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Luck (HBO)

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:04:00 +0000

Show: Luck (HBO)
Type: Drama
Rating: PG-13 (so far)
One line description: A view of all the different levels of activity surrounding a race track
Tone: Intimate, detailed, authentic
Similar to: Deadwood (depth, style), Boardwalk Empire (style)
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Richard Kind, Jason Gedrick, Kevin Dunn, Dennis Farina
Quality: Average to Great (40-80 range)

This is a show very much in the style of The Wire, Deadwood and Boardwalk Empire. It's wonderfully shot and put together and follows characters involved in all levels of a race track from the gamblers to the trainers to the owners and so on. If you are looking for simple storylines and quick emotional engagement then you won't get it. I understood very little of what went on in the pilot.

The show is written by David Milch who not only loves to write complex authentic dialogue but is also a lifelong track fan. He admits in interviews about the show that he has a bunch of characters he wants to write for and he conceived the show without a focussed story to tell. That last sentence is of course a gross oversimplification but hopefully it explains that this show has the potential to be anything from dull to captivating. Although I enjoyed Deadwood's first season a lot I struggled through number two which to me felt tedious and at times impenetrable.

During a discussion about that season Brando coined the phrase "open window storytelling" and that phrase very much applies to Luck. I start at a bit of a disadvantage because I have very little idea of what goes on at a race track. After sitting through the hour long pilot I know a lot more about what is involved but still no idea what is corrupt and what isn't. That will clearly be the key to the show. We can all imagine the kind of shenanigans which go on with horse racing. The principle trainer we follow (Escalante) confidently bets on his own horse and wins which instantly seems unethical. He had clearly kept the horse's strength a secret in order to get better odds.

I could follow that much but quite how unethical that was I have no idea. I have no emotional reaction to Escalante beyond mild disapproval. I suspect that like Boardwalk and to some extent Deadwood I may get quickly sick of the absence of a moral compass. Without one I have no idea which decisions are important or not. Dustin Hoffman's character (Ace Bernstein) is clearly the brains behind some kind of criminal enterprise (as he has just come out of prison) but I don't know the first thing about it yet.

Despite my fears about the shows authenticity and morality being negatives there were positives too. The show was expertly directed by Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans, Ali, Heat) and he really did capture the life of a race track. About half way through the episode I had begun to view horses as these strange semi-alien, semi-intelligent creatures because the number of close-ups on their eyes and other body parts had brought them closer to me than any other exposure on screen before. The two races we got to witness were very well produced too. They both captured the excitement and fear provoked in all those with some stake in the outcome. The second one brought home the danger and tragedy of it all when a horse breaks its leg and has to be put down. The most relatable story involved four degenerate gamblers winning a massive haul. Although I suspect there will be lots of illegal complications in their past at least for now we got to see the complicated emotions of each as reality dawned on what this win meant.

I will keep watching Luck but wouldn't even know where to begin with a weekly review. My suspicion is that it will remain so hard to understand that I won't become emotionally engaged. I've also become very wary of shows which operate on the basis that everyone in the story is operating to some degree outside of the law. However with such accomplished people at the helm I'm sure there will be some high quality TV amongst the details.

Touch (FOX)

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:58:00 +0000

Show: Touch (FOX)
Type: Drama, sci-fi
Rating: PG
One line description: A boy who has never spoken sees patterns in the world that affect the lives of people around the globe
Tone: Optimistic, emotional, manipulative
Similar to: Heroes (topic, format), Once Upon a Time (tone)
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Danny Glover
Quality: ?

So Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) is an increasingly desperate single parent because his eleven year old son Jake (who has never spoken) keeps climbing telephone towers. Social worker Clea tries to help but eventually takes Jake away. Martin is convinced that the endless numbers that Jake writes and records mean something. In the end he is proven right as the numbers push him to help save a bus full of children while simultaneously saving an Iraqi boy from blowing up, a British couple retrieve photos of their daughter and an Irish woman begin her pop career.

If you are having trouble picturing how all those events came together then think of Heroes. Touch is being run by Tim Kring, the Heroes creator who clearly believes that a story about how people across the globe can interconnect will make a good TV show. In some ways he may be right. This focussed tightly on Martin and Jake and gave them more attention than any of the various Heroes characters ever received. Kiefer may not be the ideal choice for this role but he is a familiar presence and star attraction. He has to handle the talking of course and the end of the episode was very strong as his son finally hugs him after a decade of refusing to touch anyone.

The interconnecting stories also had immediate consequences for those involved. On Heroes there was always the promise of action and danger but never any delivery. Here though we see the smaller characters witness something astonishing that has a real impact on their lives. The building sense that their stories really were connected was well put together. The episode moved at a great pace and the pieces came together in a way that was broadly satisfying.

This was however manipulative with a capital M. Jake's mum died on 9\11 and the story of a father desperate to communicate with his (presumed) autistic child is an easy tear jerker. Not content with that though we have the bus full of children getting saved, a dead child's photos bringing her parents together and an Iraqi boy who turned to suicide bombing to save his family business.

The suicide bomb story felt like typical Heroes nonsense I'm afraid. He was seriously threatened by the local fanatics who then put a suicide vest on him and wired it up to a phone. He was talked out of his mission and was then seen proudly installing the new oven and grinning at his mother. Umm, what happened to the terrorists? Did they let him just walk away unharmed despite being a dangerous witness to their activities?

Another thing that makes Touch hard to review is that I have no idea what episode two will look like. Will any of these smaller characters recur? Will Jake prevent a catastrophe each week? Will a bunch of new people have heart warming interconnected tales in every episode? I can imagine it getting tiresome pretty quickly. Then again perhaps with a little more characterisation or an overarching storyline this could be a fun show.

I'm so wary of Kring that my money would be on tiresome. However the tolerant part of me is warning that I shouldn't judge this so soon. I will have to watch episode two and see what Touch is trying to be. Unfortunately I won't be able to do that until March 19^th because that's when the show begins properly. FOX may be on to something here though. The pilot is a strong episode and this might get people's attention and mean the audience actually grows when it begins its full run.

Alcatraz (FOX) and Shameless (Showtime) review and podcast

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:48:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

Before you read my review, you can hear audio if you prefer. Brando and I recorded a podcast about about both Alcatraz and Shameless which you can download here.

We have begun including a non-spoiler section where we will just be giving our recommendations. You can follow the breakdown below to see where you need to stop listening.

Non-spoiler Alcatraz: 00.00 - 04.46

Alcatraz: 04.47 - 23.55

Non-spoiler Shameless: 23.56 - 27.58

Shameless: 27.59 - 43.32

And here is my review of the first two episodes of Alcatraz...

Show: Alcatraz (FOX)
Type: Drama, sci-fi, police procedural
Rating: PG
One line description: Prisoners from 1963 begin appearing in 2012 and a team is assembled to catch them
Tone: Straightforward police show with an ongoing mystery arc
Similar to: Breakout Kings (topic, format), FlashForward (tone, quality)
Starring: Sam Neill, Jorge Garcia, Parminder Nagra, Sarah Jones
Quality: Bad to Average (40-60 range)

Alcatraz - 101 - Pilot and 102 - Ernest Cobb

The story is that in 1963 when Alcatraz was shut down three hundred prisoners just disappeared into thin air. Now in 2012 detective Rebecca Madsen (Jones) and Alcatraz historian Diego Soto (Garcia) begin working with FBI agent Hauser (Neill) to catch these criminals who are reappearing in our midst.

As you know, I don't watch procedural TV shows. I find the dramatic formula too irritating and predictable and this, sadly, falls headlong into that category. The first inmate to appear is Jack Sylvane, a sympathetic figure; he fought in the war and was unfairly harassed by the prison guards. His wife married his brother while he was inside and now that he gets out he goes on a murderous revenge spree. He kills his old guard, some police officers and then tracks down his brother (now an old man). The police are of course hot on his trail and catch him before he can kill anyone else.

The Sylvane character was badly mishandled. He was meant to be a wronged figure who is somehow a pawn in the larger game of the time travelling inmates. Yet he squandered all sympathy by murdering innocent police officers and hanging on to a grudge against his brother that is clearly irrelevant fifty years later. It was more than just what he did though that made Sylvane an un-relatable blank figure. It was what he didn't do.

At no point did he take a moment to wonder at the miracle of his journey to the future. We never saw him confused by an automatic door, a cell phone or a computer. Instead his progress through San Francisco was smooth and emotionless. It was a massive mistake when you realise that Sylvane is going to be a recurring character. If he had just gone to see his brother and wept at the sheer insanity of his situation and grieved for his dead wife I would have been instantly won over. The writers could then have developed a well rounded character whose lack of knowledge of the twenty first century could have been endearing and funny.

And it wasn't just Sylvane who lacked characterisation. Rebecca is the typical precocious detective and we don't really find out any more about her. Soto is Hurley with a bit more knowledge. Hauser is a walking cliché. Look away now if you don't want to be spoiled but he was a prison guard back in 63 and in 2012 has built a replica of the Alcatraz block to put all these men back into the exact same cells they disappeared from. It's a laughable idea and instantly makes Hauser look bitter, stubborn and silly.

Episode two only confirmed that this is a police show with just a hint of science fiction. Sadly the mystery doesn't feel at all interesting or important. Sylvane and Cobb both appear in 2012 and happily head off killing people without any apparent plan or idea of what happened to them. So if they don't care about time travel why should we? By catching both men in their episode I'm also left wondering what the big deal is. If these guys are just going to run around the country committing crimes then they present very little threat to the universe. Soon they will all be locked up again and we can forget the whole silly business.

I'm being facetious of course and I'm sure there will be a few more twists coming to make things seem more epic. But I doubt the show can do anything to make me interested in it. With no focus on characters all that's left is police officers figuring things out far too easily and time travelling criminals who don't seem remotely excited by the future.

