ABC

TV News: Premiere Date Announced For ABC’s ‘Lost’

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:54:55 -0700

CHICAGO – The sixth and final season of the J.J. Abrams hit television series “Lost” will premiere with a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2009. The recap special will start at 7pm CST followed by the highly anticipated sixth season two-hour premiere at 8pm CST on ABC.

Lost.
Photo credit: ABC

The series will then regularly air in its new Tuesday night timeslot starting February 9 at 8pm CST.

“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

TV News: Cancellation Axe Falls on ‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Eastwick,’ ‘Hank’

BrianTT — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:09:15 -0700

CHICAGO – Blogs everywhere are reporting that FOX has canceled “Dollhouse” and that ABC has canceled “Eastwick” and “Hank”. “Dollhouse” starred Eliza Dushku with “Eastwick” and “Hank” being headlined by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Kelsey Grammer, respectively. The series join “Trauma” and “The Beautiful Life” as early fatalities of the new season.

Eliza Dushku in Dollhouse.
Photo credit: FOX

After the surprise second season announcement, FOX officially decided to cancel the Joss Whedon series “Dollhouse”. The series will end once the current 13-episode order is complete. It’s not surprising to hear that “Dollhouse” has been canceled since the show’s ratings have been a big disappoint since the show first premiered.

Thanks to the show’s popular fanbase and decent DVR numbers, the show made it to a second season. The second season ratings, however, have sunk to a new low and the network was forced to end the series.

ABC has decided to cancel two of their Wednesday night shows. First is the Kelsey Grammer comedy series “Hank” and the TV remake drama “Eastwick”. “Eastwick” will continue to air until the already-produced episodes air. As of now, it’s unknown if “Hank” will continue to air episodes since it’s been replaced with specials and other fill-ins for the foreseeable future.

What shows are next? It appears that ABC’s “The Middle”, CBS’s “Three Rivers”, NBC’s “Mercy”, and ABC’s “The Forgotten” are in danger of being canceled next.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

TV Review: ABC’s Reboot of ‘V’ Feels Rushed But Promising

BrianTT — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:46:51 -0700

CHICAGO – Reboots of classic TV programs have been a tough sell lately as shows like “Bionic Woman” and “Knight Rider” have failed to connect with critics or audiences. The long-in-the-works reboot of “V” feels like a more appropriate and timely attempt to rekindle a dead franchise, as the depressing state of the world seems downright in need of an alien savior. With only one episode available for critics, it’s too soon to tell whether or not “V” will suffer the same fate as its recent remake brethren or if it will rise above and be another feather in the cap of a network that has been creatively rejunevated with shows like “Modern Family” and “FlashForward”. The premiere is deeply flawed but there’s reason to believe “V” could be a hit.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

“V” opens with three title cards that read…

“Where were you when JFK was assassinated?”
“Where were you on 9/11?”
“Where were you this morning?”

Immediately, the sense of self-importance is clear. This is not a cheesy, B-movie take on “V”. The intention to be taken seriously is overly telegraphed, as if there’s a subtitle that clarifies the creator’s intentions to be more like “Battlestar Galactica” than “Knight Rider”.

Morena Baccarin.
Photo credit: David Gray/ABC

The “morning” compared to the assassination of JFK and the tragedy of 9/11 is the one in which the sky over all of the major cities of the world was simultaneously covered by the arrival of the “V,” humanoid alien visitors from another world. They need a resource abundant on our planet and water and are willing to offer incredible healing powers and remarkable technology in exchange. They are all beautiful, charming, and eerily unemotional, but people are drawn to them, especially in a time of need.

Alan Tudyk, Elizabeth Mitchell .
Photo credit: David Gray/ABC.

The lead characters in “V” include FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell, “Lost”) who is cautious about the visitors but more concerned with tracking down a sleeper cell that has been more active since their arrival. She is partnered with the great Alan Tudyk and is clearly the lead of the show, a character who learns something about the Vs that will alter the course of the entire series.

