Fall TV (Part 2)

Monday Leftovers

I caught up on Chase on NBC, Monday nights via the old DVR.  The pilot was lackluster with no character development.  I think the criminal-of-the-week had more screen time than any of the stars.  It appears U.S. Marshalls, operating out of what looks like a giant museum rotunda in Houston, do not have to abide by any laws to get their man.  This is evidenced by the amount of doors they busted in without a warrant and the damage they caused and just laughed about.  Example: In the first three minutes they chased a suspect through crowded streets, caused a stampede (you heard me) which caused what they reported to be $17,000 in property damage.  Their response to this news, “Ha, ha, ha!”  Evidently, no one on the team has a personal life and their boss has no real authority over them as they just kind of ignore him and do their own thing.  Using U.S. Marshalls in Texas, it just seems like the writers were trying to fill the void left by Walker: Texas Ranger, but not as well done (yes, really).  Maybe this show could develop into something if it wasn’t up against Castle and the new Hawaii Five –O in the same time slot.  Both of these shows are infinitely better.  I’ll make a prediction, Chase won’t see a second season, at least not on Monday night.

Wednesday and Thursday

I know there’s a lot out there on Wednesday on network TV, and Syfy has new episodes of Ghost Hunters which is usually interesting, but the only show that I was truly wanting to check out was The Defenders.  Starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, it’s about lawyers in Las Vegas.  It’s well done and plays out very much like Boston Legal.  I guess calling it ‘Vegas Legal’ would have been too obvious.  If people will switch the channel from one of NBC’s countless Law and Order programs, it may have a chance of making it.

Thursday night sitcoms were back starting with Big Bang Theory (now on its new night), and the premiere of $#*! My Dad Says (officially pronounced  Bleep My Dad Says) starring William Shatner, Jonathan Sadowski, Will Sasso and Nicole Sullivan.  ‘Big Bang’ was good, as always, but ‘My Dad Says’ got off to a rough start.  The biggest problem for me was that Sadowski, portraying the son, seemed very uncomfortable with doing a comedic role.  His delivery was rushed and choppy.  The pacing was just off.  Shatner, however, was pretty good.  He has slipped in to a comedic persona over the past several years and I think it suits him well.  Sasso and Sullivan, both MadTv veterans held up ok too.  The writing needs to be tweaked a bit, but if they can find their legs, and Sadowski can loosen up, they may be OK.

Next was the long awaited return of Fringe.  Transitioning between two “realities” this season should prove to be interesting as several actors will get to portray different personalities of their same characters.  According to the writers, each episode will take place mostly in one setting or the other to avoid a lot of jumping around.  The season premiere was good and I’m looking forward to see how it plays out.  It’s one of the few ‘smart’ science fiction shows on right now.

Friday

The final season of Smallville returns to the CW in the 8 o’clock time slot.  I’ve watched this off and on over the years and it’s generally ok, though they’ve taken the Superman story and turned it completely upside down.  If you can ignore that, you’re fine.  However, I’ll probably be tuning in to Fox’s Human Target whose first season turned out to be a surprise hit.  A mid-season replacement, many people liked the smart, fun, action-filled show.  Though it’s over-the-top most of the time, it is heads above most of the competition in terms of quality and acting.  Medium returns to NBC in the same slot but, judging from the preview, it looks like it may be “jumping the shark”.  The season premiere does a Freaky Friday storyline where mother and daughter switch bodies.  Taking a supernatural-drama and turning it into a Disney comedy just doesn’t sound like it will work.  Oh, well.  I gave up on that show after the first season when I realized every week was the exact same story.  Several other shows are returning or debuting on Friday, but there are only so many programs the DVR can hold…

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday doesn’t offer much in the way of compelling television programming and I think the same can be said about Sunday, though I’m sure one would argue that the Simpsons and Family Guy represent gripping  social commentary.  Most everything else is just stupid reality shows and the even more stupid Desperate Housewives which had its best storyline in season one and has been hanging around like an unwanted house guest ever since.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.  Though I’ve covered quite a bit of ground on this it should be noted that my total television viewing really only amounts to about 5 or 6 hours per week on average.  I pick the best-of-the best for my tastes and move on.  I’d like to think I have a life….