Rob (CBS)

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Show: Rob (CBS)
Type: Sit com, multi-camera, audience laughs
Rating: PG
One line description: A tall beautiful Hispanic woman marries Rob (Schneider) and her family have to get used to him
Tone: Silly, Warm hearted
Similar to: Two and a Half Men (style), Modern Family (tone, topic)
Starring: Rob Schneider, Cheech Marin
Quality: Bad to Good (40-65 range)

Rob - 101 - Pilot

Ok so here's the story: below average height and looks white guy Rob meets hot Hispanic Maggie and marries her six weeks later. He is a typical American guy who doesn't see his family where as she has a big extended Mexican family who naturally disapprove of him. That's it. Got it? Good.

The content is exactly what you think it would be. Rob is Peter Griffin or Homer Simpson, with the unexpectedly attractive and understanding wife and he gets into scrapes and misunderstandings that she gets him out of. Naturally every Hispanic stereotype you can imagine is on display from the funny to the offensive. It's punch line driven and silly and utterly predictable.

But I can see this working. The pilot maintained most of The Big Bang Theory's audience (nearly 15 million) so it's really the next two weeks which will tell us whether audiences like it. But why wouldn't they? This is CBS we are talking about where Two and a Half Men and Mike and Molly and The Big Bang Theory all drag massive audiences in by playing on simple stereotypes: successful bachelor, loser bachelor, fat people, geeky people, hot neighbours, stoner sisters, horny mothers, acerbic cleaners, lazy sons, Indian physicist and so on.

Rob is a far slicker show than Are You There Chelsea? or Work It. Instantly Schneider hits his punch lines with skill as does Cheech Marin. I even wish there was more Rob in comedies like New Girl or Happy Endings. The team behind Rob know that some things are always funny. Husband's being afraid of their wives, new boyfriends meeting a disapproving family and even hints that Rob is very OCD about his house being neat and tidy. It's simple stuff that leads to easy laughs. One sequence just went all the way with the silliness as Rob accidentally knocks over a Catholic shrine for a dead relative and spills the candle wax on his pants. The rest writes itself right?

If the sound of that makes you cringe then avoid Rob. I have no doubt that every joke on the show has been done somewhere else before. There will be plenty of misunderstandings and silliness going on. If you are a fan of CBSs comedy lineup though then this might be a fun addition to your weekly viewing.

Are You There Chelsea (NBC)

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Show: Are You There Chelsea (NBC)
Type: Sit com, multi-camera, audience laughs
Rating: PG13, sexual content
One line description: A twenty something bar girl sort of begins to grow up
Tone: Silly, Warm hearted
Similar to: 2 Broke Girls (content), BLEEP My Dad Says (conception and lack of ambition)
Starring: Chelsea Handler, Laura Prepon
Quality: Bad to Passable (30-50 range)

Are You There Chelsea - 101 - Pilot

If you didn't know, which I sort of didn't, Chelsea Handler is a successful comedienne with her own talk show on E! She also has a colourful past of drinking and sex which she wrote about in a couple of books, one of which was titled "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea", which was the original title for this show.

The plot is that twenty something Chelsea (played by Laura Prepon or Donna from That 70s Show) works in a New Jersey bar and likes to get drunk and have sex. That's about it. The implication of the pilot is that she will start to live a better life but there is no sense that she actually dislikes her life. Or that her life is that dysfunctional.

It reminds me of last season's $h*! My Dad Says where CBS took a funny twitter feed and turned it into a sit com starring William Shatner. CBS had no interest in what actually made the feed funny. So instead they just made a traditional family sit com and gave Shatner odd or seemingly rude things to say but underneath a heart of gold. So here we have the life story of a sexual and honest woman being turned into a primetime NBC sit com. It makes no sense. Why would you commission a show based on the popularity of a bawdy woman and try to market it to a mainstream audience?

The show has no authenticity either. Laura Prepon doesn't look like she gets drunk all the time or has random sex. She looks too clean and too comfortable. The things she says aren't edgy or natural. The friends in her drunk, sexual world also look too clean and comfortable.

Sit com characters really need to look and feel authentic, particularly when there is audience laughter because you are being reminded constantly that this is a TV show. Kat Dennings (over on 2 Broke Girls) has an earthy believability to her which Prepon doesn't and that pretty much kills the concept of the show. The script doesn't help and it's hard to imagine things will get better from here.

The real Chelsea Handler, oddly, plays Chelsea's sister Sloan. For anyone who knows Handler well that must be a bit off putting. It didn't bother me but then again I doubt she will play a particularly interesting older sister (she gives birth in the pilot).

The one bright spot is Chelsea's new roommate Dee Dee (Lauren Lapkus), a naive and sweet virgin, who does look and act the part. She is also an obvious comedy choice to contrast with Chelsea and her life.

I don't see this comedy appealing to Chelsea Handler fans. It's inoffensive though so it might keep an easy audience happy. It won't be a big hit though and it's no wonder NBC are in such a mess with confused decisions like this.

House of Lies (Showtime)

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:13:00 +0000

Show: House of Lies (Showtime)
Type: Sit com, single-camera
Rating: R, sexual content, nudity
One line description: A team of marketing consultants do anything to get money from bloated corporations
Tone: Cynical, Sharp
Similar to: Entourage (in presentation), Free Agents (subject matter)
Starring: Don Cheadle, Kristin Bell, Ben Schwartz
Quality: Passable (50 range)

House of Lies - 101 - Gods of Dangerous Financial Instruments

I hope you guys are getting some value from the little score cards I'm including on the blog posts. In the case of Work It, it was easy for me to assign the show a quality rating. Despite only seeing one episode I am confident that the show could never be better than a certain level. With House of Lies I'm not so sure and have gone for the ultimate fence sitting score of 50. I have enough experience of television shows though to suspect that House of Lies probably won't get much better than a score in the 50s.

So the plot is that Don Cheadle is playing Marty Kaan, a highly successful and highly sexed marketing consultant. He manipulates his clients into paying him for hours of work and doesn't care whether he actually helps their companies or not. His estranged ex-wife is his major competitor. His pre-teen son is cross dressing. His ex-psychiatrist Dad lives with him. He sleeps with strippers, single moms and tries to seduce Jeannie (Bell).

That's quite a complicated character for a sit com isn't it? That's no obstacle to success. I would say Carrie Bradshaw (Sex in the City) pulled it off pretty well and I use her as an example because this is filmed in a similar style as opposed to say characters on Scrubs or Frasier who had fairly well rounded existences.

The problem is that Marty doesn't seem to have enough heart to him. The final shot of the episode sees him pause during a phone call when you think maybe, just maybe he is going to say something honest to Jeannie but he decides against it. Before that moment of doubt he doesn't falter in lying to everyone around him to succeed. He screws over everyone including his son to get what he wants. He is so callous that it feels very difficult to imagine liking him enough to make this show work.

I might be jumping to a conclusion too quickly but the show is built around his flaws in a way which worries me. Most of the attempts at humour came from him either being sexual or being selfish. I can't see the show giving up on that quickly.

To be fair we didn't see much of the supporting players (Schwartz was Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation) but then again maybe we won't. The show is built around Marty to such an extent that he talks to the camera like Zach Morris on Saved by the Bell. Again it's hard to picture the gang eliciting much sympathy from the audience as they all seem happy to be essentially ripping off corporations that are already ripping off the public.

I almost laughed a couple of times but the humour needs work. The show did feel slick and the dialogue, despite the exaggerations felt pretty natural. Cheadle is very good in the main role bringing an energy to it that it needed. Showtime has spent some money on this too as it looked as good as Entourage or Shameless or a drama shot in the "real" world.

I will continue to watch as I am intrigued but if you are not a comedy obsessive I would skip until you hear otherwise.

Work It (ABC)

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Show: Work It (ABC)
Type: Sit com, multi-camera, audience laughs
Rating: PG
One line description: Two unemployed men dress up as women to get jobs
Tone: Silly, warm hearted
Similar to: Better With You (in tone), Last Man Standing (again tone)
Starring: Ben Koldyke, Amaury Nolasco, Rebecca Mader
Quality: Bad to Passable (30-50 range)

Work It - 101 - Pilot

So if you haven't heard yet this is a fairly generic, heart warming sit com about two men dressing up as women to get jobs. It's not the worst idea in the world but the execution is not good. For us to believe that normal people could be deceived by a big dude in drag you really need a great makeup department (Mrs Doubtfire) or an era or context where people would ask less questions (Some Like it Hot).

To just have Ben Koldyke (Robin's boyfriend Don from HIMYM) and Amaury Nolasco (Sucre from Prison Break) working in an office full of women doesn't cut it. There's just no way that any woman (including Rebecca Mader or Charlotte Lewis from Lost) can look credible and so the comedy falls flat. The rest of the show is just generic family fare and is no better and not too much worse than what you will find on other shows. The show lost viewers going on after Last Man Standing so I doubt it's going to be a big hit.

Perhaps the more interesting question is whether the cross dressing could have worked or if it was inevitably going to look silly. I understand that casting two strapping men the comedy would be nice and easy but could two effeminate men have done a more convincing job? What if Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki were in drag? The alternative would be to make the show more surreal. If the tone of the show were less real and had more of a 30 Rock or Arrested Development vibe then perhaps it would have been more believable. As it is though I don't think Work It is worth watching.

Louie - Season Two

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Louie - Season Two

I'm going to begin offering recommendations for new shows I watch. Some of you clearly have similar taste to me and use the site to work out if a show is worth checking out. So here is a little score card for Louie to help you choose whether or not to watch.

