Wrapping Up 2011

It's that time again to look back at the year and figure out what worked and did not work.  Back in August, I provided the status of a number of shows that were cancelled or continued in 2011.  However, TV.com has done an excellent job summarizes the end of approximately 95 television shows this year.  I cannot say I will miss many of them.  Only Friday Night Lights was the true gem among the pile, though I enjoyed the quirky United States of Tara and the frat fun of Greek and Glory Daze.  It is also unfortunate that Camelot could not find it's way.  And the list is incomplete since it does not include a number of British shows on American television, such as BBC America's Outcast, which I thought had some promise.

I can only say good riddance to the U.S. version of Skins as well as the dumb $#*! My Dad Says.  And some shows need to know when to leave.  Both Brothers & Sisters and Entourage should have left the air years ago.  Of course, the list contains a lot of additional dreck. 

Overall, 2011 had a lot of great shows that I covered earlier.  While I am not saying my list is complete, here are 10 shows from 2011 that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend to others.  And I did not limit myself to U.S. programs.  I listed them alphabetically so as not to give too much weight to one over another (though I think Game of Thrones was the top show of the year).

1. Awkward (MTV)
2. Borgen (LinkTV)
3. Boss (Starz)
4. Downton Abbey (PBS)
5. Falling Skies (TNT)
6. Game of Thrones (HBO)
7. Happy Endings (ABC)
8. The Killing (AMC)
9. Portlandia (IFC)
10. Shameless (Showtime)
11. Wilfred (FX)

Okay, that is 11 shows, but I only had 9 last year, so it all balances out.  I would have included even more given the space, but I had to prioritize.  I hope 2012 has such a healthy crop of programs.  And I believe every shows has been given a second season, so I expect a very full DVR this year.

Happy New Year!

The Year of Netflix

This should have been the Year of Netflix, and I guess it was, but not in the way I expected.  The company seemed to be growing beyond expectations until a sloppy price increase earlier this year damaged the company's image and eventually its stock (a 75 percent drop). The decision in July to divide the DVD and online streaming business, each with their own cost structure and websites, made a very simple and inexpensive online option both complex and costly.  By October, Netflix was bleeding members and the company responded in an email to customers: 

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

Now Nexflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, will lose $1.5 million from his compensation in 2012 after his stock options were cut in half.  Considering he caused the company to lose 800,000 subscribers, he is lucky to have a job.  A company that seemed to be doing everything right in terms of customer service slammed into a wall that it created.  The cable companies, Apple, and others expanding in the online TV/movie business now have a second wind and they will use it to grab even more market share. As with the missteps of Facebook on member security, the new economy is still being run by humans and their accompanying pride.  Customers want choices and are willing to walk when they are taken for granted.  

Watching Programs on Facebook

Recently I tried out a new series only available to viewers on Facebook.  First broadcast in October, the new program, Aim High, is so far only six short episodes that together would create a one hour episode.  It is the story of a high school student who also operates as a government agent/assassin.  Starring Jackson Rathbonet from the Twilight movies and Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights, it is a good adventure that utilizes information from your Facebook page within the show.  As a result, you may see your name on a poster or in the form of graffiti.  While it is not as much fun as Awkward, nor does it pack the punch of Teen Wolf, it may find a more permanent place one of these days on network television. And I hope it does, since watching six to seven minutes clips becomes a lot of work.  In fact, I would rather have the option to buy a season pass on iTunes.  I cannot find any news about a "season two, but I will post what I learn here on the site.

A Number of Good Shows, But Many Do Not Stick

I have enjoyed watching the premieres of a number of new shows, but I have to say that most of them do not capture my attention for more than a few episodes.  Some of the exceptions, which I have already covered, includes Boss, Borgen, and Hell on Wheels.  However, others such as Pan Am, A Gifted Man, and Grimm, were not quite as interesting or unusual as they pretended to be.  For instance, Pan Am started as a long clip from the movie Catch Me if You Can and went down from there (though I loved the movie itself).  London's The Guardian was not impressed, noting:

 It's Mad Men set in the glamorous world of 60s air travel instead of Manhattan advertising men! Or so we are told. But alas, Pan Am is to Mad Men as an Airfix model assembled by a blindfolded man with 10 fractured fingers and a severe bout of hiccups is to Concorde. Which is to say, Not Very.

And the other two programs were less than gifted or simply grim. 

