TV Series

When Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse debuted in February, I was mildly intrigued to see what the man had come up with. I never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer but was a huge fan of Firefly and its companion film Serenity, and so Whedon’s name alone was enough to get me to watch the premiere. The show didn’t look all that great from the previews, as the Fox marketing team had once again failed to present it as quality material (when Firefly first came out, I also thought it looked incredibly stupid). The show also stars Eliza Dushku, a sexy woman who I like to look at but have always equated with B-grade television.

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The Golden Globe-winning series Mad Men brings Season 2 to DVD this Tuesday, and along with it all 13 episodes of some of the best drama on television. Season 2 builds upon the foundations created in the first season while giving the characters more things to do, and more importantly, more avenues to explore.

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Watch the trailer for the upcoming HBO mini-series The Pacific, presented by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. The series, which debuts in 2010, takes a look at the Pacific part of World War II much like Band of Brothers did to the European piece. Hopefully you figured that out on your own.

The Pacific looks pretty good. Have you noticed that HBO strings together just enough good, new content to keep me subscribed to – and paying for – their service? Damn them.

Watch The Pacific trailer now.

Celebrity Apprentice is a fun show, full of screaming celebrities and other shenanigans and Donald Trump. Many of the celebrities take the show seriously, or at least somewhat seriously, but some don’t… and that’s why I miss the original Apprentice, where real business people competed for a real job.

After watching the season finale, I realized just how far this show has sank; even though Joan Rivers did better on three of the five tasks in the finale, the reasons for “hiring” the woman – her passion and energy – just doesn’t make sense. The show is about business tasks and about finding the best business people, even if those people are celebrities. Annie Duke, while annoying at times, was shrewd, goal-oriented and an all-around better competitor.

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American Idol‘s finalists have been determined, and the early favorite to win is not among them. Of course, the guy was never a favorite of mine.

Danny Gokey will go no further than third place in the popular Fox show, and its good riddance to a man who road the coattails of his wife’s death (through no fault of his own) and the American Idol hype machine for far too long. It was embarassing how the judges, early on in the season, praised the guy like there was no one else to win, even though he turned in week-after-week of boring performances. Sure, Gokey could sing, but hearing boring renditions and watching cringe-inducing dancing (not saying I could do better) is not my definition of a good time, nor do such things equal a performer worthy of the crown.

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Battlestar Galactica is done, but Caprica is just beginning. Sci-Fi Channel hopes fans acknowledge that transition and stick around because one is just like the other, right? Oh, and for the fact that the channel doesn’t have much else to offer.

Caprica is set 50 years before BSG on Caprica, which in only a few decades will be obliterated by Cylon nuclear weapons. The show, apparently, will focus on political, religious and moral issues through the eyes of two families – led by Daniel Graystone, a super-rich genius who is on the verge of recreating life (read: Cylons) and an outsider with a powerful past, Joseph Adama. Similar to today’s issues, the seemingly bright and shiny civilization of Caprica is cracked with questionable ethics, corporate greed and personal ambition that, as we all know, will eventually lead to their downfall.

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Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation debuted on NBC between two episodes of The Office last week, and had its second episode last night. The comedy runs in the vein of The Office, in that it’s about a manager who is so not-self-aware in regards to her job that she doesn’t realize how idiotic and stupid she comes off as. The rest of the cast is similar to the hit TV show in that they range from semi-serious to equally absurd; the show itself is created, produced and written by the same folk.

But is Parks and Recreation essentially splitting the talent and jokes with The Office, resulting in two bland shows? Neither the characters nor comedy are identical so one show isn’t right out stealing from the other, and yet one wonders if the creative talent doesn’t have enough time to focus on both shows to the degree they need.

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Back in December, we reported that Bryan Fuller was returning to Heroes after he had moved on to do the two-season Pushing Daisies. Fuller was one of the original masterminds of the first season, which was so excellent in so many ways. Though no one could necessarily attribute the show’s sudden decline to Fuller’s absence, it became clear early on in Season 3 that Heroes was lacking something.

Two-and-a-half months after that announcement, the show was worse than ever, leading me to make many suggestions on how to improve Heroes. Season 3 was a complete cluster, full of characters who were shells of their former selves. And then, five episodes ago, something happened. Things started happening for the better. The characters began to settle down. Plot lines began to cement. Story arcs were reduced or finished. Episode 19 and 20 marked some major transitions in the show. You may not have realized it at the time, but look at what happened: Sylar finally finds his dad and loses his annoying sidekick; Ali Larter’s character is killed off in stupendous fashion; Micah is brought back to the show in a very satisfying way; Hiro regains at least some of his powers; and Nathan and Danko finally break it off.

