Tag / Lost

by jim

Book 4 (of 52) – The Revolution Was Televised

The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers And Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever - Alan Sepinwall

The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers And Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever – Alan Sepinwall

Starting in the late 1990s, as cable networks started to look to provide more viewing options than reruns of Benson and The Rockford Files and struggling netlets looked to find an identity in order to challenge the big 4, television entered what can only be described as a golden age of quality programming.  TV critic Alan Sepinwall looks at the 12 shows that blazed this new trail, garnering hundreds of Emmy nominations in their wake.

The main leader of this revolution was HBO, which aired 4 of the 12 series Sepinwall profiled.  Whether it was the goings on in Emerald City in the prison drama Oz or the dirty dealings of the western Deadwood or the drug-fueled and gang-infested streets of Baltimore in The Wire or the family run New Jersey business on The Sopranos, HBO showed that their “It’s not TV, it’s HBO” promos were more than just a slogan.

Seeing the success that HBO had with their scripted dramas, other cable networks looked to change their fortunes by following the same path.  FX was looking to reinvent itself and succeeded with The Shield.  AMC broke through in a big way with two hits, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the only two shows in the book that are still on the air.  Even the channel formerly known as SciFi managed to find themselves a hit with the remake of Battlestar Galactica.

The one place it is much harder to be revolutionary is on network TV, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible.  Against all odds, ABC took a germ of an idea from an outgoing network chief and somehow ended up with Lost.  The WB, trying to find something to air besides “ethnic” sitcoms, turned to a re-imagined Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  NBC also looked to the cineplex for inspiration and found themselves with Friday Night Lights.  Not to be outdone, FOX managed to turn what could have become a tiring gimmick into the long running 24.

Sepinwall goes back and interviews most of the power-brokers behind the scenes of these revolutionary shows and provides an in-depth look at how they came to be and the struggles it took to get them on the air.  If I wasn’t already reading Sepinwall’s reviews, I would certainly start after finishing this book.

by jim

2012 New Fall Season – Thursdays

Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week.  Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point.  They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.

30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season.  I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.

Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis.  I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.

7:30

Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring.  The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.

8:00

Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season.  Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.

The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last.  With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion.  Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.

Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season.  There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving.  While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.

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by jim

2012 New Fall Season – Sundays

It’s that time of year again.  The new fall season is upon us.  Time to delve into the offerings that will clog up the DVR every Sunday night.

7:00

Once Upon A Time – ABC found themselves a winner last year with this series about fairy tale characters who have been forced to live in the real world thanks to the evil Queen.  Last season ended with the characters remembering their true selves, which promises a new status quo for season 2.

8:00

The Good Wife – Thanks to the great DVR crash of 2012, I missed the last few episodes of last season.  While never flashy, this show is always solid.  The big problem in the fall will be catching the entire episode when football runs long.

Revenge – ABC’s other breakout hit of last season moves from Wednesday to Sunday as Emily VanCamp continues her secret rampage through the Hamptonites that ruined her father’s life.  This was a surprisingly good soap that delivered the goods last season.

Dexter – Speaking of shaking up the status quo, last season ended with Jennifer Carpenter’s Deb walking in on Dexter mid-murder.  To make things more interesting, former Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski joins the crew at Miami Metro.

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by jim

Post Mortem – Alcatraz

Alcatraz was hyped as the next big JJ Abrams show, post-Lost, along with the return of Jorge Garcia.  Unfortunately, the show focused more on the capturing of the Alcatraz inmates and not so much on the mystery of why they disappeared and were now reappearing.  Despite the charms of Garcia and fine performances by Sarah Jones and Sam Neill, the show never really took hold, leaving another mystery unsolved.

by jim

Post Mortem – Awake

Awake billed itself as a procedural with a twist, and, ultimately, that is why it failed.  The twist, that Detective Michael Britton lives in two realities, one where a car accident claimed his wife and the other where it claimed his son, was likely a little too out there for the audience looking for a straight procedural.  The audience that would normally embrace a show like this was likely put off by the fact that the twist was mostly used as window dressing.  There was no mystery as to what was causing the double life, it just was, and Britton just went about his business without ever trying to figure out what was happening to him.

At the end of the day, the show managed to alienate both audiences, and what could have been an intriguing show that scratched an itch that has gone unscratched since Lost went off the air will be quickly forgotten now that its small run has concluded.

by jim

Midseason Review – Mondays

Continuing our look back at the fall television season and what is coming up this winter.

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

I still enjoy the show and am not one of those people who think they absolutley need to get the whole mother meeting out of the way, but the writers do seem to be treading water somewhat, almost as if they are deliberately not introducing the mother, but they don’t know what else to do at this point.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

The show has gotten better, but it still seems to be missing something.  I do think Behrs has been one of the shining stars of the new season. 

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

 Continues to be a fun show that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  O’Quinn has been entertaining in his occassional appearances.

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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Thursdays

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

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