Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Wow. This guy watches a lot of TV.
And he watches it... FROM THE FUTURE!!
Just wanted to file a review for some pilots... I'm sure Herc has these covered, but if not...
"Firefly" (FOX)
Fox sent out a "presentation" today to the affiliates. It's 40 minutes of footage, but NOT a pilot. In all actuality it appears to be the long mentioned pilot cut down to 40 minutes. God knows what got cut, but what's left is pretty cool. Some interesting characters. What seemed missing was the Whedon trademark humor, at least until the tail end, when we got to see the characters under pressure and stressed to the max, which is another Whedon staple. All things aside, I'm stoked to see this space western's fresh skew, taking on the side of the less-than-rightous. Love the effects. Love the sets.
"John Doe" (FOX)
My hope is that Friday's on fox work well for both "Firefly" and "John doe." Which coincendentally is my favorite new show. It's awesome. The pilot is directed by Mimi Leder (Deep Impact). It starts off with a butt-naked man lying in the woods on a deserted island. Not a fan of male nudity, but ladies will want to tune in early. It gets better, guys, trust me. I've seen versions of this "man with no identity/past/name" recently, but this one feels fresh and engaging because a) Dominic Purcell aka John Doe is so adept at playing the inner conflict caused by knowing everything AND nothing. b) Altough a bit gimmicky, the use of B&W imagery is an effective means to show Doe's isolation (he's color blind) c) And lastly the mysterious ending to the pilot. I won't say anymore, but let's just say you'd be hard pressed not tune in the following week. The question will be, then, do the producers keep the mysery going (a la Twin Peaks) or do we get some resolution... Only time will tell.
And oh yeah, any show with Meat Loaf has my vote.
"Haunted" (UPN)
Matthew Fox makes his comeback to TV. He's shed the five o'clock fuzz and lost the whiny siblings and picked up a nasty case of "i see dead people" disorder. He's a PI, haunted by the memory of his missing (and presumed dead) son. Then he get's killed, and returns to our world with these "powers" to see dead folks. Okay, so it sounds hokey. But it's well done. And it's spooky. Nothing like a (un)dead child molester to scare the crap out of you. And nothing like kicking some peverted ghost's ass back to hell and that's what Fox gets to do. If it was any other network, I'd say 2 weeks, but it's on UPN on Tuesday, so I think it has a shot. If it can keep the characters as interesting as the cases, that is.
Other pilots:
"Fastlane" (FOX)
This is McG's little baby. It opens hard and fast. Ya' almost think "Cool." Then it all falls to pieces. Tiffany Theisen as the head of some super secret police task force that uses fast cars and lots of cash to catch criminals with fast cars and lots of cash??? Oh and Bill Bellamy and Peter Facinelli as "unlikely" partners. Paaaleazzzze. Talk about bad chemistry. No chemistry really. I predict 3 weeks, it'll be pulled before Novemeber sweeps.
"Do Over" (WB)
I've only seen assemled clips, but it had me laughing out loud. Then I saw some other network has one called "That was then." Funny how hollywood rips its self off. Shit, it took the networks a year before they began cloning "Friends." Alas, this interesting "what if" premise will sadly be driven to extinction. But then again, maybe there's room enough for two shows about a middle aged man who wakes up a teenager, able to relive his youth and do the things he never got to do.
"What I Like About You" (WB)
Again, only seen clips, but this Amanda Bynes is the real deal. Cute, sassy, and damn funny. And Jennie Garth seems to have the comedy chops too. Not sure how it'll work as a series, but the gags I saw were damn funny.
"The Grubbs" (Fox)
Randy Quaid reprises his role as the Dad from "Not Another Teen movie"... Oh wait... Randy Quaid reprises his role as the Dad from "National LAmpoon's Christmans Vaction"... no, not that... Randy Quaid reprises his role as the Dad from "Independence Day"..... Shit, it's Randy Quaid playing Randy Quaid playing Homer Simpson on crystal meth. I give this show til Mid October.
"30 Seconds to Fame" (Fox)
What's that? It's already on air. Well, sure, but that doesn't mean I can't say what a shocking piece of shit this show is. It should be called "30 Seconds to Shame." God help us if it makes it to the fall sched.
"Everwood" (WB)
Treat Williams as Melina Kanakaredes with a beard. A doctor returns to his hometown to mend family roots and help folks. Think Doc Hollywood with a beard. Did I mention the beard?
That's about it from here.
Yours,
BillyBoston
Thanks, man. I’m particularly curious about this JOHN DOE series, since there’s a film in development at Revolution Studios also called JOHN DOE that I am particularly fond of, and I’m hoping there’s no overlap. But more on that soon...
"Moriarty" out.
