With just three weeks to go before the fall season officially begins, and some shows starting early, I thought I’d take this time to put together a list of premiere dates so you know exactly when your favorite show (or the new show you’ve been looking forward to) will begin. Happy viewing, everybody!
ABC
Monday
Dancing With the Stars—9/21, 8pm (three-night premiere continues through 9/23)
Castle—9/21, 10pm
Tuesday
Shark Tank—9/29, 8pm (time period premiere)
Dancing With the Stars: The Results—9/23, 8pm (special night); 9/29, 9pm (regular night)
The Forgotten—9/22, 10pm
Wednesday
Hank—9/30, 8pm
The Middle—9/30, 8pm
Modern Family—9/23, 9pm
Cougar Town—9/23, 9:30pm
Eastwick—9/23, 10pm
Thursday
Flash Forward—9/24, 8pm
Grey’s Anatomy—9/24, 9pm
Private Practice—9/24, 10pm
Friday
Supernanny—10/16, 8pm
Ugly Betty—10/9, 8pm (2-hour premiere, 9pm thereafter)
20/20—9/11, 10pm
Saturday
Saturday Night College Football—9/5, 8pm
Sunday
America’s Funniest Home Videos—10/4, 7pm
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition—9/27, 7pm (2-hour premiere, 8pm thereafter)
Desperate Housewives—9/27, 9pm
Brothers & Sisters—9/27, 10pm
CBS
Monday
How I Met Your Mother—9/21, 8pm
Accidentally on Purpose—9/21, 8:30pm
Two and a Half Men—9/21, 9pm
The Big Bang Theory—9/21, 9:30pm
CSI: Miami—9/21, 10pm
Tuesday
NCIS—9/22, 8pm
NCIS: Los Angeles—9/22, 9pm
The Good Wife—9/22, 10pm
Wednesday
The New Adventures of Old Christine—9/23, 8pm
Gary Unmarried—9/23, 8:30pm
Criminal Minds—9/23, 9pm
CSI: NY—9/23, 10pm
Thursday
Survivor: Samoa—9/17, 8pm
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation—9/24, 9pm
The Mentalist—9/24, 10pm
Friday
Ghost Whisperer—9/25, 8pm
Medium—9/25, 9pm
Numb3rs—9/25, 10pm
Saturday
48 Hours Mystery—9/26, 10pm
Sunday
60 Minutes—9/27, 7pm
The Amazing Race—9/27, 8pm (two-hour premiere)
Three Rivers—10/4, 9pm
Cold Case—9/27, 10pm
NBC
Monday
Heroes—9/21, 8pm (two-hour premiere)
Trauma—9/28, 9pm
The Jay Leno Show—9/14, 10pm (airs Monday-Friday at 10pm)
Tuesday
The Biggest Loser—9/15, 8pm
Wednesday
Mercy—9/23, 8pm
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—9/23, 9pm
Thursday
SNL Weekend Update Thursday—9/17, 8pm
Parks and Recreation—9/17, 8:30pm
The Office—9/17, 9pm
Community—9/17, 9:30pm (8pm beginning 10/8)
30 Rock—10/15, 9:30pm
Friday
Law & Order—9/25, 8pm
Southland—10/23, 9pm
Saturday
Dateline NBC—9/26, 8pm
Sunday
Football Night in America—9/13, 7pm
NBC Sunday Night Football—9/13, 8:15pm
Fox
Monday
House—9/21, 8pm (two-hour premiere)
Lie to Me—9/28, 9pm
Tuesday
So You Think You Can Dance—9/29, 9pm
Wednesday
So You Think You Can Dance—9/9, 8pm
Glee—9/9, 9pm
Thursday
Bones—9/17, 8pm
Fringe—9/17, 9pm
Friday
Brothers—9/25, 8pm (one-hour premiere)
Til Death—10/2, 8:30pm
Dollhouse—9/25, 9pm
Saturday
Cops—9/12, 8pm (one-hour premiere)
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back—9/12, 9pm
Sunday
The Simpsons—9/27, 8pm
The Cleveland Show—9/27, 8:30pm
Family Guy—9/27, 9pm
American Dad—9/27, 9:30pm
The CW
Monday
One Tree Hill—9/14, 8pm
Gossip Girl—9/14, 9pm
Tuesday
90210—9/8, 8pm
Melrose Place—9/8, 9pm
Wednesday
America’s Next Top Model—9/9, 8pm (two-hour premiere)
The Beautiful Life: TBL—9/16, 9pm
Thursday
The Vampire Diaries—9/10, 8pm
Supernatural—9/10, 9pm
Friday
Smallville—9/25, 8pm
All dates and times subject to change.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Ultimate Reality
Conjecture has long held that the reality TV gravy train would finally come off the rails when someone actually died during shooting. And while that has yet to happen, we seem to be coming eerily close to such a tragedy. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the brutal murder of model Jasmine Fiore, allegedly at the hands of her husband Ryan Jenkins, who later committed suicide after fleeing to Canada; and just this weekend, the death of DJ AM, who survived a plane crash less than a year ago only to succumb to a drug overdose.
