QUICK LOWDOWN

Green and Ribisi play Eli and Warner, two successful guys and life-long best friends who have to adjust to drastic changes caused when their politically incorrect fathers (Riegert and Mull, respectively) move in with each of them.

Co-stars Vanessa Lachey (True Beauty - she should stick to hosting ... acting is not her forte) as Warner's wife Camilla, Tonita Castro (Go On) as Eli's housekeeper Edna, and Brenda Song (New Girl, Scandal) as co-worker Veronica.

Because of conflicts on Tuesday night when Dads actually premiered, I had to wait for the re-airing on Thursday.  That gave me plenty of time to inadvertently hear a lot of comments about it.  Pretty much a pan across the board.  But I like the cast, so I reserved my own judgment.

It's not good.  Very much hit-and-run comedy.  The pilot rips right in from the jump, taking no care to introduce you to anyone or set up what's what - imagine reading a book starting with chapter three ...). I'm not saying we need a lot of exposition or hand-holding, but something!  Jokes - many incredibly un-PC - were set up, executed and often not even completed.  Example:  Eli and Warner ask Song's character Veronica, to ...please? ... a group of Chinese investors by dressing as a sexy anime schoolgirl (see above), capping it by asking her to do a very improper, stereotypical shy-girl giggle.  Better shows would give her a snappy or witty comeback.  Dads immediately cuts to the next scene. I guess they justified it by having her self-promote herself to VP and declaring she's taking the next week off ... feminism at work?

The show also referenced characters by name and tied jokes to them before even clarifying who anybody was!  Example: Eli's dad called him to talk about Warner's surprise birthday party ... but unless you'd read about the show ahead of time, you probably didn't know which actor was Warner... up to that point he'd been referred to as "honey" or "son".

Then there's just the plain, bad, obvious comedy:  Castro's heavily stereotyped Hispanic Edna; a related joke of Riegert's character referring to the Filipino Lachey as the maid; eye rolls, over-the-top reactions ... bad, just so bad. A shame, too ... they do have a great cast.  Ribisi especially has nothing to do here, playing the uptight, anal guy - in no way a showcase for his terrific character ability.  And Green is pretty much doing his Scott Evil character from the Austin Powers movies, so no new ground there.

BOTTOM LINE:  Dads is a dud.

Dads airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on FOX.

The net's other new comedy of Tuesday night is Brooklyn Nine-Nine, starring Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) and Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age, Homicide: Life on the Street), a pseudo-workplace comedy series - here, a police precinct (hey, remember Barney Miller?) - from writers/producers Dan Goor and Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation).

QUICK LOWDOWN

Samberg plays Jake Peralta, a detective whose unmatched arrest record has afforded him the luxury of never having to work too hard or follow the rules too closely. That all changes when the precinct gets its new commanding officer, Captain Ray Holt (Braugher), a man who lives for rules and regulations.

Co-stars Melissa Fumero (One Life to Live, Gossip Girl), Terry Crews (Everbody Hates Chris), Joe Lo Truglio (Burning Love), Stephanie Beatriz (Modern Family) and Chelsea Peretti (Parks and Recreation).

This show got a great deal of positive chatter before it's premiere, landing on many critics' top new shows list.  I was skeptical, since I am not really a fan of similar single-camera sitcoms of this type (The Office, Parks and Recreation) and this has that look without the documentary-style commentary, but I immensely enjoy Braugher in this role.  His delivery, so dry and straight ... his tone stays the same even when he's being sarcastic - a nice touch.  His character is gay, and I appreciate that he is not working in any of the usual go-to traits.  I loved him on TNT's Men of a Certain Age (which was cancelled so before its time) and never saw him in Homicide, but to see him in a comedy is a nice change.

Braugher's portrayal plays very well against Samberg's snarky, man-child antics.  I think without it, Samberg's character could grate on you quickly.  The supporting cast helps lessen its impact, making for a nice balance of personalities.

I liked the show and am willing to watch it more (after ABC's Marvel's Agents of SH.I.E.L.D., of course, its direct competition in the 8 p.m. hour).  This single-camera, no laugh track sitcom is a very hot trend right now (others include Suburgatory, Modern Family, The Middle and new shows Trophy Wife and Super Fun Night) and I think this one has a future.

BOTTOM LINE:  Not completely arresting for me, but likeable enough to continue watching.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on FOX.

Review - Sleepy Hollow

It's here, TV Tourists!  My first review of the new Fall Season!  Here we go!

