Nip/Tuck

TV Review: Beloved ‘Glee’ Returns With Stellar Episode

BrianTT — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:32:24 -0700

CHICAGO – We have written here several times about the genius of “Glee” (in May and again in September), but with the show having been off the air for a few weeks so the Yankees could win another World Series, we thought it was a good time to assess how the show has been progressing by taking an advanced look at tonight’s episode, the wonderful “Wheels”.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

Since the stellar debut, “Glee” has mostly been a series of highs but there have been signs of (no pun intended given the name of tonight’s episode) a show that could be accused of spinning its wheels. Some episodes have been a little lighter than others and some of the characters have threatened to become a bit repetitive. “Glee” is at its best when the character-driven humor is unexpected and unpredictable and there were recurring jokes in October “Glee” episodes that started to feel a little stale.

Don’t get me wrong. “Glee” is still the best new show of the year, but I can’t believe that I was the only one wondering how the series would progress not just through this season but the next one. Where does “Glee” go from here and how will they keep it fresh?

Quinn (Dianna Agron, L) and Puck (Mark Salling, R) work at the Glee Club’s bake sale in the “Wheels” episode of GLEE airing Wednesday, Nov. 11 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

Tonight’s episode, “Wheels,” displays how - by diversifying the focus of the show and providing depth to even the most supporting characters. The moments that stand out in the first arc of “Glee” episodes are the unexpected ones - Kurt (Chris Colfer) using “Single Ladies” on the football field, Rachel belting out a moving version of “Take a Bow,” the entirety of Kristen Chenoweth’s amazing guest turn on “The Rhodes Not Taken,” the best episode of the show to date.

Quinn (Dianna Agron) helps the Glee Club at a bake sale in the “Wheels” episode of GLEE airing Wednesday, Nov. 11 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

Tonight, the focus surprisingly shifts to Artie (Kevin McHale), who learns that the school won’t pay for the handicapped bus to take him with the rest of the team to sectionals. His arc, featuring his first solo performance (“Dancing With Myself”) is the thematic backbone of an episode that focuses on what Murphy does best with “Glee,” satirizing the expectations inherent in traditional high school roles. Kurt and Rachel (Lea Michele) have a solo-off to see who will take “Defying Gravity” (from “Wicked”) for the show with Kurt’s dad (the great Mike O’Malley) pushing for equal rights for his son. And even Puck (Mark Salling) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) have character-building plotlines. Most surprisingly, a bit of depth is given to Jane Lynch’s fantastic turn as Sue Sylvester. If she hadn’t locked up an Emmy nod already, she has after this episode.

One of my concerns about “Glee” in October was that a few of the characters were starting to become their archetypes. In particular, Quinn always looked defeated and on the verge of tears. In “Wheels,” not only do we finally get to see her smile during a cleverly devised food fight but we learn that she may not be through with Puck, another character who may not be as heartless as you first expected. Salling does his best work of the series to date tonight.

As for the writing (this ep was written by Ryan Murphy, the show’s creator), “Wheels” is as tightly scripted as anything on TV so far this year. It flies by and still feels like nothing else on television. I’m stunned that a show can weave together musical performances of “Dancing With Myself,” “Defying Gravity,” and “Proud Mary” and still not feel forced.

So, where will “Glee” go from here? What happens AFTER sectionals? “Wheels” is evidence of a show that is willing to allow background singers to come forward and take their time in the spotlight. With that structure in place and with an ensemble as deep and talented as this one, the future of “Glee” looks bright.

‘Glee’ returns on FOX on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 8pm CST. It stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Kevin McHale. It was created by Ryan Murphy.

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

TV Review: Final Season of ‘Nip/Tuck’ Starts With Lackluster Premiere

BrianTT — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:39:20 -0600

CHICAGO – Let’s be honest: “Nip/Tuck” has been in need of a face lift for years. The show arguably jumped the shark when The Carver took over (in season three) and has never quite looked the same since. Even with the sizable flaws of the last two seasons, “Nip/Tuck” was never boring. It even showed flashes of creator Ryan Murphy’s occasional genius in the seasons since.

But the premiere of season six, which will be the show’s last, hints at a team that has grown weary of their own creation. Dull, confusing, and simply uninteresting, “Nip/Tuck” looks like it might go out with a whimper instead of a bang.

Television Rating: 2.5/5.0

The premiere of season six, “Don Hoberman,” raises more questions than anything else. And not questions about where it’s going but about what the hell happened. Firstly, who thought that Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”), who memorably played Sean’s girlfriend Teddy in season five, could be replaced by Rose McGowan and no one would notice or care? The move from the “Bewitched” playbook is a head-scratcher not just because it’s a different actress but because McGowan brings a completely different energy to the character. It doesn’t feel like Teddy of season five.

