It’s a shame that more people haven’t discovered what may be the season’s best new drama, NBC’s Kings. Just three episodes in, the show is only drawing about 4.5 million viewers. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that the network had no idea how to market the show. Ads were plentiful, but none of them made much sense nor did they give a true feeling for the show’s tone. But, alas, the more likely reason for its failure is that it simply isn't the kind of show that works on network TV these days. Kings is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a scandalous soap opera disguised as an epic drama.
Silas (Ian McShane, keeping his cool in a role that could easily be overplayed) rules over Gilboa, a kingdom at war with neighboring Gath. Soldier David Shepherd (Chris Egan) saves the life of the King’s POW son Jack. David is given a hero’s welcome in the new capital city of Shiloh, and is soon named military liaison to the press, a promotion that has Jack jealous. Why was Jack passed over? He's got a secret and his father knows what it is; Jack, despite his hard-partying ways and the appearance of womanizing, is gay, a no-no for a prince. “You cannot be what God made you, not if you mean to take my place,” Silas tells him. Working with Queen Rose (Susanna Thompson from Once and Again, who is so far underused here), Jack plots to keep David from getting too comfortable in his new environs. You see, unbeknownst to him, David has a destiny, one that has the royal family on the defensive and his own mother in denial.
Series creator Michael Green has created a rich tapestry, a world unto itself (it looks like a cross between Manhattan and San Francisco, but has the storytelling feel of ancient Rome transplanted to 2009). He juggles multiple story lines deftly, which is saying something considering he came from Heroes, a show that has always suffered from having too many characters in disparate locations. Here, the plots are interconnected and the main conflict—what exactly should Silas do with David?—seems headed toward a confrontation that will happen sooner than later.
There is much to like about Kings, but perhaps the best part is McShane's performance. His Silas has a lot to deal with, most of it done clandestinely. He has a mistress and a secret son; he controls the press, quashing pictures of Jack canoodling with men and David kissing the princess; he orders the assault that got Jack kidnapped in the war; and he’s involved in an uneasy peace with Gath. That’s a lot to hang on any actor, but McShane handles it all with an evenhandedness that makes it appear as if being king is no different than any other job. With corruption all around and a savior seemingly waiting in the wings, this kingdom is definitely poised for more drama. And so am I.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A Funny Sitcom (Yay!) ... On ABC (Boo!)
Research and development firm Veridian Dynamics is the setting for ABC’s new comedy Better Off Ted. The firm specializes in the unusual, with last night’s episode revolving around the desire to invent a “meat blob” that would basically make cows obsolete (a taste tester said it had the flavor of despair). The poorly titled but still funny show comes from Victor Fresco, who worked on Mad About You and created one of the decade’s best comedies, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and it bears some of the wacky earmarks that made the latter such a gem.
Jay Harrington (from the failed NBC version of Coupling) stars as Ted, the voice of reason in a company seemingly built on insanity. Among his coworkers are Phil (Jonathan Slavin), a scientist who was cryogenically frozen, prematurely thawed out, and now bounces back and forth between moments of lucidity and painful screeching; Linda (Andrea Anders), Ted’s would-be office romance, who has a penchant for hording coffee creamer in her desk drawer; and Veronica (Portia de Rossi, in what could be an extension of her ice princess Ally McBeal character), a woman who wants results no matter the cost. It’s Ted’s job to keep them all reigned in, plus take care of his smart-alecky young daughter (Ted quizzing her on her multiplication homework: “6 x 8?” Answer: “Yes, that was one.”)
While the show is not as instantly laugh-out-loud funny as Andy Richter was, given time it certainly has the potential to be. Unfortunately, it airs on ABC, which currently has no idea how to program sitcoms, particularly smart ones (just look at how they’ve treated Samantha Who?). Early ratings indicate that Ted probably isn’t long for this world, but then this is the network that can’t seem to rid itself of the travesty that is According to Jim, so never say never. Perhaps Veridian Dynamics can go to the lab and come up with a network executive that doesn’t cancel all the good stuff.
