TV Thoughts Omnibus Post

Attempting to grab this afternoon to update here on the ol' blog with some scattered TV thoughts. So many things to talk about, so little time (apparently / lately).

I've wanted to comment on Breaking Bad for a while. I caught up on the third season just before the finale and was able to watch the finale along with the rest of America (or, at least, the small subsection that watches this show). What an outstanding show this series has become. Initially, for me it was a dark, disturbing hour of TV that primarily showcased Bryan Cranston and Vince Gilligan. Last season, Aaron Paul really came into his own as Jesse, and this season it was Anna Gunn (annoyingly overlooked by the Emmys in a year where, shockingly, the usually same old same old awards show did a ton of thing "right"). There really aren't enough words to describe how subversive Breaking Bad has become. I don't know how many seasons it has left in its run, but the progression of the first three has catapulted it to the upper echelon of TV dramas. Ever. It plays so expertly on audience expectations and on TV conventions. I suppose if I were to try and get a simple handle on why I love it so, it would be this: the hero wears a black hat. It's a wonderfully modern show with a slew of visual references to classic Westerns. And Walter White, our (extremely anti-)hero, wears a black hat. I just think it's sort of genius. Now if they could only figure out what to do with Walter Jr...

Speaking of the Emmys... it's hard to truly be mad about the exclusion of Community when so much of the old guard, especially in the comedy categories, departed and made way for the buzzier shiny new toys that are Glee and Modern Family. Still, a nomination for the "Modern Warfare" paintball episode was deserved. Community is the lesser watched show of the three new comedies. It took longer to find its groove than Modern Family did (which seemed to have its groove from the start), and was never the pop culture sensation that Glee is (my opinion on Glee, of course, is that it never found its groove in the back 9 episodes... solid music numbers and performances, but incredibly uneven storytelling that I really hope can get smoothed out next season). There will always be Emmy snubs (um... no Michelle Forbes for True Blood?!) but, hey, Kyle and Connie got their nominations, Entourage washed out, and there was plenty of new blood in the various major categories so tons to be happy about. Now we can only pray that when the awards come around, 30 Rock's streak comes to an end thanks to the deserving freshmen and Mad Men does not win for its subpar (by its own high standards) third season. Per the above Breaking Bad comments... just comparing those third seasons, it's quite clear which is the better show.

Summer TV abounds this year. I find myself watching an uncomfortable amount of reality television, while the scripted TV I'm watching is essentially a game of "what's on USA or HBO tonight?" Also Futurama (the two-episode premiere felt off to me, but the iPhone/Twitter parody with Mom was a return to form... I still feel like the sex joke quotient has been needlessly raised for cable TV while the pacing isn't what it was... waiting for an episode where the gang goes on a delivery and shenanigans ensue).

After slumbering its way through the first few episodes, the Real Housewives of New Jersey finally kicked things up this week with, perhaps, the most ridiculously entertaining hour of stupidity ever televised. The sequence with Jacqueline in her car playing games on her iPhone while Danielle's energist (this is a job?) tries to work with J? Awesome. So self-aware.

I enjoyed Tuesday night's premiere of Covert Affairs, though I have to say the sister felt entirely superfluous. Much as I loved Anne Dudek as Cutthroat Bitch on House... the role could've been excised. I found Christopher Gorham's blind CIA analyst (who manages to be something of a womanizer and an excellent asset) an interesting twist on a role that could've played as "typical spy fare" as some of the other roles. For instance, Piper Perabo's Annie Walker (am I the only one who sees a lot of Jennifer Garner in Piper?) I'm just not sure what makes the character special. Yet. But it was a breezy enough hour(-plus) to sit through that I'll keep recording it.

Top Chef is slowly improving after a truly lackluster first couple episodes. I've been over Kenny from the start, though. Anyone who talks about being the "Alpha male" presence just needs to be ignored. Waiting for anyone besides Kenny and Angelo to really make an impact, consistently, in the kitchen. We were spoiled last season with the Voltagglio Bros, Jen, and Kevin!