Nip/Tuck.
Photo credit: Michael Becker/FX

Secondly, why is Linda Hunt narrating the show now like we’re watching a documentary about the history of Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon)? And she narrates the first act, disappears for the rest of the episode, and then comes back to close the show. Weird, weird, weird.

Nip/Tuck.
Photo credit: Mark Seliger/FX

Thirdly, when the Christian/Liz dynamic didn’t work as lovers in season five, why didn’t the writers realize that it would be equally ineffective watching the two characters go through a heated divorce? And, speaking of ill-conceived plotlines, does anyone care about Matt’s latest stupid attempts at anything approaching normalcy? Guess what he’s doing this time? He wants to be a mime. Yes, it’s even more painful to watch than you think.

To be fair, the season premiere of “Nip/Tuck” isn’t a complete disaster. I like that the bursting of the economic bubble has been felt by McNamara/Troy. With so many people losing their jobs, it would have been naive of the writers to not comment on how our crisis would affect the plastic surgery industry. And I like what it’s doing to Sean. Mr. McNamara has always been one bad day away from a complete meltdown and the lack of financial stability is sort of driving him crazy. It feels like the arc of these final ten episodes will focus on Sean’s unraveling and that’s going to be the material that works best.

As for goofy guest stars, the premiere features the return of Mario Lopez as a studly young doctor who shows Sean and Christian both the future of plastic surgery and that they’re too old and out of shape to really enjoy it. Wayne Knight and Barry Bostwick also guest star as lawyers in the Liz-Christian messy divorce, a plotline that I care about less than any in the history of this up-and-down show.

Nip/Tuck.
Photo credit: Michael Becker/FX

And that’s the problem with season six of “Nip/Tuck”. It’s hard to care any more when it feels like the writers don’t either. Maybe Ryan Murphy is too busy devoting his creative energy to the far superior “Glee,” but “Nip/Tuck” has lost the creative spark, going for controversial instead of original. When a blind man asks Christian to masturbate and describe it to him, the scene doesn’t have the soap opera jolt that it would have in earlier seasons. We’ve been down wackier roads before with “Nip/Tuck”. The writers need to either bring this series back to its more dramatic roots or let it completely fly off the rails in a feast of over-the-top insanity in the last nine episodes.

To see part of how we got here, catch up with “Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part Two,” recently released on DVD from Warner Brothers Home Video. With eight episodes of envelope-pushing surgery, this arc of “Nip/Tuck” allowed McMahon to play an interesting and actually serious arc as he dealt with cancer (although, as with most frustrating things in Murphy’s world, the emotion of that plotline seems to have done nothing to Dr. Troy at the start of season six and now feels like emotional investment on the part of the viewer that has been wasted), features some more awful decisions by Sean, and includes arguably the most over-the-top scene in a series filled with them (two words - adult diaper).

“Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part Two” is presented in a matted widescreen format and accompanied by a Dolby Surround 5.1 track. The only special feature is a featurette entitled “Nip/Tuck: The Science of Beauty”.

‘Nip/Tuck,’ which airs on FX, stars Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, Roma Maffia, John Hensley, Kelly Carlson, and Joely Richardson from creator Ryan Murphy. Season six premieres on October 14th, 2009 at 9PM CST.

‘Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part Two’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video. The show was released on DVD on October 6th, 2009. It is not rated. Check out the official site here.

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

TV Review: The Best New Show of the Year is ‘Glee’

BrianTT — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:10:46 -0600

CHICAGO – Ryan Murphy’s brilliant “Glee” is not only the best new show of the year, it’s off to one of the best starts for any series in the last several fall seasons. Much closer to Alexander Payne’s “Election” than Disney’s “High School Musical,” this is a clever blend of satire, pop tunes, laugh-out-loud comedy, and rich, interesting characters that you simply shouldn’t miss.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

Since I first reviewed “Glee,” I was worried about two things. One, is the show too quirky and unusual for TV? Could it suffer the same fate as other critically acclaimed shows that never found an audience like “Pushing Daisies” and “Veronica Mars”?

Two, would the quality of the premiere that was so good that Fox aired it four months early maintain itself? The jury is still out on the former but I’ve seen two more episodes (tonight’s “Showmance” and the fourth episode, “Preggers”) and can confirm that the quality of the show definitely does not falter.

