Thoughts from the Media Room - Rob

I finally had a chance to sit down and watch the premiere episode of Rob.  I laughed a few times sure, but overall I thought it was pretty awful.  I found the entire thing to be quite predictable and at times offensive. It was almost a mix of Three's Company and the George Lopez show.  It really was quite a chore to make it through all 30 minutes.

It was good to see Rob Schneider back on tv, I really do miss those making copies skits. He was looking like he did on his days of SNL again and not like the hot mess he's been looking like for a while now.  Which then the fact that Rob is playing a guy with some serious OCD issues, I just don't find that funny. Especially after many, many years of playing dirtbags.

It's been a rough week on comedies, we had the premiere of what I thought was a pretty bad Chelsea Handler comedy, Rob premiered and then Work It got cancelled.  Rob will benefit from the highest rated comedy Big Bang Theory, but eventually the fans will get tired of jokes and situations that have already been done a million times before it.  

Thoughts from the Media Room - 5 Reasons to be Excited for January Television

We're a few days into January already and tv is returning to us slowly, but a lot of my cable favorites are done for another year, but thankfully a new group is starting up again. Let's see what's coming and what I'm most excited to watch.

Shameless - Season 2 - January 8th Showtime/January 9th TMN.



Summertime in Chicago, and the Gallaghers are back and up to the same tricks. Frank - after losing a bet with a fellow bar patron - is now in over his head $10,000, and Karen refuses to let him steal the money from Sheila again; Frank uses Liam to win sympathy panhandling, until the bar patron takes Liam as collateral for the money. Lip wants to continue seeing Karen, who is now attending Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings and in a sex-free relationship with a fellow group member; however, he is also preoccupied with summer courses, running a fighting ring, and selling pot and alcohol out of an ice cream truck with Kevin. Fiona and Veronica are waitressing at a local club; Fiona is seeing someone to get her mind off of Steve, though V says her new boyfriend is "a rebound" and "even looks like Steve." Ian is still working for Kash and Linda, whose marriage is deteriorating despite her pregnancy; Ian also expresses interest in attending West Point, and Lip agrees to help him with his application and grades; he is also looking forward to Mickey's release from jail. Debbie and Carl run a babysitting service in the house to bring in extra funds. Sheila is simultaneously trying to find Eddie (who committed suicide last season) and working on being outside her home.

Thoughts from the Media Room: I watched a screener for this one a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic. A very good start to the season and it's going to be a great one. Can't wait for this one to start rolling again. Makes your family seem "normal" doesn't it? But really, with the Gallaghers they are all about family and they'll do whatever it takes to protect each other. A fantastic series that should be seen by all.


Californication - Season 5 - January 8th Showtime/January 9th TMN



In reading a description of the first episode back, it seemed to give too much away, so I didn't want to post it, you can look it up on Wikipedia if you're super curious.

Thoughts from the Media Room: I watched the screener for this one last night. I forgot just how much I missed the legend that is Hank Moody. Another great start to the season, a very easy and often over used way of story-telling opens the story up to go in any direction they like. But really, I could keep watching this show forever. I really don't think too much can happen to Hank, he opens his mouth and bad shit just comes out. Another, must watch here. MUST.


Alcatraz - Season 1 - January 16th FOX



Few outsiders know the real reason why Alcatraz was closed. In March 1963, all of its inmates vanished overnight without a trace. Now, detectives Rebecca Madsen and Emerson Hauser are assigned to team up with an Alcatraz historian and comic book writer, Diego Soto, to discover the truth behind these disappearances.

Thoughts from the Media Room: JJ Abrams you say? I'm there. Nuff Said.


Being Human - Season 2 - January 16th SyFy/Space



Thoughts from the Media Room: I'll admit, I got to this one later than I should have. A very cool show, that if you're a fan of Vampires, Werewolves or Witches, you really should be watching. Don't let True Blood ruin you from watching this type of show. This one is actually good and good most weeks unlike another Vampire show I named just the sentence before.


Luck - Season 1 - January 29th - HBO



Sadly, I can't find a series description that I'm happy with. But you just watched the promo, you get the idea.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Wow. Michael Mann, director of one of my favorite movies of all time, Heat. Check. That's really all I need, you throw in the creator of Deadwood with a totally nutso cast like that. HBO. HIIIIGH Expectations. Looks fantastic.

So those are my top 5 January shows, a lot of great stuff to look forward to this month. Plus those great 5 we've also got: The Firm, House of Lies, Are you There Chelsea?, The Finder, Lost Girl, White Collar, Justified, Southland, American Idol, Archer, Touch and Spartacus: Vengeance. Going to be a great month.

Thoughts from the Media Room - Least Favorite/Most Frustrating shows so far this season.

In my mid-season reviews, so far I've already covered my favorite new and returning shows. Now it's a quick look at my least favorite and most frustrating shows to watch and yet I still watch them.




