Ricky Gervais – Fame

I am a big fan of Ricky Gervais and I really like his first attempt at stand-up – Animals. It was slightly sophisticated with enough swearing to keep me happy. The second one – Politics – was very well categorised by my friend Iggy who said that there were far too many gay jokes and not enough about politics. So I was very glad to see that Gervais didn’t stop there and has now produced another show – Fame

The only major drawback of the new show is that it requires you to know the modern British celebrities (whether real stars like French and Saunders, or utterly annoying useless cunts like Jade Goody). If you are like me and thus a fan of the British telly, you should be fine. (If not, go and buy some French and Saunders DVDs.)

Overall there are plenty of racial (not racist, mind you) jokes as well as a few animal-related (read bestiality) jokes. I think this is an improvement on the second Live show and you should check it out. You do not have to buy it, but check it out.

State of the American Television: Thursday – Friday

There aren’t that many days left to discuss. And, thanks to American networks, there aren’t that many show either. So, in conclusion of these series, I present to you the last two days of the TV week. (This only works if you live in the States, as in other countries there is plenty of original programming on Saturdays. For example Doctor Who on BBC1 in the UK.)

Thursday:

Big Shots – another attempt at “rich people having troubles” genre. Even though the actors employed in this show are of a significant calibre and talent, this show is so boring it can be used as a lullaby. I do not want to mention ratings when the discussion is about quality, but every week millions of people cannot watch this show ’till the end. They just leave in the middle.

Friday:

Moonlight – a vampire PI. I am an Angel fan. I am too biased. This show nowhere near close to Angel in terms of quality, but I am willing to give it a chance. The main character is compelling enough and if not for horribly miscast Sophia Myles (What is it with American studios casting Brits as Americans? That is the third show where the female lead pretends to be a yank.) this show could develop into something entertaining. But do not expect this to saturate your Angel cravings.

Women’s Murder Club – a police procedural with the female twist. I like it as the stories are somewhat original and the characters are screwed up. But the particularly bright spot for me in this show is Aubrey Dollar. Her character’s unending enthusiasm and optimism really struck a cord with me.

And that is it for now. There will be more shows in the winter and I will speak of them then. Next topic – VIOLENCE

State of the American Television: Tuesday – Wednesday

Here is the continuation of the topic started in the previous post. The new shows on American TV and what I think about them.

Tuesday

Cavemen – one of the two shows on this list where I could not finish watching even the first episode. This one is so lame it is unbelievable. And if anyone really thinks that this is a sitcom… well… I had more fun when Arsenal lost the Champions League final.

Carpoolers – so far so generic. A sitcom (and not a particularly funny or even witty at that) about 4 guys that have a connection via carpooling and their problems. 5 laughs an episode at best. And that is being generous. Can it improve? Possibly… but don’t ask me how.

Cane – I lied when I said that I have sampled all of the new shows. I still have the first 3 episodes and I still haven’t seen any of them. Just cannot make myself. Sorry.

Reaper – I am a big fan of Kevin Smith and I can watch Clerks with a surprising regularity. This show (with the pilot directed by Smith, who then becomes a consultant) is a PG-13 version of Clerks. It is kinda similar to Chuck (airing on Mondays) as the main character works in a Wal-Mart rip-off as well and has a secret job (in this case instead of spying he catches souls for the Devil) but whereas I really like Chuck’s supporting character, Reaper’s are quite annoying. Also there is not much going on in terms of plot progression and the special effects are quite lame (it is on CW after all).
Wednesday

Pushing Daisies – as my friend put it, this one own a lot to Amelie. At first I wasn’t sure but now with each episode it is becoming clearer and clearer that he is right. Nevertheless, even though I hated living in Paris I do enjoy French cinema and Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain is not the worst example of the modern Gallic film. It is a charming story about a guy who brings the dead back to life but at a cost. This show is a good way to relax and just enjoy a fairytale but then again it can be a bit too sweet. And when that happens for too long you start loosing your appetite.

Back to You – is what happens when you take two very famous sitcom actors, give them basically the same characters (with different names and professions) and then let them go at each other. I have nothing but love for Kelsey Grammer, but I have seen all the season of Frasier and Cheers that are out there and I could use a change of pace. It is still funny but it just feels stale.

Gossip Girl – I was a fan of The O.C. (the two shows share a creator) and what I realised in the middle of the first episode of this show is that this is just another attempt at that. Only this time the kids a richer and even more obnoxious. And then I realised that “I am too old for this shit”. I simply cannot relate to this anymore. You need to be at most in your early twenties or to be a gay TV Guide reporter to enjoy this. Since I am neither, this show leaves me completely apathetic.

Dirty Sexy Money – I may be too old for rich teenagers but I am just the right age for rich (in this case filthy rich) adults. And in this show I really want to know what is going to happen next. And I do enjoy the cast here: from the immortal Donald Sutherland to the O.C. alumna Samaire Armstrong. Anyway, no show that is willing to use a real shemale to play a shemale can be all that bad. Can it?

