death row baby? now that's comedy

Variety reported yesterday that Greg Garcia, creater/producer of recently cancelled My Name is Earl, is creating a new pilot for Fox. It's a half-hour comedy about a 25-year-old who has an affair with a woman imprisoned on death row for murder and winds up having to raise the resulting baby with the help of his weird family.

Now, I'm all for dark humor. Written in the world of My Name is Earl, maybe this could work. After all, that Earl had some really messed up shit on his to-do list. But...a death row baby? At least make it a cute kid. No reason to make life even harder with an unfortunate case of ugly baby.

new show review: royal pains

I've been inexcusably absent for almost two weeks. For shame. I will not use the summer hiatus excuse because there is quite a bit happening on the small screen these days.

Yes, much of it is wasteful reality programming (with the exception of NJ Housewives, which I learned to love over the weekend - finale tonight!) but there are also a few scripted shows that I've been testing out. Here's one that's caught my eye...

Royal Pains

(USA on Thursdays)

USA has a solid reputation for original programming with shows like Burn Notice, Psych, and the forever running Monk. They've cornered a strong niche and work the alternative calendar to their advantage. The latest installment is a summer show called Royal Pains about a reluctant concierge doctor in The Hamptons for the summer.

Right away, I like Royal Pains because it has that summer show Malibu Sands-Beverly Hills Beach Club feeling about it. The main character is Dr. Hank Lawson played by Mark Feuerstein. You may not know his name, but you definitely know his face. He's been in a million movies and TV shows (my favorites: Cliff Calley in West Wing and Simon Stein in In Her Shoes). He's always really good, but never seems to have a starring role (or at least one that made it past one season).

In the pilot, we see Hank as a successful young trauma surgeon in NYC with a promising career and a hot fiancee. After making a judgement call to give priority to a kid with a traumatic injury, the hospital's main donor dies on his watch. He's fired, loses his girl and goes into a beer-drinking-in-underwear depression. We've all been there.

In swoops his kid brother Evan played by Paulo Costanzo. You may know Paulo from Joey, but we won't hold that against him because he was great in movies like Road Trip. Evan is a goofy CPA with social climbing aspirations (think Andrew McCarthy in Weekend at Bernie's). He convinces Hank to join him for a weekend in The Hamptons, where he will skillfully sneak them into parties where they clearly do not belong.

Long story, short: Hank ends of saving the life of a woman at an exclusive party and is unwillingly sucked into the job as the official Hamptons concierge physician on call. He and his brother are persuaded to stay for the summer in the guest house of an impossibly rich and mysterious Hamptonite Boris, who is played - oddly enough - by Campbell Scott.

Overall, I've really liked this show so far. Feuerstein can play a likeable guy flawlessly, which proves to be an interesting combination with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Promising side characters include Jill, a love interest for Hank who works as administrator to the struggling local hospital, and Tucker, a wise beyond his years 16-year-old rich kid basically living on his own (absent father is played by the aforementioned Andrew McCarthy).

It's worth a gander.

new show review: southland

Not exactly a new show anymore, but I thought it was worth a quick review since it's coming back next season.

Just watched all the episodes on DVR almost consecutively, which I think helped the show for me. I'm not sure I would have stayed as engaged if I was waiting for the next episode from week to week. Overall though, I liked it more than I thought I would.

Filming is done in the style of ER where the camera acts as a person - as if you are watching from the vantage point of someone actually in the scene - in the back of the cop car, staring over the body, running after the suspect, moving around the room, etc. It makes for exciting, very quick transitions, but can also be a bit dizzying, especially when the same tactic is used to film a quiet night at home - you might see it through a window pane or a crooked doorway shot. Sort of makes you feel like a prowler.

Another odd directorial decision is "bleeping" the curse words. Although it's filmed with a single, moving camera, the show is not filmed as a documentary (like The Office), but the characters swear openly and are bleeped. I can't wrap my head around this. On one hand, I find it refreshing that the cops and criminals have potty mouths. I never bought such clean language on NYPD Blue and Law & Order. But if I'm supposed to be treating it like a "real" show, who's doing the bleeping? It's just weird.

Unlike many cop shows, Southland is largely character-driven. We're talking many characters. MANY. This might be my biggest problem with the show. I'll try to organize my thoughts into the various partnerships:

Detective Team 1: Det. Adams (Regina King) and Det. Clarke (Tom Everett Scott)

These two are the most recognizable actors in the cast. Regina King is practically carrying the show on her shoulders. Her storyline isn't particularly complex, but her performance is flawless and compelling. By the end, you really care about this character. On the other hand, Tom Everett Scott's character is a waste of space. I am a fan of his, so I'm sorry to say it. To be fair, I think it's the writing. Next to Adams, Clarke seems like a lame, heartless, doofus with a boring side story about his blogger wife competing with his aspiring writing career. Hopefully, the finale cliffhanger will either relieve us of the pain or turn this guy around.