Erica has a teenage son named Tyler (Logan Huffman), who has been adrift for a few years but finds himself drawn to the new visitors, especially the cute one who wants to make him an ambassador between the humans and the aliens.

Supporting characters include the eager reporter Chad (Scott Wolf), the cautious Father Jack (Joel Gretsch, “The 4400”), and the secretive Ryan (Morris Chestnut), who seems inspired to action by their arrival but not for the reasons you may first believe. Lourdes Benedicto and Laura Vandervoort co-star and Morena Baccarin could become the face of the series as the leader of the Vs, Anna.

Joel Gretsch, Lourdes Benedicto, Logan Huffman, Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf, Morris Chestnut .
Photo credit: Bob D’Amico/ABC.

In today’s cluttered TV landscape, it’s essential to grab an audience quickly, but there’s a difference between fast-paced and cluttered and a fine line between riveting and unbelievable. “V” regularly crosses both of those lines with its eagerness to do what a lot of other series would have done in half a season in one episode. It’s not 20 minutes before we’re on-board a V ship and every scene features a new series-rattling twist. The whole episode feels rushed more than it should.

And yet, that rushed pace sets in motion several plot threads that should intrigue viewers enough to come back for week two and beyond, anchored by one of the strongest ensembles of the season. Mitchell can more than carry a show and Baccarin gives a smooth, confident performance that truly delivers. Chestnut and Wolf already have arcs that most shows would have devoted half a season too, but the cluttered tone of the premiere might make audiences more likely to tune into week two to see how it’s uncluttered. With only four weeks of new shows and then a hiatus, it’s clear that ABC and the producers of “V” want to grab an audience quickly. The premiere is constantly trying to grab you.

I wish the action of the premiere of “V” had been extended to at least a two-hour debut or maybe even over the course of a few episodes and if the show’s writers keep up this ridiculous pacing, I think audiences will drift away. It was the characters on “Lost” and “BSG” that drew fans in as much, if not more, than the twists and turns. It’s way too soon to tell if “V” can develop those kind of characters but the potential for greatness is definitely there. Certainly more than “Bionic Woman”.

‘V,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on November 3rd, 2009 at 7PM CST. It stars Juliet Mitchell, Alan Tudyk, Logan Huffman, Scott Wolf, Joel Gretsch, Morris Chestnut, Morena Baccarin, Laura Vandervoort, and Lourdes Benedicto.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV News: ABC’s ‘FlashForward’ Will Move Forward For Full Season

BrianTT — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:16:23 -0600

CHICAGO – It comes to no surprise to hear that freshman series “FlashForward” got picked up for a full season by ABC, according to popular blogger Michael Ausiello.

FlashForward
Photo credit: ABC/Ron Tom

Since its series premiere, “FlashForward” has hit the 12 million mark, boosting ABC’s ratings time period 32 percent over last year in its Thursday night time slot. Not to mention that this is the first regular series since “Friends” to beat “Survivor” in the 18-49 demographic.

With the show’s success ABC has ordered an additional 12 episodes, bringing the season one episode total to 25. The announcement was made a few days after ABC picked up “The Middle,” “Modern Family” and “Cougar Town.”

“FlashForward,” which airs on ABC, airs on Thursday nights at 7PM CST. It stars Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brian F. O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger, and Christine Woods. It was created by David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

TV Review: Promising ‘The Middle’ With Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn

BrianTT — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:40:32 -0600

CHICAGO – Just as Kelsey Grammer returns to familiarly snobby territory with “Hank,” his “Back to You” co-star Patricia Heaton returns to the life of the harried matriarch with “The Middle,” but the results are vastly different. Where “Hank” feels like a relic, “The Middle” updates the working mother for a new generation and mostly delivers.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

Not as daring as “Modern Family” but nearly as funny, “The Middle” works because of the fearlessness of its cast, primarily Heaton, who proves that she was just as essential an element to the success of “Everybody Loves Raymond” as Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, or Peter Boyle. But, as “Hank” proves, one talented lead does not a sitcom make and “The Middle” has potential because of its interesting and diverse supporting cast and its often-clever writing.

