Year: 2010

US TV

Review: Chase 1×1

22 September 2010 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

Chase

In the US: Mondays, 9/8c, NBC
In the UK: Living, 2011. But with a different name

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first unqualified “too painful to watch” show of the Fall season. We’ve had stupid in Hawaii Five-0 but it was fun stupid. We’ve had dull in Terriers. We’ve had predictable in Outlaw. We’ve had simply bad and stupid in Nikita, but that at least had some decent action. But now we have mind-numbingly dull crossed with stupid in the form of Chase, in which US Marshall Kelli Giddish (last seen in Past Life) and her motley team-mates hunt down implausible escaped fugitives while simultaneously educating the viewing public about the Marshall service, Texas, rodeos, women, Texan music and her entire backstory. And running. Running lots. Because, you know, it’s called Chase.

It sucks.

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US TV

Review: Running Wilde 1×1

22 September 2010 Rob Buckley 12 Comments

Running Wilde

In the US: Tuesdays, 9.30/8.30c, Fox

After years of fielding comedies that only fit loosely into that category – laughter while watching them was a somewhat rare occurrence – Fox clearly sat up and paid attention last year when ABC blew everyone out of the water with Modern Family. Now, as well as a Greg Garcia comedy, they’ve rolled out a second single camera show, this time from the team that brought us Fox’s previous good comedy – Arrested Development.

Starring Will Arnett (Arrested Development, 30 Rock) and Keri Russell (Felicity), this sees aimless rich boy Steve Wilde (Arnett) reunited with his childhood love Emmy Kadubic (Russell) who’s been trying to saving some Amazon natives from the terrible oil workers his father has hired. How are they reunited? Her daughter feigns mutism for six months since she wants to have a normal life back in the States.

With guest appearances by David Cross and Peter Serafinowicz, this pilot episode is actually pretty funny, but is it Arrested Development funny? Not quite. All the same, it shows enough sparks of life to make me think Fox is no longer the comedy wasteland of yesteryear.

Here, enjoy a lovely trailer for the first ep, featuring footage from the slightly different pilot, complete with alternative guest cast. It’s pretty much the same though:

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US TV

Review: Raising Hope 1×1

22 September 2010 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

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.

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News

Wednesday’s “reunited Breakfast Club” news

22 September 2010 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

The Breakfast Club reunited

Film

British TV

US TV

US TV

Review: The Event 1×1

21 September 2010 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

The Event

In the US: Mondays, 9/8c, NBC
In the UK: Channel 4. Starting in October

Remember Flash Forward (maybe you had a flashback as soon as I asked that)? Brace yourself, because here’s something that at first looks quite similar but hopefully won’t prove to be so frustrating.

The Event is a complex bit of weirdness. You can’t be sure exactly what The Event is. The entire pilot episode is told in multiple flashback. You know that a regular guy (Jason Ritter – The Class, Parenthood), taking his fiancée on a cruise, ends up hijacking a plane. You know that the President of the United States (Blair Underwood – LA Law, In Treatment) is going to shut down a weird facility in Alaska that does research on what seems like people. You know he’s going to call a press conference to announce something that the CIA et al don’t want him to.

But after that and the first episode, it’s all a mystery filled with a whole load of questions. And it’s surprisingly engrossing, even if you do have the feeling that just like with FlashForward you are going to be strung along for a while – but, fingers crossed, only for a while.

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