What does this have to do with reality TV? Jenkins was a contestant on not one but two VH1 dating shows: Megan Wants a Millionaire aired three episodes before being canceled shortly after news of Fiore’s death broke, and I Love Money 3 was set to premiere in January but will now remain in the network's vault. DJ AM (né Adam Goldstein), meanwhile, had already completed production on a Celebrity Rehab-type program for MTV called Gone Too Far. The network hasn’t yet decided whether they will air the show, though some are saying that the hindsight provided here could be the ultimate wake-up call to those who suffer from addiction; no doubt others will see it as exploitative if MTV goes forward with it.
More than any other medium, TV is able to push the envelope (and buttons) with its immediacy. Trends can be cashed in on quickly, copycats abound, and our tolerance levels continue to be tested. Is it so hard to imagine that our obsession with taking everything to its extreme will one day lead to someone’s untimely demise? For years, we’ve watched as Survivor contestants who were too skinny to begin with are subjected to as many as 39 days without an adequate meal, going home looking like anorexics in need of treatment. The rapid weight loss that is The Biggest Loser's raison d’être seems like a heart attack waiting to happen. It’s probably a small miracle that there haven’t been any automobile accidents on The Amazing Race given how the teams yell at their cab drivers to speed through busy streets, putting innocent bystanders at risk. And while producers claim that all contestants go through rigorous psychological screenings and background checks (though an article in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly acknowledges that standards have become more lax, particularly on cable where product is churned out at an alarming pace), it’s not too far-fetched to think that one of The Bachelor’s rejected women could come back for revenge, or be so distraught by the rejection that she takes her own life.
For the sake of entertainment, we choose to look beyond some of the unhealthiness that is rampant in reality TV. (It doesn’t help that contestants must sign waivers that completely remove any liability on the part of the producers and the networks should anything go wrong, leaving no one at fault but the contestants themselves.) And I admit to being drawn into it like so many others; there is nothing like the thrill of good competition. But does tragedy really have to strike before we begin to see what’s been right in front of millions of our faces the entire time?
What does this have to do with reality TV? Jenkins was a contestant on not one but two VH1 dating shows: Megan Wants a Millionaire aired three episodes before being canceled shortly after news of Fiore’s death broke, and I Love Money 3 was set to premiere in January but will now remain in the network's vault. DJ AM (né Adam Goldstein), meanwhile, had already completed production on a Celebrity Rehab-type program for MTV called Gone Too Far. The network hasn’t yet decided whether they will air the show, though some are saying that the hindsight provided here could be the ultimate wake-up call to those who suffer from addiction; no doubt others will see it as exploitative if MTV goes forward with it.
More than any other medium, TV is able to push the envelope (and buttons) with its immediacy. Trends can be cashed in on quickly, copycats abound, and our tolerance levels continue to be tested. Is it so hard to imagine that our obsession with taking everything to its extreme will one day lead to someone’s untimely demise? For years, we’ve watched as Survivor contestants who were too skinny to begin with are subjected to as many as 39 days without an adequate meal, going home looking like anorexics in need of treatment. The rapid weight loss that is The Biggest Loser's raison d’être seems like a heart attack waiting to happen. It’s probably a small miracle that there haven’t been any automobile accidents on The Amazing Race given how the teams yell at their cab drivers to speed through busy streets, putting innocent bystanders at risk. And while producers claim that all contestants go through rigorous psychological screenings and background checks (though an article in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly acknowledges that standards have become more lax, particularly on cable where product is churned out at an alarming pace), it’s not too far-fetched to think that one of The Bachelor’s rejected women could come back for revenge, or be so distraught by the rejection that she takes her own life.
