The 100

The 100



I want to like this show.

Why is this show making it so hard to like it?

Sigh. Ok, here goes.

What we know from the get go: space, adventure, teen, The CW.

What we can posit: sci-fi, teen angst, plot contrivances, pretty people, the need for suspension of disbelief.

Then we watch the 5 minute preview on Hulu.

And we get excited. Very excited. The first five minutes gives us exposition (handled well –quick, succinct gives we what we need to know and moves on). It gives us a heroine who is strong, feisty, and likeable. It gives us some cool space shots of space stations and other such things. In other words, there is a good budget on this, that bodes well. It gives us a peek at some of the coming drama, but it seems tempered by the story. So far so good.

Then we watch the whole first episode.

But wait… first let’s make a check list:

Teen angst means unrequited love, someone being dramatic for no other reason than being dramatic, the line “you just don’t understand!” and a pretty girl getting mostly naked.

What else can we expect? Well, I am going to predict a stereotypical villain doing something villainy, adults looking stupid, and hints to a bigger story arc, and probably the death of a somewhat central character fairly soon to show us how edgy and stuff the show is.

--- an hour later ---

That check list is now a mass of checks and stars and underlines.

Here’s the central plot: The humans destroyed their planet almost a hundred years ago and the survivors have been living in the Ark space station. All crimes are given the same weight (wha…?) and prisoners are judged on their 18th birthday. For some reason, the powers that be decide to jeteson 100 teen prisoners down to Earth with no supplies but equipped with wristbands that let the Ark monitor their vitals in order to determine if the air is safe down there. During the landing, the communications between the teens and the Ark are destroyed.

Here’s the thing. Some of the acting is good. Some of the storylines are decent. But there is a fair bit of WTF and that makes it very hard to concentrate on anything else.

The good: The show has potential. Especially up there on the Ark, a few things happened that made me wonder what the background was. I could see the introduced villain turning out to not be the villain (hopeful eyes) because he really isn’t all that evil. At least not yet. What a switch that would be! 

More good: despite hitting everything on my checklist the teens down there are interesting. The show on the ground is more Lord of the Flies meets Lost, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The bad: We do not understand the motivations of some main characters who are doing colossally stupid things. Over and over and over again. Who needs food, lets just hang out and play with the trees. Who need water, lets take off our clothes and have knife fights! Also? That check list thing is pretty annoying. We shouldn’t be able to predict the entire first episode. Also? All the teens look like they are 16 and 17. (It was established that they aren’t 18.) So. In a space station that regulates the breeding of the population and is all scrappy and hardly making do, there were a hundred 16 and 17 year old criminals? That’s… mighty specific and really really tough to swallow. 

 

Fingers crossed the show finds itself and makes it work. We need better sci-fi on TV.

---

Post Script. I watched the second episode. Let me just say, the good is slipping and the bad is getting worse. I got a head ache from all the eye rolling. So far? No problems have been fixed… but a whole lot of more crazy you have to just ignore it if you want to stay sane stuff has happened.



Le sigh

Sleepy Hollow

I'll admit it. I love fantasy TV shows.

Buffy: RIP.... you paved the way and set the bar so high....

Dollhouse... you were awesome and gone too soon....

Ahem.

Apparently, the masses are starting to give fantasy a bit more of a go. Yeah, Supernatural has been on for forever (a few seasons too many, but with the eye candy, we don't complain too much). And yes there are (too many) vampire and the like shows out there, but what about original fantasy?

NBC has Grimm (excellent show!)
ABC has Once Upon a Time and soon the Wonderland spin off.

Enter Fox with Sleepy Hollow! (Mondays)

I was ready to not like this show. I was sure we would have contrived polts, repetitive fish-out-ofwater jokes, magic as plot spackle, and really, the Rip Van Winkle addition to the Headless Horseman story? Why? Plus, could the show have enough story to last a whole season?

I'm glad to report that I was wrong.

Yeah, the show is a bit silly and the acting can be a bit hamfisted at times (it is the pilot afterall), but on the whole the writers have done a decent job of making the characters likeable (if not wholy beliveable... that will come later with character development one hopes) and of making the story make as much sense as a story featuring a Rip Van Winkle meets National Treasure sort of scenario with a shaggy haired hero who must stop the coming apocalypse by defeating a headless zombie who can somehow still hear people. There are also witches and the hint that George Washington wasn't just fighting for our freedom from British taxation and tyranny.

I wouldn't say it was a rollicking good time, but it was fun. The saving grace is that the cast seems to know how crazy it all sounds and the influx of humor. Go ahead, watch the preview. If you don't crack a smile, then skip the show... I have a feeling the humor and the occasional tension fraught deep in the dark forest scenes will be what carries this show forward.





I also have to point out that Crane is played by Tom Mison (a British relatively unknown)is pretty darn hunky.

The Playboy Club

And now for another edition of “play by play review (opening scene). I’m your hostess, Kaylia, and the show tonight is The Playboy Club, a 60s era drama that is hoping to be the network answer to Mad Men. 

We open to an upward look at the Chicago skyline at night. We know it is Chicago because eh sultry woman’s voice is singing “Chicago, Chicago…” before we pan down to a moderately busy street and a middle aged voice over tells us that though Chicago was full of corruption and wind, (seriously), he was still able to create a place of perfection. Quick flashes of drums, champagne, full glasses and someone getting out of a cab…

The voice continues telling us about how fantasy could become reality while we get shots of 60 era pin up posters and the music ratchets up a notch. The guy from the cab turns his playboy bunny key over to a playboy bunny who greets him as Mr. Dalton and we see the Play Boy Club sign. Mr Dalton checks his coat and is informed that Carol Lynne is on stage… perfect time for the voice over to tell us it wasn’t the fifties anymore and then there is Carol Lynne singing into a mic and a spotlight, her black bunny costume tight in all the right places, her lipstick dark enough to almost be trashy.

She sings and the voice over tells us that this is a place where “… anything could happen to anybody.. or any bunny.” as we watch a blond bunny in teal watch Carol Lynne sing and sashay herself around the stage.

Blond bunny is Maureen, we discover as red haired bunny, Alice, approaches and warns against her about just standing around. Maureen is quick to blame pretty Carol Lynne for being so distracting and then wonders why she alone gets to perform. Alice tells her that Carol Lynne was the first bunny and thus gets to do whatever she wants. An African American bunny in gold (Same actress as the Playboy Bunny from Mad Men!) approaches and riffs that Carol Lynne wouldn’t want to share the stage with Maureen seeing how Maureen has great legs and has already sold half her tray and it is only ten o’clock.

