Premiere Watch '08: Samantha Who?

Samantha Who?: "So I Think I Can Dance"

The season 2 premiere of Samantha Who? reminded me how much I enjoy this show. Christina Applegate is so funny and likable as the mentally born-again title character. (I totally think she should have won the best lead actress in a comedy Emmy... Tina Fey didn't need 3 awards.) And, to a person, the supporting cast is excellent.

I didn't think that this episode was the funniest Samantha Who? ever, but it packed in some interesting moments: Christina got to show off her Broadway dancing skills, Todd had a bit of a breakdown, Sam and her mom actually acted like they like each other for a while, Andrea showed that she does have actual, human feelings, and there was a big dance number.

Highlights and random thoughts:

• Sam's mom taped Oprah over the home video of Sam's first birthday party.
• Regina: "Oh crap! Paula Drake! I knew should never leave the house without a bra!"
• Sam: "I'm not brain damaged. I have my own spatula."
• Dina: "It's the one night I get to be on tech crew!"
• Sam (to her mother): "I can't wait to put you in a home."
• Dina saying that Sam flashing the judges during the live nativity scene was edgy.
• Sam: "You just said that a Newly never gives up!"
  Mom: "On themselves! On each other all the time!"
• Uh oh, Todd's got some Sam issues, and they're boiling over. So, he says he held her hand while she was in the coma even though she cheated on him? I didn't know about that; that's so sweet! However, he sure didn't seem to like her right after she woke up from the coma--his attitude was not that of someone who had just been holding her hand.
• I think Mrs. Drake's dance routine looked pretty beatable.
• Wow, Sam's pretty good! Or not... Awww. Poor Sam.
• Dina's boyfriend: "Are you sure you want more light? Because I was thinking more darkness."

The rest of Samantha Who?'s second season looks pretty promising with guest appearances by Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development), James Tupper (Jack from Men In Trees) and Mary-Kate Olsen. Bring it on--I'm excited.

Premiere Rating: 6.5/10

(photo: ABC/Samantha Who?)

Premiere Watch '08: Life on Mars

Life on Mars: "Out Here in the Fields"

I've never seen the original British version of Life on Mars, so I can't draw any comparisons between that and the new American remake (if they ever make an American Shameless, however, I will be all over that, trust me). But I can say that, as a stand-alone entity, I genuinely enjoyed the new American version.

The show's plot is intriguing (which, sadly, does not go without saying when talking about TV pilots), especially now that we know that Maya's safe in 2008, but Sam's still stuck in the past. Why's he still there, and how does he get home? Would getting shot in the past really wake him up in the future? Why's he even there in the first place? Is he really in a coma or did he time travel or is he crazy?

My understanding is that the British version left the show's whole concept as more of a mystery, where as in the American version seem to suggest that Sam is in a coma and the 1973 world is all in his mind. But, I guess it isn't all wrapped up in a box yet, because it seemed like his actions in the past did change the future, and how could that have happened if it was all in his mind? Unless Maya ending up save in 2008 and his exploits in 1973 were in no way connected. Plus, that is one extremely detailed world to have been conjured up in someone's brain. Yeah, now that I think about it, I guess there's plenty of mystery still left on the table here.

The show's cast is strong. Now that Men In Trees is defunct (whaaaaa!), it's nice to see Jason O'Mara (MIT's Stewart, the publisher) in a new vehicle. Hopefully, ABC will be kinder to this one and not jerk it around from time slot to time slot and force it into lengthy hiatuses. Also, as devotee of The Cosby Show and A Different World in my childhood, I find it just awesome to see Lisa Bonet back on television. And I remember Gretchen Mol being dubbed "the next 'it' girl" years back, but I've never seen her in anything, so it's nice to finally get that chance. (Plus I'll admit that I already like her just because she named her son Ptolemy.) Oh, and the bartender was Mike Starr, who played Kenny on Ed! I hope he gets in some more scenes in the future!

One thing I really liked about this show was that modern day detective Sam really cared about the 4th Amendment rights of criminal procedure and the standard rules of police conduct--and the lack of adherence to those things in 1973. I found his advocacy for getting people lawyers when they ask for them and procuring warrants to be downright refreshing, because a lot of the time on TV shows (even those set in the present), policeman don't give a crap about any of that stuff (Without a Trace used to drive me nuts with its rule-bending). Unfortunately, it looks like Sam is going to have to adjust to the standards of 1973, because he doesn't seem to be having any luck in getting 1973 to conform to his.