Least Favorite:

This for years has been one of my favorites, but this year; my lord, it was awful. The cast was boring, the show was fairly predictable. Speaking of predictable, the producers really need to mix up how they're doing things with this one. The players know when things are going to happen and part of their strategy is to use that. They know when the merge is coming, they know what's up with redemption island and they've planned their game-play around it. I say, every six days on the island, all the buffs going back in a bag and they get re-sorted. There is always new tribes, keep them on their toes and try to slow alliances since people won't have time to really make them.

Another one of my favorites, again this comes down to a cast that really wasn't all that exciting to watch, for the mast part. I did have a few favorites, but still. BORING. For the first 6 episodes, I think the people forgot this was a race for a million dollars. Another show in need of some sort of switch up, with this one I think it might be a little more difficult to change. But it seriously needs it. What's with only going to 7 countries this season?

This one, I took a bleep-kicking on twitter last season for saying I liked this and that it was a good show that people needed to watch. The cast was great, the cases were relevant and I was entertained. It was also quirky and fun. I don't know what happened in the off-season, but half the cast was dropped, the backdrop for the show changed and all of a sudden this fun show started to take itself way too seriously. It was like I was watching a totally different show. With that, I'm done with you. I've got a lot to watch and not enough time to get it all in.

BIGGEST disappointment of the season, well actually make that second. The biggest is coming up soon. But seriously, how bad is this show without Steve? We all knew last season when he started to get less and less lines, that this was a show in trouble. But we all held out hope this summer that they'd get someone great to play the next boss. So. To our shock and awe, they go and make the least funny guy in the office the boss and it's just totally awkward for the staff and for me, the viewer. Click.

Yep, the biggest disappoint/least favorite/most frustrating show so far this year, without a shadow of a doubt. What the hell happened? Budget cuts I say. This farm story was maybe 50 pages in a great/amazing/terrific graphic novel that has seen WAY too much screen time. This show more than any other needs some serious fixing during the break. I hear more complaints in my travels than I do about any other show. FIX THIS! NOW!






Two more frustrating shows so far this season.

I saw the preview for this one at Fan Expo last August and I tore it apart. But I thought, it can't be that bad. Well, it hasn't bad "that bad". But somewhere along the way, they totally forgot to render some dinosaurs and they made the show a family drama. If I wanted family drama, I'd watch Parenthood. I want Dinosaurs and I want them asap. I'm a geek, I know it. This show "should" be for me, but week in and week out, I'm just annoyed at the show and I'm annoyed at myself for spending another 60 minutes on it. I hope it gets renewed for a second season, but I really, really hope it gets re-tooled.

This one, if you've read this blog before you know I love anything even close to being related to JJ Abrams. I held out high hopes for this one. But in September after watching the pilot, I said and I remember. This show can be great as long as they don't fall into the weekly procedural trap. It took 3 weeks, I think. But that's exactly what's happened here. The last two episodes, maybe three have started to correct this with some sort of ongoing plot and the last episode before the holiday break was truly the best of the series so far. I just want to know more about our main characters, what made them the men that they are today. Let's dig into that a little bit more. Please.

Thoughts from the Media Room - Favorite New Shows

Earlier today I finally posted my favorite returning shows, now I'm listing my favorite new shows so far this television season.


First off is a easy choice for the list.

Loved this one right until the end. After my first viewing, I was stunned and not in a good way. I've done a lot of reading and I've started to come around. Looking forward to what they can come up with for season 2. Which by the way, will be at a different location, different family and everything. Except some of the actors will be back. In different roles. Certainly one of the most different television shows I've ever watched.

This comedy just might be one of the funniest shows on tv. I think I might have watched 1 maybe 2 bad episodes. But week after week it gets better, the actors have sorted out their roles and what makes them funny. Another can't miss for me here.

While I loved Rubicon, Homeland has certainly turned into what I think Rubicon was trying to be. Just some incredibly smart television. If you haven't watched this on Superchannel in Canada, I suggest you try and see if it's on demand somewhere. Smart, smart show. Can't say it enough.

This one, if these were in numerical order, I'd have to put at the bottom. I fight for this one, but wow, talk about inconsistent. I'm hoping in a few weeks we see some improvement. I don't laugh as often as I did the first few weeks, but when I do, it's loud and uncontrollable.

When I first watched Revenge way back in September, I really didn't think it was going to last. Turns out, it's damn addictive and you can't help but wonder what she's going to do next to the rich and famous of The Hamptons. Rumor has it, that the show will be moving back to New York soon. They can't stay their forever. It's just going to make this dark show even darker. Can't wait.

Thoughts from the Media Room - Favorite Returning Shows

So we're rapidly approaching the Christmas Holiday Break, New Years and most of our tv favourites are already on break and some of my favourites this season are already over. So I thought I'd take a minute to take a look back and see what I've liked, dis-liked and found just frustrating to watch so far this season. Also I take a brief peek in to what is coming next month that I'm really looking forward to.