I think Once Upon a Time comes across as a little more genuine, which may keep me coming back for awhile.  The interplay of past fairy tales and the dreary reality of rural Maine (sorry Maine) makes for an interesting contrast and interesting characters.  It comes across as adults performing a dance in the head of a young boy hoping to find something more than his everyday world, and he just happens to drag us along with him.  It works for me, and I don't live in Maine (sorry again, Maine). 

Hell of a Western on AMC

If you have not had a chance to view AMC's new show Hell on Wheels then you are missing a real treat. Not since HBO's Deadwood have we experienced a good program on the American West, and this program covers much more territory (no pun intended). The focus on the railroad crossing the states allows the show to bring together a large array of characters, from Civil War veterans and roaming Irish to freed slaves and native Americans. Hell on Wheels reminds me more of TNT's drama Into the West in terms of it being a broader based series, though unlike the TNT series it is still focused on one period (post-Civil War) and not multi-generational.

The TV critics to date have nit-picked issues such as the main character Cullen Bohannon freeing his slaves, thereby making him too politically correct, but didn't our first President propose the same thing with is slaves? I enjoy the diversity of characters and unpredictable story lines, most of them involving murder so far. It is also filled with beautiful shots of the western countryside (though this is Canada's west - Alberta to be exact). That said, this is not a program for those looking for a sunny tale of American expansion. It is very gritty.

Popmatters.com makes a good point about the Wild West and it's machines:

If the railroad signifies freedom in Hell on Wheels, it also helps breed and accelerate greed, arrogance, and savagery, aggressions coming so fast and brutally that victims hardly know how to get out of the way. Hell on Wheels raises the inevitable question: at what price progress?

I am hoping AMC can answer this question in the episodes to come, though I am not sure if a truthful answer will leave anyone feeling any better. However, I am hoping it at least produces good acting and story-telling for a full season or two.

PBS Looks for New Audiences

Earlier this month, America's PBS launched a British channel so that its programming can be  broadcast in the European market for the first time.  The PBS program, called PBS UK, will be shared with viewers in the United Kingdom via the subscription-based British Sky Broadcasting Group and Virgin Media.  This venture is jointly owned by Quadra Group and PBS Distribution LLC, and includes top PBS programs such as Nova and Frontline.  Quandra is already considering similar ventures in Europe and Africa should the British adventure be successful.

Of course, the British did this years ago in the United States with BBC America, which includes solid programs such as Being Human, The Inbetweeners, and Torchwood.  So what do the British think of this PBS channel?  One British critic, Benji Wilson writing in The Telegraph, had a few concerns about the first Nova episode, noting

...Smartest Machine on Earth was not perhaps a smart choice for the opening programme of a US channel launch in the UK, because the intricacies of Jeopardy! would have been unfamiliar to many British viewers, including me." 

Mr. Wilson's comments on  Frontline were similarly negative when he noted,

Episode one was called Top Secret America, looking at how 9/11 led to the largest spree of covert action since the Cold War. But the sort of news-literate viewers who PBS want to attract have no doubt been reading about special ops, black sites and extraordinary rendition for aeons. Was Top Secret America still a secret to them?

Moreover, London's The Guardian had this off-putting introduction to the launch of PBS UK:

As home to arguably the most respected public service broadcaster in the world, Britain is perhaps not the most obvious territory for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), America's smaller, less internationally celebrated BBC equivalent, to launch its first channel outside the US.

It is too early to tell if this new PBS channel will work in Europe. However, it is a new way to increase funding for PBS programs so all of us back here in America can continue to see quality programs, even if they are a little low-brow for the British.

Borgen: A New Series from Denmark

If you enjoyed The Killing (either the American or Danish version), then maybe you want to try Borgen ("Government") from the same creators.  I just watched the pilot online and thoroughly enjoyed the first episode about three dueling Danish political parties sparring over immigration and how to restore Denmark to its rightful place among nations (sound familiar?).  The series first ran on Danish TV last year and season two started broadcasting there in September of this year.  LinkTV fortunately make online viewing very easy, with the series running Saturday nights on that channel starting at 9:30 pm EST.  However, you only have about two weeks after each showing to catch it online.  The pilot was broadcast October 29 on Link TV.

Here is a quick summary of the series from Link TV: 

Like its American cousin The West Wing, Borgen uncovers a world of political gamesmanship, the intricate public and private lives of politicians, media spinners, and the reporters who traffic in their triumphs and failures.  The setting is Borgen, the nickname for Denmark's parliamentary building, ("The Castle" in English). Our hero is the smart and sexy populist Birgitte Nyborg. After scoring her party a landslide victory through her idealism and work ethic, she now faces the biggest dilemma of her life: Will she succumb to pressure to compromise her ideals and maintain her political position?

