October Offerings: Series Premieres Continued

Last Man Standing (ABC)

PD: Tuesday, 10/11

Plot Summary: A married father of three tries to maintain his manliness in a world increasingly dominated by women.

Thoughts: It seems like they took the show Home Improvement, switched out the sons for daughters, gave him a hotter wife and changed his job from tool guy to outdoor sporting goods guy.

Man Up (ABC)

PD: Tuesday, 10/18

Plot Summary: Three modern men try to get in touch with their inner tough guys and redefine what it means to be a real man. The series revolves around the lives of three guys with questionable childish behavior and lifestyles who decide its time to do the one thing they had forgotten to do: act like real men. But they need to grow up a little before that can happen, even at their age.

Thoughts: I haven't seen a preview so this is based 100% on the premise read above...it sounds super lame.

Grimm (NBC)
PD: Friday, 10/21

Plot Summary: Set in present-day Portland, Oregon, the series puts a new twist on the stories of the Brothers Grimm in which a homicide detective learns that he is a descendant of a group of hunters known as "Grimms", who fight to keep humanity safe from the supernatural creatures of the world. Upon learning of his destiny and that he is the last of his kind, he has to protect every living soul from the sinister storybook characters that have infiltrated the real world.

Thoughts: I will admit to being intrigued enough to watch a few episodes. Also, the main guy is hot and I am not above being motivated by that.

Once Upon a Time (ABC)
PD: Sunday, 10/23

Plot Summary: The series is loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale stories except set in the present day, hence the series name. The stories hold a key to the mystery that will draw a bail bonds collector and the son that she gave up for adoption 10 years earlier to a New England town called Storybrooke, Maine. This town is actually a parallel world in which fairy tale characters look like normal people and don't remember their true identities or anything about their true lives.

Thoughts: I am pretty excited about this one...if they do it right, it will be rad. Also, for you Lost fans, the creators of the show were on the writing staff of Lost and there are apparently several references to the show, including 4 in the Pilot alone.

September Shows: The New Batch

Ok, it is that time of year. That's right...the new fall TV lineup! I have done the research so you don't have to. Please note that they are in order of premiere date...not preference. Without further ado, here are the new shows for this month:

Ringer (The CW)

Premiere Date (PD): Tuesday, 9/13

 Plot Summary: A young woman on the run from the mob poses as her wealthy twin sister to try and evade them, but soon discovers that her sister has a price on her head as well.

Thoughts: I have a policy against watching anything on the CW. This in no way sways me from said policy.

Free Agents (NBC)
PD: Wednesday, 9/14
Alex is recently divorced, and Helen lost her fiance a year ago. Obviously, these two are definitely not ready to be dating again. So naturally, they end up in bed together one night. Oops. And they're co-workers. Double oops.


Thoughts: If anyone can pull this stupid plot off, it is Kathryn Hahn and Hank Azaria. I am not convinced anyone can pull this stupid plot off.

Up All Night (NBC)
PD: Wednesday, 9/14 
Takes an irreverent look at parenthood through the point of view of an acerbic working mother, along with her stay-at-home husband and opinionated parents.


Thoughts: I will watch pretty much anything that Will Arnett deigns to do. I don't hate that Christina Applegate either. 




The Secret Circle (The CW)
PD: Thursday, 9/15
Cassie Blake's world is turned upside down after her mother dies in a mysterious accident, forcing Cassie to move in with her loving grandmother Jane in the small town of Chance Harbor, Washington.When strange and dangerous things begin to happen, Cassie's new friends are forced to tell her their secret - they are all witches and her arrival will complete the Circle.


Thoughts: What could I possibly say that this synopsis hasn't basically said for me?

The Playboy Club (NBC)
PD: Monday, 9/19

Centers on the Bunnies and patrons of the original Playboy Club in 1960's Chicago.


Thoughts: I can't begin to imagine what I could possibly find interesting about girls whose sole ambition is to work as a slutty bunny in a club or the men who patronize it.

2 Broke Girls (CBS)

PD: Monday, 9/19

Set in New York City, it chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their twenties - Max, who comes from a poor, working-class family and Caroline, who was born rich but is now down on her luck.

Thoughts: ...reserving judgment.

New Girl (Fox)

PD: Tuesday, 9/20
Jess Day is a young woman who, after discovering her long-term boyfriend is cheating on her, moves into a loft apartment with three male roommates - prickly bartender Nick, womanizer Schmidt and intense personal trainer Coach. The guys try to help Jess get back on her feet and into the dating world.


Thoughts: I am cautiously excited about this one - it has a rad cast.


Unforgettable (CBS)
PD: Tuesday, 9/20
The series follows a former NYC detective, Carrie Wells, who suffers from hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to remember everything. She is reluctantly asked by her ex-boyfriend and one-time partner to join his homicide unit after he asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to do the one thing she has been trying to remember, how her sister was murdered.

Thoughts: Sounds intriguing...hopefully the execution is as well done as the creation.

Revenge (ABC)
PD: Wednesday, 9/21

Centers on a young woman who is welcomed into a community filled with people who don't know she's only there to exact revenge on those who had destroyed her family.


Thoughts: No thank you.

Charlie's Angels (ABC)

PD: Thursday, 9/22
A cat burglar, a street racer, and a dirty cop get a chance to turn their lives around; fighting crime and working for the mysterious Charlie Townsend.


