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Hercules Has Seen Tonight’s First Episode of ABC’s CUPID Remake – From Rob Thomas, Creator Of VERONICA MARS!!
I am – Hercules!!
A remake of a 1998 ABC dramedy from Rob Thomas (“Veronica Mars”), “Cupid” is about a disbelieving psychoanalyst and her patient, a strange fellow who believes himself to be the matchmaking ancient god of love.
Who couldn’t wonder how they were going to find a replacement for “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven, who played the title role in the 1998 version? Bobby Cannavale does a better job than expected, though it’s hard to shake memories of Piven’s faster, brainier energy.
Less successful perhaps is the recast of the Paula Marshall part with Sarah Paulson (“Studio 60”), who may or may not have snagged the role because she too has “Paul” in her name. The sexy, charming Marshall’s frustration with Cupid was fun to watch; Paulson comes off too brittle and disdainful.
The first story is a lot softer than I’d expect from Thomas, who gave “Mars’” quippy outcast high-school heroine a backstory that included drugs, rape and the best friend’s murder. Not that any of those things belong here, but it’d be nice if the series’ first hour felt a little weightier.
If I’m disappointed, know I’m still season-passing the series on my DVR in deference to its creator/showrunner, whose past efforts demand attention be paid.
See how great the original was:
Entertainment Weekly gives the new version an “B-minus” and says:
… It's nobody's fault that Cannavale and Paulson so far lack the chemistry a show like this needs. The problem with this version of Cupid (it's actually a remake of a 1998 ABC dramedy) isn't the actors, but its strained Touched by a Love Boat concept …
USA Today give it two stars (out of four) and says:
… leaves you with a crucial decision, but it's not the one the show sets up, which is whether you choose to believe Cannavale's Trevor Pierce is crazy or Cupid. No, it's whether Cannavale's high-energy star turn strikes you as cuter than the proverbial button, or as so out-of-all-bounds annoying that you'd rather cut off your head than watch him mug and prattle for even one more second. Fortunately for those who value their time, the choice becomes obvious early on. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… I prefer "Cupid 1.0" -- bits of which you may find floating around the Web, if you're interested -- but given that many of you will not remember it at all, I won't spend too much time praising the former at the expense of the latter, which begins tonight, also on ABC, upgraded from the original's Saturday-night Siberia to a prime slot after "Dancing With the Stars." I will say, however, that it isn't as good as Thomas' other current show, "Party Down," on Starz, which is calculated to work only on its own terms, while the new "Cupid" is intended to succeed, in a mass way, where its predecessor failed. (Nor is it as good as his "Veronica Mars.") That is the great luxury of lower commercial expectations.…
The Chicago Tribune says:
… The problem is, though this good-natured show doesn't lack for energy, “Cupid” is a little bland and formulaic. … Still, the slenderness of “Cupid’s” premise and characters might not matter if there were more sparks of love-hate chemistry in the mix. Alas, this is a romantic comedy without an abundance of sparky romance, at least between the show’s lead characters. …
The Washington Post says:
… Piven made a world of difference and helped put it over … [Cannavale] looks about as cupidly as Saddam Hussain.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… "Cupid" manages to be charming and funny even while pouring on the wishful romance angle (that being one of ABC's programming strengths). Whatever ABC saw that it didn't like certainly isn't visible in the pilot. … Despite concerns that the actor comparison would be unflattering, Cannavale makes the role his own - less manic, less crazily righteous, but more embraceable and shaded. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… It's impossible not to compare the two casts or to find the new version a pale imitation whose characters don't feel fresh in the slightest, because, well, they're not. It doesn't help that in the new "Cupid" the actors playing the rechristened Trevor Pierce (Bobby Cannavale) and Dr. Claire McCrae (Sarah Paulson) are no match for their predecessors. …
The Boston Herald says:
… a depressing shadow of the underappreciated original. … Piven left room for doubt: He might have been Cupid; he might have been certifiable. Cannavale’s Cupid is simply overcaffeinated. He blathers nonstop. To demonstrate enthusiasm - which is his approach to everything - he throws his arms in the air. He does it so often, he’s going to hurt himself. He and Paulson share no chemistry. Advice for the lovelorn: Give up. This “Cupid” shoots duds.
