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Showing posts with the label Fall Premieres

Talk Back: Series Premiere of HBO's "Bored to Death"

Anyone fancy a glass of white wine? You had the chance to read my advance review of HBO's new detective comedy Bored to Death , starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifianakis), but now that the pilot episode has aired, I'm curious to see what you thought of the series. Did you think that Schwartzman made for a particularly hapless private eye? Did you dig the kooky relationship between Jonathan Ames (based on the series' creator, novelist Jonathan Ames) and his boss George (Danson) and his best friend Ray (Galifianakis)? Did the mix of hard-boiled noir, modern neurosis, and whimsical absurdity win you over? And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week to watch? Talk back here. Next week on Bored to Death ("The Alanon Case"), Jonathan tries to win back Suzanne and gets a new case when a woman named Jennifer (guest star Kristen Wiig) wants him to tail her boyfriend Gary to see if he’s been unfaithful; George has a bizarre request for Jonat

Same Old Scene: A Tear in the Veil on the Season Premiere of FOX's "Fringe"

Oh, Fringe , I've missed you. I've had a sometimes thwarted love affair with FOX's sci-fi drama Fringe over the course of its bumpy first season but last night's second season premiere ("A New Day in the Old Town"), written by J.J. Abrams and Akiva Goldsman and directed by Akiva Goldsman, points to a new direction for the series and a better use of some of its underutilized characters. (You can read my advance review of the second season opener here .) While some of the twists were somewhat predictable and one in particular extremely far-fetched (more on that in a bit), the episode did feature one of the very best cold opens on the series to date and tantalizingly set up a new story arc for Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) while keeping the exact nature of her discussion with the shadowy William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) a mystery for another day. Now that the episode has aired, we can discuss specifics about the plot, so let's get to it. Loved the opening sequ

Talk Back: Series Premiere of NBC's "Community"

Just curious to see how many of you tuned in to watch the series premiere of NBC's new comedy series Community . You had a chance to read my advance review of the pilot episode from back in May as well as catch my video interviews with the cast of Community (from my recent set visit), but now that the pilot episode has aired, I'm curious to know what you thought of the series. Did you fall for the loopy charms of the series, created by Dan Harmon? Did you enjoy Community 's mix of deadpan humor and emotional heart? Are you already head over heels for its collection of eccentric characters? Does it fit in with the rest of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, including Parks and Recreation, The Office , and 30 Rock ? And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week? (And please do, as next week's episode is even funnier!) Talk back here. Next week on Community ("Spanish 101"), Jeff conspires to be Britta's partner in a team project for Senor Cha

What I'm Watching This Fall

Ah, autumn. With it comes the end of horrific LA heatwaves, comfy sweaters, and the advent of the fall season, with its new series and returning favorites? Is there really any better time of year? It's with that thought that I take a look at what I'll be watching this fall season, which begins in earnest today. While I can't guarantee that I'll stick around for more than a few (or even one additional) episode of many of these series, below are the new and returning shows that have at least piqued my interest, based on their pilots. And for more on my thoughts about returning series, check out the September 20th issue of USA Weekend , where I'm interviewed by TJ Walter about my top picks for returning series this fall. sunday 8 pm: The Amazing Race (CBS) It's hard to believe that the granddaddy of all reality series, The Amazing Race , is entering its fifteenth season this fall. While the success or failure of each individual season comes down to the strength of

Honor (and Style) Among Thieves: An Advance Review of USA's "White Collar"

Imagine the high stakes tension of Steven Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can crossed with the rapid-fire humor of The Thin Man films and the slick, elegant style of Mad Men . Still with me? Combine those elements and you begin to approximate the effervescent and engaging new crime drama series White Collar , which launches in October on USA. Created by Jeff Eastin ( Hawaii ) and directed by Bronwen Hughes ( Burn Notice ), White Collar is a cat-and-mouse chase with a twist: the bad guy was caught years ago by the good guy and now assists him in tracking down other nefarious types using his criminal skills, deductive powers, and roguish good looks. The good guy in this case is FBI Agent Peter Stokes ( Tell Me You Love Me 's Tim DeKay), a grimly determined G-man assigned to the bureau's white collar crimes division. Which means that he spends his days (and often nights) tracking down art forgers, embezzlers, and con artists with a mix of relish and reluctance, given the qualit

Fall Forecasting: What Are You Watching Next Season?