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Entertainment Weekly reported today that Leonard Nimoy is likely to join the cast of Fringe, the hit Fox television show that returned to the airways last night. Nimoy will play William Bell, a former colleague of William Bishop (John Noble) and the mysterious head of Massive Dynamics, the company that has a yet-to-be-defined role in all of the strange things that have happened.  In other words, this sounds like more than just a one-off cameo but a legitimate guest-starring role.

If the contract goes through, he will appear in the season finale and will be involved in a story arc in season two.

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Battlestar Galactica may be over, but Caprica is just beginning. The Sci-Fi Channel, soon to be called SyFy (who the hell thought of that stupid idea?), is releasing the pilot on April 21, 2009 – the show will officially premiere in 2010.

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OK, I just banged my knee on my desk. For the second time tonight. My already injured knee. It hurts big time.Just wanted to say that – it has nothing to do with this article. Anyway…

I rarely comment on American Idol on this blog, typically because there are so many other blogs devoted to the show. I am a fan, and watch nearly every singing episode – but generally skip the elimination shows. I’ve watched all eight seasons, I’m pretty sure – wait, I think I skipped one – but I’ve never dialed in my vote nor plan to in the near future.

But I had to write a blog post on today’s episode – the Tuesday, March 10, 2009 episode. I’m not going to say he’s going to win the show nor will I make any silly predictions like Paula was prone to do tonight. However, I have to say that Adam Lambert absolutely blew away the competition.

It takes a lot for me to say this, because up until this week, I have hated Adam. Why? The hair. Yes, something as vain as his hair. I’ve always hated that hairdo, and I always will. The emo-goth-rocker ‘do just screams a pompous “look at me,” and I can’t fully respect anyone who proudly allows himself to have a style like this. The male cleavage shirt isn’t very cool, either.

That being said, he made me a fan tonight. His song and the performance was incredible, a very professional, seamless and thrilling rendition.

That’s all I have to say. I will remark that Alexis continues to impress, but isn’t her phone number tonight – which ends with a “36″ – a little damaging. What if people just assume she’s “13?” Allison was also good, but I didn’t remember from previous weeks. I want to desperately like Anoop, but he still hasn’t impressed me. Danny, whom Simon and others are clearly grooming him for the finale, also hasn’t blown me away. He’s fine, but only once have I seen anything that has really made him stand out – other than the fact that his wife recently died, and that’s no excuse to give him extra props. I actually liked Jorge tonight, even though he hasn’t done much for me. Kris was terrible, and Jasmine was forgettable. Lil was great, and Matt was OK – though he just reminds me of Jason Segel and if I were to take just one of them, I would choose Segel singing his Dracula opera. Michael was good enough to last until next week, but I think he’s going to have a hard time getting very far in this competition.

As for Scott, the blind guy… really? He’s been OK, but is clearly getting votes due to his disability. He was supposed to be great when pitted with his piano, but he was still just blah. Ask yourself: if he wasn’t blind, would you be rooting for him? No! Of course not! It’s a pity vote.

And finally, there’s Megan, who normally would be my pick to win just because she’s the hottest girl in the competition. Yes, the season that Carrie Underwood won – I didn’t think she was the best, but she was the hottest. Like I’ve admitted before, I can be shallow. But there’s something about Megan that just bugs me. She has an interesting voice, but her stage presence is absolutely terrible. That little hip swing she does is cringe-inducing – enough to make me despise her.

I’ll date her, but never vote for her. As for Adam, good luck to him. If only he would cut his hair…

Normally, the announcement of a fourth season of a popular television series would be grounds for celebrations, but one has to wonder how many fans are saying enough is enough already.

Heroes, as everyone who is actually reading this post knows, had an incredible first season that gave NBC a much-needed hit, made “Save the cheerleader” a household phrase and became internationally known. Then came season two. For a little while, it went fine – while not as good as the first season, it still developed its characters further and progressed the story at a reasonable pace.

Then… the writer’s strike. Facing a chapter without an ending, the Heroes writing staff made the massive mistake of accelerating their storyline – about a virus that ravages the world – toward a clumsy conclusion far earlier than was ever meant to happen. The result? Subplots were dropped, stories were accelerated to the point where nuts and bolts were flying off at the seams and fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouth.