The Middle.
Photo credit: ABC/Bob D’Amico

Sometimes playing like ABC’s version of “Malcolm in the Middle” if it were told from the perspective of Jane Kaczmarek’s character, “The Middle” is about a modern mother named Frankie Keck who is trying to juggle three troublesome kids and a demanding job. The latter is as a car saleswoman (with supporting work by Chris Kattan) and the former features a somewhat bland husband (Neil Flynn of “Scrubs”) and three sometimes caricature-ish children.

The Middle.
Photo credit: ABC/Richard Foreman

Frankie’s youngest son is named Brick (Atticus Schaffer) and he’s the kid who had trouble making friends at school because he was talking to himself or licking his desk but he seems genuinely sweet and loves his family. The oldest son Axl (Charlie McDermott) is a high-school age boy who walks around in his underwear and has the distinct body odor of a young man going through puberty. The poor girl caught in the middle is Sue (Eden Shur), another awkward gal who tries out for everything even though she seems to be good at nothing.

The family of “The Middle” may sound cliched but there’s a fine line between falling into generic sitcom traps and working within them. There’s a reason the sitcom always goes back to the family comedy - it’s a subject perfect for half-hour television - and I liked spending time with the Kecks.

Based on the premiere, “The Middle” shows more promise than out-of-the-box perfection. I think Heaton is perfect in the lead role and Flynn, while he may seem blase, is actually a great counter-balance to his more manic wife. There’s also a diversity in style among the supporting cast from “Frozen River“‘s McDermott to “SNL“‘s Kattan that’s interesting. A sitcom is only as good as its ensemble and Heaton has been surrounded by a strong one on “The Middle”.

Of course, it’s still her show and I worry that future episodes could get repetitive if they’re all about how much of a “super-mom” Frankie Keck has to be to get by. Some of the writers of “The Middle” come from the team behind the great “Roseanne,” another show about working-class parents and their three kids. That show started with a strong female lead but allowed the rest of the ensemble to shine as well. Here’s hoping “The Middle” follows that pattern and recognizes that what supports the center is just as important.

‘The Middle,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 30th, 2009 at 7:30PM CST. It stars Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Atticus Schaffer, Charlie McDermott, Eden Shur, and Chris Kattan. It was created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Kelsey Grammer Should Know Better Than ‘Hank’

BrianTT — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:52:41 -0600

CHICAGO – Kelsey Grammer is such a TV veteran, a major part of two of the best sitcoms in the history of the medium in “Cheers” and “Frasier,” that it makes his decision to do something as generic, predictable, and unfunny as ABC’s “Hank” all the more disappointing. You would think he knew better by now.

Television Rating: 1.5/5.0

Not even as funny as Grammer’s last misstep, “Back to You,” “Hank” plays more like a spoof of what you’d expect Grammer to do post-“Frasier”. At least with “Back to You” he was trying to mix up audience expectations a bit and had a talented ensemble to riff off of. “Hank” could have practically been called “The Kelsey Grammer Show” as he’s so front-and-center in nearly every scene.

Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, Nathan Gamble.
Photo credit: ABC/Bob D’Amico

The title character in Hank could have been one of Frasier and Niles Crane’s wine-drinking buddies, except this character isn’t given anything funny to do or say. “Hank” is another fish-out-of-water story about a rich sporting-goods CEO named Hank Pryor (Grammer) sent packing by the board after a financial scandal. The snobby ripped-from-the-headlines tycoon is forced back to River Bend, VA with his wife Tilly (Melinda McGraw) and their two cliched children (Nathan Gamble & Jordan Hinson). The often scene-stealing David Koechner (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Extract”) pops up as Tilly’s country brother.

Kelsey Grammer, Jordan Hinson.
Photo credit: ABC/Patrick Wymore

Hank Pryor is yet another inept sitcom father, the idea being that he spent so much time in the board room that he has no idea how to actually raise his family. His spoiled wife isn’t much better although she’s such a two-dimensional cliche in the premiere that it’s hard to really say. What happens when you take away the nannies and the economic bust forces formerly rich parents to actually have to raise their children?