For the sake of entertainment, we choose to look beyond some of the unhealthiness that is rampant in reality TV. (It doesn’t help that contestants must sign waivers that completely remove any liability on the part of the producers and the networks should anything go wrong, leaving no one at fault but the contestants themselves.) And I admit to being drawn into it like so many others; there is nothing like the thrill of good competition. But does tragedy really have to strike before we begin to see what’s been right in front of millions of our faces the entire time?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Who's Hungry?
It was a foodie’s dream come true as Bravo offered up a Top Chef twofer last night: the premiere of the Las Vegas edition as well as the finale of its Masters spinoff.
I’ve gone on record as saying that most of these competition shows start off with too many contestants (17 in the case of Top Chef: Las Vegas), to the point that you don’t really get a sense of who anybody is until they’re down to around ten or so people left. (Other than on TV, where else would you meet that many people in the span of an hour and expect each of them to make a lasting impression?) That proved true again in the season premiere, where a few cheftestants made themselves stand out—mostly for the wrong reasons—while most are still a nondescript blur of frenetic kitchen energy. In these early stages, cockiness is the best way to be remembered, and since this is the most accomplished crop of chefs the show has seen, many of them feel they have reason to be cocky. Fitting the bill so far are Michael Isabella, who admitted to having a hot temper and a foul mouth; Michael Voltaggio, whose less attitudinal brother Bryan is also in the mix; and Jennifer Carroll, a chef at one of frequent guest judge Eric Ripert’s restaurants.
The actual competition last night left a little to be desired, again a symptom of having to make time for so many people. The two-part Quickfire Challenge brought back a Top Chef tradition: the mise en place relay race, in which contestants had to shuck clams, peel prawns, clean lobsters, and break down chops, all while being shepherded forward by head judge Tom Colicchio and his whistle. The winning team then had a cookoff, with each player using one of the ingredients from the first part of the challenge. Jennifer Carroll won the challenge and a $15,000 casino chip.
For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to prepare a dish based on a vice. Given that it’s the first episode I’ll cut them some slack, but many of these chefs are clearly unskilled at telling stories with their food. One who can is Kevin Gillespie, taking his vice of procrastination to an Arctic char dish where he slowed down processes that would normally be sped up and vice versa, delivering a winning dish that the judges loved. Jen Zavala was less impressive with a chile relleno stuffed with seitan (I’d never heard of it, either) that host Padma Lakshmi described as a “Vegan bar midnight special” before sending Jen to the kitchen to pack her knives with the ignominy of being the first person eliminated. This season's Vegas setting should allow for much pomp, but we'll probably have to wait a few weeks before any engaging personalities begin to emerge.
Over on the Top Chef Masters season finale, it was a French-Mexican-Italian showdown with Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless, and Michael Chiarello each crafting four dishes that told their life stories in food. The dishes were served to a collection of judges who know exactly the pressure that these master chefs are under—the five previous winners of Top Chef, assembled together for the first time. Also present were Top Chef judges Tom, Padma, and Gail Simmons, plus the regular team of Masters critics, James Oseland, Gael Greene, and Jay Rayner. (On a side note, how great was it to have Padma back after suffering through weeks of the truly awful Kelly Choi hosting Masters?) There were a few standout dishes, but the one that left me salivating was Bayless’s barbecue quail; the frozen Claim Jumper spaghetti and meatballs dinner I ate while watching just didn’t measure up. Ultimately, it was the meticulous, humble and deserving Bayless who took the title and won $100,000 for his charity, the Frontera Farmer Foundation, designed to give grants to local farmers.
It was nice to have Top Chef Masters as a placeholder between seasons of the original, though seeing chefs reach out to help instead of reaching out to strangle each other just doesn’t carry the same dramatic heft. Knowing that they’re assessing world renowned chefs also led to the critics using kid gloves more often than the judges on Top Chef; you won’t see Gael Greene throwing food across the room the way guest judge Wolfgang Puck did an unpalatable donut on the Las Vegas premiere.
With moderation being the key to appreciating food, I’m not sure that Bravo should have aired both of these episodes back-to-back; two hours and fifteen minutes was a bit too much of a good thing. With all that time, the least they could have done was spend a minute explaining just how the judges’ stomachs are able to handle a 12-course meal.