The acting throughout the pilot is superb and the pace is pounding as the underlying motives and foibles of the characters is revealed very early.  It is also educational to see the political squalls in another country.  Of course, the recent battles over debt restructuring in Greece and Italy are in the newspapers daily, so we know that Europe has its problems.  Yet this intimate look is pretty amazing.

I just read that NBC is planning to remake Borgen as an American series.  I think it is perfect just the way it is, and coalition politics in Europe is quite different from our system. That said, NBC is putting the same team that gave us Friday Night Lights onto this project, which is very hopeful given the quality of their previous work.

Given the quality of this latest production, I may go back to the original The Killing (Forbrydelsen) for another take on Danish society.  I think something is lost in translation when we remake another country's story.  Unfortunately, it is hard to get the original Danish version.  Netflix and iTunes show nothing on the series and Amazon is selling it for $100 but it will not run on U.S. DVD players.  Hopefully, the popularity of the series will encourage greater curiosity about its origin and bring the Danish version of the series to American TV sets.

New Programming at YouTube

If you thought you had enough to watch on TV, well the amount of content out there on the computer (and eventually TV) may grow considerably in years to come.  YouTube announced plans to add 100 new channels to its service covering areas such as pop culture, music, sports, entertainment, and health.  Various stars and celebrities, such as Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, and Shaquille O'Neal, are expected to contribute content to this new venture.  YouTube has also committed to 25 hours of new programming each day.

Of course, the owner of YouTube, Google, Inc., is still working to bring this content to TV screens, creating an expanded venue for both YouTube and Google.  I expected much greater competition as the computer screen and TV screen became one.  If it works the way it should, we can have better programs in the years to come, as well as more flexibility concerning where we watch our favorite programs.

For a sample of the new YouTube channels, go here.  I like some of the ideas, many of which build on an already successful brand.  For instance, you will see Slate, The Nerdist, and TED.  And yet, I see some interesting new players, such as:

-- i am OTHER: Brought to you by Pharrell Williams. Championing individuality by giving a creative platform to a generation of game changers: Thinkers, Innovators, Outcasts.  

-- Noisey:  The Noisey Channel will feature performances and behind-the-scenes footage from bands all around the globe, hand-selected by people who know a lot more about music than you. 

-- Stan Lee's World of Heroes:  Every story has a hero; from the legendary Stan Lee come amazing tales about unique characters and extraordinary individuals.

I look forward to the new programming, though the current players on TV may have another impression.

Starz Has a Winner with Boss

Starz new series Boss (Fridays at 10pm EST) is an impressive political drama that profiles a whole new side of Kelsey Grammer, which can be difficult to watch at times.  The pilot starts with a very bleak scene showing Grammer's character, Chicago's Mayor Tom Kane, learning about his pending death.  Think Macbeth on Lake Michigan.  From there we go back to his day-to-day activities, which includes a lot of yelling, slamming of doors, and ear twisting (and even more with ears).  I am not sure if either of Chicago's mayors, be it former Mayor Daley or current Mayor Emanuel, will find much of themselves in this character (at least I hope not).

The intro credits provide a dark entry into Chicago, showing both the well-known spots as well as lesser known underside of the city, thereby preparing you for what is to come.  In addition to Grammer, you have an aspiring politician eying the governor's mansion (played by Jeff Hephner) and a brooding trophy wife (played by Connie Nielson), who together set you up for a roller-coaster of public victories and behind the scene treachery.  However, it is Grammer that surprised me the most with his unsmiling, violent character.  His acting has a gravitas that centers the pilot while keeping you guessing about his next move (and motives).

I expect a lot of soliloquies about the role of Chicago in American history as well as American hearts, but this is something I welcome.  Chicago has been the setting of many new shows over the past few years, including The Beast, The Chicago Code, Shameless, and most recently The Playboy Club.  Of course, all of these but Shameless were either cut mid-season or lasted only one season.  Boss has already been renewed for a second season, so this show may be around for awhile. That's great for TV, but maybe not so great for Mayor Rahm.