Detective Team 2: Det. Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) and Det. Moretta (Kevin Alejandro)

You may recognize Hatosy from Outside Providence and other movies, and Alejandro from Ugly Betty (he played Santos). They're a good pair and handled the central case of the season. No complaints really except for Bryant's bulky side story with his wife played by Emily Bergl, who I normally really like (Men in Trees, Gilmore Girls). Their story was just repetitive and tiring, with no payoff in the end. I was hoping the dog would eat her.

Chief Detective & Mistress: Det. Salinger (Michael McGrady) and Mia Sanchez (Lisa Vidal)

McGrady does fine as the head detective, but his side story was all over the place. Cheating on his wife with a needy TV reporter, rebellious teenage daughter who catches them but doesn't care, DUI, Facebook stalking the daughter. It was too much. I know they're trying to set us up for the future - I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Mia - but I could have used a little less of him.

Cop Team 1: Officer Sherman (Ben Mackenzie) and Officer Cooper (Michael Cudlitz)

If Regina King is carrying the show on her shoulders, Michael Cudlitz might be giving her a piggyback ride. We got a taste of his story - divorced closet case with a sad childhood and a painkiller problem - but we didn't get hit over the head with it. We saw him develop as a mentor to Sherman (Mackenzie) using bully tactics that all proved to be part of his plan. We're left with a lot of questions about this character, which is what you want at this point. Mackenzie is making a valiant effort to overcome The OC curse. Probably my favorite team.

Cop Team 2: Officer Brown (Arija Bareikis) and Officer Dewey (C. Thomas Howell)

Completely unnecessary. Cut them out. Dewey's story was an uninteresting distraction from the others. I'm guessing he's out after the finale, but I don't think she's needed either, except possibly to improve the gender ratio.

As I said, I liked this show more than I thought I would. NBC put a lot of publicity into it as the heir apparent to ER, and it did get decent ratings. But the network took the legs out from under it by moving to Friday nights for only 13 episodes (the standard issue for NBC fall shows). I'll keep it on the DVR, and you should watch online this summer if you're in the mood for some LA gang violence.

new for summer

In all my excitement about fall lineups, I almost missed new summer shows completely. Summer series are the junior varsity teams for each network, usually heavy on competition-based reality programming. ABC is coming out with about 100 of them. Can't blame them - we just tend to watch less consistently in the summer, so we're looking for something fun that's not necessarily plot intensive.

Surprisingly, the much-picked-on NBC has three (plus one mini) drama series premiering in June that look promising. Looks like this is a set up for the short-runs accommodating their new fall schedule.

I'll try to get to reviewing or at least previewing the new shows in the coming weeks. Today, I'm starting with some fluff. Two new summer series from ABC Family. Don't laugh, I know you have seen at least one episode of Greek or Secret Life of the American Teenager. And liked it.

First, 10 Things I Hate About You. I loved this movie - it's a huge teeny guilty pleasure of mine. I have the VHS and will never let it go. I worry this will suffer the same fate of the unfortunate Clueless series, but I'm willing to give it a shot - mostly because it's summer and my DVR is hungry. The only returning character is the dad, played by Larry Miller.

Here's the preview (premieres July 7):



Next, Make It or Break It. I may have lost many of you by now. For those who are holding on, yes, this is a gymnastics show. So sue me for hanging onto Olympic fever for just a bit too long. I blame Shawn Johnson. The premise is the trials and tribulations of a group of Olympic hopefuls. Seems like Center Stage meets Bring it On. The cast includes Peri Gilpin (Roz from Frasier) as a gymnast mom and Candace Cameron (DJ!) as the girlfriend of a gymnast dad. His name? Are you ready? Steve Tanner. STEVE. TANNER.

Here's the preview (premieres June 22). Come on, you know you want to.

final days of daisies

Reminder!

ABC will be showing the final three episodes of Pushing Daisies on Saturday nights at 10pm ET starting TONIGHT. Don't miss these final chances to shake your fist at the network television gods for cancelling this lovely show.