The members of McKinley High’s Glee Club learn a new song and dance to perform in front of the school in “Showmance,” the series premiere episode of GLEE airing Wednesday, Sept. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Pictured L-R: Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

The first new episode, “Showmance,” airs tonight on Fox and sets several plotlines in motion that will clearly be a better part of the first season of the show. One of the many great things about the first new episode of the debut season of “Glee” is that it makes clear that music will not merely be one part of the show, but often serve as a commentary on the characters and plotlines instead of just being filler.

Rachel (Lea Michele, L) and Finn (Cory Monteith, R) take direction on a new song and dance routine in “Showmance,” the series premiere episode of GLEE airing Wednesday, Sept. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

For example, one of the driving plotlines of the first season of “Glee” will be the relationship between glee club manager Will (Matthew Morrison) and his crazy wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) and the very clever writers of the show use the gang performing “Gold Digger” as not just a musical number but a commentary on Will’s home life. At the same time, a love triangle forms between Rachel (Lea Michelle), Finn (Cory Monteith), and his cheerleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron) and the episode ends with an amazing, passionate version of “Take a Bow” that makes the emotions feel more genuine than standard TV dialogue ever could.

That’s the amazing thing about “Glee”. It is definitely a satire of high school life but the writers and their incredibly talented cast find a way to make it emotionally resonant at the same time. A lot of credit for the latter should go to the best ensemble for any new show this year. Scene-stealer Jane Lynch is going to get a lot of credit but Michelle, Gilsig, and Jayma Mays are doing excellent work as well.

Yes, a lot of the characters at Carmel High fall into cliche and stereotype and I could see that turning off a few viewers, but cliche is an essential element to satire and if the dialogue is clever enough, which it truly is in “Glee,” that doesn’t matter. The writers of “Glee” are bringing the cliches of the high school TV show genre to the surface so they can be both satirized and made three-dimensional by exposing their untruths.

There have been plenty of shows that started strong and then fell from the peak of their first few episodes. “Glee” shows no signs of doing that. And even if it does, the first three hours that I have seen will stand among the best of 2009.

‘Glee’ premieres on FOX on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 8pm CST. It stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Kevin McHale. It was created by Ryan Murphy.

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

TV Review: Ryan Murphy’s Excellent ‘Glee’ is Unlike Anything on TV

BrianTT — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:39:09 -0600

CHICAGO – Much closer to Alexander Payne’s “Election” than Disney’s “High School Musical,” the pilot for Ryan Murphy’s “Glee” is one of the best of the last several years, a clever blend of satire, pop tunes, laugh-out-loud comedy, and rich, interesting characters. The one thing I kept thinking during the pilot of “Glee”? This is too good for network TV. It will never last.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

“Glee” is about a high school Spanish teacher named Will (Matthew Morrison) who takes over a glee club of misfits including the overzealous Rachel (Lea Michele) and a football star (Cory Monteith) who refuses to be the bully he’s supposed to be.

Will wants to break down a few of the clique walls at his high school and bring joy back to the halls. Music will clearly be a major part of the show, as popular tunes like Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” are featured in the pilot and creator Ryan Murphy has revealed that current pop tunes will be a regular part of the program.

GLEE: Members of the Glee Club try to prepare for a performance in a special preview episode of GLEE airing Tuesday, May 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Pictured L-R: Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

But this is not a show about singing, dancing, happy teens who learn a lesson at the end of every episode. It’s about expectation, ability, difficult decisions, and finding your passion as a student or as a teacher. And expressing yourself in whatever way you can…and, yes, sometimes that has to be through song.

The entire cast on “Glee” is exceptional with Matthew Morrison, Jayma Mays, Lea Michele, and Cory Monteith standing out and Jane Lynch is always great, but it’s the script for the pilot by Ryan Murphy (“Nip/Tuck,” “Popular”), Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan that is truly remarkable. This is sharper, wittier dialogue than most movies I’ve seen this year, much less the sorry state of television in 2009. Do you love Murphy’s “Nip/Tuck”? The pilot for “Glee” is better.

Yes, a lot of the characters at Carmel High fall into cliche and stereotype and I could see that turning off a few viewers, but cliche is an essential element to satire and if the dialogue is clever enough, which it truly is in “Glee,” that doesn’t matter. The cliche needs to be brought to the forefront to be undermined by something deeper and that’s exactly what “Glee” does. It doesn’t wallow in stereotypes, it makes them three-dimensional by blowing them up.

What’s even more remarkable about the script for the pilot of “Glee” is its emotional impact. Murphy and his co-writers take dialogue that if reprinted might send you into sugar shock, but they make it work. It’s a show about creativity, passion, and ambition done both as a satire of high school life but also as an honest ode to pursuing your dreams.