I've never been drawn to the legend of Sleepy Hollow, I wasn't a fan of the Johnny Depp movie and I didn't plan on making watching this pilot a priority, especially since I can't commit to it - it will soon go against How I Met Your Mother, which I've watched from day one and is heading into its final season, and Dancing With the Stars, which I don't normally watch but is boasting a pretty decent cast this season, with Valerie Harper, Elizabeth Berkley, Jack Osbourne and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.

Then I found out the force behind the series: executive producers (and co-creators) Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the duo behind the reboots of Star Trek on the big screen and Hawaii Five-0 on the small, as well as past shows Alias and Fringe - all of which I love with a passion.  So I knew I had to give this pilot a look.

QUICK LOWDOWN

(L-R: Katia Winter, Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones)

This mystery-adventure drama brings Washington Irving's classic into the modern era as Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is resurrected 250 years after his death, awakening in 2013's Sleepy Hollow, a town now completely foreign to him.  He ain't alone ... seems his legendary foe, the Headless Horseman, has also been resurrected and somewhat promoted from the original story:  he's now one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Crane, along with new partner, Lieutenant Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie, The Good Wife), now have to protect the town - and the world - from this formidable enemy (and others, too).

Co-starring in the show are Katia Winter (Dexter) as Cranes wife Katrina and Orlando Jones (Tainted Love, MADTV) as Mills' police captain Frank Irving.  Notable guest stars include John Cho (Star Trek) and Clancy Brown (Earth 2).

The show has chosen to make Ichabod Crane a soldier during the Revolutionary War instead of the schoolteacher he was in the original story.  An interesting choice, as it allots the character to be more adept at action and fighting.  FOX certainly likes its mystery-solving duos (X-Files, Bones, Fringe, Alcatraz) and I do like Mison in the lead.  He's dashing, snarky and pretty good with sarcasm ... given that's he's from 1776 (were they very sarcastic back then?).  Beharie, in the cynic's role here (re: Scully to Mulder), is fairly likeable and the pair antagonize each other well and humorously enough (though they ain't no McGarrett and Danno (H50) or Castle and Beckett (Castle)).

The pilot, which included some fairly cool camera angles and stylized flashbacks, had a decent, go-for-shock sequence early on (plus a very wicked shot of the Horseman), but after CBS' Under the Dome's kick-off episode, which shocked me in a way that hasn't happened in a long time, other shows have big shoes to fill when offering jaw-dropping, holy s**t moments.

Old Headless is awesome and quite the bad-ass, wielding a mother of an axe - as well as a shotgun - and letting plenty of heads fly.  His only weakness so far seems to be daylight.  I've no doubt he and Crane will have spectacular confrontations as the series goes on

Will Sleepy Hollow fill the void for those of us missing the brilliant Fringe, which departed the FOX airwaves last May?  There's definitely a supernatural element here - and witchcraft, which fits into the hot trend of the season (Witches of East End, American Horror Story: Coven, The Originals), and I'm always for that.  Like the twisted humor, too (upon confronting the Horseman, a deputy asks simply "think he can hear us?").  The pace picked up and drew me in more as the episode went on and ended with a good fight and an exciting preview of episodes to come, so I'll have to see if I can make the effort to watch it later online - which I hate doing - to keep up.

Ultimately I see decent potential here, though the current TV season is saturated with quite a lot of this type of genre show old and new (Supernatural (AWESOME), Grimm (never seen), The Originals (I like The Vampire Diaries, so ...) AHS: Coven (in the past has been sick, twisted fun), Once Upon a Time (I like)).

BOTTOM LINE:  "Head" online now to catch the pilot and judge for yourself.

Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on FOX.

New Fall Shows on My Radar

The new fall season is upon us!  In just a couple of weeks the networks will be rolling out many new shows.  Some will succeed, many will fail ... it's just the way of it.

As always, I am going to do my best to watch all of the pilots, but admittedly there aren't too many that I can say I'm truly excited for.  I am more anticipating the return of my favorite shows.  But there are a few shows that I am looking forward to somewhat:

Okay, REALLY looking forward to this one.  C'mon, it's JOSS WHEDON!  It's connected to The Avengers!  Did I mention it's from Joss Whedon (though he's only producing, not running day-to-day ... bummer)?  ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is sure to be a wild ride.  Granted, the last TV show from the genre god, Dollhouse, I didn't love.  But some of my all-time favorite series have come from him, including Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.  And of course, that was that little superhero movie that kicked ass!  Clark Gregg is so great as Agent Coulson and I'm dying to see how he is resurrected in the new show, which will focus on the human - a.k.a. superpowerless - agents of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (yeah, that's why it's called S.H.I.E.L.D.).  Not to mention it's going to make my Tuesday nights even better - Supernatural is on at 9 p.m.  Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.