The truly sad thing about “Hank” is it shows signs of why Grammer is one of the most successful sitcom stars in history. He can still deliver a snobby put-down like no one else. But he’s rarely given anything worth delivering. The script for “Hank” (by Tucker Cawley) plays like something out of the early ’90s, as if this is what Grammer turned down post-“Cheers” and somebody pulled it off the turnaround shelf and dusted it off.

Television has come a long way since then and comedy this stale and predictable just doesn’t work any more. Next to something as fresh as “Modern Family” and “The Middle” - two vastly superior shows on the same evening - “Hank” looks even more like a TV relic.

It’s impossible to say for sure that a comedian as talented as Grammer can’t turn this around and bring “Hank” up to where it needs to be but it’s going to need better writers and maybe even a bit of recasting. I can’t imagine the ratings will be sufficient for ABC to stick with the show long enough to make those changes. We’ll all remember “Frasier” and just try to forget “Hank”.

‘Hank,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 30th, 2009 at 7PM CST. It stars Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, and Nathan Gamble. It was created by Tucker Cawley.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: ABC’s ‘FlashForward’ Could Easily Be the Next ‘Lost’

BrianTT — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:27:20 -0600

CHICAGO – Do you think that if the creators of “Lost” were allowed a glimpse at their futures when their hit show began that they would have seen a montage of all the series that it would inspire? The latest is ABC’s clever and potentially addictive “FlashForward,” a strong genre entry that needs a better time slot and some serious buzz to become the next “Lost” and not the next failed wannabe, but has the potential to be a real breakthrough hit.

Television Rating: 4.0/5.0

I’m sure the creators of “FlashForward,” including David S. Goyer (writer of “Batman Begins,” “Blade,” story credit on “The Dark Knight”) are tired of the “Lost” comparisons, but they’re inevitable and impossible to ignore - a multi-layered cast, a supernatural mystery, a show that uses jumps in time as a storytelling device. And the density of the writing on the show is both what makes it interesting and what could doom the series. For every “Lost” there are a few shows like “The Nine,” series that viewers didn’t commit to every week and that left fans unsatisfied by their early demise.

FlashForward
Photo credit: ABC/Ron Tom

Before we get into what “FlashForward” is about and why it’s one of the most promising shows of the new season, I’d like to speak directly to anyone with power at ABC or any of their friends or relatives. MOVE this show. 7pm on one of the most crowded nights of the week could be a kiss of death for this series. The fact is that “FlashForward” is going to appeal to a young audience, the same fans who write “Lost” fan fiction and I know for a fact that a lot of those people are committed to “Bones” or “Survivor” and the new shows “Community” (which is moving to 7 in a few weeks) and “The Vampire Diaries” have already had strong premieres. Why stick “FlashForward” into such a ridiculously overcrowded time slot. Find an open 9pm slot and put it against “The Jay Leno Show”. This kind of dense, detailed fictional writing is the anti-“Leno”.

FlashForward
Photo credit: ABC/Ron Tom

“FlashForward” even opens like “Lost” - with a disaster. A man crawls from a crashed car to hear screaming and see that a horrible disaster has happened. We flash back just a bit and get to that moment again, where it turns out that the entire world has blacked out for 137 seconds and seen a glimpse of sixth months into the future (which just happens to coincide with the beginning of sweeps…clever.)

Of course, if most people were given a glimpse of six months from now all they would probably see is them eating an Egg McMuffin or taking a shower, but that doesn’t make for good TV. No, all the leads on “FlashForward” see major changes ahead.

Lead character FBI Agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) sees men with guns and a complex conspiracy; His doctor wife (Sonya Walger) sees herself with another man and one that she hasn’t even met yet; Benford’s partner (John Cho) sees nothing but blackness; and so on.

The premiere of “FlashForward” is crammed with a bit too much plot. It feels like the creators are worried they may not have long on the air and they hit the ground running as fast as they can. We’re introduced to a dozen characters, the main event happens, everyone quickly realizes (too quickly) the connections, and the episode’s final scene leaves audiences wanting more.