Case in point, a bald man approaches and asks Maureen to dance. He gets a little handsy (hands on her ass) on the dance floor and she spins away and dances with another guy. Carol Lynne watches from the stage with a look of slight displeasure as the spotlight follows Maureen around the dance floor. Mr. Dalton has also noticed her and he asks the short man next to him if she is new. The short man is apparently Billy and the manager because he swoops in on Maureen and, calling her “Miss”, tells her to get back to work. She corrects him on her name and then rushes off to pick up her tray.

Nick Dalton takes this opportunity to introduce himself to her and buy some of her cigarettes. She is out of his brand and asks him to wait while she runs to the back. He says he doesn’t mind and looks like he is rather enjoying watching her walk away. Carol Lynne finishes her song and the crowd claps. Nick meets her as she comes off the stage. She asks him if he won the case and he assures her that the victims will each get $50,000. She is happy to hear it and wonders how she too can be a victim. He tells he she couldn’t be a victim if she tried (gag) and she tells him she could be just about anything if the price was right. She is needed back on the stage and she points him to table three but he is waiting for cigarettes.

Speaking of cigarettes, Maureen is in the storeroom and as she turns around from the cigarette cupboard she comes face to face with leering bald handsy man. Back on stage, Carol Lynne is on to a new number and Nick is watching from the bar where the bartender, Max, knows his complicated drink order by heart.

 In the storeroom, bald handsy man is telling Maureen she shouldn’t have pushed him away. She tries to leave and he stops her by pushing her up against the cupboard…. … Carol Lynne is still singing and her spotlight is red. I take a moment to guess at whether this is intentional symbolism or just a way to show that it was s different take. Nick is getting antsy waiting for his cigarettes and checks his watch.

Up against the cupboard, Maureen is getting felt up and creeped out by bald handsy man. He goes in for the kiss and she fights back ending up on the floor next to an overturned, something. Seeing the opportunity, he is quick to get on top of her and wedge himself between her legs as she struggles.

 Nick, having decided that five minutes is too long to wait for nicotine, lets himself into the Employees Only section and comes to her rescue. Or.. he tries.

Bald handsy man knocks Nick down and then comes back for Maureen grabbing at her feet. I am unsure if he plans on raping her next to Nick (who wasn’t hit all that hard) or if he is going to try to kidnap her, but Nick recovers and attacks again. In the struggle Maureen and her (magically still on) high heels strikes out and bald handsy man gets a stiletto to the neck. Then, the blood, the wet raspy sounds, and the almost instant and not that messy death.

Maureen recovers quickly and offers to go call the police but Nick stops her, “Do you have any idea who you just killed?” Instead of a bitter or sarcastic “My would-be rapist?” Maureen looks worried… and Title Card!

 Turns out the guy Maureen killed was a mob boss. Nick takes his money, she takes his Playboy key and together they dump the body in the river. As the show continues, Carol Lynne is too old to be a bunny and she goes above the head of Billy, the manager, to Hef who gives her a new job of Bunny Den Mother. (She is no Joan Halloway, but she is dynamic on the screen.)

The episode, in true pilot style, does a fair bit of exposition and character introduction while setting up at least three story arcs. Here are some good and some bad points from the pilot.

Good:
Bunny suits need a partner to unzip
Bunny territories shouldn’t be crossed! Rawr!
Secret bunny lesbian who is there for the money.
Nick Dalton does a decent Don Drapper impersonation… seriously there are a few times when he has the voice down pat!
Brenda (the Africal America, or Chocolate Bunny) is awesome. “Is it true what they say.. that he has a really big….. ? Oh honey, you got a dirty mind, I was going to say penis.”
The term “Chasing Bunny tail… hee!”
The Tina Turner and Ike stand ins are a lot of fun to watch.
Not just lesbians, but hot hunky gay men too!

 And the Bad: 
 Rampant sexism… it can’t be authentic period piece unless they play up that angle, right?
The whole “We have to pretend to lust each other… let’s kiss.. for, umm, the sake of others.. yeah, for their sake we better make out.”
The voice over of Hugh. Who is he talking to? Why? We are a relatively adult and well read audience, we don’t need things spoon fed to us.
Almost too many stories and side stories. I worry that the show won’t be able to do them all justice while still keeping us entertained.
 The whole tag line (from the voice over Hef) that in the Playboy Club you can “be whoever you want to be” rings decidedly false since the bunnies can’t be anything really other than waitresses and the men can’t really be their lovers.

 In short, there is potential. I plan on watching a few more episodes to see where it is going… and will try to leave all Mad Men comparisons behind me while I do it. And… here is a trailer that pretty much shows you the entire first episode….

 

Up All Night and The New Girl

Fall is officially here… at least according to the TV Guide, and with it, some new TV shows. Let’s take a look at two sitcoms, Up All Night and The New Girl.

 First, The New Girl, a sitcom about finding love and family in the place you might east expect to find it. The premise, a quirky girl (Zoey Deschenal from 500 days of Summer) who moves in with three guys she found on craig’s list. Predictable crazy hyjinks ensue. The show is a decently written sitcom and if you are a fan of that genre or a fan of sexy girls playing dorky girls, this show might tickle your funny bone. Though predictable as taxes and breaking no new ground, the show is harmless and offers a few laughs. One hopes that the shtick of the pretty girl who is too dorky for her own social good will be retired a bit and make way for more interpersonal funny situations and some slight character development.

My take: worth watching to see if they can get over the pilot hump and make a potentially very funny sitcom.

 

 Up All night, on the other hand, is tired before it begins and a waste of talent. The premise is two thirtysomethings who are surprised at the workload of raising a baby and… well.. that’s about it. Though it strives to tackle issues of balancing work and home life, the characters are horribly one dimensional and the “funny” moments are overdone and have been done, and done and done, before. Also, we skip the whole brand new infant phase and the baby is a few months old and yet the change of a diaper seems an insurmountable challenge. One hopes that given a few more episodes and some sort of character arc, the star power of Will Arnett and Christina Applegate won’t be a footnote in the cancelation notice. There is potential but without some drastic changes, this show will stay in the heap of “can totally skip” TV shows this fall.

My take: could be worth watching, but would take some serious changes and twists to hold anyone’s interest for long.

 

MisFits

MisFits

This show is new to American audiences, but a fan favorite in the UK. This gritty and dark take on the superhero genre is well worth watching. An ensemble cast tells the story of five juvenile (early 20s) London delinquents who get zapped by mysterious lightning and develop powers. Although there are times when the accents (British etc) are a bit hard to understand, the cast is well formed and the storylines are surprisingly profound and compelling. I especially like that the rag tag group is not a family, a group of friends, or a team really... in fact, they don't particularly like one another.