Glee: Members of the Glee Club rehearse in a special preview episode of Glee airing Tuesday, May 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Pictured L-R: Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley and Lea Michele.
Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

Full of completely unpredictable twists and turns, “Glee” is simply fantastic. And FOX clearly knows it. Do you think they would be bringing it out for a four-month early “preview” is they didn’t?

And “Glee” is clearly a tough sell, the kind of show that is going to need glowing reviews and great word-of-mouth if it wants to survive. Most people checked out at the word “musical” and show with teen casts have a well-deserved stigma. I worry that “Glee” will struggle to find an audience but I find it interesting that Fox is experimenting with different ways to build word-of-mouth, giving their show a well-in-advance preview and allowing fans to download and re-watch it all summer long.

Not only am I anxiously counting the days until “Glee” airs again, this hardened, cynical critic plans to do something that he hasn’t done since the earth-shattering first episode of “Lost” - watch a pilot again. “Glee” is that good. The message of “Glee” is that the only life worth living is one that you’re really passionate about. I’m really passionate about the quality of this unique, excellent show and I really doubt I’ll be alone.

It’s impossible to say for sure after seeing only one episode, but if the rest of this series lives up to the potential of the first hour, “Glee” will easily be one of the best shows of 2009-2010.

Check out this great trailer for “Glee” before you go:

‘Glee’ premieres on FOX on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 8pm CST. It stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Kevin McHale. It was created by Ryan Murphy.

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

Interview: Ryan Murphy Dances His Way to ‘Glee’ on FOX

BrianTT — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:11:16 -0600

CHICAGO – Ryan Murphy is not a TV writer who believes in following the rules. He reached nearly iconic status from the loyal followers of FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and is trying to create water-cooler TV yet again with FOX’s very unique “Glee,” a show that we’ll review later this week (but you can check out a great clip here if you’re impatient).

“Glee” debuts on FOX…in the Fall? In an unusual move, the network is using the juggernaut of “American Idol” to introduce audiences to their new show next Tuesday, May 19th, 2009, but it won’t air again until the beginning of the 2009-10 season. Get your taste now and have the full meal in the fall. It’s an interesting idea.

Murphy took time out of his busy schedule for a conference about the new show and we have the highlights. Don’t miss our review on Friday and the preview of “Glee” on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 8PM CST.

Ryan Murphy On How They Choose the Music For “Glee”

All the episodes, we’re writing them thematically. Obviously you don’t do that for a pilot because a pilot is just sort of an origins tale, but it really just comes down to stuff that I like and stuff that I think it’s the characters and moves the story along. And also, with every episode, we do between five and eight music numbers, and my goal is to really try and give the audience something for everybody. We have a hip-hop. We have an R&B. We have a top 40. We have country.

On If There Could Be “American Idol” and “Glee” Crossovers With the Winner Singing on the Show

You know, I get pitched stuff all the time, but shockingly that has not been something that I have been pitched. No. Also, I’ve sort of been very specific with the casting about if we are going to sort of guest cast or stunt cast. I want it to be with people who just are wildly talented like Victor Garber and Kristin Chenoweth, so no, but they haven’t said that. I haven’t been pitched that.

On A Soundtrack For the Series

We’re sort of in the midst of dealing with a soundtrack, and the great thing about it is musically the show is really, really been supported wildly by Fox network and studios. We do between six to eight, between five and eight songs per episode, like I said, and it takes a long time to produce and to get all those songs ready, so what we’re doing is we’re – to make sure that the production value is wildly as high as the pilot, Fox has been so gracious as to give us sort of scheduled music hiatus where we can sort of take a couple days and catch up and produce the demos and have the kids come in and record them and do the choreography. That being said, one of the reasons why we’re doing that is because there’s going to be a series of albums where I think we’ll probably put out an album every couple of months because we will have so much material.

Then also, we’re going to have all of the songs, when you watch the show, available that night immediately on iTunes, so if you like something, you can go buy it. But the music part is obviously the most challenging, but also the most exciting and the soundtrack was bid on by seven different companies, so we’ve had a lot of luck with that, and that’s something that I’m really interested in. I’m glad that the network and the studio continue to support it in the manner that they have.

On Hesitation About Doing a Major Network Show

I’ve never had much luck with it just because I think my voice is pretty specific and a little bit subversive. And I told Kevin Riley when I pitched it that if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it in a very specific way, and Kevin was the person who bought Nip/Tuck in the room, so he kind of got my sensibility.