FlashForward
Photo credit: ABC/Ron Tom

Because of the “crammed with content” feel of the premiere, it’s hard to tell exactly what “FlashForward” will be. Will every episode be an action-driven one like the premiere? It’s doubtful. The smoke monster may have been cool but fans fell in love with the characters on “Lost” as much as anything else and that’s what’s going to drive the success or failure of “FlashForward” and it’s impossible to grade it with such a plot-heavy pilot.

The potential is definitely there. Fiennes is well-cast, Cho is interesting, and Brian F. O’Byrne has been a great character actor for years. And the production value of the show is ridiculously impressive. The opening scenes play like a theatrical-caliber action film. And I can’t stress enough the excellence of the final scene, one that will almost certainly force anyone who makes it that far to tune in next week.

David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga have been here before. They tried a supernatural mystery called “Threshold” a few years ago and it never caught on. Will this be the next “Lost” or the next “Threshold”? By the time the show catches up with its characters in April 2010, we’ll know for sure.

‘FlashForward,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 24th, 2009 at 7PM CST. It stars Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brian F. O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger, and Christine Woods. It was created by David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Despite Sexy Stars, ‘Eastwick’ Has Yet to Cast a Spell

BrianTT — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:52:11 -0600

CHICAGO – Clearly inspired as much by the success of “Desperate Housewives” as that of its actual source material, ABC’s “Eastwick” is a mixed cauldron of possibilities, a show with a strong enough cast and concept to warrant a second look but also one with enough deep flaws in its premiere to suggest that perhaps this spell will not be cast over too many viewers.

Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

Working from the 1987 film “Witches of Eastwick” (itself based on the novel by John Updike), ABC’s supernatural dramedy features three, well-cast, sexy actresses with more than enough talent to work their magic on many a viewer but also features a male lead trying to fill some awfully big shoes and writing that doesn’t crackle like one would hope.

Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, Jaime Ray Newman.
Photo credit: ABC/Robert Voets

Three women in the small town of Eastwick have their own typical TV problems, amplified when a charismatic, devilish figure named Darryl Van Horne (Paul Gross) comes to town and awakens their magical powers. Directed by the excellent David Nutter, the pilot of “Eastwick” should play like a mini-movie but feels often like a half-hearted set-up. Perhaps more than any other show this season, the jury is still out on “Eastwick”.

Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, Jaime Ray Newman, Paul Gross.
Photo credit: ABC/Kevin Foley

The women are Kat (Jaime Ray Newman), Roxie (Rebecca Romijn), and Joanna (Lindsay Price), three ladies who never really got along because of their unique personalities and preconceived notions but will come together when they discover that they are alike in a very uncommon way.

Kat is the married mother of five, a beautiful woman stuck with a total jerk of a husband and a very demanding family. Roxie is the single mother, a title that still holds a stigma in small-town America like Eastwick. Finally, Joanna is the awkward, gawky local reporter who has little confidence with men.

Van Horne arrives in town and strange things start happening in Eastwick. Darryl, even more clearly the Devil himself than in the source material, knows the women’s most innermost thoughts and desires and plays them to reveal the hidden powers that they didn’t even know they had. The great Veronica Cartwright and Sara Rue shine in the supporting cast.

It’s almost impossible to adequately say where “Eastwick” will go after one episode. The premiere is packed from front to back with character set-up to the point that it’s unclear what even week two - much less month two or year two - of the show will look like. Will “Eastwick” be soapy like “Desperate Housewives” or more mysterious like “Lost”? ABC clearly hopes it’s a little bit of both but only time will tell.

As for the cast, Newman and Romijn steal the show, the former has the potential to be a breakout star and the latter has always been underrated. Price isn’t bad but she’s completely unbelievable as the awkward one even in dorky glasses and with her hair put up.