Because of its across the pond roots, the show is full of violence, sex, nudity, and language. Thankfully, so far at least, it has managed to keep itself out of the realm of camp and corny and in the realm of interesting and slightly provocative. Also, a nice change of pace… we have teens/early 20s characters without any of the overly dramatic sappy teen/eary 20s angst. These characters are well rounded and fascinating.

It isn't totally devoid of camp...

The writers use the sci fi aspects to enhance the story arcs instead of relying on them to provide the story arcs which is understandably refreshing. Mixing dark comedy and believable dialogue with super powers that are not as super as one would hope and real life struggles of selfhood coming of age drama, this show is clearly something worth watching.

The entire first series (a 6 episode arc) is available on Hulu.

Workaholics

“College is over, but the party isn’t!”

Well, with a tag line like that, there’s no where to go but…. Up…. Right?

It’s been a bit since I last wrote a TV show review, (Click here to read them.), a fact not lost on a few of my loyal readers. Thanks for coming by to read the fiction reviews while you wait.

Of the four shows I have been asked to write about, this was the one that happened to be on the home page of hulu when I finished watching something else, so here you go.

This latest offering from Comedy Central is supposed to fill the need of all those former frat and party boys who are now all amazingly employed (despite the economy) but still maintain that nothing, not even their jobs, will keep them from having a good time. I have a feeling, based on the promos only, that the target audience is male, not actually working, and around the age of 12. The show is to revolve around the antics of three nobodys pretending to be actors. You think I’m joking right… seriously… of the three “leads” in the show, the one time appearance on Traffic Light and two appearances on Samantha Who are practically the only things listed as far as past experience. Wow.

But let’s start! (As was done in Castle, The Listener, and a few other shows…. First a play by play recap for part of the show, then general recap of whole show, and plenty of snark along the way.)

We open with a backyard barbeque pool party scene full of people who aren’t wearing sunglasses where we join in what appears to be the longest running game of beer pong ever. Frizzy Haired Man Child (wearing a sweat band for some reason) is suddenly bored of this and thus challenges the other two to a contest to see who can make a “smaller face.” (Pull your lips up toward your nose and close your eyes… Apparently this move has the power to shrink your face.) Brunette Man-Child, Adam, is deemed the winner for no discernible reason but is then told that it isn’t something he should be proud of. Not-Adam Man Child (in a hat) changes the subject to ask his bros if they know what “sexting” is and while middle America remembers that we have already been warned about the dangers of sexting and the sexting epidemic that is ruining our children’s futures, Adam and Frizzy Haired Man Child nod sagely. They do indeed know all about sexting.

(Microsoft Word on the other hand would like to correct “sexting” to “sexing” and I am tempted to let it.)

Funny Hat Man Child tells his now captive audience that he is “pretty sure” that he just got “way into it” because some girl that he doesn’t remember meeting last night, his memory is impaired because he was so very drunk, has been sexting him all morning. We then get the play by play of their text conversation (never as funny as it seems it will be) which is mostly “where did you go?” “you should come over” “maybe I will but in the meantime…” And then a close up photo of her nipple.

Yep. A nipple. On a smart phone. On my computer. Frozen in place. Somewhere Janet Jackson is saying “Losers, that whole nipple thing is sooooo 2004.” Actually, we all probably thought that. (And yeah, it was 2004… I just checked.)*

Back to the sext of the nipple. (Wow, Comedy Central gets away with everything!) It is an extreme close up of the areola. Not nearly as sexy as titillating. (Yep, I went there.)

The guys ooohhhh and ahhhhh. They say the word “nipple” about a dozen times and congratulate Funny Hat Man Child for getting such a good shot (forgetting that he wasn’t the one who took it). Funny Hat Man Child calls it the “nipple of my dreams” and Frizzy Haired Man Child says that he should get her over to the party by sending her a “pic of your dick.” When Funny Hat Man Child hesitates, Frizzy Haired Man Child assures him that things are in the proper order. “Nipple, Dick, Pussy, Butthole.” (They bleeped “pussy”.)

Funny Hat Man Child (FHMC) wants to know who’s butthole but they guys ignore him and send him off to get it done. Adam tells him to lose the hat. In the bathroom, FHMC talks to his dick while snapping the photo, “Are we gonna have sex?” and then rushes to rejoin his friends. He tells them that he has officially started the countdown to vagina time and also has just washed his butthole… just in case. They congratulate him.

And then Adam proves that he is a sneaky little Man Child as he has the phone that gets the Dick Pic Text… seems he had borrowed the phone from someone named Vanessa, and before stupefied FHMC can do anything, and much to the glee of Frizzy Haired Man Child, Adam forwards the text to all of Vanessa’s contacts. Lucky them. I’m sure that Vanessa’s dad and great aunt Mavis needed to get a text from her featuring some random guy’s dick. Vanessa herself appears and takes back her phone and then everyone at the party all simultaneously get The Text Felt Round The Party. Cue lots of laughing party goers. Adam: “Seems the nipple of your dreams is actually my nipple of your nightmares.” And then pulls open his shirt to show off the little bit of shaved chest that has inspired so much fun. FHMC loudly protests that the Dick Pic isn’t accurate, that there was a funny shadow in the bathroom….

… And Roll Credits!

Ok so the show is about what you expect from the premise. In fact, it only gets worse. There are more bleeped words, more toilet humor, a lot of stoner pot jokes, more inane antics… Not really sure why they named it Workaholics. Trying to be ironic. Fail.

Basically the guys are shocked to find out that after a full weekend of partying and rampant drug use, there is to be drug tests at work.

How to get out of a drug test… more drugs? Start a fire? No… No Longer Wearing The Funny Hat Man Child has been storing safe pee in his mini fridge and will give it if the other two if they eat… ceiling tiles. Which, they tell us, tastes like a “mummy’s dick.” (I don’t want to know how they know that.)

But then testosterone gets high and the pee gets splashed all over Man Child’s face.

They take a break to visit with a drug dealer friend and watch consider ODing on over the counter drugs. But no… inspiration strikes and they attempt to bribe a kid to provide clean pee… with porn (no) with music (no) with ninja stars and firecrackers… Yes! But even that plan goes awry and despite Adam carrying pee in his outstretched palm, they must accept that they can’t trick their way out of the test.

And then inspired by the Die Hard movie they watched on their lunch break, Frizzy uses the air ducts to sneak into the pee closet and mess with the samples. We get an excellent shot of him peeing all over the place (yes, we see the stream). Since he contaminated all the samples, the boys are safe to annoy the world another day.

Some of the low(er) points:

Poop in a dollar as a gag…. Adam is proud that he was able to wrap a piece of his own poop up and leave it out for an unsuspecting passer by to pick up.