And to my surprise and udder pleasure, Fox network has really kept their word. In fact, they’re pushing me to make it much more in the vein of the pilot, and they’ve never once tried to take anything out because they thought it was too sort of nuts, but I’ve also been very conscious that I think the key to the show is to – it’s a show with a lot of heart, and it’s a show about underdogs, and you want it to have a certain kindness to it. But it also does have weird elements, like you said, but they’ve been very supportive of those knowing that that’s my tone, and that’s what keeps me interested, so I’ve been surprised, and it’s been a really great give and take so far, and I haven’t had any BSNP problems or anything like that.

But also, I want to do a show that appeals to everybody. I’ve done a cable show and that to me was a big challenge. I’ve done sort of eight years of darkness and really adult stuff, and I was like, okay, I want to try something different. I want to do a show that has a bigger heart and is kinder, but make no mistake. It still has an edge, and they’ve been supportive of that.

On Similarities Between “Glee” And His Short-Lived (But Now Beloved) “Popular”

To me, it’s a completely different tone. It’s a completely different show. The thing with Popular was Popular was a satire that made fun of everything else on that network at the time, which they never apparently got, and they wanted me to do some sort of Dawson’s Creek-esque thing, and I didn’t want to, and that show was about ambition. That was show was a very specific one. It was about as seen through the microcosm of these girls. It was sort of Heathers-esque, but they never really got and I think the show was really ahead of its time, and it’s had quite an amazing life on DVD, which I always find surprising and rewarding. People liked the show. They were fans of the show. But I always thought that that was sort of a culty, sort of darker thing that had a very cynical tone to it, and I don’t think this show does at all, and I’ve been very careful not to really try and cross-pollinate the ideas of that show with this.

GLEE: The new one-hour comedy musical series about a group of aspiring underdogs will special preview Tuesday, May 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Pictured Top row L-R: Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer and Lea Michele. Bottom L-R: Jayma Mays, Jessalyn Gilsig, Matthew Morrison, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron and Jane Lynch.
Photo credit: Patrick Ecclesine/FOX

On the “American Idol” Lead-In And Unusual Premiere Structure

It was an interesting thing where they called me up and they proposed it, and I was sort of hesitant because I said, well, I like that you believe in it so much, and I like the support that you want to put behind it. But it does bother me that it would be off the air for four months, like you would think that – or three months. But as Kevin explained it to me, this is really just a great – it’s a preview. It’s what they’re calling it. It is a preview. And I keep saying it’s like having a movie trailer before the movie Titanic.

It’s just a great way to get as many eyeballs to sample your show as possible, and the thing that sold me with it is that it’s airing after the ultimate episode of American Idol this summer, but then it’s immediately going to be made all available to people all summer long. You can buy it and download it off the Internet, the pilot episode, and also we’re going to be, throughout the summer, not only can you get it, and I think if people get it, I will love that, renting it and buying it. But also we’re going to have music available starting in August. We’re going to be teasing some big numbers that we have coming up in the show.

To me, it also seemed very brave and like nothing that had ever been done on network television, and I think it’s a really big night of television. We’re up against some great, classic shows. To me, it’s – and it’s Kevin and Fox. It’s not necessarily about popping a number. It’s just about slowly getting people to be aware of the show in a way that I think is very original, and I like it because there’s no other fall show that will have that. It’s just, they’re spending a lot of time and money on marketing it in May for one night only and then selling it all summer, and slowly teasing stuff out before it comes in the fall, so I think it’s a really good idea.

Glee: The new one-hour comedy musical series about a group of aspiring underdogs will special preview Tuesday, May 19 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Pictured clockwise from L: Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Lea Michele (C), Jenna Ushkowitz, Cory Monteith and Kevin McHale.
Photo credit: Matthias Clamer/FOX

On If He Was Involved in Musical Theater When He Was Younger

Yes, I was. There was three writers, and two of us were, and one of us wasn’t. What I like about that is sort of the one that wasn’t is always like, wait, this really happens? We were like, yes. He’s like, well, nobody will believe that, so it is through the prism of, for the most part, the writer’s experience. What I love – you know, what I remember about that time when I was doing all those shows and stuff is that I grew up in Indiana. But when you do get the lead in something or you’re performing, you sort of feel that the world is suddenly available to you, and you have so much optimism about what you can become, and it doesn’t even have to be about being a performer. It’s just about a belief in yourself, and I remember that feeling, and it was very important to me. And that’s what I wanted the show to be about, so I do sort of draw on that experience that I had.

On If the Show Came About Because of the Success of “American Idol” and “High School Musical”

No. It wasn’t because of that. Basically, for me, I had sort of been doing Nip/Tuck for many, many years, and when I got this overall deal at Fox, one of the first things I said to them was I want to do something that’s very different that’s completely the opposite of that because if you have success in one genre, they want you to keep doing it over and over again, and I didn’t want to do something dark again, although ironically my next thing will be dark.