The biggest problem with the first episode of “Eastwick” is Gross, tasked with the nearly impossible job of stepping into the shoes of a character once worn by Jack Nicholson. It’s impossible to shake memories of Jack and Gross isn’t up to the task. He needs to go his own way and completely redefine the character instead of so often reminding us of a similar routine done by one of the best actors of all time.

Ultimately, “Eastwick” is a great example of the difficulty of reviewing a series based on one episode, especially one so reliant on setting up several major characters and an unusual concept. Even pilots that knock it out of the park often come back down to Earth in subsequent episodes and it’s not that uncommon for a show to start shakily and improve as it gains its footing.

If this is a case of the former and this so-so first episode is the best that “Eastwick” has to offer than it will be off the air by the time the calendar switches over, but this witches’ brew is still bubbling and I’m not ready to say for sure that it won’t cast a great deal of magic.

‘Eastwick,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 23rd, 2009 at 9PM CST. It stars Jaime Ray Newman, Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price, Paul Gross, Sara Rue, and Veronica Cartwright. It was created by David S. Rosenthal.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: ‘Cougar Town’ With Courteney Cox Reeks of Desperation

BrianTT — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:05:50 -0600

CHICAGO – There are major chunks of ABC’s very disappointing “Cougar Town” with Courteney Cox that resemble a stand-up comedian so eager to please that you can see the desperate flop sweat forming on their brow as joke after joke hit the floor with a thud. More pathetically manic than honestly funny, it’s the writing on the weakest part of the network’s entirely new Wednesday night line-up that lets down its talented star.

Television Rating: 1.5/5.0

The title of “Cougar Town” subtly refers to the local high school football team but, of course, also references its lead character, a single mother named Jules (Cox) who lives in a town apparently just down the sex-crazed spectrum from Wysteria Lane on “Desperate Housewives”. One of the few remarkable things about “Cougar Town” is the single-minded focus of the premiere - Jules needs to get laid.

Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps.
Photo credit: ABC/Michael Desmond

Jules is recently divorced with a smart ass kid (the very funny Dan Byrd of the sadly belated “Aliens in America”) and a moronic ex-husband (Brian Van Holt). But they’re merely window dressing. “Cougar Town” is about the ladies, most notably her best friend (Busy Philipps) and horny neighbor (Christa Miller), who both push Jules into the supposed trend of older women bagging younger men.

Courteney Cox.
Photo credit: ABC/James White

Almost immediately, “Cougar Town” warrants a raised eyebrow. Does anyone on Earth think that Courteney Cox, who looks amazing and plays a likable character who comes off as smart and sweet, would have trouble meeting guys? The writers try to play the concept that Jules isn’t getting out enough, but the fact is that it’s a tough sell to portray Jules as desperate for the company of a man.

But it’s not for lack of trying. Every joke in “Cougar Town” is about Jules’ frustration with her age or sexual frustration. The writing on “Cougar Town” is about as subtle as “Age of Love,” the notorious reality show about older women and younger men. Every joke is predictable and telegraphed and, worst of all, the men steal the show including Byrd and Josh Hopkins as a playboy neighbor.

The problem with “Cougar Town” is simple - the writers started with concept instead of character. The best writing always works from plot and character not from a theme. When every joke has to work its way back to Jules’ getting laid or being frustrated with her age, you sense the desperation to hammer home the theme instead of build a believable, three-dimensional character.

Ultimately, “Cougar Town” is a massive waste of an opportunity. The cast is interesting and the concept isn’t really that bad. Imagine a show that honestly portrays a forty-something divorcee looking for love. “Cougar Town” thinks it’s that show but there’s nothing honest about it. It’s a beautiful star telling sex jokes, not anything normal women can relate to in any way. The show may be about a woman trying to find a stable, satisfying sex life, but I doubt it will be on the air long enough for that to actually happen.