With the start of the fall season nearly upon us (in roughly two weeks' time), I'm wondering just what you're most excited about watching this autumn. I'll be sharing my picks for new and returning series next week but I thought I'd get a jump on the upcoming season by asking you, my readers, which series you are most looking forward to and why. Are you super-excited for ABC's FlashForward or does ABC's V rock your world more? Are ABC's Modern Family and NBC's Community the end-all, be-all of new comedies? Intrigued by The Good Wife or Three Rivers at CBS? So keen for the series launch of FOX's Glee that you've been singing along all summer? Or eagerly awaiting the launch of HBO's comedy Bored to Death ? Are you looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy , Heroes , or Bones , Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sons of Anarchy , or other returning series? Discuss.

Summer Loving: Another Look at HBO's Wickedly Funny Comedy "Summer Heights High"

I don't often urge you to tune in to a particular series unless I feel it's in your best interests to do so, that your lives will be improved by watching a certain series or that it will open you up to new outlooks or perspectives. That time has rolled by again as HBO prepares to launch Australian comedy series Summer Heights High on Sunday evening. Back in March, when HBO announced that they had acquired the mockumentary series --created, written by, and starring the incomparable Chris Lilley ( We Could Be Heroes )--I jumped with joy as I had had the opportunity to watch the entire eight-episode run of Summer Heights High last year, shortly after it aired in Australia... and I urged each and every one of you to tune in when the series aired in the States. Cut to today, two mere days before HBO bows the very first episode of Summer Heights High . Trust me when I say that your lives will never be the same after watching Lilley tackle three disparate characters: bitchy private

Sweater Capes, Saltwater Taffy, and Gold Nunchucks: An Advance Look at the First Two Episodes of "30 Rock" Season Three

Out of every series returning to the airwaves this autumn, there was one series that I was jonesing for with every iota of my very being. That series, of course, is NBC's wickedly uproarious comedy 30 Rock . And as soon as I received the first two episodes of 30 Rock 's third season from the good folks at the Rainbow Chicken itself, I tore into them with a wild abandon, eager to find out just what the denizens of TGS were up to. After a shortened second season, I was desperate for a 30 Rock fix and the first two episodes of the upcoming season (launching October 30th on NBC) sated me in every possible way. There's deft racial comedy (Tracy and Jenna dress up as a white woman and a black man respectively as part of a "social experiment"), guest stars galore (Oprah Winfrey and Megan Mullally!), and tongue-in-cheek soap operatics (how far will Jack go to get Kathy Geiss to reinstate him at NBC?). I haven't laughed this much in a long time. Since, well, 30 Rock

Double Jeopardy: Spying on "My Own Worst Enemy"

When I read Jason Smilovic's original script for My Own Worst Enemy , the NBC action spy series starring Christian Slater which launches tonight, I thought that it showed enormous promise and potential. Sure, I was confused why NBC would schedule two series that both dealt with takes on the spy genre on the same night ( Chuck , of course, airs two hours earlier) but I figured that, since they had managed to snag Christian Slater as the lead on a network television series, they had to be doing something right. And then I saw the premiere episode of My Own Worst Enemy ("Breakdown") a few weeks back and I began to question everything that I had originally thought about the series, especially as the Peacock had secured the showrunning services of John Eisendrath, an Alias veteran who replaced series creator Jason Smilovic at the helm, and done some major recasts and reshooting. My Own Worst Enemy isn't bad, per se, but it could have been a hell of a lot better and the r