I’ve gone on record as saying that most of these competition shows start off with too many contestants (17 in the case of Top Chef: Las Vegas), to the point that you don’t really get a sense of who anybody is until they’re down to around ten or so people left. (Other than on TV, where else would you meet that many people in the span of an hour and expect each of them to make a lasting impression?) That proved true again in the season premiere, where a few cheftestants made themselves stand out—mostly for the wrong reasons—while most are still a nondescript blur of frenetic kitchen energy. In these early stages, cockiness is the best way to be remembered, and since this is the most accomplished crop of chefs the show has seen, many of them feel they have reason to be cocky. Fitting the bill so far are Michael Isabella, who admitted to having a hot temper and a foul mouth; Michael Voltaggio, whose less attitudinal brother Bryan is also in the mix; and Jennifer Carroll, a chef at one of frequent guest judge Eric Ripert’s restaurants.
The actual competition last night left a little to be desired, again a symptom of having to make time for so many people. The two-part Quickfire Challenge brought back a Top Chef tradition: the mise en place relay race, in which contestants had to shuck clams, peel prawns, clean lobsters, and break down chops, all while being shepherded forward by head judge Tom Colicchio and his whistle. The winning team then had a cookoff, with each player using one of the ingredients from the first part of the challenge. Jennifer Carroll won the challenge and a $15,000 casino chip.
For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to prepare a dish based on a vice. Given that it’s the first episode I’ll cut them some slack, but many of these chefs are clearly unskilled at telling stories with their food. One who can is Kevin Gillespie, taking his vice of procrastination to an Arctic char dish where he slowed down processes that would normally be sped up and vice versa, delivering a winning dish that the judges loved. Jen Zavala was less impressive with a chile relleno stuffed with seitan (I’d never heard of it, either) that host Padma Lakshmi described as a “Vegan bar midnight special” before sending Jen to the kitchen to pack her knives with the ignominy of being the first person eliminated. This season's Vegas setting should allow for much pomp, but we'll probably have to wait a few weeks before any engaging personalities begin to emerge.
Over on the Top Chef Masters season finale, it was a French-Mexican-Italian showdown with Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless, and Michael Chiarello each crafting four dishes that told their life stories in food. The dishes were served to a collection of judges who know exactly the pressure that these master chefs are under—the five previous winners of Top Chef, assembled together for the first time. Also present were Top Chef judges Tom, Padma, and Gail Simmons, plus the regular team of Masters critics, James Oseland, Gael Greene, and Jay Rayner. (On a side note, how great was it to have Padma back after suffering through weeks of the truly awful Kelly Choi hosting Masters?) There were a few standout dishes, but the one that left me salivating was Bayless’s barbecue quail; the frozen Claim Jumper spaghetti and meatballs dinner I ate while watching just didn’t measure up. Ultimately, it was the meticulous, humble and deserving Bayless who took the title and won $100,000 for his charity, the Frontera Farmer Foundation, designed to give grants to local farmers.
It was nice to have Top Chef Masters as a placeholder between seasons of the original, though seeing chefs reach out to help instead of reaching out to strangle each other just doesn’t carry the same dramatic heft. Knowing that they’re assessing world renowned chefs also led to the critics using kid gloves more often than the judges on Top Chef; you won’t see Gael Greene throwing food across the room the way guest judge Wolfgang Puck did an unpalatable donut on the Las Vegas premiere.
With moderation being the key to appreciating food, I’m not sure that Bravo should have aired both of these episodes back-to-back; two hours and fifteen minutes was a bit too much of a good thing. With all that time, the least they could have done was spend a minute explaining just how the judges’ stomachs are able to handle a 12-course meal.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Blood in the Tank
With just four episodes now left in its second season, I had hoped that HBO’s True Blood would start to pick up the storytelling pace. Unfortunately, it seems content to merely spin its wheels. Don’t get me wrong, the show’s Southern charms still put a spell on me; I just wish more were happening. We’ve been waiting for the anti-vampire cult Fellowship of the Sun to start a war between humans and vampires for weeks, and when it finally seemed like it might happen, in walks a deus ex machina named Godric, a vampire who’s older than Christ, to quell the tensions (at least temporarily). We’ve been waiting for some real information on just who/what Maryann (the underrated Michelle Forbes) is, and instead we’re given essentially the same scene in every episode: Maryann attracting the locals to a bonfire party where she entrances them, turns their eyes to black orbs, and makes animalistic sex mandatory (though watching her cut up, cook and serve a human heart last night is one of the grizzliest sights I've seen this side of Hannibal Lecter). And we’ve been waiting for the love triangle between Sookie (Anna Paquin), Bill (Stephen Moyer), and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) to erupt in some kind of epic showdown between the two vamps, only to be put off time and time again.