It just seems logical to me that I start off with what I've liked so far this season. So let's look at my favourite returning shows this season. I couldn't put these in any sort of order as I find it just too difficult.

So here we go, The Media Room's Official Favourite Returning TV Shows:


Sons of Anarchy:

Say what you will about the finale, I know it wasn't that well-liked which I don't get. Sure it wasn't as good as its lead-in episode, but I felt it was a great way to end the season. When we look back to Season 3 and the next logical step that the SAMCRO story had to take, this was it. We've been wondering since the second episode of the series when they would (a) Confirm that Gemma and Clay had something to do with John Tellers death and (b) When would Jax find out. Super story teller Kurt Sutter went down the path and covered both and frankly he had me on the edge of my seat most weeks. As I'm reading this, I've quickly realized that it's going to be very difficult to keep this spoiler free. I will try my best to limit possible spoilers because i know some of you are still catching up on some of these shows. Back to Charming. The story-telling pace this season was much more even than last season. I should state for the record, I was a fan overall of last season. Sure, it was slow and quite clunky at times. But it was part of the story that HAD to be told, I'm just not sure it required 13 episodes to tell it. I liked how the story involved everyone once again, everyone had a part in the current plot and it didn't feel that the players were given something to do just because we needed to be reminded about them. The sideline storylines really were quite good and it showed us another side to these tough guys in leather. It showed us that they do struggle with what they do, day in and day out and that they're not just a group of one dimensional bikers. The story ended a bit clunky, but it has kicked the door wide open for story possibilities. Next season promises to be full of action with many groups gunning for our favourite biker gang from a small town in California.

Next up, Dexter:

I've talked to a few of you and you've told me that you aren't feeling this season of Dexter. I just don't understand how that can be. To me, if anything, Dexter has found his focus again. A few of the episodes haven't worked and haven't moved the story along enough for my liking. But over-all I've loved this season. Considering Tom Hanks' son is one of the villains, he's once again playing a very stiff character and I don't think he's taking the words and acting like that to add to the show. I just don't think he's a great actor. They've involved the secondary characters when needed to further move along Dexter's story and that's something they have always done well. We've been teased that Dexter is finally going to get caught and it was a moment that was as tense and exciting as I wanted it to be.  Since it had been six years in the making, it could have fallen flat, but it didn't.  I had to look away when it was happening.  The big complaint I've heard this season has been all the religious story lines. Too me, that's something that Dexter naturally would be wondering about. How could this God that is supposed to be so wonderful create such monsters as himself? How some people interpreted his words to do good and to also to do evil? I've found that to be some of the more fascinating pieces of the story.  You really have to wonder just what the assistant in the lab knows about Miami Metro's favourite blood splatter analyst. Deb has been fantastic in adapting to her new role in the department. The struggle she goes through in each and every episode has been gut-wrenching and at times very tough to watch. We've often felt bad for Deb, but this has been the most-relatable I've felt to Deb. I can't say that I've had a girlfriend that was a serial killer, a boyfriend that was attacked by a different serial killer or had a boyfriend killed by the daughter of a serial killer. So I can't just imagine just how much pain and shock a person goes through in those situations. But I think we all can relate to have shitty days at work and the difficulties we get from both ends at work. Like many of you, I was jumping on the couch screaming as the final scene in the church was progressing. Finally! After a few close calls over the last few seasons, it was finally going to happen. BOOM! What a great way to end in my opinion a good season. I’ve been putting this post together over a few weeks and from what I’ve read on the net, a lot of people thought this was a bad season of Dexter and I just don’t get it.

Castle:

Say what you will about the bumbling writer and his tough as nails Detective Beckett. This season has been fantastic so far, we’ve seen a new side of Beckett that we’ve never witnessed before. She’s not quite as tough as we had thought; she can’t handle everything thrown at her with ease. She’s struggling to deal with the events of last season’s finale and thank god for it. Earlier in the season I was growing frustrated because she “seemed” like nothing was wrong and I just wonder, “How Could that be?” There has to be some side-effect to the shooting, we’ve seen her get even closer to Castle and while their relationship is the driving force of the show. I’m just worried that when it finally does happen and it appears to be happening sooner and sooner. What will the show do next? I throw that thought in the garbage can for now and just enjoy the show for what it is, great entertainment.

Big Bang Theory:

For this one, I had to jump over to IMDB and read all the episode descriptions for this season so far. I think we might have had one “meh” episodes, the rest have been golden. They expanded the cast over the last year and it’s working wonderfully. Raj has been pushed into the background a bit this season and frankly that’s ok with me. His can’t talk to girls thing is becoming old and a bit one trick pony. These nerds are growing up(I’m not sure “growing up” is the right word here) and coming out their shells in all major ways. These aren’t quite the same quiet nerds that we were introduced to a few years back. Highlight of the season for me so far: The boys playing Settlers of Catan. If you aren’t watching this one, you don’t know what funny is.

