The Pop Pirate

The New Kids on the Block

I gotta hand it to the networks, with this season's slate of newbies, they're showing that the past couple of years- which gave us Lost, Desperate Housewives, My Name is Earl, The Office and Veronica Mars- were not a fluke. And this time, NBC takes some risks and makes strides to surpass ABC in the quality game.

Okay, so not all of the offerings are top notch- 10 minutes of 20 Good Years will make that clear- but there are a couple new shows that I've caught onto that have been fabulous right from the start, and a couple more that have shown flashes of potential that has not been fully realized.

First from the winners category: The Nine. Right out of the gate, this tale of how a common traumatic experience can bind people together in unexpected ways exploded with intensity and intruigue. The titular group of people were hostages in a bank robbery gone wrong. While they were trapped for 52 hours, they endured as yet unknown horrors and their lives were changed forever. The twist is the fact that the horrors are unknown. The story follows the nine in the aftermath of the crisis, but as the viewer, we don't know exactly what happened. This device is captivating for now, but the writers must continue to keep a steady stream of juicy bits of info flowing, lest we grow impatient. Oh, and I don't see this premise carrying more than one season. So there is that.

Second on the honor roll is Aaron Sorkin's new comedy, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I say comedy- and it is- but it's cleverly disguised as an hour-long serial drama. Everything from the sets to the cinematography to the themes (network censorship, drug use, and a serious treatment of Christianity's place in Hollywood to name a few) scream "take me seriously." But the writing is sharply witty and the performances are, for the most part, understated and hillarious. Particularly enjoyable are D.L. Hughley and Nate Cordry as performers on the show within the show. This is one of two shows NBC debuted this fall about what goes on behind the scenes at an SNL-like late night comedy show (with a number in the title, no less), and that does make the premise seem a little- I don't know- unoriginal? As long as Mr. Sorkin can continue to walk the line between serious and funny, he's sure to outlast...

30 Rock, which is the other show that NBC debuted this fall about what goes on behind the scenes at an SNL-like late night comedy show (with a number in the title, no less), falls in the not-quite-there category. It's embarassing enough to have to share your very specific premise with another show, but when that other show executes it much more sucessfully you almost have to quit. That being said, the show is pretty funny. Not like laugh-out-loud-Rainn-Wilson-in-The-Office funny, but it gives me some good chuckles. Most of those chuckles go to Alec Baldwin, who plays NBC/GE's head of marketing and microwave oven programming. Most of them don't go to the actual main characters, namely Tina Fey's head writer (who's not very convincing, even though she's essentially playing herself) and Tracy Morgan (who is convincing, just not very funny, as a hybrid between Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and himself). Maybe it can overcome the premise issues, but the performances have got to step up a few notches before this becomes a permanent addition to the DVR.

Our other entry in the 'needs improvement' category is NBC's stab at the comic book genre: Heroes. The pre-season advertising promised a sophisitcated, unique take on the psychological and emotional toll enacted on people who have special powers. The actual show, however, turned out to be not-quite so grand. Basically, the show lacks one thing that could set it apart from all the other shows in the superheroes-are-people-too genre (dating back to the New Adventures of Lois & Clark)- subtlety. The show's exposition, wherein the large cast of characters all- apparently simultaneously- discover their powers, was akward and heavy handed; the on-again, off-again voice-over narration is distracting at best and the effects are less than special. But there is hope for this one, and it seems to be in the cast- particularly Masi Oka as space-time bending titular-homophonic Hiro. Perhaps this was a case of a show slow to come out of the blocks, but one that will outpace my expectations in the long run.

posted by Jeff @ 10:25 PM 0 comments

Is the race over already?

As we enter, in earnest, into the fall movie season- a season that is all but guaranteed to yield all of the major Oscar contenders- let us reflect on a few of the movies this year that will not get recognized, as deserving as they may be.

Robert Downey, Jr. in A Scanner Darkly. Here is a movie that is psychedelic sci-fi and (heaven forbid) animated, so in other words here is a movie that has zero chance of getting nominated for anything mainstream. I should clarify- if you aren't familiar with Richard Linklater's style of animation, he films actors in locations, and then animates over the film, giving the animated image the style and control of (to use a crude term) a cartoon, but an uncanny realism that would not be possible with traditional animation methods. What I'm getting to is that despite the animation factor, or perhaps because of it, Mr. Downey gives a brilliant, quirky-as-hell, fabulously truthful turn as the film's ultimate sleezeball. But will the Academy even watch it? Doubtful.

Now I'm going even further out on a limb- the screenplay for Clerks II. It's vulgar, crass and involves a donkey show, so any shot of recognition is right down the toilet. That said, where else can you get a movie that has a reformed drug dealer doing the "Buffalo Bill tuck" and then there's the comedic genius of "Pillowpants." but all the while there's an underlying beautiful story about the choices we make and the importance of friends. I know there's no chance in hell, but this screenplay deserves some attention.

Now, we look forward to the wide release of Borat. This week's Entertainment Weekly cover story asks if this is the funniest movie ever, and the buzz from all sides is becoming deafening. But a low-budget "culturally offensive" satire has a snowball's chance in Hollywood of getting recognized. Unless it does- maybe this is the year that the Oscars finally realize what actors have known for a long time: Dying is easy, comedy is hard.

posted by Jeff @ 10:55 PM 3 comments

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Where have you been for the last five months? Oh, wait- that would be me. Partly, I've been protesting the complete lack of quality entertainment over the summer months. Let's face it- So You Think You Can Dance is a good diversion, but it's not exactly art. Partly, I've been without a time to write, what with Desparate Houswives off the air. Mostly, I've been lazy. Anyhow, I'm back to give it another go.

In that last paragraph, I bitched about how there was no good entertainment this summer. Well, that may be true for network TV and commercial films, but I still found some ways to while away the locked-in-the-air-conditioning hours. First and foremost, Jodes and I discovered the best genre show on TV, which also happens to be one of the best shows of any type on TV: Battlestar Galactica.

This show has most everything you'd want a drama to have. Intensity? Check. Emotion? Got it. Relevant? You better believe it. Granted, some people may have to adjust to the framework- sure, it takes place on a spaceship and the human race is being driven to extinction by robots- but once you accept that, it's one of the most poignant, issue driven shows out there. Seriously! We're dealing with the limits of presidential power, the ethics of abortion law when the species is in danger, and even when it's okay to use suicide bombers. And this is just in the last few episodes. So, if you're inclined to accept Sci-Fi as a genre, give it a look-see. You can check out the first 2 seasons on DVD or the recap/catch-up episode for free on iTunes, and once you get caught up, it's on Friday Nights on the SciFi Channel. You won't reget it.

More later on good stuff I discovered this summer, including the old Wicker Man, Sufjan Stevens in concert and the joy of fake hip-hop.

posted by Jeff @ 11:36 PM 5 comments