I’m all for drawing out a story when the material supports it, but this all seems like too much build-up for what had better be a damn good payoff. In True Blood's world, only about a month has passed from the very first episode to where we are now, and while much has happened, I can’t help but want more (maybe I’ve been sullied by shows like 24 and Lost, which cram so much into a single episode, let alone entire seasons). Last night’s cliffhanger had one of the Fellowship’s minions walking into a vampire nest with a bomb strapped to his chest, a development that certainly seems designed to break up some of the sedentary plotlines that have dominated this season. Unless the results are mind-blowing, though, it all might be too little, too late when it comes to me sticking around for the long haul.
There was more (metaphorical) blood to be seen last night as ABC premiered the latest product from the Mark Burnett factory of reality shows, Shark Tank, based on a Japanese concept. (After a brief run on Sundays at 9pm, the show is scheduled to move to Tuesdays at 8pm in the fall, although with only 4.2 million viewers tuning in last night, we’ll see if it even makes it to September.) The show sets wannabe entrepreneurs in front of millionaires and has them beg for capital in exchange for a stake in their ventures. The first episode saw deals being made with a pie maker who wants to expand his business and a woman who thinks she's found a surefire way to get kids to take their medicine, an elephant head that uses the snout as a dropper. Among the rejects were a man who believes that people will pay to have Bluetooth chips surgically implanted behind their ears and two young businessmen who wanted the millionaires to finance a spinoff of their successful packing/moving enterprise but didn’t want to give up a percentage of the original business as collateral.
What works for the show is the inherent interest we all have in seeing the perseverance of the American Dream, a heartening sight given the economic situation. What doesn’t work so well is that, with the exception of some profile pieces, the show takes place entirely in a studio, with the entrepreneurs pitching their products and the millionaires offering feedback and making offers (or not). On the one hand, this makes for very easy viewing; since each episode is its own entity, you don’t have to invest in another reality show for the long run. On the other hand… it’s easy viewing. There’s no incentive to come back next week since you know that you’ll probably never see these people again. It would take longer to produce, but it would have made more sense to follow the few who made deals all the way through to the end. Show us how their ideas came to fruition, the manufacturing process, the starts and stops of business, the success or failure of their endeavors. In other words, give us something to care about. As it is, Shark Tank is all surface.
I’m all for drawing out a story when the material supports it, but this all seems like too much build-up for what had better be a damn good payoff. In True Blood's world, only about a month has passed from the very first episode to where we are now, and while much has happened, I can’t help but want more (maybe I’ve been sullied by shows like 24 and Lost, which cram so much into a single episode, let alone entire seasons). Last night’s cliffhanger had one of the Fellowship’s minions walking into a vampire nest with a bomb strapped to his chest, a development that certainly seems designed to break up some of the sedentary plotlines that have dominated this season. Unless the results are mind-blowing, though, it all might be too little, too late when it comes to me sticking around for the long haul.
There was more (metaphorical) blood to be seen last night as ABC premiered the latest product from the Mark Burnett factory of reality shows, Shark Tank, based on a Japanese concept. (After a brief run on Sundays at 9pm, the show is scheduled to move to Tuesdays at 8pm in the fall, although with only 4.2 million viewers tuning in last night, we’ll see if it even makes it to September.) The show sets wannabe entrepreneurs in front of millionaires and has them beg for capital in exchange for a stake in their ventures. The first episode saw deals being made with a pie maker who wants to expand his business and a woman who thinks she's found a surefire way to get kids to take their medicine, an elephant head that uses the snout as a dropper. Among the rejects were a man who believes that people will pay to have Bluetooth chips surgically implanted behind their ears and two young businessmen who wanted the millionaires to finance a spinoff of their successful packing/moving enterprise but didn’t want to give up a percentage of the original business as collateral.