If you need a refresher, season 2 episodes are still up on abc.com. If you don't have time for that, here are the basics (spoiler warning if you haven't watched this season yet):

• Ned brought Chuck's dad back to life to find out the truth about shady Dwight Dixon, and Chuck sneakily kept him alive. Can't blame the girl. But then dad skipped town with a mummy-wrapped face and Ned's car.
• Consequently, Dwight Dixon died from the proximity curse associated with Ned's powers, as he was spying on them in the graveyard. Chuck and Emerson promptly bury him in Chuck's dad's grave.
• Ned and Olive's lives are saved by a mysterious hand as they were hanging off a cliff (just after Ned told Olive he had feelings for her in the past). Everyone thinks Chuck's dad saved the day.
• Ned's dad is George Hamilton. And he actually saved Ned and Olive's lives. But no one (except us) knows either of these things.
• Ned has decided to stop using his powers because bad stuff keeps happening.
• Vivian was head over heels for Dwight Dixon. Poor dear. He's dead as a door nail. But someone moved him from Chuck's dad's grave to a motel room where he was pronounced dead of natural causes. My money is on Ned's dad.

Phew. That was exhausting.

In tonight's episode - "Window Dressed to Kill" - Emerson enlists Chuck's help to investigate the murder of a window dresser when Ned declares he's no longer using his "gift" to solve crimes.

upfront thoughts: fox

Oh Fox. We have a love/hate relationship. Sometimes your reality show attempts make me crazy. Like this ridiculousness. But I have to hand it to you, the stuff usually sells. And I do love my Idol. This summer, I'm also hoping to get into So You Think You Can Dance, which will also be a featured on the fall lineup for the first time this year.

So far, I've heard wondrous things about the new show Glee - a sneak preview of which aired after Idol earlier this month, but the show won't run until the fall. I'll try to catch it online and write a preliminary review in the next few weeks. I am expecting a love affair.

I've never gotten into the longstanding animated comedies - the legend that is The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. But I don't live in a hole, so I know how popular they are.

On the drama end of the spectrum, I was a late bloomer on House and Bones - only started in on these two seasons ago, but caught up on DVD and now I'm a diehard fan of both. I also ended up loving Fringe this year, so glad it will be back. Watch online if you can.

I've dabbled in 24 and Prison Break - both great shows that I intend to watch in full, but just got pushed to the back burner. I've heard mixed things about Dollhouse and Lie to Me - two mideason newbies picked up for next year - so I'll try to check them out this summer.

Overall, glad to see my favorites staying and the network branching out a little with Glee, but nothing too groundbreaking coming up for the fall.

What's Staying
24 (midseason)
House
Lie To Me
So You Think You Can Dance
Bones (renewed for two seasons!)
Fringe (moved to Thursday after Bones)
'Til Death (seriously?)
Dollhouse
American Idol (midseason)
American Dad
Family Guy
Hell's Kitchen
Kitchen Nightmares
The Simpsons

What's Going

Do Not Disturb

Hole in the Wall

Osbournes: Reloaded

Prison Break

Secret Millionaire

Sit Down, Shut Up

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

What's New

Glee: An hour-long comedy following an optimistic high school teacher who attempts to restore McKinley High's fading glee club to its former glory, while helping a group of underdogs realize their full potential. Ads for the series have been hilarious. Check out the pilot on hulu. Notables include: Jane Lynch (from 40 Year Old Virgin, Role Models and many other hilarious films) and a bunch of young theatre imports. Expect great guest stars this fall, including Kristin Chenowith and Victor Garber.

Brothers: Half-hour comedy about a former NFL hot shot who winds up back home in Houston living with his mother. Notables include Michael Staham from Fox's NFL Sunday and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell (Ed and Veronica's Closet) - who will play the NFL star and his brother.

The Cleveland Show: Family Guy spinoff featuring neighbor Cleveland Brown, who moves with his son back to his hometown in Virginia and settles down with his high school sweetheart and her unruly kids.

Human Target (midseason): This drama is based on a DC Comics graphic novel and comic book about a private contractor/security guard hired to protect clients by integrating himself into their lives to become the human target. Notables include: star Mark Valley (Fringe, Days of Our Lives), the great Chi McBride (Boston Public, Pushing Daisies), and Jackie Earle Haley who played creapy, annoying Rorschach in Watchmen.

Past Life (midseason): Inspired by a novel called "The Reincarnationist" by M.J. Rose - a drama about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before. The "team" is played by Kelli Giddish and Nicholas Bishop, who are familiar, but not immediately recognizable. BUT the man Richard Schiff (Toby! Toby! Toby!) will play the team's mentor who is a legend in the field of cognitive research. I may just check this one out.

Sons of Tucson (midseason): Half hour comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when the real one goes to prison. Dad-for-hire is Ron Snuffkin, who was in Reaper but I recognize him from Breaker High - yup, I said it.

