BN: The Brandon Network
Pilot Preview
I have a habit of checking out the pilots before the Fall season. For instance, last summer I caught the pilots of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Kidnapped, The Black Donnellys, Jericho, Ugly Betty, and The Nine. I think I chose the right ones to stick with through the season (suck it, The Nine). Anyhoo, this year started for me at Upfronts, when they released (for the first time to my knowledge) clips of all the upcoming shows. Here are some shows on my radar that I still haven't gotten around to previewing yet, and if you hear about something that's not on the list that sounds awesome, let me know: Aliens in America, Big Shots, Cane, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, and Viva Laughlin. Most will probably be mediocre, but that's okay. I hear the Viva Laughlin one is particularly bad, but I loved the clip and will see for myself. In the mean time, check out the pilots I have actually seen below.
I
hate the CW even more now that I know they have two decent pilots in what is
generally agreed to be a poor development season. Aliens in America is too
cute for me to love it, too aimed at a younger demographic (and I mean that much
more than say, The OC was), and yet I really enjoyed it. Basically,
there's a junior in high school who is a weirdo, his younger sister made the
senior boys' "most bangable" list, his mother left the PTA in order to devote
more time to "normalizing" him, and his father's quirk is a focus on money.
Eventually, they bring in an exchange student to give the son a friend, at the
advice of guidance counselor Clarence Wiedman (YAY!), but instead of getting the
hot, white British kid they wanted, they end up with Pakistani Muslim Raja.
Possibly Rajah. Anyhoo, the show plays like a liberal take on an ABC
family show, with the Midwestern family being close-minded, conservative
stereotypes, though not complete cartoons. In fact, the mom, who is great,
plays exactly like Celia Hodes would on ABC Family. Meanwhile both kids
are entering their rebellious liberal phases, though for the son it's rather
that he's more open-minded than his parents, than particularly rebellious.
The show is fairly funny ("What about the terrorist question?" "Are you
serious?" "They pose as students, Gary. Bill O'Reilly said so.
You need to watch more news."), and despite it's clear target demographic being
high schoolers at the oldest, I am surprised to have enjoyed it so much.
My complaint is the predictability and general lack of edge that comes with a
show that appears to be a perfect fit on ABC Family (which I keep mentioning
only b/c it seems so right...The CW connotes a more American Eagle/One Tree Hill
feel, but this one's more like Kyle XY). I don't know if I'll keep
watching the show, but you could do a lot worse, and I wish this show success.
Score: B+ (I
pushed Reaper up to an A- btw, b/c it is clearly more in Chuck's league than
Aliens', although like I said, this show is still pretty good)
Premiere: Oct. 1 on the CW
Bionic
Woman is extremely well-produced. David Eick (coexec with Ronald D. Moore
for Battlestar Galactica) has put together a pilot with outstanding direction,
action, music (copped from 28 Days Later, at least for the pilot version, which
won't be the same as the one they premiere with come Fall) and general style.
I mean this is a pilot that knows what it's doing. Aside from that, I have
some serious misgivings. Firstly, I'm not convinced that main chick is
good enough to anchor the series, but I suppose time will tell. Secondly,
a lot of the character motivations are weird and a few choices seem to come out
of nowhere. Lastly, I don't really know where the series is headed (unlike
with great pilots like Studio 60, Lost, or pretty much any show), and I'm not
really sure that I care. Some pluses: Katee Sackhoff is phenomenal
as the original bionic woman. Also Badger and Chief Tyrol play what appear
to be recurring supporting characters, but I still have to say my biggest
positive for the show is Katee Sackhoff. She looks great, she pulls off
some mediocre dialogue with finesse, and she generally delights me. If I
watch any more of this show (doubtful for those keeping score), it will be for
her. Also, I'm extremely pleased to see that Sackhoff can pull off a role
that isn't Starbuck, so my joy at her performance here was heightened because of
that, it should be noted.