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First off, congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers AND the Arizona Cardinals for offering the masses one of the best football games ever. As a Seattle Seahawks fan, it was pretty dismaying to face the reality that the team that beat us in the Superbowl a few years back was going to battle against one of our arch division rivals – of all the teams that could be playing in the Superbowl, why the two teams that I am required to hate?

I, along with all but one guy at the party, was reluctantly rooting for Arizona – though more than anything, we wanted a close game. It was boring for a bit, especially following the 100-yard interception return for a touchdown that shifted the momentum away from Arizona. And then the fourth quarter exploded on us, and we were all treated to one of the craziest, back-and-forth football games in recent memory.

As for the TV commercials… they were so-so. There are a few stand-outs and a lot of forgettables. As I was hosting a party, I didn’t avidly watch every single commercial – and I’m not going to go back and watch them all over again. But here are a few that stood out to me:

• Pepsi’s MacGruber – Not all of Pepsi’s commercials were great, but several were funny. They sure beat out Coca-Cola, and this one, a spoof of MacGyver (with Richard Dean Anderson) was classic.
• Doritos commercials – the “Lucky Day” one was funny, but the crystal ball one was hilarious.
• Cheetos Pigeons – not hilarious, but there’s something about the new cheetos dude that is creepy and alluring at the same time.
• Taco Bell’s Smooth Movies – this one was pretty funny, as a desperate man pulls a “Swingers” move on a girl – and then some.
• Bridgestone Tires – this company has several noticeable and worthwhile commercials; the best was the astronauts who return to find that their tires have been stolen.
• Denny’s Wise Guys – A mobster meeting is interrupted by a cheesy, smiley pancake – prompting Denny’s to tell us that we should go to their place to get a serious breakfast. Clever use of a tag line.
• Monster.com Moose – My favorite of the game, this one shows us the head of a moose over a fancy office… as it pans around, though, we see a poor office worker on the other side of the wall who has to sit between the back legs of the rest of the moose.
• Hyundai – no, as usual, the car commercials were pretty boring, but in the absence of the American car companies, Hyundai really made a bold move to improve its brand image.
• Flowers in a box – Unfortunately, whatever flowers brand that was being pitched here doesn’t resonate with me, but the “No one wants to see you naked” talking flowers is pretty priceless.

Here are some of the losers:

• Coca-Cola – Pepsi went one way, and Coca-Cola went an entirely different direction. Their bugs commercial nearly made one of my friends puke, and even I was not even remotely thirsty after watching a bunch of bugs doing stuff to a Coke bottle.
• Budweiser Clydesdale commercials – these are never very good, yet always rank high – apparently due to the sentimental value. The stick fetching commercial is especially cringe inducing.
• Godaddy.com – I don’t find Danika Patrick super sexy, but regardless – any edge they used to have long lost their luster. Maybe they should put some of their marketing dollars into a better service.
• Budweiser – they had some funny ads, as always. But compared to other years, they weren’t that funny. And I’m not a fan of their drinkability pitch or their little “draw with their fingers” campaign – it’s already old.
• Universal Studios Superheroes – that little superhero kid looks more like a creepy stalker than a savior.
• Cash4Gold.com – I thought this commercial was a joke, until I realized it wasn’t. Is this one of those legit services that scams poor people out of their money?

As for the movie ads, here are my thoughts:

• Transformers 2 – pretty bad ass, but needed more Megan Fox.
• G.I. Joe – could be good mindless entertainment, but this one really doesn’t look that good.
• Angels & Demons – I still can’t get the taste of the predecessor out of my mouth, but this sequel looks pretty good.
• Star Trek – I missed this one live, but it’s pretty bad ass, too.
• Land of the Lost – this one looks somewhat funny, but doesn’t look remarkably better than last year’s Journey to the Center of the Earth – which didn’t look that good.
• Monsters vs. Aliens – meh. I didn’t have 3D glasses so I stopped paying attention.
• Fast and Furious – Paul Walker and Vin Diesel together again! Yes! Or, meh. As a commercial, though, it did the trick.
• Year One – this one shows promise, but neither the commercial nor the extended clip are particularly funny.
• Race to Witch Mountain – for a kid’s action movie, they’re doing a pretty good job of making it look like a big blockbuster.
• Up – I missed this one, but I’m sure it was good.

The Shield is gone, leaving the airways devoid of gritty, gray-and-grayer police drama. Michael Chiklis was a complete badass, and over the course of seven amazing seasons, the writers carved an amazingly complex, suspenseful and believable tale of crime, corruption and tragedy. The last season, especially, was a masterstroke.