Show: Louie (FX)
Type: Sit com, single camera
Rating: R, graphic sexual discussion
One line description: Semi-biopic comedy exploring one man's worldview
Tone: Veering from gentle observational comedy to surreal exploration of male psychology
Similar to: Curb Your Enthusiasm (but less joke focussed and more surreal), Seinfeld (though only in subject matter)
Starring: Louie CK and guest stars have included Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Dane Cook, Bob Saget and Joan Rivers
Quality: Passable to Very Good (45-70 range)

Louie CK is a stand-up comic whose style is honest and comes from his personal experience of life. He has a somewhat depressing tone often focussing on his own physical inadequacy and the darker side of male psychology. He has a gentle on-stage persona though and is clearly mocking himself. He is capable of great insight and comic observation that can genuinely make you think.

At least that is what comes across on his TV show. As in Seinfeld we get plenty of clips of Louie's stand up material throughout the TV show. Far more in fact than aired on Seinfeld and sometimes the clips are only very loosely connected to the stories being told. Those stories are often little self contained vignettes which explore a little moment in life. Some episodes have two vignettes connected by a theme. Some episodes have one long story. Some episodes have a couple of vignettes with no connection.

If this is all sounding a bit random then that's because it is. In one episode we spend most of our time with Louie in the car with his daughters. That's it. They are on a road trip just talking and for several minutes Louie sings along with a song on the radio. Another episode sees Louie visit Afghanistan and make a powerful anti-war message using a duckling. Another episode sees his pregnant sister rushed to hospital in tremendous pain only to discover that it was just a trapped fart. Yes, seriously.

Louie has the kind of freedom that almost no one else on TV has. He has been compared to Woody Allen because of the way he plays with tone, format and style. Louie isn't a traditional sit com with continuity though occasionally there is some. At first I didn't think much of the show because the sheer randomness of it all didn't appeal to my logical mind. However by season's end Louie had won me over.

That freedom from constraint allowed CK to explore ideas and issues that other comedies can't touch. Three episodes in particular stood out to me as potentially better than any other comedy on television in 2011. To give you a better understanding of the show I'm about to spoil those episodes. Skip ahead if you think you might watch them.

202 - Bummer/Blueberries
This had two stories about Louie trying to have sex. In the first he went on a date with a woman who wasn't interested in him. On his way to the date he sees a homeless man killed and is shell shocked when he arrives at the cinema. The woman is so surprised by his change of demeanour that she finds herself attracted to him. In the second Louie gets picked up by the mother of one of his daughter's classmates. She is quite damaged by he politely acquiesces to her sexual demands until she breaks down crying during their foreplay.

Both stories did sex jokes better than all the irritating overwritten comedies on the major networks. The first story was admittedly similar to Seinfeld's "The Opposite" (521) but was still funny. The second was remarkable and managed to touch on genuine believable emotions surrounding sex while making me laugh out loud. CK as a confused and gentle straight man can really work.

208 - Come on, God
Again this was sexual with Louie the only person willing to go on TV to defend masturbation against a Christian pressure group. That set up alone was hilarious but what followed was even better. The spokeswoman for "Christians Against Masturbation", Ellen Farber invites Louie to one of their meetings and then out for a drink afterwards. I was shocked to see that cynical stand-up Louis CK could write a better defence for pre-marital abstinence than I had ever seen anywhere on TV before. Of course Ellen's description of a chaste courtship only turned Louie on with amusing results.

211 - Duckling
This drama-length episode saw Louie join a USO tour to entertain the troops in Afghanistan (actually filmed in Texas). His daughter hides one of the school ducklings in his bag to "protect" him. After a pretty convincing and mostly serious episode just showing the troops being entertained CK's helicopter is damaged and his group have to wait for repairs. A group of Afghans with guns come past and a misunderstanding almost leads to shots being fired until CK drops the duckling and chases it around to everyone's amusement. It really was a clever and simple story which made a point.

Despite how good those episodes were Louie is an inconsistent show. The very nature of its experimental style is that some parts won't appeal in the same way that others do. There were a few episodes (201, 204, 206) that I didn't think much of at all. Part of the problem is that CK sometimes presents himself in ways which reality contradicts. He is on my TV because he is a successful standup so plots surrounding his poverty or stupidity can fall flat. It was also tough to know what to make of him professing his love for Pamela Adlon. I assume that was all scripted, in which case I was too distracted by knowing that it wasn't how he really felt. Curb Your Enthusiasm is probably just as inconsistent a show but I think Larry David is clearer that what we are watching isn't meant to be real at any time.

I would recommend Louie because the highs will always live longer in the memory than the lows. It's a shame though that network comedies are so over scripted and un-ambitious that this stands out so much. I don't want to leave on that note though because when Louie is good it can be really good.

Archer - Season One

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Archer - Season One

I'm going to begin offering recommendations for new shows I watch. Some of you clearly have similar taste to me and use the site to work out if a show is worth checking out. So here is a little score card for Archer to help you choose whether or not to watch.

Show: Archer (FX)
Type: Animated sit com
Rating: R, graphic sexual discussion and violence
One line description: Spy spoof
Tone: Dark, Silly, Sexual
Similar to: Family Guy (with better stories but less good jokes), Futurama (but dirtier)
Starring: H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer
Quality: Passable to Good (45-60 range)

With the decline of The Simpsons and Family Guy and my indifference to their spin offs I haven't been that interested in new animated comedies for some time. However the attention paid to both Archer and Bob's Burgers by critics and friends alike pushed me to start catching up.

If you haven't seen Archer (season one aired in 2010) then it's like a dirty cartoon version of Chuck. It is set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) in New York whose agents go on missions, which they usually botch, in between arguing with or sleeping with one another. Sterling Archer is the James Bond knockoff who is lazy, self-centred and sex-obsessed. His mother Malory runs ISIS, his ex-girlfriend Lana is a fellow agent and then we have Cyril (insecure accountant), Pam (plump HR director) and Carol (oversexed assistant) amongst other crazy co-workers.

When Archer is at its best it can be a fun spy spoof. Malory is secretly dating the head of the KGB, there are two German assassins who keep bickering over whether to have a child or not and Archer has his own version of Alfred the Butler (called Woodhouse) who he constantly berates. When the stories have a strong spy flavour they can be pretty fun too. The show explores all sorts of ideas like double agents, rival companies, worker strikes and blimp rides to name a few. The internal continuity was a nice change from shows that reset every episode. Instead the agents at ISIS all remember who has slept with who and who screwed who out of what.

The comedy was initially funny but rapidly became tedious. As you might imagine we get tons of spoof spy gags with people getting shot all the time and using their privileged position to benefit themselves. Back at the ISIS office much of the humour comes from the fact that no one takes their job any more seriously than they would if this were Dunder Mifflin. I imagine casual viewers will continue to find this funny as they seem to with Family Guy.

For me it has become a bit dull. As with most animated comedies there are no sane characters. Pretty much everyone is corrupt, selfish and lazy. So Archer's callous attitude to his colleagues instantly just became normal behaviour. His trigger happy approach to prostitutes and other innocent bystanders was also rapidly mirrored by Lana and other spies we encountered.

I also think Archer is overwritten. There is no sense that jokes are being set up and milked for all they are worth. Instead characters regularly have vile shouting matches with one another which go on and on. Not only does this prevent individual punch lines from standing out but it also means that every possible sexual gag had been made by the end of the season.

Archer's vulgarity doesn't bother me and just having plots is enough of a change of pace to keep me watching. I will check out season two but I can't imagine the show will change much.

Talking Drama with Brando (podcast details) 30.12.2011

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

Brando and I recorded a podcast discussing the drama shows we both watched this Fall. You can download it here

We recorded this before the Awards podcast which is why we talk a little about it.

Homeland: 01.11 - 18.00

The Walking Dead: 18.01 - 25.06

Boardwalk Empire: 25.07 - 38.35

American Horror Story: 38.36 - 48.13

Dexter: 48.14 - 59.28

Enjoy!

The 2011 TV Critic.org Awards (podcast)

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:36:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

The podcast with the award winners is now up. You can download it here.

Here are the time breakdowns in case you want to jump around.

Introduction and spoiler warning: 00.00 - 01.49

Best drama show of 2011: 01.50 - 12.45

Best drama episode: 12.46 - 18.02

Best actor in a drama: 18.03 - 24.15

Best actress in a drama: 24.16 - 29.12

Best drama moment: (HEAVY SPOILER WARNING) 29.13 - 37.59

Best comedy show of 2011: 38.00 - 43.08

Best comedy episode: 43.09 - 46.51

Best actor in a comedy: 46.52 - 52.21

Best actress in a comedy: 52.22 - 55.05

Best comedy moment: 55.06 - 57.18

Worst show of 2011: 57.19 - 61.12

Thanks again for all your nominations,

Robin

The TV Critic

Talking Comedy with Brando (podcast details) 16.12.2011

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

Brando and I recorded a podcast discussing the comedy shows we both watched this Fall. You can download it here

It's good preparation for the upcoming awards podcast and next week we will do the same for drama shows. Get your nominations for "Best Comedy Show" now.

The Office: 02.00 - 15.02

Parks and Recreation: 15.03 - 24.15

Community: 24.16 - 34.36

Modern Family: 34.37 - 39.37

How I Met Your Mother: 39.38 - 44.45

Whitney: 44.46 - 50.40

New Girl: 50.41 - 56.22

The League: 56.23 -58.56

Children's Hospital, NTFS: SD: SUV: 58.57 - 62.50

The 2011 TV Critic.org Awards

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:06:00 +0000

The 2011 TV Critic.org Awards

Hey everyone,

Last year's awards podcast was a lot of fun so I will make it an annual tradition. The Emmy's and other industry awards quite rightly focus on the television season as it functions from September to August. However I think there is something interesting about a set of awards that encompass one calendar year. Sometimes shows can have a good start to a season and then fall away or vice versa so hopefully these awards can throw up a surprise or two.