Parks and Recreation:

A few weeks back I tweeted, don’t you remember when this show was awful? It’s come a long way, the cast has come together nicely to create one of the funniest shows on television. This season’s will they won’t they storyline of Ben and Leslie has been fantastic and has really pulled the viewer with all emotions. The Entertainment 720 Storyline didn’t really work for me, but thankfully we’ve got Tom back in the mix of Indiana’s quirkiest Government.  This one over the last season has become one of the can't miss moments of the week.

So, that's my list.  That's a list of what my week better and what I can't wait for and what makes those days, just better.  What are some of your favorite returning shows?

Thoughts from the Media Room: Steve Jobs, Apple and Pixar.

The year was 1985 and I was a wee lad of 8 or 9 years old. That's the first time I used a computer and at the time our school had 3 Apple II computers. They were mostly used for educational games, oh the hours I spent playing Number Crunchers on that baby. The next school year being the geek in training that I was, I had joined the "computer club", which was nothing more then cheap labour looking back at it now. But we did get some additional time to play around with the computers.  Then we had to disconnect them and move the "table on wheels" from the library over to the small "lab" area a couple times a week. Steve Jobs doesn't know it, but he changed my life at that very moment.  Like so many other kids, I knew that I wanted to have a future(play with these things when I became a grown up), these strange things that almost seemed like they were from the future.  I started when I was 8, I'm now 34 and I'm doing it professionally.  Thank you Mr. Jobs.


I was laying in bed Wednesday night thinking of his passing and just how this one man changed my life and the how entire planet functions. I got thinking about the first Macintosh in 1984 and what if that didn't come out.  How would history have played out?  That question then leads into what would have happened to Microsoft? Would they eventually have figured out that a Dos-based world isn't the way of the future, would they ever have created Windows? Would Bill Gate ever gotten past his "640k ought to be a enough for anybody" phase? Which then makes my mind jump to a big one, The Internet. Sure the internet was around before Apple released the Macintosh, but only the military and certain US Government departments were using it.  But if Jobs doesn't get fired from Apple and create the NeXT computer for which the first web browser was created.  What happens to how people access content on the Internet.  To quote Neo from The Matrix, "Woah" Think about that when you read this on your cell phone that has more processing power and memory than the original Macintosh.  Maybe you got to this link via Facebook or Twitter.  If Jobs hadn't laid the ground-work in the 80's chances are we don't have the two biggest Internet sites that changed how the world communicates in my generation.  Thank you Mr. Jobs.


I have an Ipod, I used to use an Iphone and I think my Ipad is one of the greatest inventions I've ever seen.  My Ipad has changed how I easily and how I can use so much more of the Internet.  The Ipod has changed the music industry, how we as a consumer get our music and how we think about music.  But I'm not a "Mac Guy".  My sister has a MacBook and she laughs when I try to use it as I haven't got a clue what I'm doing with it.  Jobs was a Interface and design man; the Mac OS is supposed to be so much easier and friendlier to use than Microsoft.  Maybe that's my problem, I'm a Windows guy and to get things working properly it can get complicated.  Mac OS isn't complicated to use, click the icon you want on the tray and it just works.  The MacBook has taken over the local coffee shop and is taking over the portable market, I can't doubt that fact.  At work, my clients are asking me more and more if I know anything about Macs.  The thing that always frightens me away from a MacBook is often the price, yes I know it's a superior machine.  I've seen it change many a "Windows Man".  I don't really know what's holding me back, maybe one day I'll get there.  Thank you Mr. Jobs.


Now I think back to 1995, I was in my last year of High School.  You were sitting in the movie theatre enjoying some lovely warm popcorn waiting for this kids cartoon movie to start.  The curtain goes up and from the first second you're amazed and entertained at what you're watching.  You might have realized then, maybe not.  But you're witnessing how "kids movies" are going to be made from now on.  Once again Jobs and company have changed the world, he's done it.  He's made computer animation life-like, he's made the characters warm and inviting.  You don't feel like you're watching a cartoon, it's a got a great story and you care about the characters unlike any animated characters before them.  The movie stirs something in children and adults alike.      


Once again, thank you Mr. Jobs for everything you've done for this world. 


Signed, 


Ant

Thoughts from the Media Room: Suburgatory

When I first watched the promo for this a few weeks back, I didn't think that this was something that I would enjoy. Then the night it aired, the reaction on Twitter seemed quite positive. So I thought it would be pretty good and looked forward to watching the pilot.  Twitter appears to have let me down here.