Score: C+
Premiere: Sept. 26 on NBC
Californication,
Weeds' companion on Showtime for Fall Mondays nights, is the vastly inferior
show. David Duchovny plays the obtusely-named Hank Moody, a writer whose
"great novel," God Hates Us All, was turned into a Hollywood movie
starring TomKat called "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love." This,
obviously, upsets Moody, but worse, he's estranged himself from his child and
baby-momma, a woman who is now engaged to a square guy that she never would have
loved during her time with decidedly un-square Hank. I won't say he's hip,
but it's clear that's what the show wants us to think. Similarly, I'm
tired of hearing how great he is and how awesome his book is without showing us
any reason to like the guy. It's Matt Albie syndrome, except I liked Matt
for a bit longer than I liked Moody. Probably because his name wasn't so
obvious. Further, Moody really is patently unlikable; I mean, he's
occasionally funny, but, for instance, Mary-Louise Parker is sometimes (one
could argue always) a horrible mother, and yet still completely endearing. My point is, I really don't like Moody, and I don't
want to get to know him any better or root for him. Aside from that, I
think the show's generally fine. It made me laugh a bit, it has that
pay-cable nudity and profanity quality (the opening scene involves a nun and
oral sex, in the middle of a church, no less), and the acting's pretty great,
even Duchovny despite my extreme problems with his character's part of the
story. But really, when all the problems I have with the show lie with the
one lead (character, again, not actor), you know you've got yourself a clunker.
I'm a little perplexed as to the critical reaction I've read being positive to
the show...perhaps they know something I don't, in the form of episodes beyond
the pilot. And to clarify further, I don't think it's bad, and it could
certainly get better, just please stop selling us on Hank's 1) coolness, 2)
greatness in bed, and 3) brilliance. I'd rather find out how great he is
on my own, you know?
Score: B-
Premiere: Aug. 13 on Showtime
Reaper
is Kevin Smith's CW pilot wherein Bret Harrison is forced to work for the Devil
as a bounty hunter to catch and return escaped souls to Hell. It's a lot
like Dead Like Me, but way more difficult--it takes more than simply touching
the souls to capture them. I think the show is much more a WB show ( as a
supernatural action-comedy like Buffy), but the CW ought to do well enough with
it. It's pretty funny ("College made me sleepy."), very youth-oriented,
and stars Bret Harrison and Nikki Reed (who essentially plays The O.C.'s Sadie
all over again, just with even less angst, if you can believe it) are pretty
good-looking. Also, as I mentioned elsewhere, I loved the music, which is
a prime factor in the CW's shows. I'd give it a try, especially for fans
of Buffy and/or Bryan Fuller's work. Oh, but if you do watch it, you
better steal it from the CW by downloading instead of giving them the
satisfaction of your rating numbers. I have a feeling I started off with
the good pilots and it's all downhill from here.
Grade: A-
Premiere: Sept. 25 on the CW
Chuck
is the first of two Josh Schwartz (The O.C.) pilots to come out this year, and
the more masculine one. Not in a chauvinist way, but in a
boys-and-their-toys way. Main character Chuck is a Stanford-graduate
headed nowhere ("Someday I'm going to be Store Manager, and I don't even know if
I want that!") who is currently employed at a generic Best Buy as part of their
Nerd-Herd. Anyway, he basically gets the CIA's secrets downloaded into his
brain. I know, it sounds completely implausible and weird, and it's not
exactly the most realistic show in the world, but it was handled way better than
I thought when I first heard the description of the show. There are a
bunch of secrets in this pilot (and others) that I refuse to ruin (the hows and
whys of things), but I quite enjoyed the mystery, action, and humor in this one.
Did I mention Adam Baldwin stars as an NSA agent?! Other pluses: it
feels very Josh Schwartz--Chuck refers to his sister's boyfriend as Captain
Awesome, for the obvious reasons--and the characters are all pretty likeable.
It's certainly a show that I intend to start following come Fall.
Grade: A-
Premiere: Sept. 24 on NBC
Pushing
Daisies is universally hailed as the best of the Fall pilots this year. I
found it to be pretty great, myself, and I think all Bryan Fuller fans will love
it. Lee Pace (the brother in Wonderfalls) stars as the main character who
learns at a young age that he can touch dead people to bring them back to life.
He also soon learns three caveats: he can only bring them back to life for
a minute, if he touches them again they die permanently, and if he waits too
long, someone else dies to fulfill the balance. Some childhood events
impact his future (current, for us) life: he owns a pie shop called the
Pie Hole, assisted by Kristen Chenoweth (!), and he has a pet dog that he can't
touch ever again, lest it return to death. Oh, and he also helps a
detective (who knows his powers) to solve cases. The entire cast is great,
the show is very confident in its tone and style (which are whimsical and
literary, very unusual for network tv), and it's genuinely funny and dramatic.
I really loved the show, but as the broadcast network audience didn't really
take to Wonderfalls, I fear for the future of this tremendous show. Check
it out, and we can talk, because I already have some theories.
Grade: A
Premiere: Oct. 3 on ABC
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