Here are some things to bear in mind

- This is "The TV Critic's" site so this isn't a vote (yet, by next year I hope to be able to do that) but I do want to know what your favourite TV from 2011 was.

- The podcast was much longer than I intended last year and I want to add categories! So to make sure it doesn't run for hours and hours I will do most of my shortlisting here and so the podcast can just be your thoughts and the winners of the awards.

- Below I have put together my personal shortlists for your consideration and some statistics which hopefully will be fun to look at.

- I hope to release the podcast on the 26^th December so get your nominations in before Christmas Day.

Last Year's Winners
Best drama show of 2010 - Mad Men
Best comedy show of 2010 - Community
Best drama episode - "Shadow Games" - Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Best comedy episode - "Modern Warfare" - Community
Best actor in a drama - Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Best actress in a drama - Lucy Lawless (Spartacus: Blood and Sand)
Best actor in a comedy - Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Best actress in a comedy - Sophia Vergara (Modern Family)

With no Mad Men on this year and Spartacus cut down to only six episodes we should be in for some new winners. I'm adding "Best drama moment" and "Funniest comedy moment" so that you can talk about what you really enjoyed more specifically. I'm also adding "Worst show of 2011" because that should be fun.

BEST DRAMA SHOW OF 2011

These statistics reflect the scores out of 100 that I have given each show this year. Obviously I haven't included all the shows which I don't write about or don't give scores to. You are welcome to nominate any show you like. It seems like Breaking Bad is likely to be the runaway winner and it will be interesting to see if Homeland's average dips or climbs when the last two episodes air.

BEST DRAMA EPISODE

I don't make my decisions based on statistics alone. However a look at the list of episode scores is helpful.

It wasn't a spectacular year in terms of individual episodes. Again Breaking Bad has a strong claim on victory with only the Homeland pilot really sticking out to me as a contender.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Now this one should be tasty. Obviously Bryan Cranston v Aaron Paul would look like the obvious battle but then you do have Giancarlo Esposito and Dean Norris in the background. Damian Lewis has done a fine job on Homeland, Michael Pitt has been very strong on Boardwalk, there's Kelsey Grammar on Boss and don't forget Peter Dinklage who won the Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister. I also liked Jeremy Allen White (Philip Gallagher) on Shameless. Who am I forgetting?

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Claire Danes is looking good in this category because she is the one woman who gets to play lead on a show I cover. But what about Anna Gunn (Skyler White) or Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan) who both play a supporting role with aplomb? Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) has a lot of fans and Lucy Lawless (Lucretia) was last year's winner. Again Emmy Rossum (Fiona Gallagher) was strong on Shameless.

BEST DRAMA MOMENT

Obviously these are likely to come from your favourite episodes on your favourite shows but I'd love it if people had some offbeat choices. It's difficult not to be spoilery but my contenders include several moments from Breaking Bad including a twelve step meeting, a karaoke video, a poisoning and a man who knocks. From The Walking Dead there's a couple of things which Shane did with his gun which had quite an effect on me. The opening minutes of Game of Thrones were pretty awesome as were its last. Carrie going to any length to save herself on Homeland and Solonius calling out Batiatus on Spartacus are up there too.

BEST COMEDY SHOW OF 2011

This one looks like a straight shoot out between The Big Bang Theory and Parks and Recreation. Statistically they are very close and for me it will be choosing between laughs and sentiment. It’s not been a good year for comedy and the gulf between those two and the rest of the shows is sad to see.

BEST COMEDY EPISODE

Again stats aren’t everything but this is a fascinating list.

The question becomes do you penalise Family Guy because “It’s a Trap” is a Star Wars parody and so benefits massively from working with familiar source material? Otherwise it’s another toss up between Parks and TBBT. Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother both get a regular kicking from me so I’m pleased to see that both have some offerings in the list.

BEST COMEDY ACTOR

Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper) was last year’s winner and won the Emmy so he is looking good right? Yes but to be fair to Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter) he has handled more of the emotion on that show. Over on Parks you are spoilt for choice in supporting players with Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson), Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer), Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt) sure to be popular choices.

But then things get more complicated. What about Steve Carell (Michael Scott) whose farewell season included ten episodes in 2011? Or Alec Baldwin (Jack Donaghy) who always performs well despite the show he is on. Or what about the guys on Community whose performance have not been something I have criticised despite my disappointment with the show? Then there’s Modern Family with its litany of actors young and old. What about Charlie McDermott (Axl) and Atticus Shaffer (Brick) over on The Middle? There are also a bunch of comedies I don’t care for with good actors on them. I’d say this was a very tough category.

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS

Again this is really tough. Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope) is the star of her show but I think her character has become more suited to playing it straight rather than being silly. Kaley Cuocu (Penny on TBBT) is a popular lady but she isn’t asked to do a huge amount. There are supporting ladies on both those shows who deserve mention and again the three ladies from Community could make a strong case for inclusion. Again Modern Family has several candidates though I have been complimenting Sarah Hyland (Hayley Dunphy) recently. Then there’s Eden Sher (Sue Heck) on The Middle who continues to make me smile. Then you have actresses like Zooey Deschanel (Jess, New Girl) and Eliza Coupe (Jane, Happy Endings) who I like in general but don’t like on their shows. Another difficult choice.

FUNNIEST COMEDY MOMENT

Now then this is entirely an excuse for you to post any joke you can remember from 2011. It's not easy to remember jokes but if one comes to mind then let everyone know. I won't shortlist anything because if I go through it I will probably spoil what the eventual winner is (and I don't know what it is yet, it will be fun trying to find it though).

WORST SHOW OF 2011

Wow, this could take a while. It depends whether you just pick something you hated or work out which show was the most criminal waste of talent. Let’s just say the following shows will be on my shortlist: 30 Rock, Entourage, Camelot, Mr Sunshine, Up All Night, New Girl and Happy Endings.

So there you go have at it. It’s a challenge just to remember what was on this year. Don’t forget Falling Skies, Alphas, Curb Your Enthusiasm, True Blood, The Killing, Justified, Lights Out, Perfect Couples, Traffic Light, Cougar Town, Mad Love, The Borgias, Camelot, Breakout Kings, The Cape, Episodes, Mr Sunshine or Wilfred.

End of season round up: 13 shows reviewed

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

There are a bunch of shows I watch but don't write about. I thought I would provide some quick thoughts on how they have been faring this Fall season.

I have written the blog as one long article but as I know you won't have seen all of these shows I have put little sub headings so that you can skip ahead.

DRAMA

The best of these shows is clearly Boardwalk Empire (HBO) and so I have written up thoughts on the whole of season two here. The other cable drama that I did write about for a few blogs was Boss and the season one finale aired last Friday.

BOSS (STARZ)

As Boss is a show about corrupt politics I often compared it to Boardwalk as the show went along. However a more interesting comparison could be made to STARZ stablemate Spartacus. Both shows have sex, violence, betrayal, greed and ambition. Both shows had dramatic twists which had an impact on the plot. Both shows also have a stylised visual style that makes them stand out. I enjoyed the endless focus on eyeballs in Boss but the close-ups on individual ticks didn't always feel like it was adding to the story.

Boss is no Spartacus either. At the centre of Spartacus is a good man who was wronged. There was no one to root for on Boss. I suppose we could cheer on Sam Miller at the Sentinel but it's tough to imagine him getting to the truth because Boss is fuelled by secrets and lies.

Boss did suffer because of a lack of sympathetic characters. It also suffered from a shocking lack of restraint. In Ancient Rome it's easier to imagine the streets running with blood. In modern Chicago it's much harder. By season's end we were expected to believe that maintaining political power was enough of a justification for humiliating people, bribery, murder, beatings, forced relocation, whoring out your wife, sending your daughter to jail and tampering with an election.

Even if you believe that democracy is this corrupt (or at least that it could all remain hidden) I found it impossible to imagine what Tom Kane is clinging to. The symptoms of lewy-body were already making life quite difficult for him. He seemed irrational for thinking he could go on serving as Mayor while hallucinating his way through important conversations. If you ignore the lewy-body it's still an outrageous list of crimes and they began to lose both plausibility and dramatic impact the more they piled on top of one another.

As silly as the show was though I still though episode seven "Stasis" was very good. The horrible situation that Kitty found herself in was exquisite and Kane's decision to throw his daughter under the bus to distract the press was ruthless. Kelsey Grammar's performance remains very strong but I can't imagine the show doing much second season. I imagine things can only get more outrageous from here and the ratings have been tiny so a third season seems unlikely.

HELL ON WHEELS (AMC)

Nothing much has changed since the pilot when I felt that the show was a Deadwood knockoff. It is still early in its run so I will keep watching.

CHUCK (NBC)

The contrast between those dark and gritty cable shows and the light hearted fare offered by the broadcast networks has been as stark as ever. For the last few seasons the only network drama that I have been watching and not writing about is Chuck. I still have nothing much to add as Chuck, Casey, Sarah and Morgan head for the end of the show. I enjoyed the show for the first season and a half until I realised that nothing of consequence would ever happen. Since then it has been a case of enjoying the performances and guest stars and giving the show little thought.

PAN AM (ABC)

That looks set to be the same pattern I adopt with all of the network dramas. I would say that Pan Am was the show with the most potential but it has largely dismissed any sense of gravity for cheeriness. As with Chuck it is difficult to do spy stories in a light hearted way. I'm so used to the detail work on cable shows now that a stewardess being asked to turn Communist agents seems very silly. The 1960s world of bigotry, racism and sexism is also handled with too light a touch to really touch the emotions.

