New Girl: “Pilot”
Ellen: How tired I am of Dirty Dancing being used as a Universal Lady Emotional Touchstone; spending all day on the couch watching it sounds like a form of torture to this one. Aside that obvious and embarrassing emotional crutch, I found this first show mildly amusing, hampered more by the endless promos Fox has been running for it that spoiled all of Zooey Deschanel’s character’s quirks before they could be integrated into some kind of plot-based medium. I’m tuning in next week just to see where it goes from here (and whether instructions will be provided as to the implementation of a personal Douchebag Jar, not that I know any of those). As to Deschanel, I’m neither ready to join the backlash nor the backlash-to-the-backlash; I’ve liked her fine in projects like The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Yes Man and even (500) Days Of Summer and am curious to see whether she can hold down the show.
Dennis: Between Kat Dennings and Zooey Deschanel, sitcoms are the hot new vehicles for actresses that are queens of quirk (which makes me even angrier that Parker Posey/Lauren Ambrose’s The Return of Jezebel James from a few years back wasn’t better). Deshanel was just the right amount of goofy in the pilot and hopefully she strikes the same balance in future episodes. I was glad to see Max Greenfield, who’s done solid recurring work on Veronica Mars, Ugly Betty, and Greek, finally get a lead role here (though I’ll temporarily become Greenfield’s grandmother for a second to wonder if he’s eating enough, having wasted away since his Mars days). I’m bummed that Damon Wayans Jr had to jump ship after the pilot when Happy Endings got picked up (even if I am a fan of Endings, and him on it). He seemed to gel well with the other roommates here and I am certainly curious to see how the show substitutes in someone else next week.
Zoë: My irrational hatred of Zooey Deschanel is not like other people’s irrational hatred–the lady has ruined my name and that’s not the sort of thing I take lightly. Especially after sitting though a silent preview on board a flight, I was expecting to watch this show, rip into it, and do justice for Zoe’s everywhere. Alas, the show is…ok. Certainly better than the word “adorkable”, the commercials, or the subway ads would want you to believe. Certainly better than I expected, given my general annoyance with the concept of “quirks” and Zooey somehow being an outsider to conventional hotness (she’s a brunette and she sometimes wears fake glasses, HOW UNUSUAL!!!!). But the “Pilot” has some generally good ideas–the “douchebag jar” and the main male members of the cast not being attracted to Zooey among them. Sure, the rest of it was mostly jokes along the lines of “ladies love feelings!” and “men love beer!”, but they were worth a chuckle or two. “Not as bad as I expected” is hardly a ringing endorsement, but for me it’s earned New Girl another week.
Robert: After breaking up with her boyfriend, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moves in with three guys and works out her heartbreak while watching Dirty Dancing on repeat. The three aforementioned roomies, Nick, Schmidt and Coach, do their best to maneuver around her whirlwind of emotions and eventually accept her when she gets stood up. Simple enough, right? I suppose Jess is supposed to be the focus of the show, but Deschanel strikes such an annoying chord with her that it becomes tiring. Part cutesy, part glum, Jess is quickly upstaged by the guys and their takes on typical male behavior. Schmidt is the well-dressed young urban bro-fessional, Coach is the gruff motivator with intimacy issues and Nick is anxiety-ridden over his own recent breakup, but all of them seem like less of a put-on than Jess, who is somehow smart and observant but quirky/ditzy/awkward all at the same time. When the funniest scenes in the episode are the ones without the main character, that’s a problem. Here’s hoping New Girl gels into something more rounded in coming episodes.
Armando: There was never any doubt that I would enjoy watching Zooey be Zooey on screen. I’ve always found her perceived aloofness and simple style charming. Her always “regular girl” persona shines through here as always, although it is played up quite a bit. Her comedic timing plays well off the typical male room mates. I’m a fan of the back and forth bantering on shows like Community and Happy Endings and New Girl has that same flow. I laughed often and rewound a few scenes to hear the jokes again (see: Lord of the Rings joke). It’s a season pass for me.