 

Speaking of Buffy, The Crazy Ones is a new comedy on CBS. I'm always curious to see a return of Sarah Michelle Gellar (she played Buffy).  I actually enjoyed Ringer and would have watched a second season.  I am very curious to see how (and if) she'll hold her own against Robin Williams.  Let's face it:  he's an attention-hogger.  This is his first TV series since Mork and Mindy, which went off the air in 1982.  Pam Dawber did what she could opposite him, but let's be honest ... it was a vehicle strictly for his manic but brilliant talent.  A fourth camera was actually needed on that set just to remain solely on him to capture anything and everything he might do.  He's of course older now, more seasoned, but from the few previews I've seen, he is not immune to riffing.  And I wonder how Gellar, who does not have a background in improv (that I know of), will fair.  I was also surprised to learn this is only a half-hour show, technically making it a sitcom.  I also wonder what it was about this show that coaxed Williams back to the small screen after over 30 years.  Granted, movie stars are all over TV these days.  So is it scheduling, money, or the actual material?  We'll have to see.  The Crazy Ones premieres Sept. 26 at 9:30 p.m

 

Another CBS show that is getting a lot of buzz is Hostages, starring Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) and Toni Collette (The United States of Tara).  It looks like it's going to be a very tense psychological thriller with plenty of action and edge-of-your-seat moments.  Not sure how a show with this premise can go on beyond a single season (new hostages each season?  revolvong cast?).  I'm also hesitant to get sucked in to a series like this.  A few years ago ABC had a show called The Nine, about a bank robbery that, over the course of the season, would cover the time spent in the siege by - ironically - nine hostages.  The show was cancelled after only a handful of episodes aired, leaving viewers completely hanging, never knowing how the crisis was resolved.  It's not like this doesn't happen on SO many other cancelled shows.  But this particular kind of drama warrants big commitment, and I'm not entirely sure what I'll do.  But the pilot episode may change my mind.  Hostages premieres Sept. 23 at 10 p.m.

Here's another sitcom that is getting a lot of great buzz:  FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Not the catchiest title.  Not the biggest Andy Samberg fan, though I did often enjoy his Saturday Night Live video shorts.  What I am looking forward to most is seeing Andre Braugher do comedy.  Supposedly he completely dead-pans the funny, but look at him ... it's destined to be hilarious!  Is this poised to be the new Barney Miller (yes, a show from the '70s, but it was about humor within a police station, hence my reference.)? That show was highly acclaimed, so we'll see. Brooklyn Nine-Nine premieres Sept. 17 at 8:30 p.m.

Short Bites:

Witches rule!  American Horror Story: Coven (FX, Oct. 9), Witches of East End (Lifetime, Oct. 6), The Originals (CW, Oct. 3).

We have Revenge and we have Scandal ... do we really need Betrayal? (ABC Sundays starting Sept. 29 at 10 p.m.)

I like Once Upon a Time but not really feeling the need for a spin-off so soon, but feel free to check out Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. starting Oct. 10).

Couple of new horror shows that may be hit or miss for me (never did take to Grimm):  Dracula (NBC Fridays at 10 p.m. starting Oct. 25) and Sleepy Hollow (FOX Mondays at 9 p.m. starting Sept. 16).

Congrats on the return of Michael J. Fox!  May he take down the truly awful Two and a Half Men once and for all.  The Michael J. Fox Show on NBC Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. starting Sept. 26.

The parents have it?  There's Dads (with the eternally-youthful Seth Green) Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on FOX starting Sept. 17, and Mom (starring equally eternally-youthful Anna Faris) on CBS Mondays at 9:30 starting Sept. 23.

Keep checking back for all my coverage of the new and returning shows this fall!

Bingeworthy Show - Orphan Black

Though summer is quickly dwindling, there's still time for a good binge, and this show is very worthy of a day's viewing.

I had heard so many great things about this show - another BBC America winner, along with Doctor Who, Sherlock and Broadchurch - both from critics and by word of mouth, and its incredibly talented star, relative unknown Tatiana Maslany, and my verdict is in:  this is a gripping, addictive, well-made program.