Bad bad bad beat boxing slash hip hop music as the send off sounds before commercials.

“It’s gay time in the bathroom, if you go in there, you’ll be gay.”

All the pee things.

Basically… the whole show.

But if this sounds like your cup of pee, I mean tea, check it out on hulu. The next episode promises hilarity whith “The guys will stop at nothing to get tickets to a sold-out basketball game, even if it means being dunked in a horchata tank and seeing a grown man's penis.” Because… seeing a grown man’s penis is such a trial? Could this show get more insipid? More homophobic? More lowest common denominator stupid low brow potty mouthed?

I, for one, won’t be bothering to watch more in order to find out.


*Let me just break here to say that having a frozen screen shot of a nipple on my screen while I look up the actual date of Nipplegate was in fact the perfect thing to have on my screen when my boyfriend wandered into the room. He didn’t bat an eye, but then he had been sorting bone in the other room. We aren’t like other people.

The Gates

Strap in for a blow by blow of the opening scene followed by a review of the pilot (available on Hulu.com)

The Hulu info by the way is succinct: The Monohan family moves into a new home in an exclusive community.

Well.. with a catch like that… Zzzzzz

No, I’m sure that this new drama from ABC will be exciting and new! Let’s give it a chance!

We open on a dark big wall that is protecting all the joys of suburbia. There is a young white couple running, happy little white kids with lemonade, picnicking, washing cars, etc. Then, a dark haired woman is in her garden clipping roses (no hat, no sunglasses, and no ponytail to obscure her beauty and charmed unrealistic pruning). She calls out to a pouty little girl named Emily that she (dark haired Rose Trimmer) has told her (Emily of the pouty face) not to skateboard without a helmet. Rose Trimmer has an accent.

Emily steps off her skateboard and it rolls away into the path of a car being driven by White Guy On Cell Phone complaining about his wife.

Rose Trimmer runs after Emily screaming but Emily ignores her and then stands frozen in the car’s path. Cell Phone Man slams on the brakes and then crashes.

Rose Trimmer grabs the apologetic Emily and after hugging her checks openmouthed on Cell Phone guy who has a nasty cut and a face full of blood.

Carpool Mom pulls up to pick up Emily and despite her obvious and over acted misgivings, Rose Trimmer aka Mom lets Emily go to school.

The skateboard is forgotten as Emily climbs into the minivan and, not wasting a second, Rose trimmer Mommy invites bloody Cell Phone man inside.

Rose Trimmer gets all chatty with our Contractor Cell Phone man (so maybe it wasn’t his wife he was complaining about). Her second question to him involves her notifying his wife? Girlfriend? He has neither and in fact he says that this (her washing his face) might be the closest he has been to a woman all year. Instead of standing up and kicking him out for being creepy, she continues to wash his face and tries to reassure him.

“I’m sure it will just be a mater of time.”

“I hope so,” he stares at her getting creepier by the second, “Not sure how much longer I can wait.”

Again, she isn’t creeped out but does tell him that she is married and then promptly gets a bit weird about the blood on the cotton balls. She pulls herself from staring at the disgusting things and has the energy to banter with him a bit more. Mixed Signal City.

Apparently the bloody cotton balls changed her mind because suddenly her husband is out of town and they are kissing… she leads him into the kitchen she has a thing for kitchens, and they are making out hard core before I start to wonder if this is going to be a vampire show… and then…

Yep. Teeth, Biting. Shoulder Clutching. Bleeding him over the stopped up kitchen sink.

Roll credits.



Sigh. I sort of don’t want to bother. I mean.. another vampire show? This one with its own mythos (obviously the sun isn’t an issue for Rose Trimmer) and pitfalls. I like the vampire stuff… but… honestly, isn’t mass culture getting a bit blood boated by now?

Also, there are a LOT of white people in this show. Like... everyone.

I digress.

The show is about a family moving into a gated community. Well okay. But…

The show is actually about the cast of characters in the gated community. There are the vampires, but somehow they are a bit human. There are the cliché characters but they somehow seem well cast. There is the set up for down the road reveals that actually look intriguing.

And it is more than vampires. There are werewolves and witches (dueling witches pretending to be herbalist holistic healers!) and of course there is teen angst and marital strife, and small town nosey neighbors.

I wish there was a bit more humor… the show could suffer from taking itself too seriously, but on the whole it is engaging, interesting, and moderatly entertaining.

I’ll keep watching.

Past Life

Of all the crap…

I mean, I live in California. In Santa Cruz. I like sci-fi and fantasy. I have seen plenty of far fetched lame plot devices and things that make you go “what the…?”

But this? This is just crap.

The promo is set to the sound of a defibrillator machine for ambiance… the words are sort of floaty…

“Have you ever had Déjà vu? And thought it was something more? Maybe it was.”

Voice over: She solves crimes that put souls to rest!

Yep. Welcome to Past Life,



...the new crime procedural with the shtick of the crime solvers being Psycho…. Therapists and a washed up has been “cowboy” detective who use Regression Therapy to solve murders. Apparently, as the “doctor” tells us, Reincarnation is real. We all carry around the memories of our past lives and sometimes, due to trauma or plot convention we regress and experience these memories. At that point it becomes up to her to use triggers and forceful staring to get you continue to flash back so that they can investigate the ‘clues” and thus solve the mystery.

That is premise of the show.

I kid you not.

They canceled Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Dollhouse, and Defying Gravity…. And we get this. (Not a shock, the show is on FOX… I am still not sure how a skeptical medical show like House managed to make it on this network that is so obviously catering to the vaccines cause autism and homeopathy is so super reals!)

Here’s the thing. Shows like Fringe and Warehouse 13 are silly. They know they are silly. They deal with things that are obviously silly like enchanted combs and telepathy. They are harmless.

But crap like this? Crap like this feed on the general public’s appetite for reasons to distrust science in the name of pseudoscience. Regression therapy to deal with your tortured reincarnated soul? Give me a break.

The pilot introduces us to Dr. McGinn (doctor of what we aren’t ever told), her horrible fake accent, and her sidekick the skeptical (but for how long?) former detective Whatley. There is also a 14 year old boy who is the reincarnation of a murder victim. We get just enough exposition to make us queasy and then we get the story which is almost unwatchable.

I thought about recapping the episode but honestly by the opening credits I was feeling overwhelmed with nausea so instead here are a few of the best and worst moments of the show.

Read Watch if you can stomach it, and Judge for yourself.

Lines like “The clues are there, you just have to know where to look.” Reek of both poor writing and confirmation bias.