I said, I kind of want to do a musical, but I don’t know what that would be. And they said, well, we’ve been wanting to do a musical forever, and we can’t figure out how to crack it. I said, give me some time. We’ll think about it, and then literally like two days later I was approached by Mike Novak, who is a producer on the pilot, and he said, I had this idea. A friend of mine wrote something that I think is a great movie that we want you to produce. I read it, and I said, well, I don’t think this is a movie for me, but I love the title, and I love the idea. Let’s just do that, and maybe we can turn that into a TV show, so we threw sort of the script away. Then Ian, who wrote it, and myself and Brad sort of sat in a room and came up with what you see in the pilot. We went and pitched it. Shockingly, they said yes, and we wrote it, and they picked it up the day we turned it in. So it happened very, very quickly, as sometimes good things do.

But I have never seen High School Musical. I know the conceit of it, and I know kind of what it’s about. I certainly know the cast, but I’ve never watched it. But I admire it. I think that what they’ve done is fantastic, but we were never sort of, you know, trying to do anything like that. I was trying to do something that was much more like a musical version of just sort of movies that I loved that were a little bit sort of high school is the metaphor. High school is not actually what it’s about, if that makes any sense.

On the Building Buzz Before the Show Has Even Aired

It’s so funny to me about the life that this thing already has. I already have an offer to turn it into a movie, and there’s somebody who already wants to turn it into a Broadway show, and also there’s somebody who wants to turn it into an ice-skating show before it’s even aired, so all those things, I keep saying, well, that’s very kind and wonderful, but let’s get it on the air first, you know.

“Glee” will be on the air on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 8pm CST.

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

Exclusive Portrait: Oscar-Winning Actress Marlee Matlin of ‘Dancing With the Stars’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:54:05 -0600

CHICAGO – Oscar-winning actress and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Marlee Matlin posed for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before meeting her hometown Chicago fans at the signing of her new memoir “I’ll Scream Later” on April 17, 2009 at Borders in Oak Brook, Ill.

Marlee Matlin, who won an Oscar for her best-actress performance in the 1986 film “Children of a Lesser God,” has been featured in “The L Word,” “Nip/Tuck,” “My Name is Earl,” “CSI: NY,” “The West Wing, “Desperate Housewives,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and more. Our exclusive portraits of Marlee Matlin in Chicago can be found below.

Oscar-winning actress and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Marlee Matlin poses for the
HollywoodChicago.com lens before meeting her hometown Chicago fans at the signing of her memoir
“I’ll Scream Later” on April 17, 2009 at the Borders in Oak Brook, Ill.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Hookup: 20 Admit-Two VIP Passes to Chicago Premiere of TNT Series ‘Trust Me’ With Tom Cavanagh

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:13:35 -0700

CHICAGO – In a special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 20 admit-two VIP passes up for grabs to the exclusive Chicago premiere of the new TNT drama “Trust Me” about a Chicago advertising agency. The series stars Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”), Tom Cavanagh (“Scrubs,” “Ed”) and Monica Potter (“Boston Legal,” “Saw,” “Along Came a Spider,” “Patch Adams,” “Con Air”) from the producers of “Nip/Tuck” and “The Closer”.

Potter will be in attendance. You will also be treated to a special advance screening of “Trust Me,” complimentary hors d’oeuvres, soft drinks and prizes. To win your free pass to the VIP “Trust Me” event in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is be one of the first 20 people to submit a comment in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup. That’s it!

The premiere will be held on Jan. 22, 2008 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the “Trust Me” poster below.

“Trust Me” on TNT stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh and Monica Potter.
Image credit: TNT

Here is the “Trust Me” plot description:

Set against the backdrop of the high-pressure world of advertising, “Trust Me” focuses on Mason (Eric McCormack) and Conner (Tom Cavanagh): a pair of advertising men whose strong creative partnership has served the firm of Rothman Greene & Mohr extremely well over the years.

Mason (an art director) is a responsible, workaholic family man with a beautiful wife, Erin (Sarah Clarke, “24”), two children and an undying loyalty to the brands he helps sell.

By contrast, his writing partner, Conner, is a single, impulsive copywriter with the attention span of a teenager. Their yin-yang relationship is put to the test when Mason is named a creative director of the agency. He becomes Conner’s boss.

The series follows the changing dynamics between the two friends who are better together than they are apart.

To secure your free pass now to the “Trust Me” premiere in Chicago, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required.