What works for the show is the inherent interest we all have in seeing the perseverance of the American Dream, a heartening sight given the economic situation. What doesn’t work so well is that, with the exception of some profile pieces, the show takes place entirely in a studio, with the entrepreneurs pitching their products and the millionaires offering feedback and making offers (or not). On the one hand, this makes for very easy viewing; since each episode is its own entity, you don’t have to invest in another reality show for the long run. On the other hand… it’s easy viewing. There’s no incentive to come back next week since you know that you’ll probably never see these people again. It would take longer to produce, but it would have made more sense to follow the few who made deals all the way through to the end. Show us how their ideas came to fruition, the manufacturing process, the starts and stops of business, the success or failure of their endeavors. In other words, give us something to care about. As it is, Shark Tank is all surface.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Dance Fever
Last night marked the final performance show of the season for Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and what a season it’s been, with the choreographers stepping things up once again for perhaps the most talented group of dancers this show has ever seen. The only thing missing, as judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe tried to get through to the contestants all summer long, was a healthy helping of personality, the star quality that separates America’s best from its “favorite,” which is what this show is looking for.
Just a few weeks ago, SYTYCD scored Emmy nominations for four of last season’s routines, and without a doubt some of the memorable numbers from this season will be joining those ranks next year. Among the highlights were Jason and Jeanine’s contemporary dance, choreographed by season two runner-up Travis Wall, the perfect example of the kind of talent this show nurtures; Brandon and Jeanine’s pop jazz routine set to Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield”; Randi and Evan’s ode to Randi’s derriere; and Melissa and Ade’s absolutely gorgeous breast cancer-themed dance, a Tyce Diorio powerhouse that brought the entire judges’ panel (and this viewer) to tears. If you missed any of these, or simply want to relive them, a quick search of YouTube will not disappoint.
As for the finale—the two-hour results show airs tonight at 8pm—the four remaining dancers each bring their own unique traits to the proceedings. Brandon’s physical strength translates into dancing that leaves almost nothing to be desired, but there’s something about his personality that doesn’t feel totally sincere. When given choreography, Kayla is a true threat, with her amazing lines a real highlight of her all-around ability. When left to her own devices, however, her solos often feel like a disjointed combination of jerky movements. Evan is fantastic in his Broadway style, but finds himself struggling outside of that rather narrow category. While he’s definitely a charmer, there were stronger dancers (Jason, Ade) who left before him. Finally, Jeanine—my pick to win it all—is the only contestant this season to emerge as a real star. Ultra-capable in every style she's been handed (even Russian folk), she’s the one dancer who really let her adorable, playful personality shine.
The biggest challenge for the dancers last night was to avoid getting swallowed up by the breadth of the Kodak Theatre stage. Some were successful—another “wow” routine from the inimitable Mia Michaels was danced brilliantly by Kayla and Jeanine—while others felt too small for such a big night—a country-western jive from Kayla and Evan that should have been replaced by something much grander. The evening ended with a terrific paso doble by Jeanine and Brandon. With the swishing outfits and exaggerated facial expressions, this is the kind of dance that can be cartoonish in the wrong hands. The passionate way Jeanine and Brandon did it, though, earned them a standing ovation from both the judges and the audience and will likely leave them as the top two dancers when the results are announced.
And lest you start having withdrawals after the show signs off tonight, fear not: SYTYCD will be back on September 9 with a brand new crop of contestants, the first time the show has been invited to appear within the regular season (a preview package gave me goosebumps already). Despite the screeching of ballroom expert Mary Murphy and Nigel’s horndog leering, this is far and away the best, most diverse dance show on TV, with the best judges on TV—honest, constructive, and unafraid to deliver an unpopular opinion. They succeed in getting the audience to celebrate a form of expression that has been marginalized for too long. When the alternative is seeing roly-poly Steve Wozniak do the Worm or sitting through the embarrassment that is Dance Your Ass Off, I, for one, can handle a little screeching to be able to watch dancing as pure and special as this.
Just a few weeks ago, SYTYCD scored Emmy nominations for four of last season’s routines, and without a doubt some of the memorable numbers from this season will be joining those ranks next year. Among the highlights were Jason and Jeanine’s contemporary dance, choreographed by season two runner-up Travis Wall, the perfect example of the kind of talent this show nurtures; Brandon and Jeanine’s pop jazz routine set to Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield”; Randi and Evan’s ode to Randi’s derriere; and Melissa and Ade’s absolutely gorgeous breast cancer-themed dance, a Tyce Diorio powerhouse that brought the entire judges’ panel (and this viewer) to tears. If you missed any of these, or simply want to relive them, a quick search of YouTube will not disappoint.