Classic bad moment: Oh no, the kid has gone missing. Let’s go to his room. Hey look his friend is IMing him right now! What a great coincidence… the friend says ‘What up where r u? Zachary park?” because that makes sense. If you IM someone (a message sent to their computer) and they don’t answer you are going to start guessing random places… because they will, what answer? Of course the kid is in Zachary park. And of course he has had some sort of psychotic break, errr, I mean Regression Moment.

Another classic bad moment: The ‘ooo’ moment of the fact that the kid is actually the reincarnation of… A Little GIRL!

“It’s a Texas thang [her insistence on driving in the city], trucks, guns and the death penalty.” Several Texans just hung their head in shame. And that’s saying something. Apparently Texans also have bad taste in jewelry and are bossy about their coffee.

Ahhhhh skeptical detective man is also superstitious man who believes in bad luck. But not in coincidences. (also a widower, but I’m sure that is just a shameless eventual plot moment right?) This show makes my brain hurt.

“Husbands are like Jesus, just another white man telling me what to do” said without a trace of irony by a rich southern white woman.

The intuitive leap of “The clue is referencing a tall building with a red light on it. Which could be lots of places in the city we are in, but not that many places in say… that city over there.”

The murdered girl was killed a month before our Regression driven teen boy was born….. So this show has now not only decided that Reincarnation is real, but that recycled souls can implant themselves into fetuses not at the moment of conception…. But rather at some point before birth. I guess that straddles the abortion line pretty well wouldn’t you say? It has a recycled soul… at X weeks! Hazah!

“he remembers being murdered.” Point of interest. If you are killed you therefore have no future memories… right? You would have the memories up until the point where everything goes black. But if you never wake up as an angel and see your body or end up talking to St. Peter, how would you actually know you had died? Wouldn’t you need a point of contrast? I was alive, now I am dead? Is the soul of the victim self aware and free loading off the teen? Am I the only one who thinks this doesn’t make any sense?

By the way, the FBI vouches for our intrepid Dr. Of course they do.

“The best way to deal with a skeptic is to rip the band aide off, tell ‘em who we are right up front.” I would counter that the best way to deal with a skeptic is with proof but since I have a feeling that this show is going to actually provide us with some “proof” I’ll hold my tongue.

Also, too many people with beautiful blue eyes. Come on folks. Where are all the attractive brown eyed people?

We won’t worry about things like evidence for our warrents… the kid psychic mumbled about a boat name and then we found a guy who owns a boat with that name… he must be our killer! Guess what. In this world, he is indeed the killer.

We don’t see the ensuing court case. Because no judge in their right mind would allow it and no jury even out of their minds would buy it (I hope). But since this is a crime procedural that is more concerned with being edgy and unique due to schtick, we aren’t really surprised.

At 38 minutes our skeptic has officially become a believer. Because…. That’s how skepticism works. We get distracted by the shiny and forget our critical thinking skills. Gah!

And in response to his fumbling ‘aww gee, I guess I have to believe now” bit her response is the classic condescending: “The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening.” She is going to quote Einstein as a way of validating pseudoscience.

Thankfully the credits rolled pretty soon after that.



Want to see for yourself? Episodes are available for free at Fox.com and hulu.com

Dollhouse (Season 1 and 2)

Dollhouse




I meant to write about Dollhouse when it first came on, but the pilot left me ambivalent and it wasn’t until about half way through the first season that the show started to really resonate with me.

I admit, I was worried about the concept. Dolls, or people who have had their minds basically erased, are imprinted with the mind/personality/skill set of whatever the paying client wishes. They can be bank robbers or FBI agents, but they are also quite commonly used on “romance engagements.” The parallels to human trafficking and prostitution is obvious.

So, with that in mind we watch as Echo (played by Eliza Dushku) assimilates a new and exciting personality each week to… right what once went wrong? Well, no. more like to have some sort of adventure where ED gets to show off her amazing body, repertoire of fake accents, great singing voice, super cool hand to hand combat skills….



Like many, I wondered how the show could possibly continue. Doesn’t it sound like a bad made for TV SyFy movie?

Ahhh, me of little faith.

Just repeat after me: In Joss we trust.

Series creator Joss Whedon –who probably dosen’t need an introduction coughBuffycoughFireflycough- did indeed have a plan, an over arching “big bad” in the form of Rossum Corporation who not only has set up the Dollhouse but wants to get all Freejack on these people. It is all about body hopping, immortality, and of course world domination.

Woo hoo! A reason to kick ass and blow things up!

And an actual reason to love the characters that make up this ensemble cast. (Honestly, even Topher grew on me.)



As the show (in its limited 27 episodes) progresses, we get a full story arc. We get good guys and bad guys. We get twists and turns. We get the sudden deaths of beloved characters (classic Joss Whedon). We get post apocalyptic snarky and epic battles. We get Felicia Day.



Oh, and perhaps one of the best parts of this show is Olivia Williams who manages to steal every scene she is in and make all the other seasoned actors look like children pretending to act. This is one classy beautiful regal lady y’all



Enough gushing I suppose. Go out and get yourself the first and second season of this show. Brilliantly written, decently acted, with enough sex and guns to keep anyone interested and a story that is not only apropos for today’s tech hungry world but also classically woven from hero adventure stories of our culture. This show, this story, is not to be missed.


You can get Season One (or rather just think of it as the first half of the story) with the very special final episode –only available on the DVD- which actually ties everything together at amazon.com




I couldn’t find when Season 2 will be available for purchase. They really should just sell it as one thing…. But what do I know.

Anyway, the show is over. It had its run. But it was well worth watching.

Defying Gravity

TV Review for Defying Gravity



This show was surprisingly good. I had it pegged as a space soap opera with too much sex and too many silly romantic entanglements. What I got instead was a decently written Sci Fi show with (yes) some significant romantic entanglements but more than enough interesting space and mystery stuff to make up for it.

The production value of the show alone is worth checking out… this isn’t the Sci Fi of Star Trek with clean futuristic lines and fancy computers that talk to you…. this is near future drama where people still wear space suits and space travel is an expensive dangerous calling.

The basic premise is that there is a six year mission to travel throughout our solar system, visiting seven planets. Haunted by failures in the past and working under the direction of an as of yet unexplained entity that is pulling the strings, the story of the mission is told in parallel structure with flashbacks of the training on earth and the day to day work of the journey as it unfolds. With a stellar cast and some very written over ridding themes of humanity, intimacy, trust, and cohesiveness,… this show is off to an amazing start.

I highly recommend Defying Gravity and would like to throw out kudos to ABC for producing this space show that feels more like a miniseries than a formulaic people-in-interesting-circumstances sort of drama.


Best part? You can watch the first two episodes on hulu.com!