2 Broke Girls: “Pilot”
Ellen: With great fear and trepidation did I approach this new show suggestive of hipster jokes and a ’50s sensibility layered on 2011. And it’s true, the concept of “hipsters” as shopped by this show seems like it was scripted by a 50-year-old. (Hint: they don’t listen to Coldplay, at least that they’d admit to!) But 2 Broke Girls shows a hair of potential in the chemistry between Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs as coworkers at a crummy overpriced Brooklyn diner with (potential) dreams of bigger things. Will I be watching just for the ridicule? It remains to be seen. (As a New Yorker, though, Dennings’ apartment is still much too big for what she could get. What? I pay a lot of rent for that kind of expertise.)
Dennis: I probably shouldn’t like 2 Broke Girls. It’s from the guy who put the final nail in the Sex and the City coffin, showrunner-turned-movies’ writer/director Matthew Patrick King. It’s a “traditional” sitcom (who doesn’t love a good laugh track? Oh right, me), and on CBS, no less (I’ve never embraced Two and a Half Big Bang Molly Men, or whatever that show is called, but I was a supporter of How I Met Your Mother until the network kept it alive while it drifts further into lifelessness). But, I found myself laughing at this show much more consistently than, I have to say, Parks and Recreation . I think a lot has to do with the show’s leads. Kat Dennings has been doing her sardonic thing for awhile now and her delivery is perfect here. Even Beth Behrs takes a Paris Hilton-esque character who could be completely unlikable and makes her actually endearing. Sure, there are things that could probably get toned down (some of the characters certainly border racist on stereotypes), and I know people will take issue with the portrayal of Brooklyn (at least Brooklyn’s getting a chance to be misrepresented? Misrepresented Manhattan can’t have all the fun), but I’ll definitely be tuning in for week two!
Zoë: Unlike my esteemed colleagues, I hated 2 Broke Girls. Some of it was indignation over how badly they did New York (cupcakes don’t cost $7 anywhere in the city, the subways haven’t looked like that since 1977, and there are few places in Brooklyn where wearing a nice leather jacket would be unsafe). Some was shock over how much of the cast was just offensive, offensive ethnic stereotypes, from jokes about Russian girls being sluts to the Asian guy who can’t speak English to the “jive talking” “school in summer–no class!” joke-making black guy. Heck, can we even consider the cliche of the brunette being the sarcastic one a stereotype by now? But mostly it’s just that this is not my kind of show. It feels like a ’70s sitcom throwback and if there’s anything I really hate, it’s most sitcoms made before the ’80s. I can’t even watch I Love Lucy without wanting to punch something or someone. So, no, 2 Broke Girls isn’t for me and I highly recommend doing literally anything else instead of watching it. But if you really miss broad characterizations, broad stereotypes, and broads in a dated, odd version of Brooklyn, knock yourself out!
Up All Night: “Cool Neighbors”
Zoë: I’m a sucker for people being confused by babies and I’m a sucker for people just calling babies “baby”, so Up All Night managed to hook me with the pilot. And “Cool Neighbors” was a pleasant little romp, with some decent old people jokes and musical references that were actually funny (take note, 2 Broke Girls!) but I’m starting to wondering if the show is ever going to move beyond pleasant. Maya Rudolph was fun in her baby wallet buying adventures, but doesn’t really have enough to do to justify her screen time. Likewise, as much goodwill as I have for Nick Cannon from Drumline, he’s also sort of just there. Which is a shame, because both Arnett and Applegate have wonderfully developed characters and character-relationships, even from the little we’ve seen them. I don’t know how much of this is because of the Bridesmaids fallout and how much is just figure out the direction of the show, but I hope they find their footing soon, because I’d really like to have something to watch on Wednesday that wasn’t Modern Family.