Premise:
The series follows a divorced father who decides to get away from New York City to the suburbs so he can give his 16-year-old daughter a better life. However, the move to suburbs has the daughter wondering if they just entered the world of The Stepford Wives after they see how 'perfect' their new locale is, right down to the neighbors who welcome them into the cul-de-sac. The series takes its title from the upcoming book by Linda Keenan.


These are no Suburbs I've ever been in before. Wow. I felt like I was watching a weird version of Clueless.

As I sit here, watching the cursor blink I can't even put what I just watched into words. Mrs. Media Room felt like we were watching a poor version of a Emma Stone movie. It was trying to be clever like other teenage comedy movies that star leading ladies. Clueless, Mean Girls and Easy A that came before it were critically acclaimed, clever and very well written. They were enjoyable by people of all ages because they spoke to everyone and anyone could relate.  Suburgatory was just awkward and the whole thing felt incredibly forced.

The relationship between father George and daughter Tessa felt genuine enough, I just couldn't stand the environment that they were living in for this show. Jane Levy as Tessa was actually quite good, she's angry and she's very witty and sarcastic. You could feel just how awkward high school was for her and just how out of place she was in this new world of plastic.

If these are the kind of shows that Cheryl Hines and Rex Lee are following their very successful turns in other shows, they are in some serious trouble.

It was a struggle to even get through the first episode, so I won't be able to get through a second and will be giving this a pass.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Terra Nova

Premise:
Terra Nova centers on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.


Welcome to serious plot-hole Nova. Dear ol' dad is locked up in the craziest maximum security prison I've ever seen. Mom hands him a device that can cut through "anything" and boom he escapes? How bout showing us some details of how that happened exactly? Then we're just supposed to believe that he waltzes back into what should be the hardest place on earth to get into. These are somewhat major events that we should have seen happen in my opinion. Mrs. Media Room tells me that it's more important that he actually gets to the "Stargate" then how he gets there. I say, Bah! The producers on the other hand just want to get us the viewer to Terra Nova and that I get. But come on. *cough Avatar cough* Speaking of walking through the Stargate, wouldn't there have been security EVERYWHERE with rifles of some kind, this can't be the first time we've had a runner. OK, enough about the details and let's keep going with this review. One last grip, so pops goes to Terra Nova illegally, they also sneak in an illegal daughter and then? Ya, exactly. No worries. Ok, moving on to something else now. Like, what kind of Internet connection do you think you'd get in Terra Nova? Kidding. Ok, seriously moving on now.

I really should throw in here, that I really like the idea of Terra Nova and I really want to like this. It's written for people like me. Be warned, it's not going to seem like that when you continue reading.

What is the dear ol' Commander up to? How bad of a guy is he that dad will catch him. Loved the line, there must be bad people here to catch.

The scene between dad and Zoe' where she "remembers" him was very heart warming and quite touching. Speaking of dad, his acting is actually very stiff. Of course if I was back in time 85 million years, I might be a bit stiff as well. Hopefully that improves over time.

Feeding dinosaurs like they were chipmunks at a park would be totally mind-blowingly awesome. Speaking of mind-blowing, it's crazy how far we've come in so little time. Do you remember when Jurassic Park came out, it was such a technological feat and how we heard about complex it was and how long it took to render. Now here we sit in our living rooms watching it happen on a weekly basis.

I've got no time for this teenage boy in love with his girlfriend from the future storyline. He's pissed because he had to leave his teenage love behind. Bla bla bla. Then of course he meets a girl in Terra Nova causing guilt and the whole angry at his father thing, way too predictable. It takes up time and serves no real point to the story.

The viewers thank the daughter for explaining to us how we got here. That's actually quite helpful and we really needed that because I had serious questions about that. She's like Hurley from Lost, this can get complicated and we sometimes need that help.

Why oh why would an assassin pull out the weapon on the other side of the market and then proceed to walk all the way across the market? Seriously? Maybe things in Terra Nova aren't as peachy as advertised. Hmmm.

Annnnd there is the cute boy for the girl who's nerdy to hook up with. *cough* predictable.

Space pirates! Or Sixers. Why would they break off from the dear Ol'Commander? What's he really up to?

Loved the modern vehicles in the dinosaur times, that was very cool. Just wondering, do they drive those through the gate? Do they ship the parts through then assemble them in Nova? so many questions. No real need nor time to really answer them.

The Commander is afraid you'll spill the beans Space Pirate lady. How does she have time to manage that hair in Terra Nova as a pirate? Why does the mineral they're farming for in Avatar escape me at this very moment.

The minors are making moonshine in the jungle? Seriously? Is it me or does the young lady look like she could be the daughter of Steve Carrell's baby mama from the Office? #justsaying

Ya, ok...so the Commander's son went "missing" a few years back? Should we start a pool that he's the leader of The Sixers? I really do prefer the term Space Pirates, it does seem so much cooler than Sixers.

Welcome to Terra Nova kid, I see you hugging your dad when you get back to base camp.