First Fall Casualty - Playboy Club

So far I like the way the new fall season is being spread over September through November.  This slow trickle of new shows gives everyone time to digest the new programs and make decisions based on more than the amount of DVR storage space available.  That said, even this approach cannot save every show, as we now see with the canceling of NBC's Playboy Club.  This is now NBC described this new show:

From Academy Award-winning Executive Producer Brian Grazer, "The Playboy Club" is a provocative new NBC drama about a time and place that challenged the existing social mores and transformed American culture forever. It's the early 1960s, and at the center of Chicago lies the legendary and seductive Playboy Club, a living, breathing fantasy world filled with $1.50 cocktails, music, glitter and of course, beautiful Bunnies. The key to the club, which offers the ultimate in beauty, is the most sought-after status symbol of its time. But all that glitters isn't gold, and in the back rooms and alleys behind the club, life happens - both good and bad. 

It sounds a lot like another nostalgic Mad Men-like program set in Chicago with a different type of hustling.  After watching the pilot, I found that Edie Cibrian's Nick Dalton certainly looked and sounded like Don Draper.  In fact, I think he was being too much of a carbon copy.  And the first segment of the show was too much like a cop drama with the death of a club client.  Whatever happened to easing the audience into the setting and characters?  Not a great start, as it appears the rest of the viewing audience has already determined.

I am not sure how ABC's Pan Am, the Mad Men of the skies, will fare in these turbulent TV waters.  But that's another posting for later.

By the way, this shot from Pan Am also brings to mind Don Draper.  Is it only me?

More on the Fall Season: Person of Interest and Terra Nova

I am trying to catch up on my favorite shows as well as the new season these days.  It is not easy with a slew of new programs coming out in September and many more to follow in October and even November.  Of the new shows so far I found one I like and one I will not watch again.

-- Person of Interest:  This CBS series starts off with an interesting premise - two leftovers from the government's war on terror find each other and team up to fight ordinary crime.  We have seen plenty of shows (and even movies) where the stars try to alter the future with their limited knowledge of things to come.  For instance, think of ABC's show Lost.  Speaking of Lost, it is nice to see the calm present of Michael Emerson again, even though I believe his role on this show will be a bit more benevolent than Ben Linus. The energy of the pilot is promising, yet I can see this slipping back into a simply cop/national security chase each week.  I mean, how much can you do with a single Social Security number?  I guess that will be the question each week.  I may put this show on the back burner while I try other pilots, but overall I enjoyed the first episode.

-- Terra Nova:  "Terrible No No" is what comes to mind.  There has been an enormous amount of press about this Steven Spielberg-guided project concerning future Chicagoans who return to the dinosaur past in order to restart civilization.  An interesting idea where Jurassic Park meets Land of the Lost meets Blade Runner meets Lost in Space.  However, what we really have here is "Lost Without a Script."  The central family returning to the past is an odd pairing of personalities which never convinced me they cared about one another.  And the dinosaur battles seemed to be the only passion on the screen, with everyone else mumbling predictable lines as they walked around their Gilligan huts filled with Apple-like machines.  The show takes me back to Episode One of the Star Wars movies where George Lucas still had his machines but he had lost all interest in writing a script with convincing dialog.  I did not expect the same from Spielberg, but that is what I see here.  I guess I now have more time to catch up with other shows.

The Emmys and the New TV Season

Now that the Emmys are over, we know what worked on TV last season.  I am happy that the winners included such well-written, produced, and acted shows as Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Justified.  In terms of Networks, HBO came out with the highest number of awards (19), followed by PBS (14), and CBS (11).  I was surprised about PBS coming out so high, but then again Downton Abbey was worth all of the attention (with the second season already underway in England).  Only HBO's Boardwalk Empire did better in terms of total Emmys.  I was also happy to see The Kennedys getting recognized.  This mini-series was a hot potato among networks until it was picked up by the unknown Reelzchannel. 

So, on we go to a new fall season.  I will be carefully watching many of these new series and offering up some commentary along the way.  Of course, dozens of shows are premiering in the weeks ahead, though many will die on the vine.  For the best listing so far on upcoming shows I would check out TV Guide's fall listing. 

September's Returning Shows

I have been looking forward to a number of returning television shows.  Here some of them from my list:

-- Sci-Fi/Fantasy:  The fourth season on this FX's  Fringe returns this  Friday (September 23rd).  I have already written about this series and the show's website provides some great background on the series and the characters.  It's a story about alternate universes, a father's love for his son, and decisions that can change the worlds.  And speaking of family, I look forward to the return of the two brothers of Supernatural the same evening as Fringe on the CW (the seventh season of the series).