Dennis: I’m curious to see how this show progresses. I really enjoyed last week’s pilot, but two episodes in, I’m unsure of whether it can maintain the fact that it seems to try to be two shows at once. I understand that Maya Rudolph had great success with Bridesmaids this summer, and she was always one of my SNL faves, but I’m wondering if NBC wanted to shoehorn a workplace subplot in so that if they had to pair it with 30 Rock/The Office/Parks and Recreation, they could more easily. I do enjoy Ava’s assistant Missy, but Rudolph’s character is constantly in danger of devolving into her famous Oprah parody, and was anyone clamoring for Nick Cannon, really? Still, I love Will Arnett, Christina Applegate (RIP Samantha Who, I still miss you), and Rudolph enough to stick this one out to see if it finds its balance.
Up All Night: “Pilot”
Armando: I don’t NOT like Will Arnett. He was great in Arrested Development. It’s just that these romantic comedy roles seemed a bit forced for him (see Running Wilde). I like my Arnett kind of creepy and off center. Here he comes off a bit like a dad in Modern Family (which I find a vastly overrated parody of itself). All that being said, I semi-enjoyed this, Maya Rudolph’d up and all. Applegate and Arnett work well together and Rudolph doesn’t mess it up. FYI: Applegate looks better and better with age. There. That’s my big dumb guy comment for the week.
Robert: Being a new parent is full of challenges and life adjustments, but instead of playing them honestly, this first episode of Up All Night gives us nothing but cliches and misconceptions that just never ring true. There’s a moment when Chris (Will Arnett) sits with his daughter Amy explaining hockey and having good “quads” but it ends far too soon because, as any father knows, the inherent anxiety with leaving an infant unattended for even just a moment can be amusing in itself. When Reagan comes home and finds Chris playing video games, she feigns interest to mask her disbelief while he throws every possible benefit at her to temper the conversation, but again, there’s no follow-through to see how those conversations really end. Still, maybe the worst part of the show has to be Reagan’s eccentric TV talk show host boss, Ava (Maya Rudolph), who totally comes off as a late (and not very funny) addition to the mix. Ultimately, Up All Night might be hamstrung by its own premise. Raising a baby isn’t exactly comedy gold, but if handled right, it can be incredibly charming. If anything, Up All Night only reinforces the notion that people who aren’t prepared for children, no matter how clever or educated or successful they might be, will be crap at it. Well-adjusted parents would never swear uncontrollably during a tender moment with their infant. They never freak out in a grocery store. They’d never be excited about being away from their baby to go party themselves drunk. I thought I knew what the title of this new series was referring to, but after seeing this first episode, now I get it. Reagan and Chris are horrible parents, and that has never been funny to me. At least the baby is adorable.
Parks & Recreation: “I’m Leslie Knope”
Ellen: Keep your Albuquerque, your noir Brooklyn, your streets of Baltimore; I spent my summer in Pawnee, Indiana, getting to know Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson and the whole Parks & Rec crew, indulging over a few weekends in the lazy pleasure afforded by TV on DVD. Imagine my despair when I couldn’t hit “Next Episode” at the end of “I’m Leslie Knope” and get to Leslie building her campaign, Andy grappling with his real life dreams (being Leslie’s assistant ain’t it) and Ron Swanson confronting that woman among women, Tammy One. This premiere set up the whole season, from the (I hope, only current) cooling off of Leslie and Ben’s relationship to Andy’s inevitable absorption into the department, but its take on the Anthony Weiner scandal in which Ann is inundated with pictures from seekers of “medical advice” allowed for a much-needed cathartic laugh. Even Rob Lowe’s distractingly bad haircut couldn’t spoil the fun. So great to be back in Pawnee.
Zoë: I had never watched this show before this summer and then I was in Tanzania for three weeks, partially on a mountain, with no computer or internet and I needed to make sure I’d have something to do. Enter putting the entirety of Parks and Rec on my iPod and going nuts for the entire vacation. And by nuts I mean rewatching episodes (hey, you find something to do at 14,000 feet) and generally falling in love with the whole thing. After that binge I was excited to see what the new season had in store and to experience the thrill of not being able to go directly to the next episode. Fortunately, what the show had to offer was a fantastic kick-off episode that kept the fun going while being plot heavy. Unfortunately, that plot involved crushing my heart. Look, the break-up scene was wonderfully done, hitting the exact combination of sad and necessary and hopefully and bittersweet. I’m just really glad I have a whole week to recover this time.
