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Herc Declares PRIVILEGED The Best CW-Grown Pilot Yet!!
I am – Hercules!!
The CW has aired several serviceable series over its short lifetime (“Veronica Mars” and “Beauty and the Geek” among them), but has been less successful launching good shows. The pilot for “Privileged,” the “Devil Wears Prada”-ish tale of a Yale grad and aspiring journalist reduced to tutoring a pair of spoiled Hiltonesque teens, is the best I’ve seen premiere on the netlet.
Based on the book "How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls" by Zoey Dean, the series also cements the status of The CW – home also to “Gossip Girl” and “90210” – as the place to go if you crave hourlongs about wealthy youngsters.
Brainy and highly watchable, “Privileged” was created by Rina Mimoun, whom I credit with transforming “Everwood” from a mawkish, unfunny slog into one of the sharpest comedy-dramas of the decade. She also worked on “Gilmore Girls” and helped Bryan Fuller with the first season of “Pushing Daisies.”
Here’s something slightly curious. Like “True Blood,” which premiered two days earlier, “Privileged” features as one of its more appealing elements a gay, black chef.
“Privileged” stars Joanna Garcia, still fondly remembered as the girl who spent seven minutes in heaven with Bill Haverchuck on “Freaks and Geeks.” Her co-stars include Lucy Hale (“Bionic Woman”) and Ashley Newbrough (Noggin’s “Radio Free Roscoe”) as the bratty Baker twins and Anne Archer (“Fatal Attraction”) as their GILF-y grandmama.
If you own no video recording equipment you should watch “Fringe,” but know that I’ll be season-passing “Privileged” onto my DVRs as well.
Entertainment Weekly gives it an “B” and says:
… Garcia is impeccable, and Newbrough and Hale are likably bratty. Funnier would help, but charm is abundant. …
The Associated Press says:
… a bright, bouncy fairy tale of power and extravagance, tempered by reminders that money can't buy happiness. …
USA Today gives it a star and a half (out of four) and says:
… like most copies, Privileged is a second-rate imitation. Gone is the knowing wink and wit, the sense you get in Gossip that no one is taking the show seriously. In its place on Privileged are clunky jokes, overwrought performances and a tone that implies we're actually supposed to care about the show's would-be heroine, despite her being inept, idiotic and venal. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… A money-can't-buy-happiness undercurrent dutifully runs through "Privileged," but for a show so clearly determined to be sharp and sassy, the unquestioning acceptance of wealth as some sort of alternate universe or higher state of being is very, very depressing. Which doesn't mean it isn't fun to watch. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… The CW’s “90210” is getting all the hype, but "Privileged," soap about two willful heiresses who do battle with their new tutor, is much more fun. … The dialogue is witty, the pacing is brisk and there’s some real heart amid all the tokens of the Palm Beach high life.
The Washington Post says:
… a shallow grave of a comedy-drama hybrid … Obviously there are varying grades of escapist fluff; "Privileged" is Grade F.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… one of the more pleasant surprises of the new fall season. … less "Gossip Girl" and more "Gilmore Girls" …
The Detroit News says:
… In addition to an appealing storytelling style and plot, "Privileged" has a secret weapon in Garcia. She is all bright eyes and charm, and it's a treat watching her shine in every scene.
The San Jose Mercury News says:
… a breezy new drama that is more "Gilmore Girls" than "Gossip Girl." …
The Boston Globe says:
… more than a snap-a-minute goof on kids drowning in dirty sexy money and designer clothes … has the makings of a more sincere, "Gilmore Girls"-like take on female bonding. … Garcia is an affable lead; she manages to be cynical and spunky at the same time, not an easy pair of qualities to merge. … does have an unexpectedly sweet and cautionary undercurrent that you don't always find in shows that invite us to gawk at opulence.