The Commander is tough, I get that. But every other security detail soilder is dressed up like they're playing in the NFL on a Sunday, shouldn't he have at least some sort of armor? Beside that big gun?

"Terra Nova Will Succeed" I'm not so sure of that.

I watched the first hour of this at Fan Expo and I absolutely hated it.  I've got major issues with this, as you could tell.  I want to like it, I do. But it's so damn cheesy and so very predictable that I'm not sure if I can stop watching. It's like a car crash that you just can't look away from.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Dexter Season Six Episode One

From what I've read on the internet and from talking people, a lot of people were very unhappy with the last season. They didn't like Julia Stiles and that soured them on the whole thing. I don't get that myself, I loved last season.

For those that didn't enjoy last season, you'll have no worries this season. For you I say, Dexter is back!

The season starts off with what Dexter does best, hunt! Not for anyone, not to clean up a mess, not doing someone a favour, just a good ol' fashioned Dexter cleaning up the streets kill. It felt good to have to the good bad man back on the streets doing what he does best.

The wordplay between Deb and Dexter while discussing Nursery Schools for not so little anymore Harrison is quite clever as always, once again Dexter is talking about one thing and Deb is talking about something else. All while really talking about kind of the same thing with us yelling at the tv, "When is Deb going to find out?!?!?"

We're quickly thrown into a situation in which Dexter is totally unsuited and totally uncomfortable. Sequences like this are one of things that makes Dexter so great, seeing him trying to fit in with something normal everyday people do with ease, but it's just difficult for Dexter.

We're introduced to two of the bigger guest stars this season, Edward james Olmos and Colin Hanks. Boy oh boy, we're going to be seeing a side of Hanks we've never seen before. Good to see him outside of his element here and it looks like he'll be quite good in the role. Of course it'll be hard for anyone live up to the ultimate guest star from two seasons ago, John Lithgow. Maybe that's where Olmos will fit in.

Watching Dexter try and play flag football might be the most hilarious thing we'll see all season. Of course ending with the classic line that means so much in Dexter, I learnt football from my father. With the vision of Harry cheering on from the sidelines.

Woah, the first kill that Dexter investigates is a doozy for sure and it's going to be a great season going up against this mysterious killer. In fact, it took me back to the first time we saw a murder scene from the Ice Truck Killer in the first season. In induced the kind of shock that I had back then, like it was my first time all over again.

Correction to my hilarious moment of the season, that was just trumped by "Stop Talking Dexter" You'll have to wait for the scene, but I'm sure you'll seriously laughing. Flashbacks to another season one scene.

Holy creepy Panther Mask Batman!

It looks like this season is going to take a interesting look at religion and what it means in Dexter's life and what it means to him. How he see's religion, how others see religion and how others can be manipulated with religion.

This season kicks it off with a great start, throws it all up on the blood soaked canvass and starts to setup all the major pieces for where we going to be taking them. I loved last season but I still can't help myself from thinking, holy shit. Dexter is back!

Thoughts from the Media Room - Person of Interest

Sure Big Bang Theory was great to have back, but Person of Interest was going to be my highlight of the night. The test screenings rated so high for this one, that CBS decided to move CSI to Wednesday nights. This one is from the mind of JJ Abrams and you may remember him from a small show I more than slightly obsessed over, Lost. So there was no doubt that I'd be all over this one.

Premise:
Mr. Finch (Michael Emerson), a mysterious billionaire, has developed a computer program that predicts the identity of people connected to violent crimes that will take place in the future. However, the program has its limitations: for example, it cannot predict whether the person will be a victim, perpetrator, or witness, nor can it predict when or where the crime will take place. Unable to stop the crimes on his own, Finch hires John Reese (Jim Caviezel), a former CIA field officer who is presumed dead, to help stop the crimes from taking place.

I loved this one, Caviezel always plays tormented so well and is a good fit to play a messed up former military man. He was intense when the action started. My only real issue with him was that he didn't question what Finch was telling him. Finch lays it all on the line and tells him what his little machine can do and Reese buys right in. He doesn't really start to question what the machine can do until quite a ways through the episode once he already was the man for Finch.

I especially loved how they told us how it was going to end and I still didn't see it ending like that. It was a great twist, Abrams has always been excellent at ending an episode, one of the best really.

I'll be back for as long as this one is on the air. Strange the camera kept focusing on Mr. Finchs awful limp, what did he really lose that day in 2001? I'm hoping there will be some on-going mysteries that we have to solve during the show or the show might lose some buzz.

I wanted to keep this one brief because I didn't really want to spoil anything. I hope you can catch this one on demand if you've got a chance. It's one of the better new Fall shows this Season.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Revenge

Another one I wasn't overly excited to catch this one because I never watched Brothers and Sisters and I can't say I'm a huge fan of Emily VanCamp. Let's see what we've got here.

