I am – Hercules!!
An NYPD homicide dramedy from writer-producer Noah Hawley (“Bones”), “The Unusuals” stars a lot of actors of whom I’m quite fond: Amber Tamblyn (“Joan of Arcadia”), Adam Goldberg (“The Hebrew Hammer”), and “Oz” vets Harrold Perrineau (“Lost”) and Terry Kinney (“Canterbury’s Law”).
Interestingly, both “The Unusuals” (premiering Wednesday night on ABC) and “Southland” (premiering Thursday night on NBC) are cop ensembles centered on a rookie who comes from a wealthy family.
Tamblyn looks great in the first act as an undercover faux hooker, but the pilot’s numerous broad grasps at comedy elicited nothing approaching a laugh, at least in the room in which I was seated.
The character I liked most was Kinney’s, a homicide boss who carried the least wacky content.
The good news for the series is it was lucky enough to hire, subsequent to shooting the pilot, ace writer-producer Sarah Watson (“The Middleman”), who should be able to shore up some big laughs if given the chance.
USA Today give it two and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… The Unusuals garners some rooting interest simply for hosting the welcome TV return of Joan of Arcadia's Amber Tamblyn. Here she's a tart-tongued, newly elevated detective with a rich-girl past, a role she imbues with her usual charm and intelligence. If only the show were equally smart and charming. …
Entertainment Weekly gives it an “B-plus” and says:
… The oddball overload bugs at first, but the incredibly likable cast makes The Unusuals unusually promising. …
The Associated Press says:
… With its quirky characters, droll sense of humor and oddball cases (a serial killer targeting cats), "The Unusuals" fells a bit like "Rescue Me," only with a little less grit and with cops instead of firefighters. (Peter Tolan is an executive producer on both shows). And in an era of cookie-cutter procedurals, you have to appreciate its attempt to bring something fresh to the genre. But that doesn't mean "The Unusuals" gets everything right. Like "Rescue Me," it sometimes careens awkwardly between serious drama and comedic moments that feel forced and/or just plain dumb. For example, the cocky and self-absorbed detective Eddie Alvarez (Kai Lennox) is so buffoonishly drawn that he'd probably be more at home on "Reno 911!"…
The New York Times says:
… invests a little too much of its energy in attempted humor, including an unseen dispatcher who blurts out bulletins in a nasal Queens accent … Tamblyn has an appealingly aloof, brooding manner that wipes some of the silliness off her character. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… promising … closer to "Barney Miller" than to, say, "Kojak," though not as good as either. … The cast is excellent, and there's potential here, even though tonight's opening episode, as pilots will, tries a little too hard. Wisecracks fall flat (references to chlamydia, juvenile cross-dressing and sluttiness); a secondary story line about a cat killer is weak and unpleasant; and the craziness is somewhat over-stressed. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… tries a little too hard to be quirky. "Hill Street Blues" had its share of offbeat moments, but it strived to get the atmosphere of the station house and police work right. "The Unusuals" doesn't have the balance between the comedy and the serious stuff right yet …
The Washington Post says:
… it careens from genre to genre, scrambling to please everybody, putting us on a treadmill that speeds up, slows down and subjects us to bumpy terrain until we're ready to pull the red emergency-stop cord attached to our sweat pants. This description may suggest "The Unusuals" is thrilling. It is not. It is spastic. … Is "The Unusuals" carving out new territory in prime time? Or is it just buckling under the weight of its seesawing ambitions? If ABC leaves it on long enough, the show may solve its own case, which is not so much a whodunit as a whatisit.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… the series is flat-out tone deaf; a limp drama and a grating, messy misfire as a comedy. And yes, it tries to do both. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… too often it comes off as forced and unrealistic … offers an odd combo platter of tones that don't allow the show to jell in its premiere episode.
The Newark Star Ledger says:
… What "The Unusuals" lacks in cinematic sheen, it compensates with humor … Occasionally, the quirkiness piles on too high -- Renner's character not only played for the Yankees, he now owns a diner where he makes inedible dishes like "pork chops with a Skittles reduction" -- but that's something creator Noah Hawley ought to be able to dial in correctly given time.…
The Boston Herald says:
… what could have been a pleasant diversion into a chore. It will be out of the ordinary, to say the least, if this show gets a second season. …
The Boston Globe says:
… if not pitched just right, dramedies can short-shrift both the drama and the comedy, as one undermines the other, and that's what happens on "The Unusuals." The show is neither here nor there, neither amusing nor affecting. It doesn't really call out for further viewing, which is not so unusual at all. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… a rapid-fire, clever mix of style and content -- with the bonus of having one of TV's best collection of actor orphans …
Variety says:
… while the show does qualify as slightly unusual, its ability to be consistently interesting is another matter. …
10 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK!!
The New Prequel About The People
Who Thought Cylons Were A Good Idea!!
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