Also, the show has a really fun '70s soundtrack.

Other thoughts and highlights:

• Sam and Maya were having kind of a heavy conversation while in the midst of speeding to crime scene.
• Well, it would be convenient for alibi purposes to have an identical twin.
• If he'd been listening to another song when he was hit by the car, would he have gone back to another decade?
• Well, at least he already seems to have a life carved out for him here in the 1973.
• The police station looks kind of shady...and grimy.
• He is not making the best first impression here in 1973... He's coming off a little crazy and ornery.
• No wonder girl cops didn't get any serious cases; Annie looks pretty ridiculous in that outfit (esp. with the hat).
• Ha, I was going to say: they showed math on TV in the 70s? Boring.
• Sam: "Who dreams about being yelled at by a closet feminist in the 1973 Policewoman's Bureau?"
• Wow, in the 70s, when the cops were in a hurry, they jumped over desks!
• Really creepy scene where it looked like Sam might shoot the kid to keep him from abducting Maya in the future. Luckily, that entire bad situation seems to have been diverted since Sam could hear Maya tell him that she's okay. So, did Sam's talk with the kid keep him from growing up to become an abductor, and that's why Maya's safe now?

This pilot episode makes Life on Mars one of three new shows (with Fringe and Privileged) that I actually wanted to see more off after the first episode.

Premiere Rating: 8.0/10

(photo: ABC/Life on Mars)

Wildfire: Preparing for the Last Race

Wildfire: "The Ties that Bind Part 1"

I'll begin with the obligatory reference to The O.C.: If you're going to give your episode the same title as the iconic season 1 finale of The O.C., you'd better bring it.

And, for the most part, I think this penultimate episode of Wildfire did bring it. The beginning seemed a little slow, but the last half was pretty bangin'.

Although I never want to be in agreement with Matt, I'm not on board with the move to Alaska. Alaska? Can't we find a "geothermal energy project" to work on a little closer to home? I mean, Junior managed the darn wind turbine project from his living room. I'm also not a big fan of people moving away in the series finale for the sake of moving away in the series finale. And I guess I'm also just personally leery of having to make such life-changing decisions on such short notice. The whole thing makes me a little nervous. Although, to be fair, Marin Frist moved to Alaska on Men In Trees, and everything worked out quite nicely for her (until ABC started to mercilessly eff with her show).

The episode's other big development was that Kris is going to bring Wildfire back for her farewell race. I should be embarrassed to admit how awfully excited I was about the prospects of Wildfire coming out of retirement. I believe my exact thought process was along the lines of, "Wildfire!!! WOOooo! Race him! Yea!" Yep. I'm 23. Moving on...

The army of people fighting tooth-and-nail against a Kris/Junior marriage finally backed off (with the exception of Mr. Davis), and everything else was beginning to fall into place with Pablo finally kissing Jean and Matt kissing Dani, when: we discover that Wildfire is not only missing, but has been stolen!

It would seem that the obvious culprit is Mr. Davis, Sr., since he acted like nothing but a world-class jerk all episode long. I mean, whoa, no wonder Dani's so down on the man. Firing Kris as Tamarack's jockey was just nasty. And then calling her an opportunistic ex-con at the bar was just ridiculous. Thank goodness Junior took the opportunity to cut his father out of their lives for good after that. Enough is enough.

Highlights:

• So Tamarack's good enough for the Kentucky Derby, huh? Sweet.
• Matt's determination to enter Flame in races he's ill-suited for made me very nervous. You can't make those kind of mistakes in a world where horses die from broken legs.
• Geothermal energy projects are the new wind turbines.
• Matt is acting like a jerk, but to be fair, he keeps getting worse and worse news thrown at him--first Kris and Junior are dating, then they're engaged, then they're getting married imminently, now they're moving to Alaska... That is a lot to take in.
• No, Matt, I don't think Kris moving to Alaska is the stupidest thing you've ever heard. Unless you can't hear the crap that's coming out of your own mouth half the time.
• Wait, Junior's mom and Dani's mom are not the same person? Whoa, more back story I don't know about. I keep getting confused and thinking that Dani is older than Junior.
• Kris: "I can taste the turf on Churchill Downs I want it so badly." Eew.
• The look Pablo gave Matt when he snapped at Dani was funny.
• I'd say it's always a triumph if a show can get by with writing a scene in which, for several minutes, the characters do nothing but yell, "Go [title of the show]! Yea [title of the show]!" I'm having a hard time coming up with other shows that could pull that off. Veronica Mars maybe, but it would have been a weird moment.
• Hey, (speaking of Veronica Mars...) it's the "All My Life" lady! Her name is apparently Lissie, although the song is listed under DJ Harry on my iPod.
• Just when I was thinking that they were doing a pretty good job to hiding real life Dani's pregnancy, she showed up at the bar looking rather pregnant. It's a little disconcerting watching her "drink" alcoholic beverages.
• So there's no age limit for the horses in this race?
• Junior: "I'm laying down the law: no swan napkins and plenty of barbecue." (Ha! His dislike of the swan napkins was one of the highlights of the season, I think.)
• Whoa, Matt and Junior just made a truce? Matt is listening to reason? Wha?
• Hey! Pablo finally kissed Jean! It's about freaking time.
• Matt: "Look! Mom and, uh, Pablo. Pablo!"
  Dani: "Oh, Matt, everyone knows, honey."
• Now Matt and Dani are kissing too! I do rather like them together, actually.
• Junior: "Do you think I can change my name to Furlow? I'm not really loving being a Davis anymore."

  Kris: "Well, Furlows aren't really role models either."

Ok, next week all we've got to do is get Wildfire back, win the Tucker Stakes, and get Kris and Junior married. Let's do it, Team Raintree.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Premiere Watch '07: Round Up!!!

Well, I'm exhausted. Who knew that blogging about television could be so tiring ;-) It sure didn't help matters that there are now about a billion shows that I wanted to a least sample this season. Here are my rankings for the first episodes of almost everything a whole lot of new and returning shows (scale of 1 to 10):

Pilots:

• Pushing Daisies...............9.5
• Reaper..............................8.5
• Chuck...............................8.0
• Gossip Girl.......................7.5
• Dirty Sexy Money..........7.0
• Samantha Who?..............7.0
• Aliens in America............7.0
• Moonlight.........................6.5
• Kid Nation........................6.5
• Private Practice...............5.0
• Big Shots...........................2.5
• Viva Laughlin...................1.0

Returning Series:

• The Office.........................8.0
• 30 Rock.............................8.0
• Ugly Betty.........................7.5
• Grey's Anatomy...............7.0
• Brothers and Sisters........6.0
• Men In Trees....................6.0
• Heroes................................5.5
• Desperate Housewives....5.0

Whew. It seems like no sooner did we wade through all the premieres, than it's time for November Sweeps! Oh well, bring on the weddings, births, deaths, surprise pregancies, etc....

Premiere Watch '07: Men In Trees

Men In Trees:
It's amazing how many "previously on Men In Trees..." scenes they have to show after being off the air for 8 months.

Hey, Sarah's kid is back...and he's a little dopey. You'd think growing up in Alaska would have made him a little tougher.

Marin sure gets herself in some crappy situations here in Alaska. It seems she finds herself lost in the woods in the midst of some sort of natural disaster every other week.

Marin can be so pathetic sometimes... Trying to pull a tree out of the ground? Please. I know it's just one of those aggressive, hyper-literal Men In Trees metaphors, but this one's a little silly.

Why wasn't Cash holding on to Marin while they were wandering through the woods in a very low visibility environment?

How does Annie find such cool shoes in Elmo, Alaska? I can't find cool shoes in Pennsylvania, for frak's sake.

Patrick: "Maybe there are some things we need to work on...like not yelling at little boys."

Whoa, that little nod at the end between Cash and Jack almost made it look like they are a little into each other... Hmm...

It felt like this episode contained a lot of filler, but that's understandable because they had to write a new episode to "reintroduce" us to the show after such a long hiatus. I'm still excited to see the last year's unaired episodes--I'm sure they'll be a lot going on in them.

Premiere Rating: 6.0 / 10

2007 Fall Outlook

I'm going to have a lot of television on my plate this fall. Even though three of my favorite shows ever (The OC, Gilmore Girls, and Veronica Mars) were canceled last season, there are still about a million shows that I want to watch. Actually, I'm planning to check out 23 shows this fall. Even I think that's excessive.

Something's gotta give at some point though. Right? Thankfully, Damages is going to wrap up its first season in October, but if everything on this list is still going strong by the time Lost, Kyle XY, Monk, Greek, and Psych come back, I'm going to be screwed.

I'm most excited to see the pilots of all the new shows because we've been hearing about them for almost six months now! It's go time!