Dennis: I’m starting to wonder if this series is getting a case of Office-itis. See, I stopped watching Parks and Rec‘s sister show because it just wasn’t getting enough laughs per episode out of me (I abandoned Modern Family, Emmys and all, a long time ago for the same reason). If I’m taking a half hour out of my week each week to watch a comedy, I want to spend that half hour, you know, laughing. Parks and Rec is endearing enough. I like everyone on it so much (though I kind of wish the show had successfully courted Oprah for Tammy One, instead of Patricia Clarkson), and the writers have done a great job with Leslie and Ben’s relationship from start to finish. I just get scared that this show could devolve into Aubrey Plaza camera stares and penis jokes the way The Office devolved into John Krasinski camera stares and similarly juvenile subplots. I’ll watch for a little while longer in hopes that I can be reassured.
Person of Interest: “Pilot”
Scott: Person of Interest is a crime-fighting show on CBS. For a TV snob like me, that automatically hamstrings it. The knuckle-dragging proles like CBS, not I! I spend my days reading Proust and watching The Wire over and over again! But Person of Interest is also the first CBS show since Jericho to capture my attention, because it’s been developed by J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan, brother/collaborator of Christopher. I really can’t imagine a more literal translation of all those factors than the Person of Interest pilot. It has a great cast, including Lost album Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel (others seem to find him a black hole of charisma but I thought he was appropriately glowering and dangerous) and the beautiful and talented Taraji P. Henson. It has action sequences that look like something out of The Dark Knight. It has weird government conspiracies like Alias. It has a dead wife/girlfriend as motivation, like Memento/The Prestige/Inception/The Dark Knight (I would advise the Nolans’ significant others to watch out, because this is getting really weird). And it has… extended courtroom sequences and cops investigating a mystery of the week? Whaaat? DAMN YOU, CBS!
So now the battle begins. Will Person of Interest become the crime of the week show that CBS surely wants it to be, with most of its runtime spent in precincts and courthouses, its events tidily wrapped up with a bow at the end of 42 minutes? Or will it become the show that Nolan and Abrams probably want, with a psychotic vigilante murderer as its hero who gets his marching orders from a shady government contractor who either wants a utopian world without crime or a Cheney-esque fascist dictatorship? As for the pilot, it’s more of that second show than the first; those more conventional elements feel shoehorned in and take up maybe 25% of the episode. How that percentage grows or shrinks will determine whether I’m still watching this in October.
Robert: Who’s watching us, what do they know about us and what can they do with the information that they’ve compiled? There’s an interesting premise here, and there’s plenty of room for mystery, but what this first episode of Person of Interest seemed to lack was any actual intrigue. The idea of a man—in this case, a mysterious Mr. Finch (Michael Emerson)—who has access to a secret government project that uses predictive technology to pinpoint possible criminals is compelling, and when he tracks down boozed-out, ex-CIA operative John Reese (Jim Caviezel) to do the leg work, things get off to a shaky start. Haunted by memories of his wife, whom he’d lost ten years ago on 9/11 (which, by the way, with the recent anniversary having passed, strangely feels both relevant and outdated), Reese is wary of Finch and his proposal to let him be a post-millennial Equalizer, but he takes the mission out of his inherent need to do the right thing. It gives him a new sense of purpose in life and even though he goes to work in the least conspicuous manner possible—spying around with binoculars and snapping photos of people out in the open, firing off grenade launchers in the streets—Reese does find a new sense of control and starts to pull himself together. Sure, we’re meant to invest in the “person of interest” that Reese and Finch are tracking, but what interests me more is the idea of this experimental technology (an amalgam of modern day surveillance cameras, facial recognition, wiretapping, GPS location tracking and some highly-tuned algorithms…basically Big Brother incarnate) and who’s really in control of it. Watching Finch and Reese get to the core of that while negotiating their strange dynamic would make an interesting show all on its own, I say.
