TV DIary
a) "The Mindy Project"
I never watched "The Office" and I have a pet peeve about shows with bland working title-style names like "The _____ Project," but as far as I can tell Mindy Kaling is pretty cool and this show has some promise, although the pilot is just OK, they need to really start bringing the funny to make this more than just likable.
b) "Ben And Kate"
This is easily the best new show I've seen so far of what is perhaps the most uninspiring slate of fall TV premieres ever. Nat Faxon, who was great in a "Party Down" episode I'd just rewatched recently, has a really weird energy that is kind of fun to see as the focal point of a show, the writing has a nice little chaotic edge to it, and wow Dakota Johnson is pretty. If this and/or "Mindy" turn out well, and "New Girl" and "Raising Hope" stay good, FOX could have an impressive live action sitcom lineup this year for the first time in, what, a decade?
c) "Revolution"
The glut of high concept network dramas, particularly ones that involve J.J. Abrams or "Lost" cast members, has been really dire the last few years. Despite being all of the above, as well as a kind of post-apocalyptic 'back to basics' society thing that has been really done to death lately, this isn't totally terrible. A little too dry and humorless to catch on, maybe, but there were a few things about the pilot that hooked me a little, I will give it a few episodes at least.
d) "Go On"
I've been sarcastically excited about this because of GOON TUESDAYS but the sad fact is I'm kind of rooting for Matthew Perry? "Mr. Sunshine" was an OK show and so is this (and "Studio 60" wasn't his fault, really), but it's just a bummer to watch him bounce from one doomed show to another. He's funny and likable enough that he should be able to reboot his career and do something that makes people remember that at some point, but that'll probably happen when he's like 50, until then it'll just be shows like this. Which again, is not bad -- some big laughs in the first couple episodes, but the ensemble is spotty and the show feels a little flat overall.
e) "Animal Practice"
This show makes me wonder if NBC is even trying, I mean the whole thing with trying to rush "30 Rock" and "Community" out the door but standing behind "Whitney" and "Up All Night," OK, whatever, that's against my taste but who knows. But what the fuck is this shit, did they decided they missed having "Scrubs" and got the closest (but still distant) facsimile they could find? Jesus.
f) "Guys With Kids"
I guess I can understand NBC wanting to give Jimmy Fallon a chance to create a show since he's done well by them lately, but what a bland little showa and oh my god they let him sing the theme song why no why. As a dad I can identify with where the humor's coming from and the cast is alright, but it's pretty forgettable.
g) "The New Normal"
Haven't ever really been into anything Ryan Murphy's done, but he at least does do the same kind of show twice, so it feels right to give each one a chance. This is OK, in a weird way it feels almost old-fashioned in the way it makes its divergences from straight white nuclear family norms into these daring transgressions by creating a cartoonishly bigoted old lady to comment on it all, which isn't really as funny as the show thinks it is.
h) "The Inbetweeners"
Like "Skins," I haven't seen the Brit original to compare the MTV to, but these shows plus "Awkward." really just make me feel like a square old parental type for being kind of grossed out by they're putting on the air for kids to watch on this channel now. At least this show is less about teenagers screwing and more about gross teenage boys trying and failing to get laid, though, I lived through that.
i) "Off Beat"
Now that there have been so many comedians-in-front-of-greenscreens clip shows out there, I feel like we can just judge them as entries in a genre and not just ripoffs of "The Soup" or whether they're as good as "Tosh.0" or whatever. This one on Fuse is nothing special but the host, Mike E. Winfield, gets in some good lines, and it feels like they're approach is a little unique.
j) "Boss"
I lost interest in this show pretty quickly in the first season, but recently decided to try again and got all caught up and into the second season. I still have pretty mixed feelings about it -- it excels at some of the dark dramatic things it's trying to do, but it's often kind of cheesy, especially those athletic sex scenes in every damn episode, like this takes place in some soft porn world where everyone fucks against walls with their clothes half-ripped off. But Kelsey Grammer is pretty great, I'm still waiting for the climactic scene where he calls a press conference and confesses to the city that elected him that he don't know what to do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
k) "Parenthood"
Have to admit I am happy that this show is back, they really have made this a nice familiar little TV family to keep revisiting. It kind of blew my mind that they let Adam and Amber finally resolve a conflict without raising their voices or overreacting, they actually are letting the characters grow, which is refreshing, sometimes I worry that certain relationships on the show are falling into tired holding patterns (even if, I guess, that's true to how families often are). Interested to see where this Ray Romano arc goes, I like his character so far.
