Saturday, September 09, 2006
More Pilots, Still No Planes...
Two more sitcoms (ugh) and two dramas. The season remains fairly bland...
Standoff: Ron Livingstone shows absolutely none of the understated comic genius he displayed in "Office Space" as Matt Flannery, a crisis negotiator for the LAPD. I suppose that's fine, as the show is supposed to be a tense high-stakes drama. But the pilot was not tense, the stakes were not high, and the drama wasn't really... dramatic. Flannery is having an affair with his partner, Emily Lehman played by Rosemarie DeWitt, and those scenes REALLY could have used a sense of humour.
The pair display no real chemistry, the cliche situation of partners who compete on the job and make up in bed, and the hardcase lieutenant (played by Gina Torres) who lets the two get away with way too much because "your the best damn negotiators I've got" got tired real fast.
Happy Hour: A spin on the Odd Couple formula sees conservative Henry Beckham (John Sloan) rooming with rat-pack wannabe Larry Cone (Lex Medlin) after his girlfriend throws him out. Larry attempts to turn Max into a party animal, Henry provides Max with a stable influence.
Like the other sitcom offerings this season, there's not a lot original about this, but I still found a couple of things to laugh at. This one's neither bad nor good. Beth Lacke's "Amanda" is at least a different take on the girl-that's-a-friend-but-not-a-girlfriend stock character, playing an interesting combination of ditz and professional woman. Let's hope they keep it up.
'Til Death: Brad Garrett of Everybody Love Raymond (god, I'm so happy that show is gone) takes centre stage as hapless husband Eddie, who finds himself and his wife of many years suddenly comparing their marriage to the newlyweds next door. No precocious kids means this is at least not a cookie-cutter sitcom, but the laugh track and contrived situations do not bode well. Look for Garrett to be the first post-ELR victim to that show's version of the 'Seinfeld curse.'
Smith: Don't let the boring title mislead you, this is a decent little thriller. If not for the open-ended finish, this could easily be a feature film. Ray Liotta leads as Bobby Stevens, a poor man's Danny Ocean, head of a crew of thieves, each with their own specialty. Liotta is excellent in the role (no surprise) as is Virginia Madsen, playing the wife who suspects but doesn't know, and has a host of problems all her own.
The pilot was a single-caper show, giving the impression that we may see a new heist every week. This would seperate the show from last seasons mini series "Thief", starring Andre Braugher. Look for each of the series' supporting players to develop their own personal problems, particularly Amy Smart's Annie.
This was a nice opening effort, with some genuine tension and some cool action sequences. The purpose of some of the activity during the heist seemed a little vague, and was not cleared up despite the fact that we went over it twice. The Alias-style opener in which we see a glimpse of the climax and then flash back was not really effectively used to that end.
Still no gem for the new season. Still waiting to see Rob Cordry and Lenny Clark in "The Winner" and Tina Fey's "30 Rock." But I'm not holding my breath...
Standoff: Ron Livingstone shows absolutely none of the understated comic genius he displayed in "Office Space" as Matt Flannery, a crisis negotiator for the LAPD. I suppose that's fine, as the show is supposed to be a tense high-stakes drama. But the pilot was not tense, the stakes were not high, and the drama wasn't really... dramatic. Flannery is having an affair with his partner, Emily Lehman played by Rosemarie DeWitt, and those scenes REALLY could have used a sense of humour.
The pair display no real chemistry, the cliche situation of partners who compete on the job and make up in bed, and the hardcase lieutenant (played by Gina Torres) who lets the two get away with way too much because "your the best damn negotiators I've got" got tired real fast.
Happy Hour: A spin on the Odd Couple formula sees conservative Henry Beckham (John Sloan) rooming with rat-pack wannabe Larry Cone (Lex Medlin) after his girlfriend throws him out. Larry attempts to turn Max into a party animal, Henry provides Max with a stable influence.
Like the other sitcom offerings this season, there's not a lot original about this, but I still found a couple of things to laugh at. This one's neither bad nor good. Beth Lacke's "Amanda" is at least a different take on the girl-that's-a-friend-but-not-a-girlfriend stock character, playing an interesting combination of ditz and professional woman. Let's hope they keep it up.
'Til Death: Brad Garrett of Everybody Love Raymond (god, I'm so happy that show is gone) takes centre stage as hapless husband Eddie, who finds himself and his wife of many years suddenly comparing their marriage to the newlyweds next door. No precocious kids means this is at least not a cookie-cutter sitcom, but the laugh track and contrived situations do not bode well. Look for Garrett to be the first post-ELR victim to that show's version of the 'Seinfeld curse.'
Smith: Don't let the boring title mislead you, this is a decent little thriller. If not for the open-ended finish, this could easily be a feature film. Ray Liotta leads as Bobby Stevens, a poor man's Danny Ocean, head of a crew of thieves, each with their own specialty. Liotta is excellent in the role (no surprise) as is Virginia Madsen, playing the wife who suspects but doesn't know, and has a host of problems all her own.
The pilot was a single-caper show, giving the impression that we may see a new heist every week. This would seperate the show from last seasons mini series "Thief", starring Andre Braugher. Look for each of the series' supporting players to develop their own personal problems, particularly Amy Smart's Annie.
This was a nice opening effort, with some genuine tension and some cool action sequences. The purpose of some of the activity during the heist seemed a little vague, and was not cleared up despite the fact that we went over it twice. The Alias-style opener in which we see a glimpse of the climax and then flash back was not really effectively used to that end.
Still no gem for the new season. Still waiting to see Rob Cordry and Lenny Clark in "The Winner" and Tina Fey's "30 Rock." But I'm not holding my breath...
# posted by Bill Poulin @ 5:52 PM 
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Saw an episode of Smith last night; pretty decent... I might find myself watching it again if the timing is right.
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