Merlin

Merlin



As beginnings go, this one was sort of …. blink and you’ll miss it coupled with cheesy voice over and a tall pointy eared youth walking through a forest.

Merlin!

I suppose it is hard to make a new show based on a story that has been done and redone and then redone again (and again) but in today’s climate of “We miss Buffy” and “Harry Potter made a lot of money….” It isn’t really all that surprising.

Ok, fine. Open mind and all that.

Yikes.

Actually the show isn’t half bad. Anthony Stewart Head is Uthur, the roles of who is who in the court are a bit jumbled, but overall it is a fantasy show with enough familiar touches and enough changes to make it interesting.

Like.. Guinevere is the Lady Morgana’s maid… and she is all sweet on Merlin. This can’t end well.

I will note that Merlin has remarkable teeth… in fact most of the pretty people in this show are well, remarkably pretty which is slightly disconcerting… but the fact that there aren’t any blonds I find refreshing.

By the way, Arthur is cute and also a bully with a sense of justice, Merlin is telekinetic and a bit of a prat, and the music is cliché but perfectly fun. There is also a bit of teenage angst, but thankfully it never gets further than “I want to be special… wait, I am, now I am slightly tortured…” and I can live with that.

I would rather not live with the English accent half the cast have or the creepy badly CGI dragon mentor… but lets not be too picky.

So, despite a lackluster beginning, I will tune in again because we all could use a bit more magic and nifty medieval props in our lives.

Or maybe that’s just me.

(One last note: when someone gives you a old highly illegal book of magic and tells you to keep it hidden, it seems in poor judgment to set it on your bedside table and then walk away from it leaving your door ajar…. Again, maybe that’s just me.)

The Listener

Dear Kay,

Have you heard or watched the new show “The Listener”? I was wondering what you thought about it.

-Blog Reader Who Prefers Not to Have Her Name Used



Dear Blog Reader Who Prefers Not to Have Her Name Used

I am going to call you BRWPNHHNU, no wait… even that is too long… how about Trixie? Trixie it is.

Dear Trixie,
No, I have never heard of this show, but a quick search turned it up. In order to answer your question about what I think of it, I will have to watch it. Here I go!



Since the Castle treatment was so popular, here is the same sort of thing for The Listener. (blow by blow recap of the first scene, general recap following, and snarky review along the way.)


The Listener



We open on a young man standing on what at first looks like a roof during sunrise. His voice over asks us if we ever wonder what people are thinking… he doesn’t (apparently he tells us… and then our young man (OYM until they give him a name) gets a bit cryptic because that is what every show needs… a long slow buildup to pique your interest and make you salivate for the treat. OYM, by the way, is not saliva worthy in my book. Seems OYM is a telepath who can turn off (or mute) his ability by making a fist… sort of a physical technique to mirror brain activity that hopefully won’t ever be any more symbolic than that. (I don’t want anyone thinking that the way to shut up someone else is with a fist, thank you very much) and who also refers to his gift as God giving him “free cable.” Who wouldn’t want free cable?

His intro is complete with sidewalk swagger set to piano music but with horrible lighting in which he scans the people who walk by; the semi flirty thoughts of a woman and the fashion misgivings of a man. The man, at least, is totally valid in his fashion misgivings and I crack a smile. Then OYM proves that he is a good guy who uses his powers for good by giving an old man in a diner the extra buck he was just realizing he needed. Intro complete its time for the exposition as OYM sits down at a table and strikes up conversation with his friend (Cute Friend) in which we learn that he was with a girl named Olivia last night, he is habitually late to things, he is a first year paramedic, and the lighting crew really want us to notice he has pretty eyes. Also, he might have girl trouble but doesn’t want to talk about it with Cute Friend and they head off because now they are both late and we get more voice over (because voice overs teasing of framing devices that never actually show up are such good ways to shorthand actual storytelling….). He doesn’t want to be a freak he tells us (who? Who cares.) even as he gently touches the old guy from a minute ago and tells him to have a nice day. The old guy has a look like, “Hey… where you going cutie?”

In Cute Friend’s car with adorable mirror hanger doo-dad of course, the boys discuss their mutual lack of plans for the night while OYM texts someone and describes his fights with Olivia as two people with “unique points of view.” Cute Friend is not convinced as his thoughts betray him. And then OYM has a seizure of sorts while getting flashes of a car accident with someone trapped inside. Cute Friend pulls over (there is no traffic in this part of New York [CORRECTION: Toronto] it seems) and does that whole snapping of fingers and such while naming OYM who will now be Toby. Toby assures Oz (Cute Friend) that he is okay, it isn’t a brain amorism or a migraine. (If they are such good friends, how is it that he has never seizured up like this before?) Cute Oz is about to pull away when he notices a block away the same car accident Toby had just Sam Winchester-ed about*.

The boys jump from the car and run over to help. Despite Oz being the first to notice and run over, it is Toby who breaks the window and frees the girl while Oz stands back and says helpful things like “The car’s on fire” and “Be careful Toby.” He gets the girl and carries her heroine style away from the car with Oz saying ‘I thought it was gonna blow” and Toby responding “It’s not a movie, it doesn’t happen that way.” and then of course it does. BOOM! The boys share a look and the blond in Toby’s arms faints and credits roll.



And that ends my play by play portion except to say that the credits are horribly lame with nothing more than bright lights and a very intense scowling Toby staring off into the distance. I am guessing that they spent the budget on exploding cars.


Throughout the rest of the episode we learn that they are both Emergency Medical Service people, and that Toby likes to use his “free cable” for more than the occasional charity buck. He uses it to solve crimes… to set right what once went wrong… to kiss up with the boss, to stroke the ego of Oz, to waylay the aggravations of an ex girlfriend … We also learn that Olivia is a pretty doctor with a stick up her ass, She doesn’t seem to like Cute Oz while I find myself liking him more and more (his background pantomime of the adventure involving the car was perfect) and I wish he had been in more of the episode.



Oh and the lighting never gets better.

The police detective by the way is hot in one of those “I’m a model pretending to be something else” sort of way who doesn’t ever really do any detective work and in the end all but throws up her hands in a “I don’t know what just happened, but there is happy-ending-music playing, so it’s all good.” ort of way and exits stage right.

There is also a scientist professor mentor for Toby, named Ray who knows Toby’s secret. See, Toby’s powers are increasing and that freaks him out a bit.

We get the obligatory “I have to do something, I might be the only one who can help” and the “No one can know about you.” (from Ray.) and Toby is off to be the hero, to rescue the kidnapped son of the car accident mom.