The following is a list of shows that I plan on watching (or at least monitoring). I also included a ranking (high, medium, or low) of how excited I am to have each (so far unpremiered) show back.

Sunday:
Desperate Housewives (low), Brothers and Sisters (low)

Monday:

Chuck (high), Heroes (medium -- escaping "low" only because of the addition of David Anders and Kristen Bell to the cast), Aliens in America (medium), Samantha Who? (medium)

Tuesday:

Beauty and the Geek, Reaper (high), Bones (medium), Damages

Wednesday:
Pushing Daisies (high), Private Practice (low), Dirty Sexy Money (high), Gossip Girl, Kid Nation

Thursday:

30 Rock (high), The Office (high), Ugly Betty (medium), Grey's Anatomy (low), Smallville (medium), Without a Trace (low)

Friday:

Moonlight (medium), Men In Trees (medium)

Yikes. And this list doesn't include Viva Laughlin, which I want to watch because it is supposed to be ridiculous and terrible, and Big Shots, which I will try (due to allegiance to Michael Vartan) to watch at least once even though it looks awful.

Hmm. I guess it's good that I really don't have anything else to do...

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (a.k.a. It's a Man's World)

Mad Men:

Hmm. Well, I've be reading and hearing such great things about AMC's first original series Mad Men that I was pretty excited to check it out tonight. And I don't know. It was very well made--the periodness was impeccable and the cinematography was lovely. But the whole thing just didn't suck me in as much as it apparently should have. I don't know. Could it be that watching people brainstorm about advertising campaigns just isn't the most exciting thing in the world? And that it's still not particularly interesting even if you make them all chauvinist jerks?

I guess considering all the hype, I was expecting the pilot to jump out of the screen and grab me, and it didn't. Watching it wasn't particularly enjoyable. I don't think I liked any of the characters and they weren't really the kind of "psychotic jackasses" that you love to hate either. Oh, and as soon as Dennis Martino/Gaby's mayor husband shows up in something, that's a huge strike in my book.

The big development at the end that the main guy had a wife and kids was not particularly surprising. And they were sure hitting the fact that the one guy was closeted and gay really, really hard. I would imagine that one would be better at hiding things like that if one lived in such an intolerant society. He was being so obvious that the other characters just looked stupid for not picking up on it. And women weren't considered equals and treated like crap. Ok, we get it.

I did want to like it. There were some good things: There were some moderately funny parts. (However, the "Freud, you say? What agency does he work for?" line would have been soooo much funnier if delivered in a Veronica Mars-like manner.) It was like a history lesson (wait, is that good or bad?). The opening credits were nice. The slutty secretary in the green dress had pretty hair.

Yep. That's all I got.

While I was watching it, I wished I was watching the Men In Trees rerun. Does that mean I'm shallow? Or does it just mean that I don't hate women? Or does it mean that John Tupper is just way hotter than all Mad Men's guys with suits and slicked back hair combined?

30 Rock:

Hahahahaha. The receptionist girl wants to name her baby "Bookcase."

The Office:

I love that even Michael Scott came to the conclusion that Ben Franklin is "kind of a sleaze-bag." That's what I've always thought.

The Best of the 2006-2007 TV Season!!!

Most Shocking Moments:
"Through the Looking Glass" Lost -- We find out that Jack and Kate both make it off the island in a "game-changing" flash forward.

"In or Out" Ugly Betty -- The mysterious veiled figure is revealed to be not Fey Sommers as expected, but Alex Meade, post gender reassignment surgery!

Funniest Moments:
"The Return" The Office -- Jim and Pam hide Andy's cell phone in the ceiling, causing him to freak out and punch the wall. "That.....was an over-reaction." Yes, Andy Bernard, but it was a hilarious over-reaction.

"Beach Games" The Office -- Andy Bernard falls into the river wearing a blow-up sumo wrestling suit and floats away. Physical comedy at it's best.

"Gay Witch Hunt" The Office -- In the season three pilot, we see a quick flash of Roy's DUI mugshot... and he's a huge mess.

"Swag" Ugly Betty -- When Bradford finds out that Wilhelmina has been charging personal expenses to the magazine like, say, her "butt lift," she responds, "Well, good luck returning my ass!"

Funniest Characters:
Andy Bernard, The Office -- He's just a Cornell graduate trying to take over the world using three sure-fire tactics: name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a hand shake. As he is responsible for two of my Funniest Moments of the season, it doesn't take a degree from Cornell to conclude that Andy belongs in this category.

Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock -- I have an unnatural love for Tracy Morgan. Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, including: his belief that vampires are the best golfers but we'll never know it, his admission that he steals dogs and does the robot backwards into Starbucks, his discovery of anagrams, and "the manatee becomes the mentor."

Justin and Marc, Ugly Betty -- Both the youth who loves jazz hands and the cattiest personal assistant at Mode stole every scene they were in this season.

Dick Casablancas, Veronica Mars -- It's funny. In college I came across literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of boys who act just like Dick Casablancas and couldn't stand them at all. Yet I love this guy. I love how he's an unapologetic himbo and always ready and willing to say something wildly inappropriate. How amusing people like this are when you personally don't have to deal with them.

Best Performances in a Drama:
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy -- Although her acting chops aren't usually the ones people mention when talking Grey's, Ellen really brought it this season. She was especially fantastic in the episode where Ellis miraculously becomes lucid. Watching the look on Meredith face when her mother complains that she's ordinary is like getting kicked in the stomach and Pompeo nailed the confrontational speech and subsequent realization that her mother's Alzheimer's is back. And, showing her range, pre-appendectomy drugged-up Meredith was a riot early in the season and a breath of fresh air in the over-drama that was the third season of Grey's.

T.R. Knight, Grey's Anatomy -- T.R. may not have had the best material to work with this season (even though he leveraged his gayness to get better plots according to Crazy Isaiah Story #3), but he absolutely nailed what he got. His ability to thrive in the extremely drawn-out story line about Burke's hand and the torturous Gizzie scenes proves his value to this show.

Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters -- We like her! We really, really like her! Sally was spot-on throughout the season as Nora, the glue that held the Walkers and this show together. She excelled in both the dramatic moments of dealing with her late-husband's infidelity (the late-night swim comes to mind) and the comedic moments (like the food fight with the mistress) that were my favorite part of the show.

Best Episodes:
"Spit and Eggs" Veronica Mars -- Veronica solves the case and quickly becomes the target of the psycho-villain. It's a cliche on this show for a reason. Making this time even more exciting, Veronica ran frantically down a hallway to dance music, a la vintage Alias. If only all rapists got stabbed by a unicorn horn. Add a crazy Piznarski dance, Wallace talking about "pity balloons," some classic Mac, and Logan smashing a cop car to get in jail to beat the living daylights out of Mercer and you've got one of the best hours of TV this year.

"The Bitch is Back" Veronica Mars -- "After all these years, do you not instinctively fear me?" Veronica asks, and if we didn't, we sure do now. Do not mess with V. In the series' last ep, Veronica goes after the people who posted a sex tape of her on the web, and with friends like Wallace, Weevil, and Logan to mess up cars, go undercover into secret societies, and punch mobsters, she's going to take the bad guys down. And don't forget Keith, whose attempt to cover for his daughter results in the two of them becoming the outcasts they were when the series began. That's called coming full circle, kids, but it's a shame that the CW canceled this amazing show with so much story left to tell.

"Through the Looking Glass" Lost -- It's a flash forward! Whoa! And even though Future Jack seems even more depressed that Present Jack and Past Jack, this episode was one of the best of the year thanks to Sayid snapping an Other's neck with his feet, Hurley and his van saving the day, Sawyer avenging Walt, Charlie's Alias Season 1 finale-esque drowning, the obscured newspaper clipping, the funeral parlor anagram, the mystery man in the coffin, and Kate and Jack's clandestine meeting. Oh, the Alice in Wonderland reference in the episode title is pretty darn cool too.

"Company Man" Heroes -- Heroes really found its stride in this episode, narrowing its focus to the events taking place in the Bennet house as several heroes clash together. Some Lost-style story telling gives us new insights into Noah Bennet's character and he has the Haitian erase his memory to protect Claire Bear.

"The End's Not Near, It's Here" The O.C. -- I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The O.C. rocked it's series finale. The saying good-bye to the Cohen house, the Seth/Ryan hug, the new baby Cohen, the new old house in Berkeley, the few acknowledgements that Marissa Cooper existed and that we loved her, the Julie Cooper college graduation, the Seth/Summer wedding, and the architect Ryan helping out a kid all combined for the perfect ending to one of the coolest shows ever.

Best New Shows:
Heroes, Men In Trees, 30 Rock

Best Comedy:
The Office