Jay Harrington (from the failed NBC version of Coupling) stars as Ted, the voice of reason in a company seemingly built on insanity. Among his coworkers are Phil (Jonathan Slavin), a scientist who was cryogenically frozen, prematurely thawed out, and now bounces back and forth between moments of lucidity and painful screeching; Linda (Andrea Anders), Ted’s would-be office romance, who has a penchant for hording coffee creamer in her desk drawer; and Veronica (Portia de Rossi, in what could be an extension of her ice princess Ally McBeal character), a woman who wants results no matter the cost. It’s Ted’s job to keep them all reigned in, plus take care of his smart-alecky young daughter (Ted quizzing her on her multiplication homework: “6 x 8?” Answer: “Yes, that was one.”)
While the show is not as instantly laugh-out-loud funny as Andy Richter was, given time it certainly has the potential to be. Unfortunately, it airs on ABC, which currently has no idea how to program sitcoms, particularly smart ones (just look at how they’ve treated Samantha Who?). Early ratings indicate that Ted probably isn’t long for this world, but then this is the network that can’t seem to rid itself of the travesty that is According to Jim, so never say never. Perhaps Veridian Dynamics can go to the lab and come up with a network executive that doesn’t cancel all the good stuff.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Murder is Funny (Or is It?)
A lousy concept is met with subpar execution in ABC’s new cop show Castle (Mondays, 10pm), which is filled with one annoyance after another. Detective Kate Beckett (played by Stana Katic, who looks like she would make a great sitcom wife) walks into a crime scene and instantly recognizes it to be a reenactment of a murder from the pages of her favorite author, Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion). Then it's discovered that this isn't the first this has happened. When the no-nonsense Beckett meets with the caddish Castle, the author, instead of being even remotely alarmed by the deaths, flirts with Beckett and asks for photos of the victims so he can brag to his fellow crime authors (James Patterson and Stephen J. Cannell in cameos). And if that’s not enough to make you roll your eyes and change the channel, how about this witticism that Castle throws out as he’s got a gun held to his temple: “Psycho here needs a breath mint.” Nothing irks me more than putting allegedly funny words into characters’ mouths while they’re at the height of peril.
With this copycat killer story line all wrapped up in the pilot, how do you get Castle to keep hanging around with Beckett even though she clearly dislikes him and their chemistry isn’t that great? Have him do research for his next book, centered on a surly female detective, natch. The writers would have been better off turning the copycat killer plot into a season-long arc, giving Castle a much more engaging reason to come back for more and turning the show into more than another case-of-the-week crime drama (is the plan to have the guy spend years doing “research”?). But no matter what they do with the plots, a fatal flaw for Castle is the fact that the main character is all wisecracks and smarter-than-thou attitude, a role Fillion is very familiar with from similar gigs on the short-lived Firefly and Drive. It’s one thing for Castle to ask questions and postulate back at the precinct, but it’s another thing entirely for him to participate in witness interrogations. And why is he better at finding clues than the cops are?
Typical of ABC’s hour-long fare these days, Castle is an attempt to mix drama and comedy, but it ends up not being very good at delivering on either front. What works fine for a show like Brothers & Sisters or Ugly Betty feels out of place here, mainly due to the presence of dead bodies; the humor seems insensitive, the seriousness forced. It would take a king’s ransom to get me to spend any more time in this Castle.
With this copycat killer story line all wrapped up in the pilot, how do you get Castle to keep hanging around with Beckett even though she clearly dislikes him and their chemistry isn’t that great? Have him do research for his next book, centered on a surly female detective, natch. The writers would have been better off turning the copycat killer plot into a season-long arc, giving Castle a much more engaging reason to come back for more and turning the show into more than another case-of-the-week crime drama (is the plan to have the guy spend years doing “research”?). But no matter what they do with the plots, a fatal flaw for Castle is the fact that the main character is all wisecracks and smarter-than-thou attitude, a role Fillion is very familiar with from similar gigs on the short-lived Firefly and Drive. It’s one thing for Castle to ask questions and postulate back at the precinct, but it’s another thing entirely for him to participate in witness interrogations. And why is he better at finding clues than the cops are?