Talk Back: ABC's "Life on Mars" Series Premiere

How many of you tuned in to watch the launch of ABC's Life on Mars last night? Likely by now you've already read my original review of the pilot episode (back when David E. Kelley was the showrunner) from back in May as well as my review of the reshot pilot (under the direction of executive producers/showrunners Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg) but now you've had a chance to watch the premiere episode, with Jason O'Mara ( Men in Trees ) filling in for the original's John Simm as Detective Sam Tyler, who finds himself inexplicably stuck in 1973. Is he in a coma? Has he traveled through time? Or is something else altogether going on here? It looks like the producers aren't revealing though they do say that Sam isn't necessarily in a coma, which was a given fact of the original BBC series. But I am curious to see what everyone thought of Life on Mars ' premiere episode ("Out Here in the Fields"), both those of you who are fans

Garish Rather than Girlish: NBC's "Kath & Kim" Fails to Entertain

Every now and then a comedy comes along that is so shockingly unfunny, so painful to watch that one can't help but think how it made it through the development process in the first place. This season, that comedy is none other than NBC's horrifically tepid Kath & Kim , the latest in a long line of US remakes of foreign formats. Based on the hit Aussie comedy created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, Kath & Kim stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as a mother/daughter pair so utterly unlikable that it's hard not to want to reach through the television and slap them silly. Yes, sitcoms built around unlikable characters are nothing new (just look at David Brent or Michael Scott of The Office ) but there's usually something redeeming about their characters. Buffoonish David Brent can't see that he's actually the butt of every joke told around Wernham-Hogg and that his employees loathe the very sight of him; Michael Scott's humor doesn't have an off butt

"Bees Are Much Calmer Than All This": An Advance Look at the Season Premiere of "The Amazing Race"

I'm already rooting for comic book geeks Mark and Bill. It seems like a lifetime since we last had an installment of reality series The Amazing Race and, after an interminable wait, the series finally returns this Sunday night at 8 pm. I had the opportunity to watch the season premiere a few days ago (that thing was burning a hole on my coffee table until I sat down to watch it) and was immediately sucked back into the addictive world of road blocks, detours, and Phil Keoghan. While it's a little too early to tell which teams are stronger than others and which ones are worth rooting for, I already do have two favorite teams... and one team I already cannot stand. Making the top of my list are the aforementioned goateed geeks Mark and Bill, who are instantly likable as they race around with their minds overflowing with Watchmen trivia; the duo--friends for over 23 years--are attempting to be the first team to ever run the race strategically (but didn't Rob and Amber attemp

Lemons and Limeys: HBO's "Little Britain USA" Celebrates Two Countries Divided by a Common Language

There are few things that are certain in this life: death, taxes, and the fact that that I will laugh uncontrollably whenever I watch David Walliams and Matt Lucas. I speak, of course, of the creators and stars of BBC's Little Britain , who have taken their subversive sketch comedy act on the road, partnering with pay cabler HBO to develop an American-centric take on their comedy of the absurd with Little Britain USA , which launches on HBO on September 28th. I was extremely curious (not to mention concerned) to see just how well Walliams and Lucas' bizarro characters would translate across the pond. It turns out that I needn't have worried, as the three episodes of Little Britain USA provided for review prove that the dynamic duo's keenly wicked sense of humor is still sharpened like a rapier. If you have no familiarity with Little Britain , fret not: there's none needed (though shame on you for missing what is arguably one of the very wackiest comedies of the las

Spy Game: An Advance Look at the First Three Episodes of Season Two of "Chuck"

It's hard to believe that in the time since we last caught up with Chuck Bartowski, there have been babies conceived and born since the last new episode of Chuck aired in January. It's a sobering thought, one born out of NBC's decision to hold off restarting Chuck last season and instead relaunch Season Two in the fall. From a practical place, it makes sense to give Chuck 's creators, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, time to re-evaluate without the added pressure of rushing the series back onto the air and I understood this decision. But, being a fan of this winsome and hilarious action comedy series, I couldn't help but want to rip out my hair from frustration. So imagine my excitement last week when I received the first three episodes of Chuck 's sophomore season for my viewing pleasure. It's been, yes, nine months since we last met up with Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and the psychotic employees of Buy More and I can honestly say that my enthusiasm for the series