On the positive side I did enjoy the brewing romance between Dean and Colette (until they actually got together that is). Karine Vanasse has definitely been the acting star and did a fine job during her emotional trip to Germany (103). I think Kelli Garner (Kate) might have something too.

ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)

Once Upon a Time has been the most interesting (of the network shows) to watch even though there is zero chance of anything unexpected happening. The Lost formula really is working well though because each week I am intrigued to see which of the residents of Storybrooke will step forward to have their back-story explored.

The interesting part is seeing how the fairytales are woven together and which actors will appear in which role. Alan Dale's uncanny ability to follow me from show to show continues and Giancarlo Esposito was a real surprise. Robert Carlyle chews the scenery nicely (what other cliché could I use?) though it is odd that Rumpelstiltskin is so intimately involved in pretty much every scheme in the Kingdom. I still can't see a way to make this show interesting in a second season but for now I continue to be amused by the novelty of it all.

TERRA NOVA (FOX)

If Once Upon a Time is lifting the Lost formula then you might be surprised to hear that Terra Nova seems to have gone for the Star Trek: Voyager formula. I mean, at least Lost was a big success. I sat through seven seasons of Captain Janeway never doubting herself and the ship never running out of food or fuel so I know how dull it could be.

It's a lot less surprising when you hear that Brannon Braga is one of the show runners. No one is likelier to fill me with contempt than Braga who not only helped create some dull Star Trek but also worked on later season 24 and drum roll please...FlashForward. Braga is remarkably consistent and Terra Nova is a terrible waste of a good premise.

Even if you ignore the logic holes and lack of exciting dinosaur scenes the show is just old fashioned. It feels just like bad Star Trek with deeply conservative social attitudes, bland characters and a sense that nothing even a hundred miles from edgy will ever appear on screen. In some ways I find it comforting to be transported to a show that I would have enjoyed when I was ten years old. But in most ways it is just annoying.

GRIMM (NBC)

Grimm remains oddly, well, grim. The show is a bit like Angel without any sense of humour. The pursuit of bad guys just feels like any old procedural police show and the attempts at comedy feel grafted on. There is no sense of character development or even much disruption to Nick's life either. It's all pretty bland.

COMEDY

MODERN FAMILY (ABC)

The best comedy that I don't write about regularly remains Modern Family. The show has kept its strong ratings this season and provided ABC with a really solid block of comedy on Wednesday's. I remain of the opinion that the show could be so much more than it is. I still think there are too many plots based on misunderstandings which is a really old formula. Some characters handle those situations better than others. I think Phil, Jay and the children tend to come across more realistically than the others. Cameron remains a great waste. Since the end of season one it feels like he had been asked to play the same note every week. Seeing him be an egotist who then either fails or falls apart is really irritating considering that both the actor and character are clearly capable of so much more. I remain convinced that the ensemble doesn't have to appear in every episode either. Some focus on one or two characters would be a nice change of pace.

Now that I have got all that off my chest though I should pay the show some compliments. Some recent episodes have been either funny or warm hearted. The Thanksgiving episode where the logical members of the family had to give in and support the dreamers was pretty sweet (309). As was the scene where Jay finally told Phil that he was proud of him (after a massage in 308). The acting remains very strong with the ensemble able to carry off even dumb storylines with a smile. Haley has been the character that has shined the most this fall. Seeing her lie to Claire can be convincing and funny.

THE MIDDLE (ABC)

The Middle continues to chug along at the start of the Wednesday block and I don't see much of a change in the winning formula. The kids remain strong performers with Sue still able to make me care about her struggles even as I get increasingly used to the formula.

SUBURGATORY (ABC)

Suburgatory (ABC) is the third of the four Wednesday shows and I'm pretty disappointed with it. The biggest flaw in the show remains that Tessa isn't miserable enough about being in suburbia. She seems to breeze through most situations and the plots never get close to eliciting an emotional reaction. The same is true for George who equally smiles his way through any new situation. Without that conflict the show has just become a dull comedy about a wealthy town and their silly way of doing things.

The only moment on the show that felt like it was going in an interesting direction was when Tessa danced like a freak to her favourite indie band. That really captured something funny about how teenagers respond to the music they are passionate about. However the reality disappeared when the other kids all backed away at once.

HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC)

Happy Endings is the fourth and final member of ABC's lineup and the comedy that irritates me most on TV right now. I admit that part of what angers me is the critical acclaim or at least support being heaped on it.

I think the show has actually gotten worse since season one. There is almost no attempt to make the characters or their stories seem real. In fact the writers have increased the pace of dialogue and plot to the point where the show is just running banter between characters I don't know or care about.

So Penny buys a new home which is instantly a disaster. Max starts working in the food truck and is a complete disaster. Dave makes a commercial about the food truck which is a disaster. Jane and Brad decide to have work spouses but naturally get the wrong end of the stick leading to disastrous misunderstandings. You get the gist.

The problem is that these disasters happen so often and have no consequences so there is no emotion in seeing things go wrong.

Worse than that everything on the show is signposted. Not signposted as in obvious, I mean literally told to you before it happens. The gang tell Jane that she shouldn't flirt because she does this weird thing where she puts her hand in her mouth. Then she does it. That's it! Where's the comedy in that? Penny feels jealous of Max's high school girlfriend, says she will end up making ridiculous attempts to bond with her and then does. Ridiculously so. Again, why tell me what is going to happen? Why destroy any sense that anything is happening organically?

I don't believe in any of the characters either. In season one Max had something of an authentic arrogance to him but in season two he is just an endless stream of laziness and greediness. Dave is far too attractive a guy to work in a food truck. Seriously. He is also far too well adjusted to spend an episode acting as if he really is Native American after learning that he had some Navajo ancestry. Alex's naivety isn't well defined and neither is Brad (Damon Wayans Jr) who could be a real star on another show.

NEW GIRL (FOX)

New Girl is in a similar situation over on Tuesday's. Again there is no definition to the characters. The writers foolishly just made Jess 'quirky' and put nothing more down on the list of her characteristics. So she jumps from bold to shy with no apparent explanation. I also think the way she sings to herself fails to draw real sympathy from the audience because it's difficult to tell when she is in real distress or just being silly.

Nick is the worst character on TV right now and I mean that. He is clearly meant to be the most down to earth and reasonable of the guys but instead he comes off as bitter, angry and unhelpful. He is also positioned to be Jess' long term love interest but he is such a negative, awkward person that it's hard to see why she would ever like him. Winston has no definition beyond his time in Estonia. Schmidt has had several different personalities and you can sense the writers serving him more and more as they struggle to make the rest of the show funny.

I really dislike much of the group dialogue on the show. The discussion of sex and pornography (108) was such a pathetic mish mash of modern comedy ideas. The four of them sat around making sex sound like nuclear physics and being awkward regardless of whether it fit their personalities or not. There is no sense of where each person is at in their friendships with one another. The writers just choose when to have two of them fall out when it serves the plot.

2 BROKE GIRLS (CBS)

I have already written a lot about 2 Broke Girls on the blog. Sadly it doesn't seem to be improving. The show just isn't funny despite so many easy punch lines going missing. There is also so much emotion being left on the table. The recent episode (111) where the girls need to find a stable for Caroline's horse was a real waste. This last and biggest connection between Caroline and her former life should have been an easy emotional episode to write but instead we just got the usual collection of annoying puns.

So that's it for now. Thank you so much for checking out the blogs this year. I plan on making changes to the site which may include more shows getting their own pages. However there will always be a need for the blog format where I can just throw out thoughts on shows I'm not covering full time. I'm always grateful for any and all comments as it really helps me understand how different shows are coming across outside of my house.

I will be putting up a post with the 2011 TV Critic awards soon. So do let me know what you liked this year.

Happy Holidays!
Robin
The TV Critic

Hell on Wheels, 2 Broke Girls (14\11\2011)

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:44:00 +0000

2 Broke Girls - 109 - and the Really Petty Cash

I am always dismayed to see sit coms fail to use plots that have been around for ages. Characters feeling guilty over something and trying to hide it is such a simple idea and yet How I Met Your Mother botched it terribly on Monday and 2 Broke Girls didn't do much better.

For a start we still don't know Johnny well enough for this story to have real impact. Then you have Max doing the most obvious guilt-shtick imaginable and no one adequately holding Johnny to account for what he did.

Sit com writers seem to have lost track of the things needed to tell a proper story. There was no real sense of the emotional journey Max was on. Part of the problem is that she and Caroline talk to one another too much. They don't often split up and have dialogue with other characters in believable ways. Instead they just stand together endlessly mock debating everything that is going on. It was Caroline who kept insisting that Johnny was about to do the right thing rather than actually giving us a reason to believe it. We needed to see Max hoping and then watch her be disappointed. Only then would the touching support from Caroline actually leave you with a warm feeling at the end of the episode. It's frustrating to watch so many comedies botch a very simple formula.

Hell on Wheels - 102 - Immortal Mathematics

I gave it a second chance but Hell on Wheels is joining all the network dramas in the pile marked "I may still watch but I won't write." In that pile by the way is Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Boardwalk Empire and Terra Nova. I will write about each at Christmas along with all the comedies I watch but don't write about.

I ripped the Terra Nova pilot apart because Jim was able to go from outlaw to sheriff in one episode. While Cullen's rise from hangman to foreman wasn't nearly as ridiculous it was in the same vein of convenience. When a character goes from your enemy to your friend you need a really strong dramatic explanation or it just feels like nothing of consequence will happen on this show.

If you would indulge me in a tangent for a minute my mind went to an example of when this worked. Walter White risked his life (by clutching a bag of explosive chemicals) to convince crazy drug dealer Tucco that they could do business back in Season One of Breaking Bad. It was treated as a massive moment in Walt's life and the show's development and something like that was needed to convince me that Hell on Wheels will be much more than Terra Nova in the Wild West.