-- Sitcoms:  Modern Family is back for its third season this Wednesday (September 21st) for a one-hour episode, this ABC series has elevated the half-hour sitcom to something worth watching.  Of course, I would add these others to my list as well:

•  Raising Hope:  Season two returns to Fox this Tuesday (September 20).  This season you can see Greyson Chance playing the part of a young Jimmy Chance.
• Parks and Recreation:  Season four returns to NBC this Thursday (September 22).  I wonder what's happening in Pawnee.

-- Simply Strange:  FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia stands by itself and is not for the weak of heart.  Going into its seventh season, it is probably one of the more politically incorrect shows on television, including odd spins on topics such as abortion, child abuse, drugs, and prostitution.  It is basically Seinfeld on crack.  The season premiere was this past Thursday (September 15th) and it was just as shocking as ever with a scene out of the movie Carrie, a poke at diabetes, and the disposal of a dead prostitute's body.  Check out this trailer for more on this very strange show.

Fall Season: The Secret Circle

Think of the CW's The Secret Circle as a Twilight wannabe and all will be well.  This new show from Kevin Williamson (producer of the Vampire Diaries, another Twilight wannabe contender) is set in the state of Washington as well.  However, in this case we meet Cassie who is also running away from her past to family in the deep dark woods of upstate coastal Washington.  And instead of meeting an attractive vampire on her first day at a new high school, she meets an attractive witch (or warlock, thought that word was not used in the pilot).  Oh yeah, she is also saved in the parking lot by her handsome beau, but rather than threatened by an out-of-control car driven by a classmate, she is stuck in a burning car set alight by an out-of-control spell driven by a classmate.  Did I miss anything?  Of course, there is also the meeting in the woods between the two new friends who seem to be destined for each other while nature glistens (or floats) around them.  I think that does it. 

So, now that we have that out of the way, does this show have a chance on its own merits?  Possibly, but only because you have two decent actors; Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected and Thomas Dekker from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  Leaving aside the cluster of vampires, werewolves, and witches crowding television these days, this show could stand alone as its own version of high school angst.  All I know is that the television version of high school is getting more interesting each day, whether you are singing in the halls, biting a bully, or casting a spell on the new girl.

Something for Game of Thrones Fans

If you cannot wait for season two of HBO's Game of Thrones and need to satisfy your hunger for dire wolves, dragons, and the Wall, then you may want to check out the Winter-is-Coming fan page.  The site goes deep into the characters, actors, and filming of the series.  Of course, the authors of this page are also stalking the set of season two, so you may get some insights on the next season as well.  And you can go here to read the blog of George R.R. Martin himself (even if it is labeled "Not a Blog").  HBO is also doing is part to keep the series in the forefront of everyone's mind, including a recent visit to Comic-Con in San Diego.  Finally, you can read the books while waiting for the next season.  In a recent New York Times book review, the author of the piece noted,

Martin possesses two virtues in abundance. First, he’s unapologetically coldblooded. Westeros is a dangerous place governed by the whims of men, not the rule of law, and the first novel in his series is famous for (spoilers follow!) dispatching a thoroughly admirable major character with whom readers have been identifying for most of the book...Martin’s second virtue is a nearly supernatural gift for storytelling. All of his hundreds of characters have grace notes of history and personality that advance a plot line. 

So enjoy these sites and stories and do not fret about season two.  As with winter, it is coming.

Update:  It will be interesting to see if Game of Thrones can win an Emmy this year.  Nominated under the Outstanding Drama Series, it will be matched against Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, Dexter, The Good Wife, and another HBO series Boardwalk Empire. As the Huffington Post noted earlier, maybe the Emmys is moving in a new direction and finally recognizing science fiction and fantasy as a growing and viable form of television (of course, Lost, True Blood, and other shows have been recognized over the years):

"Game of Thrones" -- based on the book series by George R. R. Martin -- has had widespread success, though, not just among skinny geeks in their mom's basements playing World of Warcraft, but with men and women of all stripes. The show has met with critical acclaim for both its finely drawn characters, and its bloody high-stakes action. “Game of Thrones” could be a breakthrough for other programs in the sci-fi/fantasy arena, which includes everything from the space drama of "Star Trek" to the mystical thriller of "Lost." 

Game of Thrones was also nominated in 12 additional Emmys categories. It is nothing less than impressive.

Second Update:  Games of Thrones won two Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series  (Peter Dinklage) and Outstanding Main Title Design.  I wish the count was higher, but the nominations and awards are still great news for the first season of a fine show.