The Boston Globe says:
… Part of me wants to tell you that ABC's new "Cupid" is breezy, romantic fun. Part of me wants to encourage you to stop thinking so much and enjoy Bobby Cannavale's mania as a man who believes he's Cupid and who leads a ward of psychiatric patients through a joyous "All You Need Is Love." Part of me wants to forbid myself the use of the word that rhymes with "Cupid" and begins with "st." …
Variety says:
… A sprightly tone doesn’t fully compensate for its shortcomings …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… this arrow doesn't quite hit the bull's-eye. Bobby Cannavale does make for a cuddly Cupid (a.k.a. Trevor), who walks a line between being charming and a galoot, while Sara Paulson's Dr. Claire McCrae skulks around throwing water on his ambitions to match up 100 couples. We know she's prickly because of her pursed lips, and we're supposed to sympathize with her sense and sensibility, but she's rather rigid and two-dimensional. … The balance is off, but there is still a sweetness to the show that makes it worth checking out.
10 p.m. Tuesday. ABC.
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weather or not to check this out as I really really really liked the first one, in fact I think it was the only time I participated in one of those internet 'save the show' type campagins
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I guess, didn't even realize it, i guess i can die happy now or something
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Man, do I miss American Gothic.
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Doesn't bode well for a CUPID Talkback. Well, what do you expect - no CHUCK or SUPERNATURAL talkbacks, and there's still a HEROES talkback where everyone posts they arent watching it anymore. (Even me.) The original is a classic, and Paula Marshal is HOT enough to melt concrete. She was, however, an utter "show killer" til GARY UNMARRIED. I have a feeling, much as i like my gal from STUDIO 60 (Another all out classic) this remake will be like so many others ...Dust in the wind....only dust in the wind.....
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He was the reson i didn't watch the show. Not even Paula Marshall could keep me watching...
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I think I'll give this one a try, but it's disappointing in the first place that they cancelled the old one. If they would have just let it find an audience they wouldn't be making a Cupid-lite years later.
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I'll watch it because Veronica Mars was one of the best shows ever. I remember the old Cupid but never watched it so I can't compare the new one to it. I just hope it is half as good as Veronica Mars.
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Chris Carter's X-files is a good example. Now I would say the same for Rob Thomas's Veronica Mars.
Time to move on. Hopefully the Veronica Mars movie will be like the first X-files flick. Not the second one. -
it was a boring chick-show, and it still is. but hey, maybe there's hope for a Veronica Mars remake 10 years down the line.
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There are no other scripts floating around Hollyweird.
None. -
Wow, they really are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
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But he didn't just create one good show because he already created Cupid, which was a good show.Now whether this new version is good remains to be seen, but it was always going to suffer from comparison to the original in the reviews because critics enjoyed the original even if the audience never discovered it. But I know how they feel. I was a fan of the original and a fan of Piven in the original so Cannavale has an uphill battle. It's not like Trevor Hale/Pierce is an iconic character like a Sherlock Holmes or Batman where we are used to multiple takes.I'll still be watching though (or DVRing in tonight's instance as I'll be out).
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I recall it airing around the same time as the remake of FANTASY ISLAND, which was surprisingly good. Malcolm McDowell played Roarke, and the tone of show was much darker than the original. I was sorry to set it get cancelled.
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And it wasn't all that great
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...which Stank On Ice.What does ABC have that is new and good? They canceled Pushing Daisies in favor of things like Better Off Ted, which I "canceled" from my DVR schedule after episode 1.The promo for Cupid had literally nothing of interest. Does ABC hire the same consultants who chose "syfy" for SciFi....?
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Mar 31, 2009 7:25:29 PM CDT
You know what show the creator of Veronica Mars made that i real
by nalapou
VERONICA MARS! fuck you CW... still bitter.
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... stupid cutoff.
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Will def give this a shot when it arrives this on side of the pond. Also, Wes Craven is a legend - fuck you.
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I'm REALLY enjoying it. The cameo from Dohring last week was highly appreciated.
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*raises hand* :) And we get Ed Begley, Jr. on this Friday's episode.