‘Cougar Town,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 23rd, 2009 at 8:30PM CST. It stars Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Christa Miller, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, and Josh Hopkins. It was created by Bill Lawrence.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Christian Slater Strikes Out Again With Dull ‘The Forgotten’

BrianTT — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:02:31 -0600

CHICAGO – In the United States, the remains of 40,000 people remain unidentified. ABC’s new mystery “The Forgotten” is about a civilian, victims rights group led by Alex (Christian Slater) who tries to solve the cold cases that the officials have left behind because there are no relatives to push for them. They identify the unknown. Sadly, the show probably deserves to remain a mystery to viewers as well.

Television Rating: 2.0/5.0

A disembodied voice rings out over a shot of a dead woman on the side of a road in Chicago - “I was like you. Then this happened to me.” What is this? “The Lovely Bones”? The narration of a corpse being wheeled into a morgue as she claims that she’s “waiting to be found” is more than a little creepy and arguably in bad taste, but the concept of “The Forgotten” is that only a select group of Windy City citizens care enough to hear this poor woman’s story from beyond the grave. They solve the cases everyone else leaves behind.

Anthony Carrigan, Christian Slater, Michelle Borth, Bob Stephenson, Heather Stephens.
Photo credit: ABC/Adam Taylor

The problems of “The Forgotten” are common to bad TV - ridiculously cliched dialogue, overdone technical cues, and a mystery-of-the-week that fails to intrigue the audience. There are exchanges in “The Forgotten” that are so overloaded with cop show stereotype (even if the characters aren’t exactly cops) that one wonders if they’re not being played tongue-in-cheek and then one remembers that the show is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, someone not exactly known as the king of subtlety.

“ABC’s “the forgotten” stars Bob Stephenson as Walter Bailey, Heather Stephens as Lindsey Drake, Christian Slater as Alex Donovan, Michelle Borth as Candace Butler, Anthony Carrigan as Tyler Davies and Rochelle Aytes as Detective Grace Russell.
Photo credit: ABC/Frank Ockenfels

Of course, not all TV should be subtle. If “The Forgotten” is cliched, is it at least fun? Maybe you missed the part about the post-mortem narrator? The problem with “The Forgotten” comes in a blending of tones. Watching beautiful people deliver predictable dialogue is one thing but using it to tell the serious stories of John and Jane Does that make up the foundation of “The Forgotten” may have been a fatal flaw.

“The Forgotten” isn’t completely unmemorable. Star Christian Slater would seem to be the perfect fit for a weekly mystery and proved he worked in the TV format in “My Own Worst Enemy,” last year’s show that had enough significant problems to warrant cancellation but none of them had anything to do with what Slater delivered. If this show comes together, it will be largely due to what Slater brings to it.

It doesn’t hurt to have Bruckheimer’s producer power behind the show either. The cast is almost uniformly beautiful. This is the most red-carpet ready victims rights group on the planet. The show almost looks too good, adding to the overly polished, too beautiful, not gritty enough sheen of the entire project. Some viewers will be drawn in by the fact that “The Forgotten” looks theatrical quality with detailed, varied sets and interesting cinematography.

Ultimately, that’s the problem with “The Forgotten”. The show telegraphs its sense of self-importance about giving a voice to the unheard with such two-dimensional, predictable dialogue that it draws attention to the production value more than what will always drive television - character and plot. It’s hard to say if that will change as subsequent episodes don’t drive the concept into the ground as strongly as the premiere, but viewers may not remember this show long enough to find out.

A mystery show needs to have characters the audience finds interesting like “The Mentalist,” mysteries of the week that have great twists and turns (“CSI,” “Law & Order”) or, preferably, both (“Bones,” “Castle”). “The Forgotten” has neither.

One final note, Chicago readers will get a kick out of the use of our favorite city in the world on the show as the Blue Line is a major part of the mystery in week one and major streets like Ashland and Kedzie play a role. The show feels a bit too slickly shot to truly be set in LA - a West Coast sheen in a Midwest city - but it’s always nice to see Chicago play a major role on such a big stage.

‘The Forgotten,’ which airs on ABC, premieres on September 22nd, 2009 at 9PM CST. It stars Christian Slater, Michelle Borth, Heather Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, and Rochelle Aytes. It was created by Mark Friedman.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com