'Tis The Season.... For Fall TV (Part 1)

Monday and Tuesday

Well, Baseball season is closing in on its finale and Football season is kicking off (get it).  It’s also time for all the new and returning Fall shows.  I’ll be watching as many as I can to try to get an idea which ones to put on my (usually short) list of must-see-tv.

Monday night:

Started off with NBC’s Chuck.  I’ve watched it on and off over its first 3 seasons and have always enjoyed it.  That’s not to say I’ve gone out of my way to make it one of my staple programs but it’s a nice diversion when I have time.  The writing and acting are always top-notch and the recent string of guest stars has been cool.  Monday night was no exception.  Both Dolph Lundgren AND Linda Hamilton were on the season premiere with Hamilton playing Chuck’s long lost mother.  For the uninitiated, Chuck is about an electronic store clerk/geek who inadvertently gets drawn in to the world of spy vs. spy due to an accident that leaves him able to experience “flashes” of pertinent knowledge about the international intelligence agencies’ confidential data.  Also, as of last season, he can tap into Matrix-like knowledge of martial arts to kick some butt.  The show’s a lot of fun…

I stayed tuned into NBC for the series premiere of The Event.  It has been described as a combination of 24 and Lost and that actually turns out to be a pretty accurate assessment.  It has the mystery/thriller aspect of Lost with the pacing and action of 24 and just a touch of Sci-Fi thrown in for good measure.  What is THE event?  It appears that will be revealed as the story moves along and the writers have promised you’ll find out sooner rather than later.  They reportedly have this mapped out to tell the story prior to, during and then after the event and there will be none of this “making it up as they go” B.S.  It’s off to a good start and may be added to my list if they can keep up the good work.

At this point I switched over for the series premiere of the new Hawaii Five-O on CBS (I did DVR NBC’s Chase but haven’t watched yet).  This show was a big surprise for me.  My expectations were low due to all of the re-imagings and re-boots going on right now, most of which are bad.  This show, however, was really good.  It has a great cast that works well together, lots of action and humor.  Plus, it’s in Hawaii, what more can you ask for!  This one should make it if people can find it at 10pm on a Monday.  I, personally, can see myself tuning in to a combo of The Event and H5-O on Monday night.  I’ll just have to see how Chase turns out.  From what I’ve seen, it looks like a female version of Walker: Texas Ranger.

Tuesday night:

Not a lot on the agenda except for the season (or is it mid-season, I never can tell with Syfy) finale of Warehouse 13.  I can’t say enough good things about this program.  It just does everything right and it’s a lot of fun.  Next Tuesday, however, is the season premiere of Stargate Universe.  I’ve been waiting for this one.  The first season was great and I’m looking forward to see where they will take the story next.  This chapter of the franchise is a lot more serious than the past outings but it is very well done.

I haven’t tuned in to any of the new sitcoms yet, but I can only stand so much of that.  Looking forward to the premieres of Big Bang Theory and $#*! My Dad Says with Shatner on Thursday, though.

Well, that’s all until I get to see a few more shows this week.  Talk atchya later….

Hack Master...

(Yes, it is time, once again, to comment on my favorite writing/directing/producing hack)

Joss Whedon-ites live in a bubble.  They feed off of each other and have built up his body of work, in their social circles, to be some of the best entertainment ever created.  Relying solely on the success of “Buffy”, Mr. Whedon has somehow networked with the right people in Hollywood to keep himself in business. 