Then, add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include an answer to this question:

What do you do at work and in life to sell yourself and get ahead?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV is simple: The first 20 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 20 winners via e-mail to distribute your passes. “Trust me” premieres on TNT on Jan. 26, 2009 at 9 p.m. CST.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Mid-Season Premiere of ‘Nip/Tuck’ Hints at Series Face-Lift

BrianTT — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:45:05 -0700

CHICAGO – After recently lamenting the decline of “Nip/Tuck” in my review of the Season Five, Part One DVD, no one is more shocked than I am at the creative success of the mid-season premiere, airing January 6th, 2009 at 9pm CST on FX.

Perhaps the creative spark on display can be credited to the return of creator Ryan Murphy, who clearly knows these characters better than anyone in the history of the show, with his first writing credit since the season premiere. Or perhaps the entire team listened to the criticism that the show has completely misplayed the balance of tawdry and serious over most of the last three seasons with a few exception here and there. “Nip/Tuck” had become as ridiculous as “The Bold and the Beautiful” and just about as important to the creative landscape of television.

Julian McMahon and Roma Maffia star in the mid-season premiere of Nip/Tuck on FX on January 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Michael Becker/FX

But there was always something there underneath the soapy surface. The concept of two men - Drs. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) - who made millions fixing the imperfections of others but could not handle their own declining bodies or troubled personal lives was a brilliant set-up for intriguing drama and the cast is still more talented than most on television. Walsh can be a little too wishy-washy but McMahon did great work those first two years and Joely Richardson was simply fantastic.

So, why did “Nip/Tuck” become a cross between “The Young and the Restless” and “The Love Boat”? A revolving door of guest appearances, each one weirder than the one before it (Larry Hagman? Rosie O’Donnell?), and increasingly ridiculous storylines sunk “Nip/Tuck,” making it repetitive, disingenuous, and disposable. The show became as surface level as the clients of McNamara/Troy.

Dylan Walsh stars in the mid-season premiere of Nip/Tuck on FX on January 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Michael Becker/FX

How refreshing then that the mid-season premiere of “Nip/Tuck” brings the focus back to where it should have been for the last two and half years - the characters of Sean McNamara and Christian Troy.

At the end of the mid-season finale, Sean was stabbed in the back by his agent/stalker Colleen (Sharon Gless) and left to bleed out on his own surgery room floor while his daughter lay on the operating table. It turns out that the attack left Sean paralyzed. The idea of a doctor tasked with trying to make people perfect who is himself stuck in a wheelchair is dramatically rich with possibilities.

After an over-long prologue that details what happened just before and after the stabbing, “Nip/Tuck” picks up four months after the crucial event. Sean is still hesitant to get back into the operating room, finding more comfort in a plastic surgery class that he’s been teaching.

Meanwhile, Christian runs into a deadly problem of his own, one that will completely redefine his character and force the superficial doctor to reassess what is truly important in his life. As an actor, McMahon has been forced to take a back seat to the ridiculous aspects of the show in the last few years. His new arc offers him the potential to do his best acting work since at least season two.

Don’t be mistaken. The mid-season premiere of “Nip/Tuck” isn’t all doom and gloom. Just as the episode feels like it may be getting too serious, Murphy throws in a sex scene that rivals any in the history of the show in terms of intensity and raunchiness. It’s an over-the-top scene (two words - wheelchair sex) but what’s great is that it works in the context of the serious themes of the show. For a few years now, it’s been the other way around with the ridiculous plotlines deflating the attempts at drama.

If Murphy can teach the rest of his writing staff how to just use the soapy elements as flavor or spice on top of the serious themes and believable characters, “Nip/Tuck” could accomplish something almost unheard of in television - it might look young again.

‘Nip/Tuck,’ which airs on FX, stars Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, Roma Maffia, John Hensley, and Joely Richardson from creator Ryan Murphy. The mid-season return of season five airs on January 6th, 2009 at 9PM CST.

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

DVD Review: Fifth Installment of ‘Nip/Tuck’ an Imperfect Season, DVD

BrianTT — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:18:54 -0700

CHICAGO – “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself.” Doctors, I don’t like what you’ve done to a once-fascinating show. Ryan Murphy and the team behind “Nip/Tuck” missed a great opportunity with the fifth season of their cult hit show, now on DVD, and continued their series’ soapy decline.

“Nip/Tuck,” starring Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, Joely Richardson, John Hensley, Roma Maffia, and Kelly Carlson, from creator Ryan Murphy, had gone way off the rails with a ridiculous fourth season that turned off most of the show’s fans, even if it did maintain some headline-grabbing basic cable attention.

The team behind “Nip/Tuck” had a chance to completely hit refresh as the two lead characters left behind the bikini-clad models of Miami for the narcissistic lunatics of the city of angels for season five.