I never watched "The Office" and I have a pet peeve about shows with bland working title-style names like "The _____ Project," but as far as I can tell Mindy Kaling is pretty cool and this show has some promise, although the pilot is just OK, they need to really start bringing the funny to make this more than just likable.
b) "Ben And Kate"
This is easily the best new show I've seen so far of what is perhaps the most uninspiring slate of fall TV premieres ever. Nat Faxon, who was great in a "Party Down" episode I'd just rewatched recently, has a really weird energy that is kind of fun to see as the focal point of a show, the writing has a nice little chaotic edge to it, and wow Dakota Johnson is pretty. If this and/or "Mindy" turn out well, and "New Girl" and "Raising Hope" stay good, FOX could have an impressive live action sitcom lineup this year for the first time in, what, a decade?
c) "Revolution"
The glut of high concept network dramas, particularly ones that involve J.J. Abrams or "Lost" cast members, has been really dire the last few years. Despite being all of the above, as well as a kind of post-apocalyptic 'back to basics' society thing that has been really done to death lately, this isn't totally terrible. A little too dry and humorless to catch on, maybe, but there were a few things about the pilot that hooked me a little, I will give it a few episodes at least.
d) "Go On"
I've been sarcastically excited about this because of GOON TUESDAYS but the sad fact is I'm kind of rooting for Matthew Perry? "Mr. Sunshine" was an OK show and so is this (and "Studio 60" wasn't his fault, really), but it's just a bummer to watch him bounce from one doomed show to another. He's funny and likable enough that he should be able to reboot his career and do something that makes people remember that at some point, but that'll probably happen when he's like 50, until then it'll just be shows like this. Which again, is not bad -- some big laughs in the first couple episodes, but the ensemble is spotty and the show feels a little flat overall.
e) "Animal Practice"
This show makes me wonder if NBC is even trying, I mean the whole thing with trying to rush "30 Rock" and "Community" out the door but standing behind "Whitney" and "Up All Night," OK, whatever, that's against my taste but who knows. But what the fuck is this shit, did they decided they missed having "Scrubs" and got the closest (but still distant) facsimile they could find? Jesus.
f) "Guys With Kids"
I guess I can understand NBC wanting to give Jimmy Fallon a chance to create a show since he's done well by them lately, but what a bland little showa and oh my god they let him sing the theme song why no why. As a dad I can identify with where the humor's coming from and the cast is alright, but it's pretty forgettable.
g) "The New Normal"
Haven't ever really been into anything Ryan Murphy's done, but he at least does do the same kind of show twice, so it feels right to give each one a chance. This is OK, in a weird way it feels almost old-fashioned in the way it makes its divergences from straight white nuclear family norms into these daring transgressions by creating a cartoonishly bigoted old lady to comment on it all, which isn't really as funny as the show thinks it is.
h) "The Inbetweeners"
Like "Skins," I haven't seen the Brit original to compare the MTV to, but these shows plus "Awkward." really just make me feel like a square old parental type for being kind of grossed out by they're putting on the air for kids to watch on this channel now. At least this show is less about teenagers screwing and more about gross teenage boys trying and failing to get laid, though, I lived through that.
i) "Off Beat"
Now that there have been so many comedians-in-front-of-greenscreens clip shows out there, I feel like we can just judge them as entries in a genre and not just ripoffs of "The Soup" or whether they're as good as "Tosh.0" or whatever. This one on Fuse is nothing special but the host, Mike E. Winfield, gets in some good lines, and it feels like they're approach is a little unique.
j) "Boss"
I lost interest in this show pretty quickly in the first season, but recently decided to try again and got all caught up and into the second season. I still have pretty mixed feelings about it -- it excels at some of the dark dramatic things it's trying to do, but it's often kind of cheesy, especially those athletic sex scenes in every damn episode, like this takes place in some soft porn world where everyone fucks against walls with their clothes half-ripped off. But Kelsey Grammer is pretty great, I'm still waiting for the climactic scene where he calls a press conference and confesses to the city that elected him that he don't know what to do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
k) "Parenthood"
Have to admit I am happy that this show is back, they really have made this a nice familiar little TV family to keep revisiting. It kind of blew my mind that they let Adam and Amber finally resolve a conflict without raising their voices or overreacting, they actually are letting the characters grow, which is refreshing, sometimes I worry that certain relationships on the show are falling into tired holding patterns (even if, I guess, that's true to how families often are). Interested to see where this Ray Romano arc goes, I like his character so far.
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on Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 12:13 AM.
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