I am on the fence about the new So You Think You Can Dance format this season. I was initially on board with the idea of the All Stars, but the first week of performances (also the show's first week airing live performance shows rather than pre-taped and edited) was wonky. Glad the All Stars now stand by their partners during critiques, and very pleased that the show decided midway through to start pairing the contestants with each other again. Some of the judges' choices on who to drop baffled me (particularly losing Cristina - not the best ballroom specialist the show has ever had, but one of the better ballroom dancers when in other genres of dance - in lieu of Melinda) and the season because very gender unbalanced, resulting in the "landmark" male partnering that is now both necessary and commonplace on the show. I'm still scratching my head over why the show chose to fix something that wasn't really broken (the sixth season suffered for being too close on the heels of the fifth... not because of the format), but, hey, the judges are self-aggrandizing enough about it for everyone. As it did everyone who follows SYTYCD, the Alex Wong injury hit hard. Both for him as a dancer - we here at TY pray he recovers speedily and fully, it's a horrid injury - and for the show. As Nigel implied last night when predicting Kent as the season's victor... "now that Alex is gone" will forever be an asterisk on this season. And what can be said about Kent Boyd? Quite a casting find.

I've tweeted thoughts on many of this season's pilots. I intend to eventually post reviews. Eventually. And maybe just of shows I feel strongly about one way or the other (initially just the positives I think). A few intriguing new series, but overall an underwhelming crop for the fall, I'm afraid. I will definitely be adding Lone Star, No Ordinary Family, My Generation, and Nikita to my viewing schedule. I've yet to see The Event, and I didn't love the script but it made me want to know what happens next (possibly because I have no idea what actually happened in the pilot, as there are mysteries presented but no indication of explanations...) but I can see adding that. Not a strong season for comedy, though the further I get away from my screening of Running Wilde, the fonder I am of it. I don't think it was particularly gut-busting, but there's just something about Will Arnett and Keri Russell... I was also planning on watching Love Bites, but it's no longer on the fall schedule. We'll see what happens with it, but my fingers are crossed!

More to come, I'm sure, as True Blood ramps up, Comic Con happens next weekend (per my tweets, not really feeling con this year), and more...

So I Think I Can Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance

Long time no blog! Curse you, Twitter. Also, curse you, having a plethora of projects I'm working on (finishing a polish on a pilot script this week, starting a new pilot as soon as that's done, getting notes on a feature outline... phew, that's a lot just to out!)

Anyway.

So You Think You Can Dance's competition began last night! My American-Idol-as-cocaine replacement is back. Woo!

The Billy Bell thing completely reshapes this season's competition. I wish him well, and I'm curious if he'll be back for Season 7 over the summer... given that he was so amazing, surely he'll be snapped up by someone, no?

His last-minute replacement, Brandon, was the pre-ordained male ejectee tonight, as it was completely judge's choice (and when Russell was announced as his competition in the Bottom 2 Men... there was no way Brandon wasn't going home). My roommate was very annoyed by this, as Brandon simply had no chance. So I was very happy to hear Nigel say that they would try to bend the "if you're in the Top 20, you can't come back" rules so he could improve in the interim and come back for Season 7... and y'know, prepare for the competition and rehearse with a partner appropriately.

Anyway. The other stuff... the episode was not as "OMFGWTFBBQ" crazy hot sauce as Season 5's Top 20 show, which featured (IIRC) 7 outstanding routines. And, so, it was really a good thing that we had Monday's "Meet the Top 20" in their own styles show as only a couple dancers were in their element last night.

Standouts:
- Mollee & Nathan. How can you not love these two? Disco is a divisive dance genre, but it's always high energy and they did it well, with some fun tricks. Mollee was definitely not dancing like a 13-year old girl.
- Legacy & Kathryn. As the judges mentioned, Legacy was technically in his genre, but B-Boying is tricks and not necessarily choreo... so he did a very good job. And his partner made me forget (until doing this recap) her craziness in the Top 20 Dancers Revealed show last Wednesdays. Though I have to say, 75% of the routine, I was looking at Legacy... I know it's not ballroom, and there wasn't a ton of hip-hop, but Kathryn is going to need to develop a presence.
- Ryan & Ellenore. They got a crazy Sonya routine. And pulled it off. And I'm wondering just how often Ryan is going to be shirtless in routines this season...
- Bianca & Viktor. Travis Wall number = lurve. So, again, choreographer helps the couple's case, and Viktor was in his comfort zone.
- Jakob (by not Ashleigh). Goddamn this guy can dance. Really sad, as Nigel stated, that he won't have Billy around to force him to amp his game up.
- Russell. We'll see what's up with Noelle next week, but I was so surprised when Nigel put him in the Bottom 2 because he did a really good job with that Foxtrot, given the circumstances! Maybe it was just an excuse to let Russell do some krumping?

