Month: September 2010

In the US: Tuesdays, 9/8c,Fox
In the UK: Sky1 this autumn

Greg Garcia has made something of a career for himself with a very peculiar writing specialty: he writes sweet, not especially funny sitcoms, filled with stupid but well meaning members of America’s underclass. As much laughing with the underclass as at them, his shows are a useful antidote to the middle class and upper class shows that dominate the airwaves, but you’re always left feeling after a given episode that it should have been a whole lot more – and that you have a slightly nasty taste in your mouth, as though you’ve somehow ended up bullying one of the stupid kids in the class, despite your best intentions.

After the demise of My Name is Earl on NBC, Garcia has made the trek over to a network whose comedies (‘Til Death, Brothers, Happy Hour) are more commonly associated with feelings of violation and misery: Fox. His new topic of amusement? A young underachiever, who just as he’s decided to make something of his otherwise dead-end existence, finds out he’s a father and has to bring up the baby with his gormless family. The baby’s name? Princess Beyonce.

No. Hang on. That’s not right. It’s Hope. So here’s a trailer for Raising Hope.

Continue reading “Review: Raising Hope 1×1”

In the US: Mondays, 10/9c, CBS
In the UK: Bravo in October (assuming it’s still around by then)

I don’t know about you, but I have hazy memories of the original Hawaii Five-O. Steve McGarrett with a quiff, a bloke called Danno, it was all set on Hawaii, it had a cool theme tune and a cool title sequence, and it was about the police. I suspect I’m not uncommon in this regard, so before anyone starts complaining about sacrilege, just ask yourself exactly how well you remember the original.

There are other reasons to complain, so why let yourself be an open target like that?

This time, as well as a very slight renaming – Five-O is now Five-0 – we have an entirely new plot that still homages the original. Navy intelligence officer (and terrorist hunter) Steve McGarrett – Alex O’Loughlin, whom you might remember from Moonlight and probably won’t remember from Three Rivers – decides to return home to Hawaii when terrorists strike close to home. When offered the chance by Hawaii’s governor to run a special police unit that’s above law, he hesitates a bit, before assembling a motley team of crime fighters, including an old quarterback friend of his (Daniel Dae Kim from Lost), his cousin (Grace Park from BSG and The Border) and a New Jersey cop (Scott Caan from Ocean’s 11) who’s transferred over so he can be closer to his daughter.

His name’s Danno. Hmm. That rings a bell.

Continue reading “Review: Hawaii Five-0 1×1”