Breaking Bad Season Four podcast with Brando (09\11\2011)

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

Yesterday (8th November 2011) Brando and I recorded a podcast about Season Four of Breaking Bad.

As I have already recorded a podcast per episode for that season this was more about me asking Brando for his opinions and impressions on what we agree is the best drama on TV right now.

The podcast is in the general "TV Critic Podcast Channel." The limitations of my site (at present) mean I couldn't include it in the Breaking Bad podcast feed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We talked for just under an hour and covered the major storylines, characters and incidents. Enjoy!

Robin
(The TV Critic)

Download the podcast

Hell on Wheels, 2 Broke Girls, Boss (07\11\2011)

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:32:00 +0000

2 Broke Girls - 108 - and the hoarder culture

I can infer why Max found hoarding so much fun but it wasn't self evident. And I think it needed to be if you were going to make a dozen jokes out of it. Otherwise it just seems like a sad condition surrounded by lame jokes.

The Johnny stuff was interesting. For a first season it might be odd to have a relationship begin for Max so quickly. So I kind of understand why it ended before it began and why Johnny was painted as kind of a bad guy but not a douche. It was all a bit middling. I would like to have seen more of Johnny and Max being together and just chatting and bonding. Then we would get a sense of the relationship they could have had.

Right now I could imagine 2 Broke Girls benefitting from a bigger cast one day. I've already made my feelings clear on the diner crew but Caroline and Max would benefit from talking to characters besides one another.

Hell on Wheels - 101 - Pilot

Hell on Wheels is a Western drama set around the building of the Union Pacific railroad just after the Civil War. It is an AMC show, the home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. However Hell on Wheels was a disappointment. It felt broad and the dark things that happened weren't given the context to be dramatic.

Our main character, Cullen Bohannon, is on a quest for revenge which immediately makes me frown. I think revenge is the most overused and overrated motivation for characters in film and TV. It can be done well but more often than not it is an excuse for killing without addressing the serious consequences of taking life.

We don't really learn much about him in this episode. Well, we do learn that he freed his slaves before the Civil War began. So be in no doubt that he is a good guy, even though he is about to kill a bunch of people.

The confrontation with his new boss at Hell on Wheels (a town being built for the railroad employees) felt very rushed and of course freed slave Elam was there to save the day. Elam was seeking revenge too for the murder of his friend which happened earlier in the episode (which was also rushed). There was also an attack by Cheyenne Indians on a forward camp which yet again felt rushed and not remotely as dramatic as it should have been.

Another aspect of the pilot which really fell flat was Colm Meaney playing Thomas "Doc" Durant the man in charge of building the railroad. I thought Meaney was pretty bad and the dialogue given to him didn't help. The character seemed entirely generic as the corrupt capitalist trying to make as much money from the construction as possible. He bullies one of his employees and fires him in a scene that felt cheesy and predictable. The episode ended with Durant giving a soliloquy to an empty carriage about how he was happy to be vilified by history despite achieving this great feat. Again it just felt like the writers thought they were supposed to have a grandiose speech but had no appropriate content or moment to have one.

The final problem for me in watching Hell on Wheels is that I recently watched Season One of Deadwood. The comparisons were not pretty on any criteria you can judge. The dialogue and direction stood out particularly. Hell on Wheels felt like any modern movie. Whereas Deadwood was shot at a more deliberate, un-dramatised pace that felt in-keeping with the time it was set in. Similarly the dialogue here felt generic and modern at times where Deadwood created a sense that the people we were watching were from another world.

All in all I was very uninspired by everything I saw. I will keep an eye on how it develops but this was a poor start.

The Boss - 104 - Slip

Again the stuff with Kane losing control was fascinating to watch. Kelsey Grammar is plays all the little facial expressions really well.

The rest of the story remains quite complicated. That complexity is something of a barrier to entry into the story. I was lost over the Ezra Stone stuff. The man being held by the police was then whisked away by Kane's mysterious assassin which didn't help.

I don't know what to make of Zajak yet. His non-photo op with the farmer seemed to present him as the candidate who genuinely cares about people. It's difficult to say that though when he is cheating on his wife. Then in steps Cullen to try and muddy the waters in opposition to Kane. We see some old businessmen also fishing for information on Kane's competence when they meet with his wife. Our journalist friend Sam is also getting closer to landing some serious punches.

I do understand the story being told. Kane's political future is becoming ever more dicey as his hold on reality is loosened. However this all brings me back to the major problem with the show which is that I don't care about the characters. Kane is a rich and successful man and the whole State would be sympathetic if he told them the truth, quit his job and spent his remaining years enjoying life in whatever way he could.

But instead he is going to cling to power with all his fading might. That may make for an interesting story but it also makes him look foolish. Here he believes he has said one thing when he actually said the opposite. Seriously, how can he continue in his job after that? Surely it's too risky to go on?

I will continue to write about Boss if it continues to intrigue me but if these reviews disappear then you know why.

Grimm, 2 Broke Girls, Once Upon a Time, Boss (31\10\2011)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:49:00 +0000

Technically Grimm was on last week but I figured you might miss it if I put it in the previous blog...

Grimm - 101 - Pilot

It's always interesting to see two shows with a similar premise or concept side by side. Last week I watched Once Upon a Time and felt that it wasn't likely to be a success. I feel similarly about Grimm but for different reasons.

Grimm's take on the world of fairy tales is that the creatures from that realm, in the pilot it's the Big Bad Wolf, are real and do attack humans from time to time. The Grimm's are like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a line of humans whose job is to defend humans from what is lurking in the shadows. Although the Grimm's only super power is the ability to see the fairy tale characters behind their human masks. The actual task of defeating them has to be done with a gun or other weapon. So our main character is cop Nick Burkhardt who is shocked when his Aunt turns up and begins telling him about his destiny. When girls in little red riding hoodies go missing he jumps on the case.

Ok so the good part of Grimm is that you can imagine this being a fun show at some point in a way that Once Upon a Time feels too predictable. Grimm is helmed by David Greenwalt who worked on Buffy and Angel and so perhaps he will find a way to make the show dramatic and entertaining in a similar way. Certainly the early appearances and attacks on Nick were interesting and entertaining. The sense that anyone could be hiding a secret identity certainly lends a sense of tension to the show.

The bad news is that the episode slowly turned into a predictable police procedural. The first seasons of Buffy and Angel certainly had similar problems but this was a somewhat dull version of that. There was no real emotion in Nick's story, no sense of humour and Nick himself (David Giuntoli) was pretty bland.

I won't bother jumping to conclusions just yet. The Buffy Rewatch has been a wonderful exercise in reminding me what makes a show tick from the start. In the pilot of Buffy we are immediately told why we should care and like Buffy. We haven't yet been given those same reasons for Nick but perhaps they will come. If they do then this could turn into something. If they don't then this won't.

2 Broke Girls - 107 - and the Pretty Problem

The quick news is that this was the same as usual. Max and Caroline remain strong central characters you want to root for but the comedy is lousy.

However I want to talk a bit about Whitney Cummings. She is one of the main writers on 2 Broke Girls and obviously stars and writes over on Whitney. I'm always wary of attributing particular bits of writing to one person because it will always be a collaborative process. However after having watched about 12 episodes of television heavily influenced by her I'm afraid I have come to the conclusion that I don't think she is funny.

I am not a fan of 30 Rock and have long suspected that Tina Fey just took what she thought made for funny sketches and wrote them into a sit com. Most of the time I don't think that works and I sort of suspect that Cummings is doing the same. In her case it's her machine gun style stand up routines that she seems to be trying to channel into the mouths of Whitney (the character) and Max.

A brief Youtube search for her stand up content brought no surprises. Women are crazy, men are sleazy, people of different types are annoying for various reasons. That's pretty much what comes out of Max and Whitney's mouths. They both define themselves against society.

People who are different to them are idiots. They are either posers, creeps or idiots.

Romance has warped the feminine mind and it's better to stay insular and be cynical about all men and their level of interest in you.

Beauty is skin deep only and should also be treated with cynicism.

This week on 2 Broke Girls the usual racial stereotypes were joined by two hateful New York Italian girls and some fairly useless gay me. As I said I'm not sure Cummings is responsible entirely for these characters but her general anger at the world must be in play.

It's all fairly revealing of the neuroses which have driven Cummings toward a career in comedy. Whether because of her or in spite of her two sit coms now exist both of which have potential and both of which are not funny. Whitney has failed to make the audience care about the characters while 2 Broke Girls has. Perhaps that's because by letting Kat Dennings (Max) bring a sympathetic character to life the edge has come off Cummings' abrasive comedy style.

She clearly needs more help in finding where the real laughs are. Right now she is falling prey to insult-based comedy. Raining insults down on people may work at a comedy club but on a sit com there needs to be more context. In this week's episode Max lays into a group of old ladies for being bitchy. The problem with that is they were asking for better service. They were complaining about the tables not being clean. Instead of doing her job Max dressed them down for daring to complain. Then she and Caroline bitch about the Italian girls behind their back. The comedy there would have come if we had seen Max' anger boiling under the surface rather than allowing her to vent it all under her breath.

2 Broke Girls needs a different writing structure going forward. Sadly that probably won't be till next season. It would be good for the show if the girls moved out of the diner and the offensive characters they work with could all be eased off the stage. Cummings could then use some more experienced sit com writers to take her anger at find a way to channel it through Max in a genuinely funny way. I believe it could all happen but we will have to be patient. As with Fey, I don't think Cummings lacks talent or shouldn't be in the business of sit com. But I do think people need to realize that comedy aint easy. It takes a lot of effort to make funny sit coms and it would be nice to see someone not settle for the style they have but seek to improve. 2 Broke Girls is a commercial success but very far from a critical one. I'd like to see her try for both.