Community: “Biology 101″
Dennis: I really didn’t want to write about Community this week. I’m always afraid we give Community too much attention, and that it’ll fall into the “what’s so great about THAT show?” overhyped category. But Dan Harmon continues to make Cougar Town references so I keep writing about it. How does he know my kryptonite? Community is the master of meta, and continued to prove that with its Cougarton Abbey jokes, its season opening song, and its hints that this could very well be the final year for the low-rated gem (this episode’s soft ratings did little to negate that). Hang in there as long as you can, Community. You’ll likely continue to get Sodapop love as long as you do.
Zoë: Yay, Community is back! I am sure everyone missed every TV critic in America gushing about this show all summer, so get ready for some more of that. Because, save for a soon to be discussed issue, I really liked the episode. Frankly, Cougarton Abbey would have been enough for me to love everything that happened, but I also like the idea that this is the season where Jeff really becomes unhinged. Plus Omar! (Even though he did nothing.)
The elephant in the room is Pierce. I don’t hate that he came back to the study group. I don’t hate that Jeff may be the villain this season. I don’t even hate the idea that it seems that the group doesn’t care that much about Jeff (I actually hope they explore that more). But the season finale last year was literally about how everyone but Annie wanted Pierce out of the group and it seems out of place that now everyone but Jeff wants him in–it just didn’t feel earned. I can understand if Pierce had made amends, or if the idea of everyone feeling guilty had been touched on, but instead it just happened to happen. It then struck me as unrealistic that Jeff freaking out was enough to not only kick him out but also make Annie not want to be his friend. Because, again, Pierce spent most of last season cruelly manipulating everyone in the group and he was forgiven. Maybe I’m expecting too much for the first episode back. Or maybe what I was expecting is for Chevy Chase to disappear forever. In any case, musical number! I’m sure it will all be fine.
The Ringer: “Pilot”
Armando: Real quick FYI, if it weren’t for The Wire then Buffy The Vampire Slayer would be my all time favorite television show. Enter why I have such a fondness for anything Sarah Michelle Gellar. I didn’t know what to expect from The Ringer. The promos were semi-intriguing yet I couldn’t quite grasp what the show was really about. Twins? One troubled, the other evil? Where they switching lives? And if so, why and how could a television series be based on such a concept? BUT since Buffy was in it, there was no way I wouldn’t at least give “Pilot” a watch. So I did. I watched a story about twin sisters who aren’t big fans of each other. One rich, powerful, arrogant and a total bitch. The other, down on her luck and running from her past and the law. Pretty typical CW cliche, soap opera type stuff. Yet there I was watching. Every little semi-predictable turn. A ridiculously fake looking boat scene. Perfectly absurd plot developments that move the story and the characters to where they need to be for the series premise to be set in motion. Yet, while the cliche mystery is being moved along, I actually enjoyed Gellar’s performance of the two sisters. I’m sure I am watching with Buffy blinders on but so be it. I was hooked. I kind of want to see where this is going and how long they can keep it going. Even if I am not totally sure where this is going or even why this story should be a series. A movie maybe. But a television series? We’ll see.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: “The Gang Goes To The Jersey Shore”
Scott: Over the summer, the Sunny gang got more press than ever. Charlie Day become a budding movie star with Horrible Bosses, and Rob McElhenney found himself getting tons of attention for getting fat fat fat for what seemed like no apparent reason (he has since explained). Every year I keep thinking Sunny will start sucking. It should, right? How many years can this team keep upping the ante, keep coming up with hilarious and deeply wrong stuff to laugh at, especially as the hungry underdogs who started the show become big famous celebrities? But judging from its first two episodes, season 7 of Sunny has mostly responded to success by going even darker and upping its musical budget (the premiere featured “Pretty Woman” playing while the end credits scrolled over a dead hooker, and this week has The Go-Go’s “Vacation” played over a montage of summer fun like steroid use, toxic ham-eating and a graphically violent liquor store heist).
