Welcome to Film Therapy #1.0
I did not see any films over the weekend, but I did watch many fun TV shows.
HACK - TV spots for this show, which David Koepp ("Panic Room") created, were pretty engaging and, above all, promising. After watching the premiere episode this past Friday on CBS, I cannot be more disappointed. In fact, as many critics have pointed out, HACK is just not a very serious show. At some points Mike Olshansky (David Morse) feels comical when the music suggests otherwise. He's got a friend who's a pastor (or priest?) at a neighboorhood church. His son and wife distance themselves from Mike, which alienates him most of the time. However, he gets by on a daily basis while chauffeuring passengers through New York in his cab. Oh, and Mike used to be a cop, too. But he's not anymore. Of course, he's got a friend at the station, Marcellus (Andre Braugher), who'll come in handy whenever Mike's storyline demands a helping hand. Well, as you can gather from my tone, I did not like HACK. It lacked particular intellect and a character we can relate to more. It's sad to admit, but I probably won't watch the next episode, because at the same time...
JOHN DOE airs on the FOX channel at 9pm. Dominic Purcell wakes up in a forest without any knowledge as to how he got there or who he is, but he does know everything else (such as the exact population of a city in a foreign country, among other outrageous facts and trivia). Doe begins to investigate his origin and identity, and in the meantime, he helps police solve crimes. What has kept the first two episodes running is the ever-recurring question, "who is John Doe." JOHN DOE is a good show and I like what I see so far, despite some discrepancies in plot development and shaky character arcs.
At 10pm this past Friday, CBS premiered ROBBERY HOMICIDE DIVISION. Michael Mann ("Heat") and Frank Spotnitz ("X-Files")are executive producers on the show which stars Tom Sizemore and other semi-familiar faces. RHD is gritty and feels very real, basically, because of the style in which the show is shot. Sizemore plays Detective Cole who, with the help of his partners, investigates crime in the Los Angeles area. The premiere episode was fueled with great visuals, a great music score, and a clever plotline. Even though the plot advanced faster than comprehension allowed, RHD nevertheless impressed the hell out of me. You now know where to find me this Friday at 10.
Another new show, as part of the fall season, is NBC's BOOMTOWN. Created by Graham Yost (of "Speed" fame, and a writing assignment on "Band of Brothers"), this show uses multiple points of view to tell the story of a crime or whatever troubles the Los Angeles Police Department. Neil McDonough and Donnie Wahlberg star along with Mykelti Williamson, Nina Garbiras, Gary Basaraba, and Jason Gedrick (the "Iron Eagle" kid). The concept is exciting, but let's hope the next episode will feature a more interesting plot, because the premiere's effort was not. Most of the characters seem interesting enough to hold our attention for the whole hour. Again, the next episode will either prove or disprove whether a concept like this can work well.
That's it for the new arrivals to the Fall season, but wait, there's MORE!
This past Tuesday, SMALLVILLE premiered its second season, and it was a blast! The continuation of the storm and the multiple subplots that began during last season's finale episode came to an exciting close, formally speaking. In any case, SMALLVILLE is a great and fun show to watch on a Tuesday night on the WB network. FASTLANE also premiered not too long ago (Wednesdays at 9 on FOX). While the first episode was fun, albeit mindless, the second effort featured even more mindless entertainment. You're right, I'm not watching it anymore.
In terms of HBO programming, we have OZ, THE SOPRANOS, and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (I've already seen both seasons of SIX FEET UNDER -- and the show is great!). OZ is in its 4th season in terms of reruns, but I'm just now catching up on this extremely addicting, cool, hilarious, dangerous show! SOPRANOS continues to impress after three seasons (I've seen them) of great storytelling and entertainment. CURB is Seinfeld-creator Larry David's semi-autobiographical/reality show. It's not reality, per se, but he does play himself. The show is scripted, very well I might add, and continues to crank up those laughing muslces of ours. In case you haven't noticed, HBO rules in the world of original programming. Hooray!
EVERWOOD (3rd ep) and CSI: MIAMI (2nd ep) air today but I won't be able to watch them until tomorrow. I will also include my thoughts on the two shows as a whole in addition to the usual comments. Until nex time, I remain... SPEECHLESS.
Monday, September 30, 2002
Sunday, September 29, 2002
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