Netflix Diary
1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Being as Sports Night is probably my favorite short-lived series of all time, I've been pretty psyched about Aaron Sorkin's new show this fall, which also takes place behind the scenes of a live TV show (although visually and in terms of the hourlong format, it seems to bear more similarities to West Wing, which I just never got into but I've been meaning to rent the first couple seasons and give it a shot sometime). And when I found out that NBC decided to make the pilot episodes of a couple new shows available on Netflix a few weeks early, I had to check it out. It's definitely one of those pilots that's so busy establishing who the characters are and the relationships between them and setting a lot of future events in motion that it's probably not very representative of what the actual series will be like, but all that is done pretty deftly and it's a promising start. Matthew Perry always seemed to me like he was capable of more than being just a wisecracking Chandler Bing or coasting along in The Whole Eleven Yards or whatever, and his role in this is pretty much what I've been hoping for. The rest of the cast I'm not entirely sold on, although I was impressed by Amanda Peet, who I've never really liked before (again, The Whole Twelve Yards, arghhh). Steven Weber is a surprisingly great villain, considering how weak he came off in that TV remake of The Shining. It should be interesting to see how this show compares with NBC's other new show that's a more overtly comedic behind-the-scenes look at a thinly veiled surrogate for SNL, Tina Fey's 30 Rock, which has to be one of the oddest cases of synchonicity in a fall TV lineup since those two shows about hospitals in Chicago competed in the same timeslot.
2. Kidnapped
This was the other pilot on the Netflix disc with Studio 60, and though I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to watch it when it came on TV, I figured what the hell and watched it. Jeremy Sisto always seemed to me like a pretty decent actor who was probably never going to get a good starring vehicle in the movies, so the move to TV seems like a start move. The pilot set things up nicely for a tense serial thriller in the 24/Prison Break/Lost mold that seems so popular these days, but time will tell if they make anything of the premise. If it was a movie I'd dismiss it out of hand as a (much) tamer version of Man On Fire, which is what it feels like at times, but the fact that they've got a wring an hour of drama out of this plot every week means it might defy the usual predictable point A to point B of Hollywood kidnapping thrillers (which really are so numerous these days we might as well just accept it as a subgenre).
3. Network
I kept reading about the Studio 60's direct homages and references to Network, and since I hadn't seen it before I figured I might as well rent it at the same time. Good flick, although the whole "I'm as mad as hell" thing being an obnoxiously iconic pop culture moment made those parts even harder to sit through than they'd be already. Ned Beatty's brief appearance in particular was probably my favorite scene. I kind of had to focus on the black comedy element to really enjoy the movie, though, otherwise it came off a little shrill and over the top in stating its case.
4. Burnt by the Sun
Another one of the foreign flicks that J.G. always seems to gravitate to, but I enjoyed this one, put a whole historical situation I only have a surface understanding of in an emotional perspective. I was kind of surprised to see on IMDb that there's a sequel in production, though.
Being as Sports Night is probably my favorite short-lived series of all time, I've been pretty psyched about Aaron Sorkin's new show this fall, which also takes place behind the scenes of a live TV show (although visually and in terms of the hourlong format, it seems to bear more similarities to West Wing, which I just never got into but I've been meaning to rent the first couple seasons and give it a shot sometime). And when I found out that NBC decided to make the pilot episodes of a couple new shows available on Netflix a few weeks early, I had to check it out. It's definitely one of those pilots that's so busy establishing who the characters are and the relationships between them and setting a lot of future events in motion that it's probably not very representative of what the actual series will be like, but all that is done pretty deftly and it's a promising start. Matthew Perry always seemed to me like he was capable of more than being just a wisecracking Chandler Bing or coasting along in The Whole Eleven Yards or whatever, and his role in this is pretty much what I've been hoping for. The rest of the cast I'm not entirely sold on, although I was impressed by Amanda Peet, who I've never really liked before (again, The Whole Twelve Yards, arghhh). Steven Weber is a surprisingly great villain, considering how weak he came off in that TV remake of The Shining. It should be interesting to see how this show compares with NBC's other new show that's a more overtly comedic behind-the-scenes look at a thinly veiled surrogate for SNL, Tina Fey's 30 Rock, which has to be one of the oddest cases of synchonicity in a fall TV lineup since those two shows about hospitals in Chicago competed in the same timeslot.
2. Kidnapped
This was the other pilot on the Netflix disc with Studio 60, and though I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to watch it when it came on TV, I figured what the hell and watched it. Jeremy Sisto always seemed to me like a pretty decent actor who was probably never going to get a good starring vehicle in the movies, so the move to TV seems like a start move. The pilot set things up nicely for a tense serial thriller in the 24/Prison Break/Lost mold that seems so popular these days, but time will tell if they make anything of the premise. If it was a movie I'd dismiss it out of hand as a (much) tamer version of Man On Fire, which is what it feels like at times, but the fact that they've got a wring an hour of drama out of this plot every week means it might defy the usual predictable point A to point B of Hollywood kidnapping thrillers (which really are so numerous these days we might as well just accept it as a subgenre).
3. Network
I kept reading about the Studio 60's direct homages and references to Network, and since I hadn't seen it before I figured I might as well rent it at the same time. Good flick, although the whole "I'm as mad as hell" thing being an obnoxiously iconic pop culture moment made those parts even harder to sit through than they'd be already. Ned Beatty's brief appearance in particular was probably my favorite scene. I kind of had to focus on the black comedy element to really enjoy the movie, though, otherwise it came off a little shrill and over the top in stating its case.
4. Burnt by the Sun
Another one of the foreign flicks that J.G. always seems to gravitate to, but I enjoyed this one, put a whole historical situation I only have a surface understanding of in an emotional perspective. I was kind of surprised to see on IMDb that there's a sequel in production, though.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 11:57 PM.
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Rachel : 9:50 AM