THE LOWDOWN (minor spoilers)

Sarah Manning (Maslany) - orphan, hustler, single mother - clone?  Always an outsider, Sarah's life drastically changes after she witnesses the suicide of a woman, Beth Childs, who looks just like her. Exactly like her, actually.  Seeing an opportunity to start a new life and reunite with the daughter she left behind months earlier, Sarah assumes her doppelganger's identity (she was a police detective), her bank account and her relationship with boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce, As the World Turns).

But instead of solving her problems, she is thrust into an impossible mystery. She makes the dizzying discovery that she and the dead woman are clones .. and not the only ones. Sarah quickly finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy and must race to find answers about who she is and how many others there are just like her.

Co-stars Jordan Gavaris (Degrassi) as Sarah's foster brother Felix; Kevin Hanchard (Suits), as Detective Art Bell, Beth's partner on the force;  Maria Doyle Kennedy (Downton Abbey) as Mrs. S, Sarah and Felix's foster mother; and Skylar Wexler, Sarah's precocious seven-year-old daughter.

The rest of the cast consists primarily of Maslany - the chameleon actress to date portrays/has portrayed six different characters - above, L-R Sarah, Helena, Alison, Cosima, Beth - with at least three more to come.  Each "clone" has their own personalities, quirks, and voices ... different accents included. For example, Maslany is Canadian and so is the Beth character, but Sarah is British, so as Sarah, Maslany has to speak with a Canadian accent and subtly sound like someone who is faking an accent well enough to be believable to those around her - I know, it's mind-boggling.

Maslany adeptly brings each woman to life and easily makes viewers distinguish between them, clothing and hairstyles notwithstanding.  To watch her act in scenes opposite herself - or multiple versions of herself - is masterful.  She thoroughly makes you believe these are all different women ... she's just so good.

I easily made it through season one's 10 episodes in a day, as the pacing and storylines move along at a terrific pace.  There's a lot going on, but you never get lost in it.  There is a great supporting cast and you can't wait to see what happens next.  A particularly fantastic episode is "Variations Under Domestication," where there are so many "Gonna get caught! gonna get caught!" moments, you are on the edge of your seat the whole time.

There is plenty of action, great twists, a compelling conspiracy and a season finale to leave you craving so much more.  We have to wait till 2014 (gorammit) for season two, but it will SO be worth the wait.

Bottom Line:  Adopt this Orphan immediately!

BBC America will air all ten episodes of Orphan Black starting September 14.  Season One is also available through Amazon Instant Video and on DVD.

New Fall Season - What Shows Are Jumping Ahead?

Hello Tourists.  Yes, I confess, it's been a while ... a long, damn while since I've posted anything.  Admittedly, TV has been a little slow for me in this latter part of summer.  But of course that's going to change very soon as we move into the new fall season (and PLEASE tell me Time Warner Cable and CBS will have resolved their stalemate and the network will be back on the air soon, cause I watch a LOT of CBS).

In the meantime, I have learned that quite a few of my returning shows are going to be making use of time jumps in their premieres.  What that means is that instead of picking up right where we left off in last spring's finales, we'll be revisiting them a while - often months - after those events occurred.  Sometimes they catch us up with what has happened during that unseen time period in great detail, sometimes it's barely touched on.

Is this a case of storytelling laziness?  Admittedly, time jumps are a neat and tidy way to move the action along without having to deal with complications of plotlines, character relationships, etc.  But when a show leaves us with a cliffhanger, it'd be nice to come back right at that moment we were left with, fulfilling the inevitable "Holy crap!  What happens next??" hole left.

SPOILERS!

Shows that are gratefully bringing us back right to that last moment are Grey's Anatomy (Does Richard live or die?), Castle (Will Beckett accept or decline Castle's marriage proposal?).  Once Upon a Time (we're off to Neverland!) and Supernatural (The angels fell!  How is Sam's health?  Where is Cas?  Is Crowley cured?).

Shows jumping ahead are Arrow (5 months have passed), Elementary (a summer has passed), Parenthood ( a few months), Revenge (5 months), Scandal (a few months), The Vampire Diaries (3 months) and The Walking Dead (a few months).

So how do you feel about your favorite shows jumping ahead?  Leave me a comment below.  And for premiere date information, check out the column to the left, which I update daily.

All About the BBC - Doctor Who and Broadchurch

 

Okay, I'm WAY behind on weighing in on BBC America's announcement of the casting of Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor on the long-running series Doctor Who.  The news was presented Sunday during a live special that was clearly a big event over there ... live studio audience, big fanfare, plenty of teasing and anticipation-building.  And thunderous applause when Capaldi made his way on stage.