Reality TV - Dumb and Dumber

With a new TV season starting this fall, I am glad to see a lot of new scripted shows.  That said, reality TV is returning and does not seem to be going anywhere fast except a new locale in some cases.  Here is a sampling:

-- The Real Housewives of Beverly Hill is in season 2.
-- Jersey Shore is in season 4 and season 5 is in the can (I wish literally).
-- The Biggest Loser is now in season 12.
-- The Bachelor is now in season 16.
-- The Amazing Race is now in season 19 and going all over the place.
-- Survivor is in season 23 and going to the South Pacific.

Now some of these shows are better than others, but beware.  I think the participants, public, and advertisers need to be careful.  Last month, Psychology Today reported on the suicide of the husband of one of the participants in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The author states,

I think Reality Television has made us dumber, if only because it has made everyone believe that the poorly scripted, crudely edited, and horribly acted crap we are fed is an actual form of reality. It absolutely is not. But I think that the real problem is that Reality Television has made so many of us lose our sense of self in search of a public existence we probably don't really want and can't really stand.
 
In another article the author notes,

Reality TV also makes us a little less tolerant of people's genuine suffering. When viewers turn to "Hoarders" and "Celebrity Rehab" to ogle at the mess that people with debilitating psychological and physiological problems have made of their lives, it is less with a sense of compassion then with gruesome curiosity. 

And  let's not forget the recent dust-up between Abercrombie & Fitch and Jersey Shore, where the clothing company is offering to pay one of the Jersey Shore cast members not to wear its clothing.  According to a company statement, "“We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans."  I cannot say I understand all the fuss, since I did not know Abercrombie & Fitch even sold clothes based on the ads I have seen, but I guess its good PR for all involved.  Even so, it may be wise for other companies to take note.  You do not need your brand flashing on the torso of some kid being arrested for lude and obnoxious behavior associated with a reality program (or at least I do not believe so, but then again I am not in marketing).

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.  

The Killing: You Get One More Chance

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of AMC's The Killing.  That said, like many others, I too was disappointed with the cliff-hanger at the end of the season.  While the producers may have thought it was cute to bring one more twist to this murder mystery, I was ready to learn the identity of the killer.  If the Danes could do it in their original production, why are we playing around with a great recipe?  So now the producers have been humbled and say they will reveal the killer of Rosie Larsen in the second season.  AMC's senior vice president of original programming, Joel Stillerman, stated, "For everybody who was frustrated, we hear you. We would have taken a different approach to managing the expectations about what was going to happen." He added, "It was never intentionally meant to mislead anybody. Our goal was to create a brilliant piece of character-based story telling. We think we got there, but we definitely didn't manage expectations the way they should have been managed."  Bravo for honesty. Now fix it!

More Damages, Luckily

The fourth season of Damages started on DirectTV last week (July 13).  The first three seasons were well-made thrillers with plenty unexpected twists and turns, and I expect nothing less from the latest season.  And while I have always found Glenn Close to be scary as a character as well as in real life, she is the perfect star in this psychological (if not pathological) thriller where her law firm is in the middle of high stakes drama.  Sadly, this season will not run on network TV as has been the case with the past DirectTV-created episodes, but I expect the new season will be available on iTunes and Netflix down the road.

Damages has also has the ability to breath life into actors we had taken for granted while also identifying new talent.  For instance, his part in the first three seasons of the show caused me to reevaluate my opinion of Ted Danson, who I had previously viewed as a has been sit-com actor.  His role as Arthur Frobisher, a ruthless corporate owner, later somewhat daft reformed soul, was fun to watch and a solid piece of acting. Of course, as I tuned into Mr. Danson again I found he was still quite funny in Curb Your Enthusiasm while also the essential ingredient in a three-way friendship on another great HBO program, Bored to Death.

Timothy Olyphant also showed his stuff as a dark hero primarily in season two of the program.  While he met a gruesome end, his nuanced character added depth and mystery to the show.  Of course, Mr. Olyphant went onto to great things with his own series Justified.  Season two also brought William Hurt onto the show as a suffering scientist, husband, and father who recently lost his wife.  His character was difficult to watch since he was always holding something back.

Season three brought Martin Short onto the cast and allowed us to see him in a whole new light as a power-grabbing, manipulative lawyer defending a Bernard Madoff-like businessman and his family.  He also had a chance to act with Lily Tomlin, who played the businessman's wife.  As is always the case, the show was completely ruthless and both Short and Tomlin were in the thick of things until the bitter end.