Thoughts: This makes me think about when they tried to update Knight Rider. Ugghh, some things were just meant to stay in the past.


Person of Interest (CBS)
PD: Thursday, 9/22
Centers on ex-CIA hitman and a scientist who team up to prevent crimes before they happen.


Thoughts:You had me at Jim Caviezel. I heart him so bad. 

Prime Suspect (NBC)
PD: Thursday, 9/22
About Jane Timoney, an iconoclastic female detective who has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct that is dominated by men.

Thoughts: This reminds me a lot of the series Chase from last year (only lasted one season). I liked Chase. I tend to like the tough female detective characters. I think this has potential.

Whitney (NBC)
PD: Thursday, 9/22

The series follows the titular character, an opinionated woman and her very-supportive live-in boyfriend. Even though the two have decided that they will not commit to marriage, she does question how committed they are in their 5-year relationship and begins to fear what she sees as "relationship boredom" and worries what will happen next that could possibly end her relationship. She decides to use unconventional methods to keep the romantic flames glowing with the help of her close friends.


Thoughts: I have seen a couple of previews (as if this poster didn't already tell me it wasn't going to be funny) and basically they go for the obvious humor, and even then sometimes they miss. Much like I will be doing to their show.

A Gifted Man (CBS)

PD: Friday, 9/23

Centers on an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the here-after.

Thoughts: Patrick Wilson was such a tool on The A-Team...I have no doubt he will nail it here. Playing someone reformed...hmmm, we'll see.


Pan Am (ABC)
PD: Sunday, 9/25
 Period drama about the pilots and flight attendants who once made Pan Am the most glamorous way to fly.

Thoughts: I am rooting for it because it is somewhat original and I like to see how different decades are represented. Do I think it will be good? Not really.

Hart of Dixie (The CW)

PD: Monday, 9/26
The series follows Dr. Zoe Hart as she moves to remote Bluebell, Alabama, when there are no jobs available for her in New York.

Thoughts: Please refer to Ringer above.

Terra Nova (Fox)
PD: Monday, 9/26

Centers on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.

Thoughts:................oh, I'm sorry, I must have dozed off for a minute there when they were talking about incredibly boring sci-fi stuff. 

Suburgatory (ABC)

PD: Wednesday, 9/28

The series follows a divorced father who decides to get away from New York City to the suburbs so he can give his 16-year-old daughter a better life. However, the move to 'burbs has the daughter wondering if they just entered the world of The Stepford Wives after they see how 'perfect' their new locale is, right down to the neighbors who welcome them into the cul-de-sac.

Thoughts: What you don't see is that the dad is played by Jeremy Sisto, most recently of Law & Order, but more importantly, he played Elton on Clueless. He is the selling point to me on this one.

How to Be a Gentleman (CBS)

PD: Thursday, 9/29

The series chronicles the friendship between an uptight columnist and his more freewheeling trainer.

Thoughts: Nothing about this screams intelligent or ironic humor (which is really the only kind that exists in my mind). 

The Help

Books are almost always better than their movie counterparts, I think that is universally agreed upon. It is hardly a fair comparison. Movies have to condense a grip of events into roughly two hours and something always seems to get lost in translation. They are also battling your imagination, which they are always going to lose. They would have to cast someone better than the perfect character you created in your brain, make sure to include all of your favorite parts of the book and they would need to keep whatever central theme you decided the book had. And after all that, you would have a movie just equal to the book, not one that surpasses it.

I can think of a couple of movies that are at least as entertaining as the book. The Princess Bride comes to mind. It probably helps that the movie was almost nothing like the book so it avoided most of the comparisons. Pride and Prejudice is one where I actually prefer the movie to the book, although I know I am in the minority on that one. How could I have possibly created a better Mr. Darcy than Colin Firth?

So, I started reading the Help a few weeks ago. I really wanted to have it read before the movie came out so the casting director's choices wouldn't superimpose themselves over the characters I had already created in my mind's eye. I only made it about halfway through the book before I saw the movie.

I thought the casting was inspired. There wasn't a single person I would have changed (very rare for me). They were obvious caricatures meant to represent a type, but I think that was the point.

There were a lot of timeline inaccuracies, probably more obvious to me since I was actually in the middle of the book. These didn't bother me - I could see that it was done to help move the story along and make it more fluid.

The crux: very well done adaptation of a very enjoyable book. Warning: bring kleenex (I bawled my face off).

What movies based on books do you like?

Cowboys and Aliens in Paris at Midnight

COWBOYS & ALIENS - I know I am a little late in the game to be reviewing this movie as it is probably on its way out of the theaters, but here it is for what it is worth.

This movie is directed by Jon Favreau, who I care for a great deal (he directed Iron Man 1 & 2 and Elf). I had already heard from a few people that they had enjoyed this movie so I went into the theater with the hope and expectation of liking it. I wasn't disappointed.

The crux: What it lacks in dialogue and character development, it makes up for in action and entertainment.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
The crux: If you like Woody Allen movies, you will like it...maybe even love it. If you don't (I don't), you will be looking around for something to use to bludgeon yourself to death and thanking the urine gods for the need to use the restroom and thus insuring yourself of a few blessed minutes away from the blathering that is happening onscreen.

I know there is a certain cachet to being in an Allen movie and so I understand why cool actors like Owen Wilson and Adrian Brody feel the urge to do one - but it doesn't mean I like it.

To be fair, I know A LOT of people who enjoyed this movie...I just wasn't one of them.