Bionic Woman – I have to admit that in the earlier days when I had no broadband I used to watch my TV on an actual TV set. In those days if I was bored enough I could be seen watching the 70′s classics re-runs that tend to be shown in the middle of the night. The original The Bionic Woman was one of them. That one was a load of fluff and camp that was pure entertainment. The more I watch the new show the darker and gloomier it becomes. I have nothing against cast a former Eastender as the main character, but why does everyone have to apply the modern comic-movie formula to any re-imagining? “It has to be darker… it has to be more sinister…” How about “It has to be entertaining and not suicide-inducing”? How on Earth has the main character not killed herself yet is the biggest mystery of this show. It has a future and with the recent change in producers there might be some hope for this show, but so far it can be described in one word – “depressing”.  (And that is after they dropped the first pilot plot of the deaf sister.) Watch this in a brightly lit room with a bowl of popcorn and you might enjoy it.

Life – there is only one reason to watch this one – Damian Lewis. If you are a fan of his work, you will enjoy this. If not, then this is just another police procedural with a twist (a wrongly convinced cop comes back to work after 12 years in jail). I am a fan and I am watching.

Private Practice is a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy, and since I stopped watching the original some time last season the new version does not entice me at all.

In the next post I will have a look at the Thursday and Friday line-ups.

State of the American Television: Sunday-Monday

For over a month now I have been watching all the new shows shown on the American television. I am now ready to rant about them, but be advised that this time there my be some raving involved as well.

Before I begin I want to make sure that whoever reads this understands my tastes: my favourite American shows are House, Bones and Numb3rs. Those are the shows that I cannot wait to watch each week. My other favourites are How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, My Name is Earl, Las Vegas and Boston Legal (I am not a trekkie but I am a fan of The Shat).

To make it easier to place the shows I will go weekday by weekday:

Sunday

Actually, I do not believe that there are any new shows on Sundays (but you can always watch Top Gear, the British programme, which is not new, but brilliant nevertheless)

Monday

Chuck – one of the hits of this season as far as I am concerned. It combines comedy and spy action with a little bit of family melodrama to a most satisfying effect. The pace has slowed down a bit since the first 2 episodes but this is one show that I will keep watching. There are two aspects of this show that are particularly attention-worthy: Yvonne Strahovski is quite hot (while looking a bit fragile to do all those action scenes) and the other is Adam Baldwin playing a good/bad guy. This part is a rant: are those the only roles he can get? Firefly, Day Break even his guest spots on Angel and Bones – he is always a bad guy that is either partially good or pretends to be good. Talk about type-casting!

The Big Bang Theory – this is a half hour sitcom about genius nerds (not dorks or geeks, nerds!). It is well acted and apparently (from what I have read) the science mentioned is supposed to be true. The addition of Kaley Cuoco as the sexy neighbour is a cliché but so far it seems to work as her affection for the nerds (at least the one she is neighbours with) seems genuine. Basically this is one of those sitcoms that makes you laugh with the characters not at them. And sometimes it makes you go “ooooh”… For me- it makes me feel good afterwards.

K-Ville -  it’s your regular two new partners cop show. It has two ‘distinctions’ both of them have plenty of secrets and it is set in the still ravaged New Orleans. The New Orleans factor could be the only reason that this show stays on after the winter holidays. Anthony Anderson is about unconvincing as a tough cop as a fat black man can be. When he runs (as cops always do in these shows) you think he might have a coronary in 20 meters. This is not me being racist, far from it, it is me being realistic: I can see that he is trying but it is simply not working. And when your main character is not a believable one… It doesn’t work for me.

Samantha Who? – is the new Christina Applegate sitcom (no canned laughter), which has only been on for two weeks so this is one case where the opinion is not as final as it should be. After seven years of non-sitcom roles Applegate is back with a different persona (different in comparison to her previous roles on Jesse and Married with Children) – an amnesiac who does not remember being a bitch. So far the main laughs come from the supporting cast and having seen the US rating for this show, it is sure to stay, but I am still not convinced. There is only so long one can laugh (or chuckle in my case) about amnesia.

Journeyman – a time travelling drama with twists and turns and plenty of family tensions (for one the main character is married to his brother’s ex and has a child with her). I am unemployed at the moment and that is the only reason I am watching this show. The reasons for time travelling have become tedious in comparison to the first couple of episodes and the family stuff is just piling on and on. If this show goes… I will forget about it in a day. I hate using the same words but it is just too tedious! (Why can’t Moon Bloodgood choose a show that might have a future?)

That’s it for Sunday and Monday… More to come later.

P.S. Here’s another show that has become tedious – Heroes! There could not be any less plot development in each episode if it were a game-show!