 I recently read an article about what Sci-Fi sequels should be made and, sure enough, Firefly/Serenity was listed near the top.  One person posting in the comments added that it was one of the few on the list that had a fan base to support a movie sequel.  This comment is so inaccurate that it’s laughable.  Let’s look at the facts:

The television series, Firefly, did not pull the ratings in for Fox to even run all 13 produced episodes.  The show was CANCELED due to lack of viewership.  Yes, it may have had 3 million viewers, but that doesn’t cut it on network TV.  Then, somehow, Whedon was given a budget to make a motion picture, Serenity.  $39 million is getting off cheap for a feature and yet it failed to make its money back over its WORLDWIDE theatrical run, making it a box office flop.  My question, where is this fan base?  They’re probably at home watching "Xena" reruns.  It is a niche franchise and is not sustainable in the mass media.

Whedon’s follow up TV series, Dollhouse, suffered the same ratings fate and could not stay afloat on network television, despite all of the eye candy.  Again, fan base anyone?

The Avengers is poised to be the make or break moment in Whedon’s career.  He has taken on writing and directing duties that Marvel execs have graciously bestowed upon him based almost solely on his fan boy appeal.  They should take note of "Scott Pilgrim’s" failure to perform at the box office.  Its small but vocal audience just couldn’t fill up the theaters.  If The Avengers does not make some major cash, Mr. Whedon may have to go back to riding his brothers’ coat tails as he did on "Dr. Horrible" (the songs, by his brothers, and acting made that good, not the writing).  To its advantage, The Avengers has star power and character recognition, plus lead-in movies to help get it off the ground.  My fear is that the movie WILL be a box office success and help perpetuate the career of one of Hollywood's all-time hacks (Ronald Moore not withstanding, but that's another story)!

Quick Review: "Death at a Funeral"

Just expanding briefly on the Twitter post:

Most of the funny scenes were shown in the movie trailers.  James Marsden was a surprise comedic addition.  The cast was good and there were a few extra funny moments.  Okay for a rental and I'm glad they kept it to 90 minutes.  I haven't seen the 2007 version directed by Frank Oz.  May have to check it out sometime to compare....

Four Hours at Gen Con

(The following is best read in the voice of a 40's film noir detective)


I picked up my passengers and grabbed a donut at 8AM.  Traffic was light on Interstate 74 to Indianapolis.  A wrong exit put me 15 minutes behind schedule and I had to park somewhere just shy of the center of the Earth.  A short hike later, we were badged and ready for the exhibit hall by 10:20.  I thought I might catch the presentation “I’m Wil Wheaton, and I’m a Gamer” but the line was crazy long.  Sorry, Wil, maybe next time.

Back at the exhibit hall things were starting to pick up.  The costumed attendees sporting the standard backpack survival gear with bags of dice, rulebooks and the smuggled-in Mountain Dews were gathering around the various vendor booths.  You could smell the money smoldering in their pockets.

That’s when I spotted Matt.  He’d ditched the others and was ready to do a sweep of the room when he decided to bring me along for photo support.  We talked to vendors, drank orange root beer, took pictures and drank more orange root beer, Root Jack I think it was. With Vitamin C.  Sold by Pirates who claimed it would “fight scurvy”.

Stopping by Exile Game Studio’s Hollow Earth Expedition booth, I asked about the long delayed Mars book.  “Not Yet, but soon” was the response.  They directed me to check out All For One by Triple Ace Games.  It uses their Ubiquity rules system and it’s Musketeers vs. Monsters in 17^th Century France.  I didn’t know what to say to that, except “Thanks”.

Next, we came upon the Nexus Games booth.  Typically distributed by Fantasy Flight, they had 3 soon-to-be-released board games with demonstrations going on.  Magestorm, Dakota and Letters From Whitechapel all look excellent.  I’ll keep an eye out for them this fall.

Moving on, we came across a booth that I recognized by the merchandise as Margaret Weis Productions and I said as much to Matt.  Then I looked up.  Margaret Weis was standing there smiling at me.  We asked for a picture, which she graciously allowed us to take, and she asked Matt if he was part of the preferred retailer program.  She directed us to her business manager and we proceeded to get more information.