The first episode of the season hinted at a show that had found its creative honesty and returned to the far superior first and second seasons. The fifth season premiere of “Nip/Tuck” is one of the best in the show’s history, as Drs. Sean McNamara and Christian Troy move to Los Angeles and work on an over-the-top medical drama while they deal with their own ridiculously inflated egos and deep flaws. Guest appearances by Bradley Cooper, Oliver Platt, and Lauren Hutton hinted at the fun that could come.

Make the characters relatable again and let the craziness of L.A. provide the over-the-top spark. It could have been a self-referential joy to watch Sean and Christian realize that they may have been big fish in the pond of Miami but that L.A. was too much even for them and there are hints of that through out the season, particularly in a great reality show pilot that the doctors attempt called “Plastic Fantastic”.

Instead, “Nip/Tuck” quickly became what it had been since it jumped the shark in season three - just ridiculous. By just episode four, less than a third through the season, Christian was a male pimp, Sean was infatuated with a sexy teenager, Matt was a meth addict, Julia was a lesbian, and Rosie O’Donnell was back as a guest star attacked by an eagle. Yes, an EAGLE.

It sounds like a ridiculous, soap opera that could provide kicks like a B-movie and the fifth season of “Nip/Tuck” only possibly works when viewed in that light. There are some “did you see that?” kicks from the fifth season of “Nip/Tuck”. The show works much better as a comedy after a few drinks.

But I miss the more well-balanced tone of the first and second seasons, when I could take these characters remotely seriously and every time Murphy and his team asked me to do so again in this season that was more over-the-top than ever, it just made realize that the show has become that much more ridiculous.

Maybe it’s because of the show’s theme that any physical imperfection can be reversible but I still hold out hope that there’s one more great season of “Nip/Tuck” in the pipeline before McNamara/Troy closes its doors forever. The fifth one wasn’t it.

As if they know that the fifth season of “Nip/Tuck” is just a holding pattern for the hit show, the season is going through one of those weird, two-part things like “The Sopranos” and “Entourage” recently did. “Season Five: Part Two” debuts on January 6th on FX Networks.

The 14-episodes, 627 minutes, of the first part of the fifth season of “Nip/Tuck” are presented in matted widescreen that makes for a rather lackluster video transfer. Doesn’t it seem ironic that a show about obsession with perfection isn’t yet released on Blu-Ray?

The audio, mixed in 5.1 channels, is neither positively nor negatively remarkable in any way. And special features? There are barely any. No commentaries to speak of. Just a featurette, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. McNamara/Troy may not be what they once were, but they have legions of fans who deserve better than this below-average season and DVD.

‘Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part One’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, Joely Richardson, John Hensley, Roma Maffia, and Kelly Carlson, from creator Ryan Murphy. It was released on December 30th, 2008.

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

2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More

BrianTT — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:08:01 -0700

CHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.

With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.

To be blunt, the first 31 days of 2009 could be one of the most important months in the history of television. It comes down to this - If established hits like “24,” “Damages,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Monk,” “American Idol,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Lost,” and “The Closer” don’t meet expectations and if a new show like “United States of Tara,” “The Beast,” “Lie To Me,” or “Trust Me” can’t take off and become an established hit, television is likely to change forever.

Sound like an exaggeration? Consider this - NBC gave up on an hour of original, scripted programming every single night. They’re so disappointed in their slate of 10 pm dramas, including failures like “My Own Worst Enemy,” that they’re handing over an hour of TV every night to talk show host Jay Leno. It’s one of the most amazing programming decisions of the last few years and proof that original television on the big networks is changing for good. Does anyone think we’re that far off from all reality and talk on the major networks with original programming relegated to pay cable, basic cable, and the internet? I don’t.

And the Leno story is only one of the biggest headlines of a season that has seen far more failures than successes. Shows that took off the post-strike period, including “Pushing Daisies” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” saw ratings decline every week before their cancellations. It feels like people left during the strike and simply never came back.

New hits? There aren’t any outside of CBS, the only network that has anything to be happy about this year with the massive success of “The Mentalist” and the continued growth of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother”. More than ever, the buzz in 2008 went from the big networks to the cable box with HBO launching new hits, Showtime developing their own, and even AMC developing a reputation for quality.

We’ll get into what worked and what didn’t in our TV year in review next week at HollywoodChicago.com, but let’s look ahead before we look back. Is it too late for the broadcast networks to save this sinking ship? Are NBC, Fox, and ABC done? Will there be another “Mad Men” in the bunch of shows premiering this month? Can a series actually improve on last year’s ratings for once? Let’s hope so.

Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for reviews and coverage of all the upcoming series and mark your calendar with the highlights of the coming month on the following page, in chronological order.