Season four brings John Goodman to the forefront.  I have not seen him on anything since Treme, where his character was a little over the top, so I hope they provide him with a more subtle role.  Damages has a way of showing us a new side of an actor and I look forward to this new season.

July Premiere - Alphas

Tonight the SyFy network premieres Alphas, a story about a group of individuals who learn they have super powers.  Yes, another super hero program at a time the TV and movie landscape is littered with the products of this genre.  Remember The Cape, which crashed and burned earlier this year?  The problem with The Cape was its pale imitation of the Batman movies.  Well, read this bit on the mad doctor who leads the Alphas and tell me it does not sound similar to Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies:

Dr. Lee Rosen is a preeminent neurologist and psychiatrist with a long history of hands-on work with patients suffering from neurological disorders. His fascination with Alphas -- ordinary people with very extraordinary abilities known as Alpha Skills -- has led to the formation of a group of highly evolved humans specializing in solving Alpha-related cases. Though not an Alpha himself, he has become the unconventional leader of the team and his nurturing personality and fatherly wisdom are instrumental in holding the group together when stresses and personality conflicts threaten to tear them apart.

Of course, I will keep an open mind and view the pilot.  This could be the start of something interesting, though I remain skeptical for now.

Update:  I did not care for the pilot.  The "special powers" of strength, persuasion, hearing, and autism where not all that magnificent or interesting.   I would much rather watch something such as Lie to Me or Leverage where an understanding of human tics or technology can win the day.  I liked the review comments on Guy Gab since they were similarly unimpressed:

Since there isn’t much on television these days that is worth viewing, I gave Alphas a shot as it’s a show about ‘ordinary’ people with extraordinary abilities. Sadly, it only has one thing going for it and that’s the story so far. I’ll admit, they hooked me with the intro, but the disappointment came after the first commercial. I’m terribly vexed that Hollywood still hasn’t moved past the stereotypical characters and casting that make up a lot of their failures. I did get a chuckle though when I realized this show is little more than a live action Scooby Doo Mystery.

More Sci Fi in July - Haven

I am glad to see Haven is returning to SyFy on July 25th.  While I was not originally its strongest fan (see my earlier review), it grew on me as I got to know more about each character.  Set in a small Maine town (though really filmed in Nova Scotia), a semi-retired FBI agent (Emily Rose) and small town detective (Lucas Bryant) investigate the strange happenings among the local population.  Eric Balfour offers a fair amount of comic relief in his role of a local troublemaker/pirate recently turned concerned citizen/businessman.  The awkward relationship between the three of them also keeps the show interesting when the mystery du jour is not too fascinating.  Again, it is not Fringe with its parallel worlds, high tech weaponry, and complex storytelling, but that's okay.  It has its own small town charm.

Tuning into Andy Samberg

If you need a few laughs at the end of the day, you cannot do much better than tuning into one of videos on The Lonely Island.  Where else can you see Andy Samberg and Adam Levine from Maroon 5 serenade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Or how about watching something a whacky as people getting punched before eating?  Yes, it's all quite silly, but it's often just the right amount.  I was following Andy Samberg's work before he became part of Saturday Night Live (which also offers some of these clips) and it is great to see how far he has come.  His irreverent yet often dead-on humor is refreshing.  He also seems like a genuinely nice guy.  Back in April, Chris Hardwick on The Nerdist podcast had a great interview with Andy where he spoke about his early influences and longer term plans.  I look forward to more of his humor in the years to come.

More Shows to Watch in June: Louie and Wilfred

Tonight on FX you can see two odd shows that probably could not appear on the major networks.  Louie, now in its second season, should continue to be fun ride.  Last season was at times insightful, other times disturbing, and always surprising.  In a recent interview with Slate magazine, the single dad of two daughters spoke a little bit about bringing his family stories to the program:

Slate: Are the bits you do about your daughters generally true? Did your daughter actually get bitten by a pony?


Louis C.K.: My daughter really did get bit by a pony, and so that was true, and I felt like a piece of shit, and she really was very positive about it. I do feel a lot of times like I'm out of my league with my kids in terms of what my responsibility is. Those parts are true. As far as when I make them behave badly on stage and in my show, that's all fiction. My kids are really easy. I often worry that they're too easy to deal with. They're really nice people. But that just wouldn't be as entertaining, so I just leave that part out.

The entire series is basically a one-man operation, from writing to filming.  And what he produces on his own is so much better than what a troop of writers can put together.  It's raw yet impressive, and worth tuning in.