For some reason, being near water brings out the best in the show (last year’s “The Gang Buys A Boat” may be my single favorite episode ever), and ”The Gang Goes To The Jersey Shore” follows in that proud tradition. Dennis and Dee find Frank burning their family photos in a tin drum for kicks and decide to revisit their glory days as kids on the Jersey Shore. Soon Dennis and Dee find themselves scalped and unwitting accomplices to a string of murders, while Frank and Mac are stranded at sea with nothing but a ham. This episode gets strangely sweet though as Charlie finds himself sharing a romantic evening with his true love The Waitress. Though it expectedly ends badly, it turns out that one of the weirdest things Sunny has ever done is let Charlie be happy for a night.
Revenge: “Pilot”
Dennis: I was glad to see Revenge did well in the ratings for its debut. Writing-wise it is in no ways a future classic (well, besides being loosely adapted from one, The Count of Monte Cristo), but I think TV is in need of a good nighttime soap. Brothers & Sisters and nuMelrose Place got axed, Desperate Housewives is ending, TNT is taking forever to get its Dallas continuation off the ground, and the rest of the crop are either hilariously bad (Ringer) or getting long in the tooth (Gossip Girl and nu90210). And I’m happy to see Emily Van Camp (who’s done understated, and mostly unheralded lead work on Everwood and Brothers & Sisters before) and Connor Paolo (who played the most boring gay character ever on Gossip Girl for four years) get chances to shine here. There’s definitely enough intriguing mystery going to get me to come back for week two!
The Secret Circle: “Pilot”
Armando: I was expecting this to be nothing more than a Dawson’s Creek on One Tree Hill with witches. And I was right. Even the location it is shot in is uber Dawson’s Creek. super cheesy plot developments. Corny magic talk. Teenagers who are wise beyond their years. And not a single non-model looking person in town. Even the adults look like what CW/WB characters grow up to be. It’s all just so something I couldn’t imagine myself caring about. Yet for some reason, I’m going to keep watching. Maybe it’s the whole Kevin Williamson, Dawson’s Creek vibe. Yes, I loved Dawson’s Creek. That damn Joey. Choosing Pacey over Dawson. I’m still not sure which I am more pissed at. Her or Winnie in The Wonder Years not hooking up with Kevin Arnold. But I digress. Or maybe I just like the “autumny” vibe and magic cornballness just in time for Halloween. I don’t know. Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone this is a season pass on my DVR. You do and I just might wiggle my nose at you.
Castle: “Rise”
Robert: It’s been coasting on a nice steady breeze since it debuted three seasons ago, but after settling into the procedural rut, Castle finally tried shaking things up a bit with last season’s finale. Picking up where we left off with Beckett and Castle on the way to the hospital, the show then jumps ahead three months as usual to bring us back to the crew as they learn to deal with the new captain of the house, Victoria “Iron” Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald, in Sherry Palmer from 24 mode). Once the hotshot detective, Beckett wants to track down who was gunning for her but is ill-prepared for hitting the streets again. Ryan and Esposito take on the heavy lifting of working the cases, and Castle, believing that Beckett has no memory of his declaration of love for her as she lay dying in his arms, backs off to focus on his writing again—but not before stashing some important evidence in her case. Ordered to keep her nose out of it, Beckett persists and looks to Castle for help, but he knows it’s only going to be more pain for her down the road. In the end, Castle has the mayor convince Gates to let him back into the house and the team is back together again, but there’s a darker edge to everything now. The comedic slant of the show is still there, but it’s been put on the back burner somewhat in place of weightier emotions, including the final revelation that Beckett did in fact remember Castle’s confession to her, but won’t allow herself to act on it until she’s righted whatever wrongs that led to her attempted assassination. They’ve both become hardened by the experience, and it’s a subtle shift in their relationship, but one that I’m actually up for watching again.