Typical of ABC’s hour-long fare these days, Castle is an attempt to mix drama and comedy, but it ends up not being very good at delivering on either front. What works fine for a show like Brothers & Sisters or Ugly Betty feels out of place here, mainly due to the presence of dead bodies; the humor seems insensitive, the seriousness forced. It would take a king’s ransom to get me to spend any more time in this Castle.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Fallon So Far
When Conan O’Brien began his reign on Late Night back in 1993, the critics were harsh. The man had previously been employed as a comedy writer and had no on-camera experience; it wasn’t unforeseeable that he might have difficulties adjusting to the ways of the TV talk show. After a few years, the critics relented and gave O’Brien kudos for a much-improved show.
Cut to 2009: Jimmy Fallon takes over for Conan after years on Saturday Night Live and a couple failed films. This guy should be a natural out of the gate, right? Wrong! Fallon was understandably nervous coming on stage for his inaugural monologue. What I can’t figure out, though, is if he was nervous because it was his first show or because he knew deep down that the material he went out there with wasn’t funny. He even admitted as much in the second show, telling the well-trained audience that “some of these are just of me.” And therein lies Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s biggest problem: too much of the show is geared toward what Fallon and his crew find funny without taking into account how it might actually play to an audience.
Among the lead-lined bits on the first few nights were a game called "Lick It for Ten" in which audience members lick items such as a lawn mower and a computer printer for ten bucks, a Facebook status update with members of the audience (typical joke: “Sharon Greene is…drunk”) that went on way too long, and a just-because dance-off with Cameron Diaz. In an unsuccessful effort to set itself apart from other talk shows, it just comes off as forced and unnatural. None of the comedy seems organic or fully realized.
Fallon’s interviewing skills don’t add anything to the proceedings, either. Scoring Robert De Niro as his first guest, Fallon dominated the conversation with uninteresting anecdotes about his own life, before subjecting the Oscar winner to a lousy skit about a train headed to space. Even when Fallon’s old “Weekend Update” partner Tina Fey showed up on night two, he still looked uncomfortable and didn’t really have a grasp on what they might talk about. (Incidentally, Fey herself was fine, clearly demonstrating that she would make a terrific host if she ever wanted to go in that direction.)
It may not sound like it, but I really wanted to like the new Late Night. It can’t be easy putting yourself out there for the world to lambaste every night. But Fallon simply doesn’t deliver. Maybe before too long—and time generally favors late night hosts—he can accomplish what Conan did: entertain himself while remembering that there are millions out there who need to be in on the joke, too.
Cut to 2009: Jimmy Fallon takes over for Conan after years on Saturday Night Live and a couple failed films. This guy should be a natural out of the gate, right? Wrong! Fallon was understandably nervous coming on stage for his inaugural monologue. What I can’t figure out, though, is if he was nervous because it was his first show or because he knew deep down that the material he went out there with wasn’t funny. He even admitted as much in the second show, telling the well-trained audience that “some of these are just of me.” And therein lies Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s biggest problem: too much of the show is geared toward what Fallon and his crew find funny without taking into account how it might actually play to an audience.
Among the lead-lined bits on the first few nights were a game called "Lick It for Ten" in which audience members lick items such as a lawn mower and a computer printer for ten bucks, a Facebook status update with members of the audience (typical joke: “Sharon Greene is…drunk”) that went on way too long, and a just-because dance-off with Cameron Diaz. In an unsuccessful effort to set itself apart from other talk shows, it just comes off as forced and unnatural. None of the comedy seems organic or fully realized.
Fallon’s interviewing skills don’t add anything to the proceedings, either. Scoring Robert De Niro as his first guest, Fallon dominated the conversation with uninteresting anecdotes about his own life, before subjecting the Oscar winner to a lousy skit about a train headed to space. Even when Fallon’s old “Weekend Update” partner Tina Fey showed up on night two, he still looked uncomfortable and didn’t really have a grasp on what they might talk about. (Incidentally, Fey herself was fine, clearly demonstrating that she would make a terrific host if she ever wanted to go in that direction.)
It may not sound like it, but I really wanted to like the new Late Night. It can’t be easy putting yourself out there for the world to lambaste every night. But Fallon simply doesn’t deliver. Maybe before too long—and time generally favors late night hosts—he can accomplish what Conan did: entertain himself while remembering that there are millions out there who need to be in on the joke, too.
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