As far as Wilfred, this is Elijah Wood's first attempt to cross over into TV from film using this Australian hit as his vehicle.  The idea of Wood's suicide-prone character Ryan dealing with a man in a dog suit, who everyone else sees as an actual dog, is admittedly a fresh idea for a television series. However, talking animals (and puppets) have not always made for good TV.  As I noted earlier, it this is Alf again it is toast.  But should it become a fresh look at a struggling man coming to terms with his inner turmoil, it could be both a funny and edgy program.

Update:  Having watched the first four episodes of each program, I recommend both to viewers.  Louis C.K. maintains its strange freshness, from the very dark episode of a homeless man's bizarre death to his sister's odd stomach pains to his one night stand with Jone Rivers.  Trying to predict the direction of this show is an impossible task.  Wilfred is a odd yet endearing show.  It is a perfect role for Elijah Wood, who plays the geeky lovelorn neighbor.  And his canine friend Wilfred is a conniving, drug-addled "best friend" who can quickly slip into the most lovable and familiar behavior, from chasing his tail to pursuing a laser light.  The content and language is not family safe by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes for fun nighttime viewing. 

The Sky is Falling

Sci-fi shows continue to take a beating, unless of course you have vampires, werewolves, or witches (discussed earlier).  The tube is also doing better with period pieces (or make-believe periods) with men in tights, or at least fur coats.  And the networks are now creating doctors and detectives with special powers, so that should offer a new twist to some.

However, I am thinking futuristic rather than remnants from the grave or tales from yore. We have already lost V (not really a great loss) and Caprica (a terrific show), while Outcast became just that soon after being released by BBC.  And the trash heap has grown over the years after valiant starts - think of Defying Gravity and Virtuality.

So, where are we today?  Well, on June 19th we will get a new show on TNT called Falling Skies. The 10-part series stars Noah Wyle as a former Boston history professor and tells the story of a country six months after its brutal defeat under extraterrestrials.  Previews show alien creatures that remind me a lot of the ones from Battle: Los Angeles, which is now adverting in tandem with the new series.  The story itself brings to mind War of the Worlds combined with the scrappy resistance of townsfolk seen in TV's Jericho. 

So what can we expect?  During a recent interview, Noah Wyle described the role of science fiction: 

Science fiction, in its purest form, for me, it works the best when it’s being used as metaphor to look at something from a one step removed process, to give a little objectivity and insight into something that, if you were applying it on the face of it, we’d all be too close to. That’s what Gene Roddenberry did, better than anybody, with the original Star Trek shows. In ‘66, you could show a show about race relations, by making it Kligons and Vulcans, and not have to talk about black and white. You were talking black and white, but somehow it was a lot more palatable to be soon through another culture. I think this operates on that level. It’s got historical precedent. We draw a lot of allegory to the American Revolution, but it also has a lot of contemporary resonance too. There are many places in the world where you can find large occupying army that aren’t wanted on indigenous soil.

It will be interesting to see the American Revolution with real "lobster backs," or at least what seem to be crustaceans. The series can also boast that Stephen Spielberg was involved as executive producer.  His involvement should improve the quality of the series, though I hope it is not a sign that this will become another vehicle for his "return to mother" theme.  I also distinctly remember a ridiculous scene at the end of Spielberg's War of the Worlds where Tom Cruise returns to Boston only to find everyone wearing crisp, pretty sweaters in the midst of what was to be the end of the world.  I am hoping Wyle will not be a Benetton model in this new program.

Some additional sci-fi shows are in the works as well.  I will cover them in later stories. Stay tuned.

Update:  I have watch the first two episodes (three hours) of Falling Sky and the show has already grown on me.  And yes, it bring to mind a few other programs from the past.  For instance, the alien invasion reminds me of District 9 with the insect/crustacean visitors and the huge, lumbering ship sitting above the human city.  And the bugs have their own robots to do their bidding, which remind me of the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica picking of the few remaining human after the genocide.  But what surprised me was the acting - it works.  Wyle plays an awkward, yet convincing, dad to his two sons as he spouts off historical analogies that his kids barely tolerate.  Dads can be that way.  And while most the other characters are what you would expect - the potential mom/girlfriend, the crusty military commander - you have a few interesting souls thrown into the mix, such as the thug with culinary skills.  The program certainly shows promise.

Second Update:  Falling Skies has been picked up for a second season, noted  TV Series Finale in a July 8th posting.