Raising Hope: “Prodigy”
Dennis: Yay! Raising Hope‘s back! I’m so giddy it’s back on the air, and nestled comfortably in a line-up with Glee and New Girl. I enjoy everyone on this show so much. Any regular follower of this Roundtable knows my Plimpton appreciation is immense. Cloris Leachman was great, as usual here, mistaking a black crow for death, and telling it that it couldn’t have her until after it took Betty White (heh). I’m also digging the little seeds that the show has been sewing toward the possibility of a Jimmy/Sabrina romance. It might be a while before those seeds grow, but I’ll be patiently waiting.
The Office: “The List”
Ellen: At the moment when James Spader’s appearance doesn’t remind everyone of Secretary without a related word being uttered, it’ll be time for Robert California to leave the show. Till then, his hint of sliminess may provide just the right amount of friction in what has been referred to as the new Office, the post-Carell era. As to the new boss himself: I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the creators picked the character who most idolized Michael Scott and the actor participating in the largest to-date film franchise among the 6, although whether they will regret that decision remains to be seen. This episode didn’t move me the way The Office used to, but that can’t be loaded on either men’s shoulders; it’s just not the bittersweet delight it used to be.
The X Factor: “Auditions #1″
Scott: I was shocked that the revamped American Idol proved to be a hit earlier this year. I’m even more shocked that the show its former star left to headline is starting off as a big fat flop. Like most people, I think Simon Cowell is a great and often hilarious presence on TV; unlike most people, I actually admit it. But X Factor has had a rough go of it from the beginning. Cowell had trouble getting Fox to greenlight his choices for the hosts and the judging panel, and highly publicized problems with original host Corbin Bleu and original judge Cheryl Cole gave the show a sour buzz from the get-go. My major issues with X Factor thus far, though, are with the show itself (though generic British tool Steve Jones actually made me appreciate Ryan Seacrest for the first time in my life). The editing and look of the show is comically overblown and annoying; with all the quickly cut overhead shots, dramatic music and friggin’ helicopters, it’s supposed to scream “POWER!” but feels more like Michael Bay directing an episode of Hell’s Kitchen. The live audience brought in for the judging is a horrible miscalculation. The audiences in the UK version work because they’re polite and understand how the show works, while American audiences have been conditioned for decades to just scream “WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” all the time, always. Worse, the judges and the contestants go over the top mugging for audience reaction, making the whole thing feel like a cheap pageant, or worse, an even more low-rent America’s Got Talent.
There is potential here. L.A. Reid is the real deal, a music industry insider who can spot talent and whose dispassionate, straightforward assessment of the contestants is free of reality show fakery (sadly, this places him in diametrical opposition to the rest of the panel, especially the loathsome J. Lo wannabe Nicole Scherzinger). But until the show turns down the bombast considerably, this thing sucks.
Glee: “The Purple Piano Project”
Dennis: I’ve given up and returned to Glee more times than I can count (see also: Cougar Town, 90210, Gossip Girl). I swore (as I always do) that the last time was the final time, but then a funny thing happened over the summer. In the vast wasteland of summer TV, I discovered Oxygen’s reality spin-off The Glee Project and fell in love. It had everything that the mothership didn’t: storyline consistency, characters you can root for, Ryan Murphy actually on screen. By the end of the inaugural (and hopefully not only) season I knew that I had to go back to watching Glee if only to see the show’s winners (yep, there were technically four, or two who won long arcs on the show, and two who got 2 episodes apiece). The first of Project‘s quasi-winners (and my personal favorite, even if she was portrayed kind of bitchy, she was definitely the best singer and actor of the bunch), Lindsay Pearce showed up and sung a rousing version of “Anything Goes.”
Glee finally got a writing staff over the summer, and I’m hoping (why do I still have hope where this show is concerned?) that that’s a good thing. It’s kind of hard to tell from this episode alone. Certainly there wasn’t an over-reliance on songs, and nary a guest star in sight (unless Lindsay counts)., but poor Jane Lynch! How many times are we going to see Sue seemingly put her grudge against the Glee club aside, only to renege on that shortly thereafter? How long before Sue goes full cartoon villain and literally ties someone to railroad tracks? Jane Lynch and the audience deserve more at this point.