Premise: Centers on a young woman who is welcomed into a community filled with people who don't know she's only there to exact revenge on those who had destroyed her family.

First off, Madeleine Stowe just excudes pure evil in this and she does it so well. You're quickly turn into Camp VanCamp and what her to pull this Revenge Plot off.  It seems many of the citizens of The Hamptons also have dark secrets. The show comes off a bit soapish at times but that doesn't seem to slow it down and the darkness of the Hamptons in this keep it interesting. Watching the pilot I had quite a few of those, "Oh my god, that person, you know, that person, they're in this?" The supporting cast has many familiar faces and they're quite good in this.

Some of the plot points seem to be a bit obvious at this point, but there is something about the mystery that has sucked me in. How exactly did the Graysons screw over Emily/Amanda's father and why did they do it? Who else in on the mystery?

While there was a couple points in the story that just had to happen to keep the story going and stop us asking questions. While it was only the pilot and things can be changed and improved. I think I'm going to keep going with this one because I was surprised by VanCamp and I want to see how she slowly burns person by person in The Hamptons. The one big issue with this is, what next? How many seasons can this really go on? Like many shows that we see on tv these days, they seemed to be designed to run for just for one season. Once they go past that things seem to quickly go down-hill.

Thoughts from the Media Room: Unforgettable

I was exhausted the other night and was just way too tired to get to Unforgettable so I was finally able to get some time and watch it just now.

 

Premise:

The series follows a former New York City police detective named Carrie Wells, who suffers from hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to remember everything. She is reluctantly asked by her former boyfriend and one-time partner to join his homicide unit after he asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to do the one thing she has been trying to remember, that of finding out how her sister was murdered.

Going in I really didn't see how Carrie's "superpowers" worked. She runs out to a crime scene and the victim turns out to live above her in her building. So she's got some inside knowledge about the victim and she was at the crime scene just after it happened. So Carrie was able to help with this case. But unless people in her life keep getting murdered how will her ability continue to help the NYPD? I just don't get it. It just seems so corny that she can go back to something she saw in her past and examine the entire room looking for clues. They do go to the trouble to make sure that current time Carrie is only looking at what past Carrie would have been looking at. Cheese.

The chemistry between Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh isn't believable at all. That's key because of course they were together in a former life in a former town before they both moved to New York at different times for different reasons. Speaking of believable and this part hurts, Montgomery played an FBI agent on Without a Trace for seven seasons and yet for some reason I'm just not buying her as a cop. I know people love Poppy from her work on Without a Trace, but she always seems so stiff while acting.

Speaking of cheese: "why did you come alone?", "She didn't" gag. Who wrote this?


Bottom line here for me is that Unforgettable is actually quite forgettable.

Thoughts from the Media Room: The Playboy Club

Finally the last show of the night for me, NBC's The Playboy Club. I wasn't overly excited to watch this one as it's been getting quite a bit of bad press and wasn't getting a lot of love from bloggers.

Premise: Set in the early 1960s, Hugh Hefner founded the legendary Playboy Club in Chicago. It is a place where fantasies clash with hard realities. But to those that own a precious key, the club can be a temporary hideaway. Step inside the seductive world of the Bunny, the epitome of beauty and more service, and rub shoulders with the decade's biggest mobsters, politicos and entertainers. With all these larger than life ambitions, there are even greater secrets. Like when innocent new Bunny Maureen - who wants to take the world by storm - accidentally kills one of the Windy City's most powerful mafia bosses and the only person capable of covering it up and protecting her is Nick Dalton, a man who once worked for the mob but is about to run for district attorney. Bunny Alice is married but hiding an explosive personal life while Bunny Janie is running from a past that threatens to catch up with her. It seems everyone has a secret - none more so than Maureen, who may not even be the innocent orphan she appears to be. Thank goodness Hef's Playboy Mansion is open after hours for a little R&R and burying your past.

This is the first of two shows set in the 60's and both are being called Mad Men inspired. While I wasn't able to get into Mad Men, I found it a bit too slow for me. Yes, I know, I wish I pushed through as Mad Men is turning into one of the greatest shows in the last 20 years. That's the big problem I have with this show, it isn't Mad Men. There is a reason why Mad Men wins so many awards every season, specifically the writing awards. It's written, very, very well. This past seasons episode, The Suitcase has been called, the greatest piece of television the past season. This isn't as smart, quick or witty and can't fairly be compared to Mad Men.

All this talk about Mad Men leads me to the casting of The Playboy Club. Eddie Cibrian is very Jon Hamm like, to the point I closed my eyes a few times and thought I was listening to Jon Hamm. Amber Heard reminds me greatly of January Jones, David Krumholtz reminds me of Vincent Kartheiser and finally in Leah Renee Cudmore I see a curvey-less Christina Hendricks. I don't think I'll be alone in those observations and I don't think it's a coincidence either. Don't try and sell us Mad Men light when you aren't even close.