New Girl - 104 - Naked

I'm officially checking out on this show. By which I mean I won't be writing anymore unless things change. I will keep watching though because I'm a comedy addict.

I think Scrubs did a lot of damage by pioneering this modern style of incredibly self aware comedy. I know Scrubs wasn't the only show to go this way but it was a high profile and early adopter. What I see is writers trying to jump ahead of the audience and begin talking about the psychological makeup of their characters without doing the work to get there. We, the audience, need to get to know these characters as they present themselves to the world. Not as they are in their very private lives.

For example, here we have Schmidty asking to see Nick's penis because everyone else did. Nick is his best friend, Schmidty is insecure and stupid and so he suddenly thinks he is missing out by not seeing Nick's parts now that Jess has. It's an idea that definitely has comic potential. But it's not really funny, as presented, because Schmidty doesn't come across as a real person.

You can imagine a Joey Tribbiani or a Woody Boyd thinking like that. Or for more contemporary examples an Andy Dwyer, a Troy Barnes or perhaps a Rajesh Koothrappali. Those characters have been established in a way where you could imagine them getting upset at the thought of being left out and getting fixated on something so ridiculous as wanting to see their best friend's penis. It feels like a very John Dorian type emotion which brings me neatly back to Scrubs.

At least with J.D. the first season of Scrubs was superb at setting up who he was and why we should like him. Jess badly needs a season like that to avoid become obnoxious. The show seems more built around Nick right now than her because he is easier to relate to. Her bashful, oblivious, emotionally open but closed personality is a mess of contradictions that we have had no explanation for. I don't see one coming. I think you are just meant to like her and not think about anything else.

Winston has had more development than the other characters but his soul searching was only briefly touched upon in between pointlessly referencing pop culture or predictably bashing Schmidty.

Once Upon a Time - 102 - The Thing You Love Most

I can't see a way this show will make me care about the characters. I don't just mean because the show is a bit childish and silly. I mean because when the writing explores the actual feelings of the fairy tale world you get some very odd results.

In this episode it is the evil Queen whose flashback we see. Ultimately she expresses frustration that she can never win. In a world of happy endings she is destined to always be defeated and have her desires go unfulfilled. That actually made me wonder if she deserved some sympathy! A lifetime of thwarted ambition sounds pretty sad. The attempts to show her being evil (by killing her own father) just felt like the emotionless bedtime story that they have become.

The show is borrowing the Lost format pretty shamelessly. A group of strangers trapped in one place where the plot can't move forward quickly so half the episode is a flashback. The mystery of whether Rumpelstiltskin knows what is going on was a clever note to leave things on but I don't really care if he does.

I can see the show succeeding exactly as Lost did for its first season. I think viewers will tune in to see the flashbacks of other characters and learn what spin on traditional fairytales might come next. And there's always the possibility of a Giancarlo Esposito turning up to play a character completely removed from Gus Frings.

But its Heroes that this show makes me think of when I imagine its future. If the numbers stay strong then a Second Season will be commissioned. However I doubt there really is another story to tell beyond this one. My prediction would be that any attempt to stretch the narrative out will become pretty tedious and the audience will drift away.

Grimm - 102 - Bears Will Be Bears

I don't have much more to say about Grimm either. It remains humourless and emotionless.

So many TV producers just don't seem to understand how to connect an audience with a character. We have to see a character struggle with an emotion that we can empathise with. Nick has had his whole world turned upside down yet there is no moment to let the audience feel his pain. In the pilot of Buffy she snaps at Giles and asks if he can prepare her for losing all her friends or getting kicked out of school? We need a moment like that and plenty more besides if Grimm is going to turn into anything more. I won't write again unless things change dramatically.

Boss - 103 - Swallow

This was a fascinating episode of television. So much happened that pushed my thoughts backwards and forwards. The episode opens with Kane dreaming of a horse struggling to be fed. He wakes up having wet the bed. From that moment on Kane was a wonderful study of a man coming to terms with his own mortality. He considers past Mayor's and their legacies. He tries to reconnect with his daughter. He stairs despairingly at pictures of those who have died, curled up and in pain, from Lewy Body.

Then we see him sitting with two prostitutes cradling a large handful of pills. It's only then that he explains the connection with the horse and how its large throat allow it to swallow much larger pills than he can without vomiting. Whether he had already been thinking about that before the dream or he just reasoned it out afterwards it was one of the most subtle and clever uses of a dream sequence I have seen in a while.

It helped to establish the way his mind was working and how desperately he needed to share the news with someone. Before we get to the meeting with his daughter though he once more visits his Father-in-law and his care giver. She makes Kane feel better about himself and then slowly strips off and walks away, presumably towards the bedroom. It was hard to tell if this moment really happened or not. In an episode that was needlessly sexual already it wasn't hard to believe that this was indeed what was going on. But the more intriguing possibility is that Kane's hallucinations have begun to manifest at times of weakness. She offered him sympathy and comfort and it could well be that his tired mind had just imagined a reaction that made him feel good about himself.

If this were just a TV show about a man coming to terms with a terminal illness it would be pretty fascinating but swirling around Kane are larger problems. His wife and his aides now suspect that he is hiding something big. The journalist from the Sentinel is close to exposing the shady business going on at the airport site. And Kane's attempt to bond with his daughter goes up in flames when she realises that the Lewy Body is the only reason he is there. I particularly liked that moment because it would be hard to accept any rapprochement after years of silence.

The political stories are less interesting to me than the psychological. However the tone of politics in this episode did seem to fit with the tone established by The Wire and now driven home by shows like Rubicon or Homeland. The portrayal of politics as a dehumanising quid pro quo system is pretty interesting. When I grew up my impression of politics from US television was still one that put democracy up on a pedestal of virtue. The realities of shallow press coverage and donation chasing are reflected well here and it would seem we all see politics in an entirely cynical light now.

The violent part of the show's politics is the one I have the most trouble with. I complained in the pilot that a man losing his ears seemed too sensational. Here the poor Doctor and her son are forcibly relocated just to protect Kane from media scrutiny. I'm not saying that this couldn't happen though you certainly hope that it doesn't. What bothers me is that this was presented as just another part of Kane's standard operating procedure. If Kane or his team are terrorising people like this then it should be a major plot point. An action like that is not part of a politicians daily wheeling and dealing. It is a mafia-like act of control and really should be a much bigger deal.

The frequent nudity doesn't bother me but does feel like a crutch. The episode didn't actually need nipples to be as entertaining as it was.

Homeland, 2 Broke Girls, Once Upon a Time, Boss (23\10\2011)

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Homeland - 104 - Semper I

It's still not clear what Homeland will become as a show. It's still not clear if Sgt Brody is a terrorist. I really like both those facts.

Right now it's still fascinating to watch and wonder what is going on. The final scene was very unexpected and intriguing. Saul points out that Carrie is addicted to Brody. She has been watching him for weeks now and that's become her social life. When the monitors are gone she feels the need to sit outside his house and watch the windows.

Finally she decides that she needs to make some actual connection with him. So she follows him into a veterans support group and manages to lure him into a conversation. It wasn't clear what she was expecting to happen. What did happen was some very surprising flirtation. For her part it's funny to think that part of it could be genuine. It seemed like she was responding to his interest and she was probably thrilled to get as much contact with him as she did. She certainly had every reason to encourage him. On his part he was clearly looking for a way out of his group meeting but it sure looked like he wouldn't mind something else coming out of their chat.

It was such an interesting choice for the plot. Could the two of them start a bizarre affair where he seeks comfort with someone who knows what Iraq was like while she tries to trip him up? I'm assuming it won't get that far but it was an intriguing escalation of their relationship and it put their emotional situations right in front of the spy stuff which is absolutely what the writers should be doing.

The episode planted seeds for Carrie to be capable of flirtation. In the first episode we saw her boss David tell Saul that it was thanks to her that he never saw his kids. Now we understand why and suddenly the edge to their relationship becomes clearer. David lives up to her description of being super smart by spotting the Nazir connection in Carrie's recent behaviour and setting a poor junior agent (Galvez) on her trail.

Brody's behaviour was conflicted. On the one hand he was out making charismatic public appearance and on the other he hid from party guests in his garage cleaning his gun. The idea that he is isolated and doesn't know how to communicate makes sense. However it was a slight contradiction with his behaviour last episode where he bonded with his daughter. However three weeks have passed since then so it's not unbelievable. His pissiness around Mike is immature but again plausible.

The mixed race couple got a little more screen time and are both under surveillance and under instruction. Without their involvement I might have believed the show was about to become a weird relationship story about our two main characters. Instead the terrorism angle seems very much alive in them but we don't know a lot yet.

I like that the political vultures are already circling and seeing Brody as fund raising material. And I loved Virgil's response as Carrie reached for someone to support her theories and asked what Max thought about Brody: "He thinks the wife is hot."

67/100

2 Broke Girls - 106 - and the Disappearing Bed

I'm enjoying the pace and tone of this show. Here we are six episodes in and they are still paying off debt and fixing their living situation. By the time they have even moderate success in life it will feel earned. It also means the plots feel organic.

The characterisation here was very good. Seeing Max too ashamed to promote her own cupcakes made so much sense. She is used to dealing with her poverty by being sarcastic and she is proud not to need anyone's help. Although she overperformed her own anxiety it was still a sweet moment to see Max try to tell Peaches about her new venture.

Caroline is the contrast to Max. She is not too proud to beg for help when she can't build her own bed. However she also has no problem selling herself. Her fake sales pitch for Earl's CD was beautifully targeted to hit all the sweet spots including a heroin addiction to add gravity to his "career." Max asks Earl if any of it was true and he got a laugh out of me by responding "Nope, she even made up my damn last name!"