As for the finale—the two-hour results show airs tonight at 8pm—the four remaining dancers each bring their own unique traits to the proceedings. Brandon’s physical strength translates into dancing that leaves almost nothing to be desired, but there’s something about his personality that doesn’t feel totally sincere. When given choreography, Kayla is a true threat, with her amazing lines a real highlight of her all-around ability. When left to her own devices, however, her solos often feel like a disjointed combination of jerky movements. Evan is fantastic in his Broadway style, but finds himself struggling outside of that rather narrow category. While he’s definitely a charmer, there were stronger dancers (Jason, Ade) who left before him. Finally, Jeanine—my pick to win it all—is the only contestant this season to emerge as a real star. Ultra-capable in every style she's been handed (even Russian folk), she’s the one dancer who really let her adorable, playful personality shine.
The biggest challenge for the dancers last night was to avoid getting swallowed up by the breadth of the Kodak Theatre stage. Some were successful—another “wow” routine from the inimitable Mia Michaels was danced brilliantly by Kayla and Jeanine—while others felt too small for such a big night—a country-western jive from Kayla and Evan that should have been replaced by something much grander. The evening ended with a terrific paso doble by Jeanine and Brandon. With the swishing outfits and exaggerated facial expressions, this is the kind of dance that can be cartoonish in the wrong hands. The passionate way Jeanine and Brandon did it, though, earned them a standing ovation from both the judges and the audience and will likely leave them as the top two dancers when the results are announced.
And lest you start having withdrawals after the show signs off tonight, fear not: SYTYCD will be back on September 9 with a brand new crop of contestants, the first time the show has been invited to appear within the regular season (a preview package gave me goosebumps already). Despite the screeching of ballroom expert Mary Murphy and Nigel’s horndog leering, this is far and away the best, most diverse dance show on TV, with the best judges on TV—honest, constructive, and unafraid to deliver an unpopular opinion. They succeed in getting the audience to celebrate a form of expression that has been marginalized for too long. When the alternative is seeing roly-poly Steve Wozniak do the Worm or sitting through the embarrassment that is Dance Your Ass Off, I, for one, can handle a little screeching to be able to watch dancing as pure and special as this.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dark Blue Could Stand to Lighten Up
Adding to its stable of good vs. evil dramas (The Closer, Saving Grace, Leverage), TNT introduces Dark Blue (Wednesday, 10pm), about an off-the-grid team of undercover cops who take on cases that are supposed to be beyond the purview of ordinary cops but so far seem like a whole lot of been there, seen that (gun sales and Korean gangs don’t quite scream original to me). Dylan McDermott heads the team as Carter Shaw, a man who’s so involved with his work that he’s forgotten how to be a real person. Those around him regard him as some kind of superhero, an enigma who knows when and where to be at exactly the right time; one character even refers to him as the Prince of Darkness. McDermott, who spent seven years on The Practice demonstrating that he knows how to command the screen, plays Carter without a hint of nuance. He’s all mood and attitude, too dour a presence to be someone you actually care about. And Carter’s team is made up of types rather than engaging characters: there’s the cop with the bad past, the one whose wife doesn’t particularly like her husband's job, and another who may or may not be on the right side of the law. No cliché is too pat to be included here.
The most apt word to describe Dark Blue is annoying. It’s annoyingly directed with an aesthetic that comes across as a failed attempt at noir. It’s annoyingly written, as if the producers mistakenly think they’re creating something that’s far more important than it actually is. And it’s annoyingly acted by a troupe that is taking this stuff way too seriously. I pretty much checked out altogether when this became yet another show where the bad guys spray hundreds of bullets and only succeed in shooting up a car, while the good guys manage to get off just a few rounds but have near-perfect aim. When the credit came up at the end of the show announcing that Jerry Bruckheimer was the executive producer, it all made sense to me. The king of the interchangeable, expendable crime drama has struck again.