And only a few months later, A&E’s The Beast has risen from the ashes to take The Shield‘s place. Or at least try.

The Beast plays out like a down-and-dirty version of the Chris Cooper movie Breach mixed with a less captivating Training Day; Travis Fimmel stars as Jake, a young, eager cop who has been recruited to partner with Charles Barker (Patrick Swayze). Just as in Training Day, Jake is green around the edges and has a lot to learn when pitted against Charles, who will cross the line to accomplish the mission. SPOILER ALERT: It isn’t long, though, before Jake is confronted with a team of officials who inform him that he has been selected to spy on Charles, given the suspicion that the man is dirty.

Surprisingly, it isn’t Swayze who has the lead but Fimmel; the narrative stays focused on Jake much more than Charles. Nevertheless, Fimmel holds his own and quickly proves that he can carry the show, and one has to wonder, given Swayze’s dire circumstances, that this isn’t completely coincidental. On the flip side, it’s Swayze who will draw audiences in and keep them there, as he delivers his best performance in years – though that isn’t hard, since no one has seen him in years. That fact aside, Swayze growls his way through scene to scene with satisfying brutality, though those expecting Denzel Washington-esque screen chewing should look elsewhere. As good as Trimmel is, this show will live and die with Swayze – and I sincerely hope that doesn’t turn into a literal statement.

Neither the pilot episode or Episode 2, titled Two Choices, blew me away; as intense as Swayze is, that intensity doesn’t always resonate through the show itself. Again, one can’t help but compare The Beast to The Shield, and having grown to love that show over seven seasons, it’s hard to see the same quality here. Nevertheless, only two episodes have passed and both are good enough to give it a few more chances.

In other words, it has potential.

Interestingly, one of the most intriguing aspects of the show is the relationship between Jake and his neighbor Rose, played by the beautiful Lindsay Pulsipher. The relationship serves as a good antithesis to the rest of the show, and I liked the prospect of the issues the couple is going to face in the future. Still, I think the writers jumped the gun by removing much of their conflict by the second episode.

The Beast, which premieres Thursday, January 15th at 10pm ET/PT on A&E hasn’t won me over, but it’s intriguing enough to give it a little time. It’s sad to think that this may be Patrick Swayze’s final hurrah, but if it is, it is a commendable way to go out. The show maybe similar to bigger and better things, but Swayze’s performance is top notch.

If you’re like me, and I’m sure the majority is, Heroes isn’t nearly as good as it was in its first season. The writing has deteriorated, the characters have become too complicated, and the stories muddled. I’m not too the point where I’d stop watching, but the thought has crossed my mind once or twice. Bottom line: Heroes is working its way closer and closer to cancellation.

However, good news arose on Friday following the news that former writer Bryan Fuller is returning to the show following the cancellation of his once-great Pushing Daisies. Fuller was apart of the hugely successful first season, though it’s not his presence alone that strikes confidence… it’s his words:

It became too dense and fell into certain sci-fi trappings. For instance, in the “Villains” arc, when you talk about formulas and catalysts, it takes the face off the drama. And I think the goal for everybody is to put a face back on the drama. You have to save something with a face; otherwise you don’t understand what you’re caring about. I thought the “Villains” arc started out very interestingly, and then became sort of muddy and dense and I couldn’t get my hooks into the characters to understand their motivations. I also started to feel confused about what people’s abilities were.

It’s always refreshing to hear when people who actually have influence on the show admit that there are problems and they echo your concerns. Fuller will return for Episode 19, and claims that the episodes leading up to the start of a new chapter called “Fugitives” (begins February 2, 2009) will help get Heroes back in the right direction. Sure, he’s going to add marketing spin to the show that is paying him money, but his claims that Heroes will return to simpler times, with Claire looking for college, Peter back as a nurse, and the return of Matt’s wife Janice.

This sounds good to me, as I feel the show had moved away from its roots a little too quickly. After last season, the writers seemed to scramble and accelerate their storytelling even further, which was the wrong approach. The transition to where the characters are today seemed absolutely rushed, and we haven’t been allowed to grow and change with them. Furthermore, I hate stories about fate, destiny and magic, and the whole African mystic dude storyline just seemed wasteful. Furthermore, the whole eclipse segment was terrible.

You can read more about what is to come with Heroes over at EW.com, which features the original interview with Fuller.