The story with Max' friend Johnnny was passable. Again I don't mind the slow storytelling, especially when it shows Max being guarded and vulnerable in a likable way.

Once Upon a Time - 101 - Pilot

Once Upon a Time is set in the modern American town of Storybrook, Maine. The town is populated by fairy tale characters who have forgotten who they are. They were imprisoned here by the Evil Queen and only the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming (Jennifer Morrison) can save them. She was sent out into the real world as a baby and has now returned, aged 28, and slowly discovers that only she has the power to restore everyone's happy endings.

On the one hand this was interesting to watch. It was never obvious what was going to happen next and my memory of fairytales isn't strong enough that I instantly knew who everyone was. The flashbacks to the fairy tale world had some intrigue, particularly Robert Carlyle playing a creepy Rumpelstiltskin.

But on the other hand it's difficult to see the show making you care about the characters. It's not as if any of the fairy tale characters are going to grow emotionally. The setup of the show is that they all want to get back to their happy endings. It's difficult to imagine how seeing Emma interact with the Maine versions of them isn't going to be anything but tedious. For example Geppetto instantly starts talking about how he and wife couldn't have a child and how sad that was. Is he going to talk about anything else? Tune in next week to see Geppetto show Emma his collection of strangely real looking marionettes!

Not to stick it to Geppetto too much but he was at the big meeting of advisers to Prince Charming and Snow White. They are a Royal Couple right? Why do they have an impoverished wood carver as one of their counsellors? That might seem a ludicrous question but it's just one of the things that occurred to me as I tried to envisage how the show is going to play out.

The series is being run by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz who wrote on Lost for years and apparently the flashback structure is here to stay. Can they tell interesting stories about these characters? Sure. Will they? We'll have to see.

I am officially doubtful as the pilot feels emotionless. In some ways it reminded me of the Legend of the Seeker show. As in it was clear the whole show was set up for a big happy ending from the start.

Boss - 102 - Reflex

I enjoyed this more than the pilot in many ways. The focus on Kane's illness and the emotions which washed over him as he contemplated his own mortality began to humanise him. The interactions with his wife and daughter also began to drag deep emotional conflicts into the story.

The political machinations were clear and easy to follow too. The double whammy of planted videos which simultaneously launched Zajac as a candidate and dealt a bad blow to Cullen were simple and clever. Perhaps a little too simple but at this stage I will take clarity over strict plausibility. The underlying story is of course about feeding the media machine and lies being as valuable as the truth which I'm happy with.

The sex scene with Zajac and Kitty was pretty ridiculous. It was far too risky and brief to be believable. He has so much to lose that you would think he would take a little more precaution than hiding behind a pillar.

Homeland, 2 Broke Girls, Suburgatory (16\10\2011)

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:44:00 +0000

These are the three shows which have survived the early season culling. New shows will debut though so keep checking back in to comment.

Homeland - 103 - Clean Skin

This was more solid stuff. When the focus is on the psychological the show really seems to have something.

The scenes where Carrie watches Brody and Jessica have "sex" are so interesting on several levels. One of which is just imagining your own reaction to such unedited voyeurism. Carrie tries to look away, acknowledging the inappropriateness of her vantage point but really, she can't help but keep watching. Those moments of intimacy are when we see Brody at his most damaged. He can't get close to normal sexual relations yet and you really felt for Jessica as he took matters into his own hands.

This episode did a good job of spreading the sympathy around the cast. In that scene you could see the struggle Jessica is going through. Our introduction to her was having loud enjoyable sex with Mike. Now Brody is back and all that warmth and pleasure has gone. She is also getting poorly treated by daughter Dana who also gets fleshed out here.

We hadn't seen the situation from her perspective until now. She is a typically rebellious teenager and now it's her mother's hypocrisy which rubs her the wrong way. Why should she be obedient and dutiful when her mum lied to them all and is now keeping secrets from Brody. The interaction between father and daughter also started to make me like Brody. His mature and peaceful approach to getting reacquainted with Dana was impressive and endearing.

Finally we see Carrie get sympathetic shading after the murder of her asset Lynne. It's only shading though because we know that Carrie would not have stopped pushing for information on Nazir. She desperately needs Saul to play therapist to her but he is understandably angry with her.

So all in all good stuff right? Yes. But then there was the plot part of this. Lynne is murdered, apparently for the grossly expensive necklace which the Prince gave her. The necklace is going to fetch a lot of cash which the Prince's handler is apparently passing on to someone for a sinister purpose. Howard Gordon (and others) who writes this show worked on 24 for years and there was a part of me that felt these plot developments fitted more into that world than Homeland's. My fears may be unfounded but the shots of Nazir's handler came inorganically to reveal the truth to us. They weren't a result of Carrie's investigation and I sort of felt like that was the only way major information would be revealed to us.

We shall see how the plot is handled going forward. The final shot is of a mixed race couple purchasing a house near the airport with cash. It would seem Brody isn't the single point of a plan, assuming he is involved at all.

67/100

2 Broke Girls - 105 - And the 90s

I actually laughed a couple of times during this though the comedy remains patchy.

My real question is does America have a problem with 'hipsters'? Seriously, if you are reading this I need your advice. The jokes about hipsters have been consistent throughout the show so far but this episode focussed heavily on them. Considering Whitney is based around a woman who mocks anything mainstream too (and Whitney Cummings writes 2 Broke Girls) I'm guessing this is just a fixation of hers.

From my perspective 'Hipsters' aren't a clear designation of person the way say 'Geeks' are in the world of comedy. To me the 'Hipsters' I see on TV look either like people who aren't cool trying to be cool or just well dressed people. In real life I've seen people identify themselves as 'Geeks' with varying degrees of seriousness but I've never heard anyone use a term that approaches 'Hipster.' If you are cool or well dressed you tend not to label yourself as one type of person. I've seen individuals mocked for trying too hard but not really groups of people.

Am I wrong? Do Americans really make this distinction in a way that British people don't yet? Or am I right in thinking that it's a term comedy people have latched on to to try and find an easy comedy target but that just isn't working very well. In this episode for example the 'Hipsters' were all willing to pay big bucks to be a part of something cool. If they have that kind of cash lying around they don't seem like 'Hipster' is what defines them. Surely they are just rich kids? Caroline's friends were amongst the crowd who turned up for the 90s party but they were clearly rich kids and not 'Hipsters.'

I'm confused about the definitions but I'm not confused about the comedy which nine times out of ten falls utterly flat. I should point out for perspective that Jeff Winger over on Community is someone who cares about appearance a lot and jokes at his expense make sense. If he is a 'hipster' then that term makes a bit more sense but I still don't see it as a group definition as Whitney seems to think it is.

Suburgatory - 104 - Don't Call Me Shirley

I'm going to stop writing about Suburgatory for now. I will keep watching because the show does have promise, however it has yet to translate that into either comedy or drama. This episode saw Tessa and Dalia team up to try and get our main character dispatched back to New York. I know that is the whole basis of Tessa's character but I was both slightly surprised and unimpressed by it as a story.

My reasoning being that we haven't actually seen Tessa suffer. Although we can guess that she misses her friends we haven't actually heard that from her. All we hear is her talk about surface things like take out restaurants or the noise of police sirens. The writers haven't established a sense of pain or misery in Tessa. Instead she has already made friends and her suburban neighbours are all pretty nice to her. Yes Dalia and her ilk are unpleasant but that hardly seems to bother the self confident Tessa.

That lack of emotion meant when Tessa formulated a plan to return to NYC I didn't even believe she wanted to go. That is a major failure of the writing. Clearly this is being pitched as a family friendly show and those kind of real emotions aren't thought necessary for a gentle comedy. I disagree. Without those emotions we are left with a pleasant but forgettable TV show and forgettable doesn't pay the bills. If anything changes I will be back. If nothing does I will stop watching.

Boss - 101 - Listen

If you don't know this new drama from STARZ has Kelsey Grammar playing the Mayor of Chicago, Tom Kane. Kane is diagnosed with Lewy Body, a degenerative disease which will leave him needing full time care within a few years. Naturally for a man used to being so powerful and in control, this is a terrible shock. We then see the world of machine politics he operates in as he prepares a shiny new candidate for Governor and deals with the broken relationships he shares with his wife and daughter.

As you would expect from a modern cable drama this was gritty and felt fairly authentic. There were moments of subtlety that I appreciated as Kane's daughter buys drugs or the ultra-clean candidate ends up sleeping with one of Kane's aides. It was also a good performance from Grammar who must be pleased to be doing something dark after decades of light sit coms.

However I didn't particularly like the show on first viewing. For a start it reminded me too much of Boardwalk Empire in tone and moral structure. We all know that politics isn't about being happy and smiley all the time but to see gangster-like behaviour in the first episode felt like overkill to me. At least Boardwalk Empire is set in a time when gangsters could operate more easily outside the law because modern Chicago doesn't seem like the place where someone's ears would be cut off for making a PR gaffe.

To be clear, I'm not saying that that isn't possible. What I'm saying is that to present a mutilation like that as just part of what running a modern city entails was a bad idea. If Kane is comfortable living with that kind of brutality then how are we supposed to feel sorry for him? He would put the smooth development of an airport ahead of any moral disgust at that act? It leaves me in the same position I am in with Nucky Thompson or indeed Don Draper (for three seasons anyway) where I don't feel like I have a reason to care about the central character.

That bleakness extended to all the other characters on display. No one stood out as good or admirable. They were all following their own paths of ambition or vice. It is possible to build a drama around that viewpoint (The Wire being the ultimate example) but there still needs to be a sense of light amongst all the grey. We shall see where the show goes and what tone future episodes strike but on first glance this doesn't seem like a show for me.