Friday Night Dinner

Another fun show that started last month is BBC America's Friday Night Dinner.  It is just what it sounds like; a family dinner each Friday evening with the normal (or abnormal) happenings.  The set up is pretty simple with the two sons arriving by car, the appearance of their half dressed father, a strange neighbor who tends to pop by unannounced, brotherly battles (and poisoning) at the dinner table, uncomfortable questioning about ever-absent girlfriends, and an over-taxed mother trying to hold it altogether.

One of the sons is played by Simon Bird, who you may remember from The Inbetweeners, another BBC comedy that follows the hi-jinx of four high school friends.  The rest of the cast is new to me but work well together.  And while I was afraid the formula would wear thin quickly, the introduction of visitors and odd topics (e.g., the secret storage of science magazines that are treated like porn), as well as the endearing qualities of this very strange family, keep it lively and interesting.  You could do worst than spend a Friday night dinner with this family (by the way, it is on BBC America each Saturday night).

Update:  If you like The Inbetweeners, or just want to see them for the first time, you can check our their new movie (click here for the trailer).  London's Guardian notes that the early returns on the movie are better than Hangover II. 

MTV Continues With Original Series: Awkward

As I noted earlier, MTV's remake of the British series Skins was a failure for a variety of reasons, including trying too hard to be controversial.  That said, this failure did not scare MTV away from producing new series for young adults.  In the case of Teen Wolf, the network finally hit the mark.  Of course, a show on high school werewolves was not completely new to America, but the show has promise and has already been renewed for a second season.  

I am even more impressed with MTV's latest entrant Awkward. The show follows the day-to-day high school miseries one a teenage girl as she navigates a boyfriend with attention-deficit issues, a snarky (and large) cheerleader, immature parents, and a clueless guidance counselor.  Pretty much wraps up the typical day many may remember from way back when.  The nice part is that this teenager, Jenna, is darn likeable while also somewhat accident-prone.  

The pilot episode has a great action sequence where a small slip in the bathroom puts Jenna on a suicide watch list and makes her an object of sympathy and dread in the school hallways.  As with Skins, the language and allusions can be pretty raunchy, but here it has more humor and less bored sarcasm.  At times it reminds me of other teenage comedy-dramas, such as 10 Things I Hate About You, with its sharp writing, witty (and all-knowing) comebacks, and dumb jock boyfriends.  However, Awkward still has a freshness that may give it a chance to succeed in the sea of teenage angst.  

No matter what, it shows MTV is able to create its own content and contend with the other networks.  This is another hopeful sign for American television.

Update:  A November 4, 2001 story in the New York Times had high praise for Awkward.  In discussing the show’s creator and principal writer, Lauren Iungerich,the article notes that she is a follower of filmmaker John Hughes: 

...she shares his ability to heighten and find the humor in teenage life without stretching it beyond recognition. A primary achievement in “Awkward” — one that may turn off some viewers — is to make a show that’s as drenched in sex as any on TV but that doesn’t feel smutty or lewd. This is what teenagers think about, after all.

The TV Survivors

I thought it was worth taking an inventory of the new shows I have covered so far this year to see which ones have already died and which ones thrive.  Here is a quick summary:

Canceled Shows:

-- ABC's The Cape
-- MTV's Skins
-- Fox's The Chicago Code
-- Starz's Camelot
-- NBC's Paul Reiser Show
-- BBC's Outcast

Picked Up for a Second Season:

-- PBS's Downton Abbey
-- Showtime's Shameless
-- HBO's The Game of Thrones 
-- Showtime's The Borgias
-- BBC's Sherlock
-- AMC's The Killing
-- ABC's Happy Endings 
-- MTV's Teen Wolf 
-- IFC's Portlandia 
-- TNT's Falling Skies 

Too Early to Tell:

-- FX's Wilfred
-- SyFy's Alphas

Update:  Both Wilfred and Alphas were picked up for a second season.