What I didn’t like about the show:

It makes the same classic reading mind mistake most shows do. It implies that people only have one thought at a time and it is super concentrated. Toby looks at a woman for 5 seconds and she only thinks one sentence? Right,. Ok. Also, Toby seems to be able to visualize what the person is thinking… living in their flashback. So, then shouldn’t the show be called something besides “The Listener” since he is doing more than listening? His gift seems to have no real set parameters and thus it makes it hard to buy the whole “my gift is evolving” plot device.

Also, the lightening really sucks.

Another thing, no one ever brings up the idea that reading people’s thoughts is a bit of a huge violation of personal space. (Is this a FOX show?**) Also, the plot devices kind of overworked the plot… when car accident mom ditches the hospital it is Dr. Olivia who confronts Toby saying that the patient is in a bad way, with a concussion. (But this was the day before… and she can’t be the only person who has ever left the hospital AMA with just a concussion right?) If Dr. Olivia is so concerned why doesn’t she go to the patient’s house to check up on her, why give Toby (an EMS worker who wasn’t even on the case) the patient’s address. Why why why? Oh right. Because the script says so. I am so sick of TV’s depiction of doctor’s without morals. Gah!

And then Toby breaks into car accident mom’s apartment!!!!!!! I mean holy crap on a two foot stick! Yeah, he can justify his bump key because he is a EMS, but still!

The time sequence seems a bit rough around the edges, a lot of coincidences and even some huge time lapses.

We never see any actual calls the boys make being all EMS-y… too much time being all detective/hero.

They change narrative devices at 19 minutes, suddenly showing us things in real time that are happening to other characters. Which… seems… like cheating. And also disrupts the flow (such as it was) of the show.

Having the poor adorable little boy with his huge eyes calling his mommy “I miss you mommy” was a bit excessive. And the way in which the bad guy is dealt with was all sorts of lame.

Mostly though, the problem is with the acting of Toby… who… can’t act. Widening your blue eyes under big bushy brows does not you an actor make. And the way he talks, bleh, all low tone and intense feeling that feels overly phoned in.



What I liked: (much shorter list)

The cop who might be too pretty for realness but who kinda didn’t take anything from Mr. Intensity (Toby). Also, she wears totally inappropriate clothes but with the figure she strikes, no one seems to mind. Is that sexist? Nope… It’s true.



Vigilante mom buys a gun and has no idea how to hold it, this was unintentionally funny and totally sad.

The hints at creepy back-story involving a “gifted” mother and repressed memories for Toby.



I give this show a C- and will probably not watch it again.

*Supernatural dig there, ignore me.
**No, it is a Canadian show that has been picked up by NBC. -sigh-

Mental

What’s the point in reviewing something everyone has read already, seen already, decided upon already?

It’s still fun!

But today I am going to review something a bit new… the pilot episode of Mental, a new medical show from Fox (home of that other medical show: House) that just premiered because lets face it, the summer rerun season is here and isn’t yet another medical show what every television network needs? (especially the network that is home of House.)

No? Well ok… I’m sure this medical show will have a totally new twist, a cast of characters so new and unique, a premise so smart and edgy that we, the audience, won’t be able to resist. And I am sure it will have nothing in common with Fox's other medical show; House.

Or not.

We join Dr. Gallagher (Chris Vance) who is a British hotshot maverick of a doctor who seems to like showing off his body and who has just started his new job running the psych unit of a large hospital in LA after only running a clinic in Vermont. (The Vermont angle is repeated so many times I figured the state paid for product placement.) Fish out of water meets hunky doctor who likes to break the rules… oh and has a bit of lust for his boss who might dress like the JC Penny’s version of Dr. Cuddy (from House) with the chest size to pull it off, but really is no substitute.

The similarities don't end with a flirtation to the boss and the desire to ride a bike (not a motorcycle like House but still a bicycle in LA) Dr. Gallagher seems to have more than a few things in common with Dr. House complete with wide eyed lackeys (doctors who play detective) who don’t understand his methods but admire his results and a tendency to do things his own way… such as get totally naked with a patient in order to win the much sought after element of trust.

Trust indeed.

Before the credits even roll I am drawing House parallels left and right with a few Lie to Me parallels thrown in for good measure and being secretly glad that the lovely Jacqueline McKenzie has made it back to the screen, as Dr. Gallagher's buttoned down foil, after The 4400 went kaput. (The 4400 by the way is an excellent sci fi show and should not be missed… check out the miniseries, you won’t regret it.)



Ahem, back to Mental. The show is okay… Dr. Gallagher butts heads with McKenzie's Veronica over whether routine or reality is a better form of therapy as expected. The show also has its moments of connection (throw cute kids into the mix and there you go) and a few moments of queasiness (the leering med student for example).

Can I go off on a tangent? What is it with people (doctors) on TV breaking and entering without any sort of repercussions. Doctors Without Borders has nothing on the crop of Doctors Without Permission. Do the ends justify the means? (Wait, this show is on Fox, home of 24 and Jack Bauer's Torture Always Works and the end so totally justifies the means that you better not even bother to ask... never mind, I withdraw the question.)


Gah, whatever. The show wants to celebrate both rational treatment and out of the box thinking, we are encouraged to feel bad for a dead cat (and dead spouse) collector, and we get glimpses of what the mental patients see and experience. As shticks go, this is well, sort of new. We get not so subtle ploys for emotional intrigue (someone has cancer, someone else has a sibling with a mental disorder Shocker!) but on the whole the show leaves little impact on the viewer after the end credits roll.

I may or may watch more episodes… chances are that had it started its run during the regular season it would have never seen the light of day but because of the summer schedule, it might have a chance. (But really, why not just watch House reruns and use the summer to catch up on your Netflix queue... or watch Glee!)

Despite the handsome doctor



(former Whistler from Prisonbreak... another Fox show where the ends always justify the means) and the always engaging Jacqueline McKenzie...



...I almost hope the show will fail so that they could be cast in something more worthy of their talents and my time.

Glee

Every now and then something comes along that I almost miss because I think I already know what it is.

Today it was Glee.



I had seen the promos and I had rolled my eyes… a musical comedy? Set in a high school? Gee… where have I heard of that before? Now, unlike many many people here in the States, I have avoided High School Musical in all its conceptions like the plague (except for the South Park parody) and I had no misgivings regarding that fact.

Glee looked like more of the same. Also, most of the “teen angst” shows on television do nothing to stimulate my interest. Gossip Girl? The Hills? Puh-leeeeze, take a pill and call me when you graduate and are in a show that matters.

But boredom can be a catalyst for greatness and so today I watched the pilot episode of Glee via Hulu.com.

Wow.

Yeah the story is a bit contrived, yeah there is a slight (ok more than slight) after school special vibe… but the performances are really great and the cute little moments help keep the cheese factor at a tolerable level. There is also the matter of a stellar cast!