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Followed by Henry taking a picture of the flag-burning. :D
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this show sucks... Cupid can't speak spanish? So what, the god of love only works in the USA? There goes your plausibility...
Where's the magic? He sounds retarded talking literally about mount olympus... Stupid.
Cupid should be suave... He should make everyone like him charmed with him... They need an unlikely hero, like a dork, who the ladies love... This show is NOT well thought out...
Psyche, Psychiatrist, haven't met her yet... OH I GET IT!!! HIS PSYCHIATRIST! Lame... -
the Johnny Depp movie. But it doesn't have Johnny Depp in it. :/
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..seeing this show on again in this incarnation brings back some great memories. How I miss the original with Jeremy Piven's fast taking and Paula Marshall's sexy voice. This episode seemed to cram a couple of the orginal series episodes into one. Maybe Piven can do a guest spot in the near future. It's funny how half the people in this new version dress like it's still 1998. Especially with some of the haircuts.
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Adorable! Love the glasses too. How come this girl couldn't find a gig that lasted more than 1 season?
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If this ends up getting picked up, I hope they have a big sweeps/finale guest spot with the original stars. Its still felt like a hollow shot for shot remake that segued into an overdone love story. The original series' pilot, which guested Connie Britton and George Newbern as normal people who couldn't get out of there own way launched the series in a much more subtle, well reasoned way. But america is too stupid for subtle storytelling, so instead we get a recreation drawn in crayon.
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who would have thought Ari Gold would be a good matchmaker?!
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I liked her with Piven in the original Cupid, though. This iteration just sounds lame (and Sarah Paulson is an even bigger show killer).
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didn't try to get Marshall back? Until that Jay Mohr show she was doing fuck all.
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Just to bring this talkback down to the level it should be: You can see Ms. Marshall in her all-together in the first season of Californication.
I loved the original series. Knowing they're remaking it kills any chance of the original ever being on DVD. Thus, I hate this new version. -
Interesting that the critics seem to praise it now. I didn't read them, back then. Are they jumping on the bandwagon, now?I enjoyed that Fantasy Island reboot, as well. Those shows were just to early to ride the current speculative fiction wave on TV.
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Come on, Herc!
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Seriously?
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It was cute, sweet...usually I'd throw up after that combo, but not here for some reason. I like her, I like him, and I even liked them. DVR is set to record all episodes now.
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I knew the show was doomed when they announced the cast.
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Post the damn Lost Talkback already!
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of the original, and i couldn't pick veronica mars out of a lineup, but all i know is that Rob Thomas must be a HUGE Sorkin fan. (porn star from Sports night, sarah paulson, The Snuffy Guy who does music, and jokes about grammar and language semantics.
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i think thats a man really really attached to that George Clooney, no my hairline aint receding Casesar look from the nineties. Because Piven was losing it since PCU.
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Reviving tv shows no one watched or cared about at the time (or after) is just downright silly. This will not see a second season--and the funny thing is how many people probably knew that going in. So what does that tell you about ABC's development department and the people running it? It's like every now and again they have to put up something scripted as a sacrificial lamb in order to justify the 12 new reality shows they have in the pipeline.
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Lutz is Cupid's best friendWinters is solving crimes with Sarah Shahi & Gabrielle UnionMalarkey is Chief Resident at CountyBuck is living on Wysteria Lane with Nicollette SheridanGuarnere is working for the Secret ServiceToye is with the FBI's Fringe Science DivisionSpeirs is apparently involved with a chatty chickand I believe Bull will soon be a cop in LA and Nixon knows a woman whose husband is a time-traveller.
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I took a look at a few of the eps and I am convinced that if ABC had had the balls to renew his for a second season and stopped bouncing it around the schedule back in 98 this would have been a hit.
This gooey luvie duvie stuff is not usually my thing, but Piven and Marshall were great and the writing was honest. -
But I watched it and it was cute. Nothing overly special, but not everything I watch has to be this incredible masterpiece of TV experience. Hey, I still watch Heroes, and Fuller is righting the ship, and when he brings it around full, all you bandwagoners are gonna be mad that you bailed on one of the best shows in TV history. Yes, I'm very thankful Pushing Daises got canceled because of that.
Even my wife was interested in this, and she hates drivel.
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