The Wanda Sykes Show: Looks like this is the working title for a new one-hour comedy talk show hosted by Wanda Sykes (I'm a genius). The description is a "biting commentary on topical issues and heated panel discussions with recurring personalities". Chelsea Handler meets Bill Maher?

A couple summer premieres worth (or not worth) mentioning:

More to Love: Another lovely from the Fox reality factory. A dating competition series follows a single, average guy with a "big waist and even bigger heart" as he romances several "confident and secure plus-size women". I'll stop there. The term "husky hunk" is used.

Mental: This drama premiered last night, but I forgot to watch. Dr. Jack Gallagher is an unorthodox psychiatrist named the director of Mental Health Services as an LA hospital. Seems like House for mental health. Stars Chris Vance (Prison Break) and Annabella Sciorra (The Sopranos).

upfront thoughts: cbs

I don't watch a ton of CBS programming. I've never gotten into the CSI conglomerate or the ever popular NCIS, but I'm a huge fan of Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. Old Christine is pretty good too, though I don't watch regularly. Not so much for the other reigning comedy, Two and Half Men. I just don't see the appeal. Sorry Ducky.

I digress. Historically, CBS has skewed to an older audience and takes fewer chances with plots. Basically, they stick with what works for their audience. This upfront season, CBS has very few programs in their cancellation list and a few intriguing new show announcements.

What's Staying

How I Met Your Mother

Two and a Half Men

The Big Bang Theory

CSI Miami

NCIS

New Adventures of Old Christine

Gary Unmarried

Criminal Minds

CSI:NY

Survivor

CSI

The Mentalist

The Ghost Whisperer

Numb3rs

The Amazing Race

Cold Case

Rules of Engagement (midseason)

Big Brother

Flashpoint (midseason)

What's Going

Eleventh Hour

The Ex List

The Unit

Without a Trace

Worst Week

What's New

Medium: CBS snatched this up after an NBC cancellation. They're pairing it with Ghost Whisperer on a historically successful Friday night CBS lineup.

Accidentally on Purpose: This new comedy has the best seat in the house on CBS Monday comedy night between HIMYM and Two and Half Men, followed by Big Bang Theory. Can keep up with the pack? A single woman finds herself accidentally pregnant after a one-night stand with a younger guy, and decides to keep the baby and live with the guy platonically. Notables includes Jenna Elfman (I have a love/hate relationship with her), Ashley Jensen (played the lovely Christina on Ugly Betty) and the young guy is played by Jon Foster, who's familiar from a few things.

The Bridge (midseason): Police drama about a cop who is elected as the police union leader where he takes on corruption in the ranks as well as Joe Criminal on the street. The one name I recognize is the star - Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica).

The Good Wife: Julianna Margulies' new drama about a wife and mother who assumes full-time responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political scandal lands him in jail. Tough break. This is actually quite a leap for CBS. I think I will check it out. Other notables: Chris Noth (Mr. Big will play her husband), Josh Charles (an old favorite from Sports Night and Dead Poet Society), the lovely Christine Baranski, and Matt Czuchry, who Gilmore Girls fans may recognize as Logan Huntzberger.

Three Rivers: The network's first attempt at a medical drama in a while. This one focuses on organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons in a top transplant hospital - city is unclear at this point. Notables include: Alex O'Loughlin (The Shield and August Rush), Katherine Moennig (The L Word), and Julia Ormond - a bit of a surprise to see her doing television, but I've always liked her.

Miami Trauma (midseason): Yet another medical drama - this one a Jerry Bruckheimer production about a team of trauma surgeons focusing on the "golden hour" or 60 minutes after being critically injured when a patient's life hangs in the balance. Notables include Jeremy Northam - a classic British actor who was most recently in The Tudors - I loved him in Emma, and Omar Gooding (Cuba's brother from Barbershop and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper).

NCIS: Los Angeles: Another CBS spinoff with a creative name. NCIS is hugely popular - I've seen an episode or two but never really got into it. The spinoff will focus on the Office of Special Projects division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation's security. Notables include: Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J.

And two new reality series from the network that historically leads in this category (i.e. Survivor and Amazing Race):

Undercover Boss (midseason): High level corporate executives slip anonymously into low level jobs within their companies, where they get their hands dirty, find out what employees really think of them and how the company really runs. Of all the "financial crisis" themed reality shows on the docket for the fall, this looks the most interesting.

Arranged Marriage (midseason): Three adults who are anxious to get married rely on their closest family and friends to choose someone for them to marry based on shared goals, values, etc. The series documents these three arranged marriages. This could be a train wreck, but I'm sort of fascinated with the premise.