Whether you're a Whovian or not, you have to appreciate just how big casting for this role is.  Consider that there have been 11 actors to portray THE SAME ROLE ... that's unheard of.  And this new Doctor comes just when the show is celebrating its 50th anniversary.  It's just a lot of big news all around.

As for Capaldi,  I don't know much about him.  He has guest-starred on the show before and has worked in both television and film and was most recently seen in World War Z (ironically as a W.H.O doctor).  At 55, he is far older than his predecessor Matt Smith, who will depart the role this Christmas.  Show runner Steven Moffat has said he wanted an older Doctor, and he has gotten his wish, saying that the list of contenders for the role pretty much consisted of one name:  Capaldi.

As has been before, it will take some time to get used to this new Doctor, but I think they have made a good choice.

In related news - related in that my favorite Doctor is starring in a new series - David Tennant headlines a new BBC America series, Broadchurch, which premieres tomorrow night.  

There are certain actors that I really only love in one role (sorry, David Boreanaz, I know Bones is a successful show but to me, you'll always be Angel) and there are those I'll follow wherever they go (Jensen Ackles, Nathan Fillion), and Tennant is one of them.  This incredibly talented Scotsman won me over instantly as the 10th Doctor and I have since watched him online in other projects, including a bit of Shakespeare, which he masters so well.

So I was excited to learn that he was starring in this new drama and was also happy to learn that there would be other Who alums included in the run, including Arthur Darvill, who played Rory Williams in Series 5, 6 and half of 7 (in England, seasons are called series).

THE LOWDOWN

Broadchurch - critically-acclaimed and a hit in the U.K. - centers on the murder investigation of a young boy, Danny, in a British seaside town.  Leading the investigation are two detectives – Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman, Hot Fuzz, The Iron Lady), the strong yet compassionate local Detective Sergeant, and Alec Hardy (Tennant),  the by-the-book Detective Inspector and Ellie’s newly appointed boss.  By circumstance they are partnered to solve the murder, keeping the newspapers from derailing the investigation and trying to prevent the crime from impacting tourism at the beach where the boy was murdered.

The premiere episode opened with an impressive single-take tracking shot which, in a matter of a few minutes, introduced us to a good number of townsfolk, undoubtably many of which will figure into the ongoing mystery. The setting is bright and sunny in the onset, which you don't normally think of when you think of England.  It isn't long before we're taken to the crime scene and we're there as his mother Beth (Jodie Whittaker) experiences the horror of her loss.

I love hearing Tennant speak with his native Scottish accent!  This is a far different role from the Doctor ... quieter, more internal, far less physical ... but it's nice to watch him play someone different.  I admit that though his character is angry, disheveled and has a troubled past, I'm hoping for a touch of the levity I've come to love from his earlier performances ... but this is not that show.

 

You get a sense that the two lead characters are destined to clash in their opinions and investigative styles, and Tennant and Colman play off each other nicely.  In her bland pant suit and closely-cropped curls, Colman's Ellie looks harder, colder than she actually is - she's rather sensitive, cautious - and it works well.  Plus the fact that these people are her neighbors, some friends, and the fear that one of them could be a killer, gives her a really interesting facet to play.

The show plays with a lot of interesting camera angles and lighting and is supported by a very haunting score.  I know people are likening this series to AMC's The Killing or Sundance Channel's Top of the Lake, but I haven't watched either so I can't concur (though I hear the latter is really good).  There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here.  This is a show I think you watch more for the characters and their interactions and emotions rather than the mystery of the murder itself, though I'm hoping for a nice twist or two along the way.  At only eight episodes and with a promised solving at its conclusion, I expect the story to move along at a decent pace.

Bottom Line:  As a true Tennant fan, I have to say give this show a go.

Broadchurch premieres tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 10 p.m. on BBC America.

Doctor Who ... Is Next?

 

The 12th Doctor will finally be revealed!  At least, the actor (or actress) playing him/her will be this Sunday, August 4 at 11 a.m. PST during a live special on BBC America.


Participating in the special will be the new Doctor, current and exiting Doctor, Matt Smith, executive producer Steven Moffat and previous Doctor portrayers (David Tennant, I hope!).

Nothing was divulged during the panel at Comic-con, so this is truly one of the best-kept secrets in entertainment.  No clue who it could be, but if tradition stands, the new Doctor will not be a big-name actor, they will be from Great Britain (English and Scottish are both acceptable) and they will become a part of a truly historic and beloved legacy.

ALLONS-Y!