Nose Dive

Royal Pains, consider yourself one "one episode left" notice. I was VASTLY underwhelmed by tonight's follow-up to the pilot. Mostly because you retained about 300% of the quirk of the pilot but 25% of the drama.

Now, I know. You aren't a murder mystery show. But both Monk and Psych manage to fit quirk within a murder mystery every week and keep things moving along in an amusing way (diminishing returns on Monk, IMHO, but that's why I stopped watching it). Medical shows can be funny and quirky and still solve medical mysteries. In fact, that show is House. You, Royal Pains, are not House. You aren't trying to be House. I get it.

But, please, could you try a little harder to HOLD MY ATTENTION!?

Show of hands... who knew what was wrong with the ballerina 3 minutes after the second act started (since we didn't see the ballerina until the end of the first act, and even then it was COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM THE PLOT LINE WE WERE IN).

Also, could they be moving any faster on the Hank/Jill romance? It's episode two and they already have reached smoochus interruptus.

Sigh.

Anyway. I'm hoping this is a fluke of bad storytelling and not a hint at the formula to come from Royal Pains. Because if it is representative of what's ahead... well, I won't be watching after next week. And I really want to be watching after next week because I need more scripted TV in my summer life.

SYTYCD note - results show more engaging than Idol's (woo! no Ford commercials!), the "dance for your life" bit is interesting, Sean Kingston is not even a mediocre live performer, and the right guy and girl went home tonight.

PS - I'm Not Dead

Just very, very bored by the summer ratings. I'm not getting regular / complete cable numbers, so reporting on anything is spotty (and big stuff like the Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, The Closer, and Raising the Bar premiere data is actually being written up in the trades).

Will get to screener reviews as I can, but have been embroiled in some writing projects that have definitely occupied my time and / or brain.

What can I say? Summer sucks.

On recommendation, I have been watching So You Think You Can Dance for the first time this summer... what a treat last night's performance show was! The audition and Vegas rounds... not so much. Judging the performances from home is very, very different for SYTYCD than it is for Idol. On Idol, you know when there's a missed note or pitchiness or whatever. On SYTYCD all of the dancers are amazing, but the line separating them on any given week or performances seems to be the choreography they're given within the genre they receive, and the amount of personality brought to the performance. It's not like any of the Top 20 wiped out last night (do they ever? Again, this was my first performance show viewing).

Some brief notes on the cable premieres of the last week...

Burn Notice - still a ton of fun, glad to see that even though they sort of seemed to explode the premise for the show at last season's end, the episodes are still very much in the same vein... but with even more sense of danger because Michael is now on the grid. Glad to see USA pushing Donovan and Anwar for Lead Male and Supporting Female Emmys in the trade FYCs.

Royal Pains - the opening 15-ish minutes were a pain and a bit of a buy (what with the hospital board black listing the lead character everywhere in NYC...), and I found the lead character to be very annoying with his repeated protest that he wasn't going to be the concierge doctor in the Hamptons... it's the premise for the show, so it didn't hold any water after his first complaint. Looking forward to the first post-pilot episode tonight, which won't have to deal with setting the premiere up, and hopefully won't have Dr. Hank quite so recalcitrant.

Weeds - I'm not sure why I'm still watching this show. It wasn't funny last season and it isn't funny now. I don't even like any of the characters anymore (even Shane).

Nurse Jackie - the press has gone gaga over this show, and it's good to see Falco in such an interesting (and different) role. looking forward to what episode two has in store.

The Closer - same old summer popcorn background noise. Was kind of surprised at the lack of a post-Brenda's-wedding plotline or even a mention. Much like Burn Notice... business as usual.

Top Chef Masters - fun if different from the Mothership. I didn't warm to Kelly Choi, and definitely miss Padma and Tom. However, if the Mothership wants to bring Gael Greene on as a guest judge at any point in the coming season, I'm all for it.