After this encounter we picked up the pace.  We went past the White Wolf booth but something was wrong.  No merchandise or demonstrations.  Their booth could only be described as a “Goth Lounge”.  The only sign of a game tie-in was a banner with the words The Grand Masquerade, September 23-26.  We puzzled over this but kept going.

We visited the booths for Mayfair Games, Fantasy Flight, Privateer Press, Wizards of the Coast and Paizo among many others.  Matt greeted several acquaintances along the way and introduced me.  I just kept smiling and taking pictures.

Finally, we reached the end.  Independent game developers, authors and artists inhabited this area.  From what we could see, there is potential for many good things on the horizon.  Suddenly, a growl sounded nearby.  We looked around but could not find its source.  Then I realized it was my stomach.  It was 2PM and I hadn’t had anything but that single donut and orange root beer all day.  We rallied the troops and made our way to a local diner where we swapped stories of our encounters.  Once we were finished, we launched the expedition to find my car and head back.  It was 3PM and I had a 5:30 deadline to meet.

See you next year Gen Con.

Quick Review Roundup

I've been lazy... For the past couple of months I have been firing off "Quick Reviews" on Twitter.  Sooo, here is a compilation of the unedited (mostly) reviews in 140 characters or less...

Cadillac Records -A bit disjointed trying to cover 30 years of Blues recording at Chess Records.  Acting and cast good.

Inception -Intelligent story that is remarkably complex for so little detail.  Many things are "assumed".  Cast is excellent.

 Regarding The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, "a script clearly written on 50 index cards and shuffled at random", via Scifi Wire (now blastr).  Website

Max Payne not too payneful.  A-List actors meet B-List story and Director.  Small shades of Punisher and Blade Runner mixed.

 



Devils Due is hands-down THE best 80's "Big Hair" cover band in Cincinnati.  The look, the sound, the attitude! Website


  Shutter Island -Psychological Thriller that's about 45 minutes too long.  Story OK, acting good, editing VERY ANNOYING.  Zzzzzz.

Shutter Island (continued) Predictable!  Crappy editing draws you into the "psychosis" or Scorsese full of crap?  You decide.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  -More fun than the last 2 'Potter' movies but similar in theme.  Good cast.  Story pacing seemed rushed.

Land of the Lost -Better than I thought it would be.  Laughed out loud a few times.  Effects are decent.  Anna Friel is purdy.




The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are great as usual in this post-apocalyptic, thinking-man's Mad Max.

Alice in Wonderland - Visually striking with interesting angle on the story.  Great cast and voices.  Burton's best in a while.

Whiteout ,with Kate Beckinsale, defies logic and is too long.  Story is weak and good acting can't save bad dialogue.

There you have it.  More to come my minions....

Wonder Woman Changes.... Her Clothes

June 30th 2010: A day that will live in infamy.... At least it seems that way if you check out the initial responses to the "new" Wonder Woman.  J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Spider-Man, Thor) takes over writing duties with issue #600 and is making several changes, most notably to the Amazon's look.  A change in costume and story shrouded in a mystery doesn't really sound that bad.  The character has been around since her first official appearance in All Star Comics in December of 1941.  That's a long time for a lady to be wearing a one-piece bathing suit!  But, let's be honest, after 68 years she needed a face lift.Of course, the controversy has fueled interest in a struggling comic and first run printings of issue #600 sold out easily.  Wonder Woman comics haven't even been on the charts lately (which is why it is strange that she is considered one of DC's big three, alongside Superman and Batman) and the publisher saw a need to shake things up a bit.  Enter Straczynski.  Love him or hate him, he certainly generated sales when working on Spider-Man and Thor.  Those also had their share of story line, costume and dare I say it, gender changes ( Loki as a woman).  Straczynski is a talented writer and his work generally makes you think a bit.  He's also working on Superman as well, though I don't think Supes will be trading in his tights just yet.

I say give it a try and always keep in mind that NOTHING is ever permanent in comics.  It could have been worse, they could have kept the 60's Wonder Woman....