The most apt word to describe Dark Blue is annoying. It’s annoyingly directed with an aesthetic that comes across as a failed attempt at noir. It’s annoyingly written, as if the producers mistakenly think they’re creating something that’s far more important than it actually is. And it’s annoyingly acted by a troupe that is taking this stuff way too seriously. I pretty much checked out altogether when this became yet another show where the bad guys spray hundreds of bullets and only succeed in shooting up a car, while the good guys manage to get off just a few rounds but have near-perfect aim. When the credit came up at the end of the show announcing that Jerry Bruckheimer was the executive producer, it all made sense to me. The king of the interchangeable, expendable crime drama has struck again.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Teens These Days
It’s rare for a sitcom aimed at teenagers to wear its brain on its sleeve, but ABC Family’s 10 Things I Hate About You (Tuesday, 8pm) does just that, sometimes to its own detriment. Based on the 1999 movie that gave Heath Ledger his big break and was itself based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things follows Kat and Bianca Stratford (Lindsey Shaw and Meaghan Jette Martin), the new girls at school who are polar opposites as sisters and students. Bianca is doing everything she can to be popular, from befriending the snooty head cheerleader (The Nine’s Dana Davis, acting like a transplant from the Bring It On series) to making up a story about having an affair with a teacher (I’m not sure that playing statutory rape for laughs sends the right message to the show’s intended audience). Kat, on the other hand, isn’t interested in assimilation, purposely hitting said cheerleader’s car on the first day of school and finding herself drawn to a mysterious bad boy named Patrick (too-broody Ethan Peck). Comedian Larry Miller reprises his role from the movie as the girls’ overprotective dad; he’s also a gynecolist obsessed with keeping his daughters innocent, to the point that he has specimen cups at the ready for when they come home late or engage in questionable behavior. Miller and Shaw do share some truly touching moments as Kat encourages her father to move on from her mother’s death, but the show seems more focused on being snarky and exercising those aforementioned smarts. I haven’t been to a high school lately, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that teens aren’t incorporating references to Agent Orange and Kim Jong Il into casual conversations with friends. When will writers realize that making teens sound intelligent and making them sound their age do not have to be mutually exclusive? Still, 10 Things is fast-paced and energetic enough to merit a look.
Airing immediately after 10 Things, Ruby & the Rockits (Tuesday, 8:30pm) forgoes intelligence entirely in favor of triteness. The show is a family affair, created by Shaun Cassidy (about as far from American Gothic and Invasion as he could get) and starring David and Patrick Cassidy as brothers who were successful musicians once upon a time. Patrick’s now a car salesman, while David, washed-up and solipsistic, continues to play. When David’s teenage daughter (Spy Kids’ Alexa Vega) shows up out of nowhere, he doesn’t think twice before plopping her in the middle of responsible Patrick’s suburban dream life. Everything here is all too sitcomy—the unrealistic premise, the Full House-level jokes, the overbearing laugh track that goads you into thinking this is supposed to be much funnier than it is. What’s missing is the conflict that should be inherent in the setup. Shouldn’t someone have a problem with Ruby’s being there? Shouldn’t Ruby be more upset with her absentee father who immediately pushes her off on someone else? (There was a bit of this in the second episode, but any tension was eradicated from one scene to the next.) Vega does her best to hold the show together; she’s as sweet and cute as she needs to be and has a halfway decent singing voice to boot. But when the show treads on Arrested Development territory by having Ruby’s cousin develop a crush on her, you know it’s just trying way too hard. Ruby & the Rockits would have felt right at home as part of NBC’s Saturday morning sitcom block in the ‘90s, but feels a bit too dorky for today’s more sophisticated teen audience.
Airing immediately after 10 Things, Ruby & the Rockits (Tuesday, 8:30pm) forgoes intelligence entirely in favor of triteness. The show is a family affair, created by Shaun Cassidy (about as far from American Gothic and Invasion as he could get) and starring David and Patrick Cassidy as brothers who were successful musicians once upon a time. Patrick’s now a car salesman, while David, washed-up and solipsistic, continues to play. When David’s teenage daughter (Spy Kids’ Alexa Vega) shows up out of nowhere, he doesn’t think twice before plopping her in the middle of responsible Patrick’s suburban dream life. Everything here is all too sitcomy—the unrealistic premise, the Full House-level jokes, the overbearing laugh track that goads you into thinking this is supposed to be much funnier than it is. What’s missing is the conflict that should be inherent in the setup. Shouldn’t someone have a problem with Ruby’s being there? Shouldn’t Ruby be more upset with her absentee father who immediately pushes her off on someone else? (There was a bit of this in the second episode, but any tension was eradicated from one scene to the next.) Vega does her best to hold the show together; she’s as sweet and cute as she needs to be and has a halfway decent singing voice to boot. But when the show treads on Arrested Development territory by having Ruby’s cousin develop a crush on her, you know it’s just trying way too hard. Ruby & the Rockits would have felt right at home as part of NBC’s Saturday morning sitcom block in the ‘90s, but feels a bit too dorky for today’s more sophisticated teen audience.
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