The show centers around a group of misfits who somehow come together in the high school’s glee club. It is the quintessential whole is more than the sum of its parts with a dash of high school cliques are evil and not everyone fits into a little box. Decent enough messages.

Will it last, I have no idea, I loved Firefly and look where that got me, but until it takes its final bow, I will be an avid supporter and gleeful spectator.

Castle

Good evening and welcome to the next big thing. Or at least, the next thing I am going to try at least once.

TV Show Review/Recap. In which I recap in glaring snarky detail a portion of a TV show and then review the whole episode.

Call it a writing exercise, call it typing practice, call it an application to Television Without Pity (yes, I know you all aren’t hiring but your staff also isn’t reviewing this show… so I think we could work something out….)**** Correction… at the time I wrote this (last week) TWOP did not have anything on the show… they have since fixed that making my following rant pretty meaningless but since I wrote the darn thing already and because I have ulterior motives, I am going to post this anyway.

Tonight’s episode: Castle: The Pilot.

(Background information: The promos for this paint it as yet another buddy cop procedural featuring a quirky “how will they ever get along’ couple. In this case a curmudgeon boozey socially inept writer (named Castle … just like the show!!!!) played by Nathan Fillion (of Buffy, Firefly, and some really horrible movie fame) and a strict by the book totally professional cop played by Stana Katic (what a name!) who you might remember from Quantum of Solace or a whole slew of bit parts on TV shows like Heroes and ER.

In other words: not looking too great but why not give it a go?

First: The Recap of the opening scene;

We open on a ankle with a tiny river of blood and then there are rose petals falling down in what we can only call ‘the art budget” before we get into the voice over telling us all about murder and macabre as a pretty blond gives a long introduction to the “master of the macabre” Rick Castle… there are the stock footage shots of him being all superstar like, signing autographs and looking dapper in sunglasses

Cut to Stana all business like and looking at a dead body which is lying in repose covered in roses (except the sunflowers on her eyes) and looking like quite the flower platter. “Who are you/’ Stana asks but the dead girl decides not to answer… maybe because she is covered in artfully arranged flowers. Someone took a lot of time to get those just right.

Another cop tells Stana that the dead girl was named Alison, 24, grad student at NYU with a rich daddy and that there are no signs of a struggle. A mouthey (aka will be a regular) crime scene tech jokes about romance not being dead because the killer did bring flowers. (Gross) to which Stana mumbles that for her romance is in fact dead “every Saturday night” which… ok… I get that she is going to be a hard ass (the promos told us that) but this sort of fatalistic attitude bullcrap is annoying when anyone says it, but especially annoying when an attractive youngish woman who is probably picky and controlling in her personal life says it.

Moving on, Alison was shot at close range. And then thanks to the magic of exposition we learn that Stana likes the freaky cases and that this case looks familiar to her… and in case we haven’t put it together yet she says ‘Don’t you guys read?” and we cut back to Castle and the blond posing for photos. She asks him why he killed off his main character and he exposits that she is not only his publisher but his ex wife and that their relationship is a bit tense. Yay pilots! Apparently he doesn’t like his main character anymore because writing him wasn’t fun.. it was work. Oh man, I suddenly like him.

More exposition about how his latest book is late and that he hasn’t written in months… some kind of blockage. How much you wanna bet he will be writing by the end of the episode? She threatens to take away his advance if he doesn’t produce and he sulks.

We move over to the bar where Brainy Girl Child is being good and studious and Grandmother Lush Tart is being classically upper crust bratty old lady. Castle asks his mother if she told Gina (the pretty blond has a name!) about his trouble writing. She denies telling but then admits that she did. Oh… and mommy dearest lives with Castle and his daughter. But before we get any further back-story, Grandma’s “graydar” goes off and she flounces off tossing back a really creepy giggle over her shoulder. Grandma, by the way, not wearing a bra.

Castle then has an interaction with his daughter that I can only describe as ‘Hey, I’m your dad and I am a loose cannon who likes to party… why don’t you want to grow up to be just like me?” ‘Because I know better” Oh and she is fifteen but doesn’t look a day over twelve. No really… he hems and haws about how his life is boring glossing over Daughter’s statement that she minds when he autographs women’s boobs. But wait! Because here is Detective Kate (yay, another name!) who is not flashing her boobs but rather her badge and in her no nonsense way she announces that she wants to ask Castle some questions about a murder.

Castle looks stunned and Daughter looks vindicated and

Credits Roll!


Now the Review:

The opening scene did little to peak interest… a whole lot of possible recurring characters were introduced and the barest bit of actual character interaction. This isn’t really a critique because it is the dual job of a pilot episode to not only give you enough exposition that you care but also give you a simple story to follow so you can care without getting overly distracted or bogged down with all the wonderful minutia that will eventually make you love or hate the show.

In the case of this show I would have to say that the opening sequence did a fair job of giving you a sense of the show.

A few notable moments: Detective Kate using the words “bimbet” and “celebutannte’ to describe the type of women that Castle’s charms work on. Me thinks she will be eating those words later… but what yummy words they are. (And I am right… the flirting goes both ways by show’s end.)

The interaction between Kate and Castle is oddly reminiscent of Bones and
Booth… hey look, even alliteration can join the fun!

Daughter’s interactions with Castle actually rings a bit more true later on… and away from the bar she actually looks older.

Also… Kate’s not so secret fangirl attraction to Castle (err, I mean the genre that he writes –sure-) leads one cop to say in a hideously hilarious moment “Yo check it girl, you’re totally a fan.” Check it indeed.

A few issues with dialogue but the pacing is rather well done.

Perhaps the oddest scene was a meta mega melt down when Castle plays poker with Patterson and other apparently recognizable murder mystery writers and they talk shop about the “actual” case. As shticks go, this isn’t totally horrible though it sort of reads that way.

Castle seems to be a pretty darn good detective in his own right… he notices things Detective Kate misses; he has the whole mystic inductive reasoning attention to details that you expect from a trained detective. Thankfully he also blunders and doesn’t disbelieve thing like alibis which is good because otherwise we might wonder just how in the world Detective Kate is supposed to a good detective since she obviously needs the help of this random writer guy.

In the end we have a fair bit of flirting, some mighty good looking people, a bare foot Castle chasing the bad guy while carrying his shoe, a happy ending, and the promise of more fireworks to come.

My grade: B.

Will I watch again? Depends on what else I have to do… but chances are yes… I usually give shows three episodes before I make a final ruling.



If you made it through this horribly long post… please let me know if you watched Castle, why or why not, and if you did what you thought of it.