Variety says:
… smart, breezy and glossy … Granted, not everything works equally well, beginning with Megan’s habit of running off at the mouth, Mary Tyler Moore-style, when she’s nervous -- a little of which goes a long way. Nevertheless, Garcia’s adorableness (including a flattering new mop of red hair) makes her an appealing protagonist, and the setting offers a fertile framework for various misadventures. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… This show wants to be an "Ally McBeal"-esque broad piece of serio-comedy but hasn't really the slightest idea how to pull it off. So it makes do instead with something that's really neither animal nor vegetable, looking to combine poignance with zaniness and accomplishing neither without a whole lot of panache. This, even though star JoAnna Garcia is charismatic and comically appealing, and Anne Archer turns in an energetically saucy performance as a self-absorbed society dame. But it's not enough to make you want to return to this opulent address week after week. …
9 p.m. Tuesday. The CW.
Cheers For $16.99/Season!!
From The Guy Who Wrote
The Making of Star Wars
And The Guy Who Wrote
Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays!!
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Me me, I'm a tan-man!
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has got some good cred but just doesn't seem to intrest me
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until they bring back Veronica Mars. (Yeah, I'm one of those)
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see a review coming. Usually I agree with the shows you like, but this seems a little sketchy... Guess we'll see...
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The rest of CW I don't really care about but Supernatural is a winner. It's too bad that lots of people think Supernatural is girly crap.
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that must mean they don't use enough pie charts in the show.
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WTF??!?!?! do i need to see another fucking program about rich kids and their woe is me attitude. HTFU. and yeah fuck you cw for cancelling veronica mars
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Sep 09, 2008 7:59:00 AM CDT
In the Entertainment Industry only seven colleges exist
by shut the fuck up donny
Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Duke, MIT and Michigan..Well, maybe eight..I think I've heard Emory mentioned once.
For once I'd love to see some marginally successful TV or movie character go to UGA,OSU,BC,SMU or any of the MANY other reputable colleges. But what Hollywood type wants and honorary doctorate from THOSE schools? -
I know it doesn't have a female lead, but it's possible to identify with male leads sometimes. The first few eps weren't great (nor bad) but since the second half of the first season it's going incredibly strong. I know, it doesn't have witty banter about cosmetic products. It has twenty something homeless demon hunters living in their car, kicking all kinds of ass. You should give it a chance, before "Privilidged"
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I have to admit I did watch Radio Free Roscoe. It was a solid teen show about a radio station that featured underground and rock music and stayed away from Pop. Ashley was good on the show. I still won't watch this though. It's outside my Demo and also it's opposite Fringe.
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and which ones are the supposed teenage girls? They all look the same to me.
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Fucking sucks. It sickens me that America is infatuated with the fake lives of a bunch rich little cunts. Pathetic.
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Just because you don't care about it Herc (probably because it lacks any ties to Whedon) doesn't mean it's not a great show.
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This is something I'd have passed on, but Herc, you've never steered me wrong before. I got into Veronica Mars, Reaper, and Gilmore Girls because of you, and I'm better for it. So I'll be recording this one, too.
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I know it gets mentioned because I went there so I notice when a character went there. Although, both characters who spring to mind have shows set in SF. Anyway, Monk went to Cal.
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D'oh! I forgot about Berkeley!
Alright, Monk's a good start, but I'll need a slightly larger list before I take back my original sentiments on the matter! -
Am I the only one pissed off at the non matching spines on the cheers season sets? That shit boils my piss.
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Captain Awesome's alma mater
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Still haven't got over the loss of "Veronica Mars" - best show ever - so, call me a die-hard or whatever you want, "No Veronica, No CW"!
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but I still detect a skew towards west coast/california schools and ivy league schools..ALL BASTIONS OF EVIL STINKY LIBERAL THOUGHT!
See, this was going someplace.. hehe.
Actually, I'm realy tempted now to start keeping an actual running tally on which schools are repeatedly represented in Hollywood. -
I think there were a few scenes at Dartmouth on Newhart.
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