I felt that the gay and lesbian storyline was forced in there and seemed to me that it was put in to give the show some meat and a heavier story. Then they could say that the show isn't just about pretty women in a bar selling drinks. We've seen the story where the man saves the helpless girl and they've got to coverup a story because people start looking into it. There is nothing new there.

I'm going to give this a pass, but I think people that haven't watched Mad Men, might, just might like this. I just wouldn't get too attached as I really don't see this one lasting too long.

Thoughts from the Media Room - 2 Broke Girls

Tonight has been a pretty good night of comedy so far. Started off with a couple of ok episodes of How I Met Your Mother. How many times can Ted say, "we'll get to that later" or "we're not ready for that part of the story" without me throwing something through the tv? Great ending of the second episode. The question that everyone had been asking, what happened to cupcake girl?

Loved the Two and a Half Men opener, I thought they handled the death of Charlie Harper with some class considering the difficult/delicate situation. One that Lorre could have turned quite ugly with ease. But enough about that, let's get to why we're here.

Premise: Set in New York City, the series chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their twenties—Max (Kat Dennings), who comes from a poor working-class family, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now down on her luck—working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. The two become fast friends and build their dream of one day opening a cupcake shop (for which they need to raise $250,000), although they can barely afford anything with the pay they receive at work, and must continually find ways to make ends meet. Among those working with them at the restaurant are their boss, Han Lee (Matthew Moy); Oleg (Jonathan Kite), an upbeat Russian cook; and Earl (Garrett Morris), the cashier. At the end of each episode, a tally shows how much of the $250,000 goal they have earned so far.

First off, love Kat Dennings, I am pretty sure I've said that at least once on this blog in the past week or so. She's quick and she's sarcastic. I think Whitney Cummings needs to drop out her show on NBC and just focus her attention to writing/producing this one. I've read that "Is Whitney To Risque for Television" There were several moments in tonights Girls' episode that I thought to myself, I can't believe they just said that on Network Television and I loved it.

The chemistry between the two leads Dennings and Behrs is great, Behrs can be a bit stiff at times. I think that has more to do with her character than the actress' delivery. I had to look up Behrs' page on IMDB and turns out this is really her big break. For her first show, I thought she did quite good and will only get better.

I wasn't a big fan of the cook, but I did like how he was used. Pop in, delivery a line and pop out again.

I wish we saw a bit more of Garrett Morris and hopefully we will in future episodes. The man was a genius back in the day on SNL and really deserves a bit more screen time.

Other than those two little, really little complains really. I loved it.

With everything I've read and everything I've watched about the new comedies, this just might be my favorite of the season. It will be a close race between this and The New Girl.

I laughed more and harder during this, than the 3 previous comedies I watched during the evening so far. Here's hoping they can keep it up.

Thoughts from the Media Room - The Secret Circle

Finally the last pilot of the week and I'm done. Last up was The Secret Circle, it was last because I really wasn't too excited to watch it.

Premise: Set in the fictional town of Chance Harbor, Washington, the series follows a California teenager who learns that she comes from a family of witches. Cassie, the main character, lost her mother in what she believes is an accident, leaving her an orphan. She quickly finds friends at her new school and finds out the secret of her family's history and the history of all the town's witches. But then she finds an old paper book which has another secret in it: her mother's death might not have been an accident.

The main reason I wasn't too excited about this one, was the same reason I wasn't too excited about The Vampire Diaries before I started that one. I was way off with that one. I don't want the show to be too high schooly. Thankfully the pilot wasn't at all and that made it interesting, they quickly got into the history of this small town and the families of witches. They got the ball rolling very quickly on several plot-lines and the episode flowed, very nicely. Gale Harold from last years CW series Hellcats, plays a bad, bad man in this and there is no hiding the fact that he's got something cooking and has some sort of end-game for getting Cassie into the town. I just didn't realize how big the conspiracy was going to get beyond him. I had to look up who played Cassie's grandmother because she looked so damn familiar to me, she's from Heroes if you hadn't placed it either. What's her deal? How much does she know?

As you can tell, I enjoyed the pilot, but that being said I'm not sure if I'll be able to watch this week to week. Thursdays are already quite crammed for me and I think I would get more out of this watching 2 or 3 at a time. That was my thinking until I looked up the next few episode descriptions and voila, it's about to get more "high schooly" and I'm not sure if I'll be down with that.

If you don't mind watching kids in high school dealing with high school issues, throw in some witch craft and mystery and then this is the show for you. I'm hoping they don't lay the high school stuff on too thick and I'll be able to get through that. What will be worth watching is just how dark this show is going to get. The Vampire Diaries airs before it and that show can be very dark, I wonder what the producers with the later hour to push the boundaries that really should be pushed. If you've read the books you know what it's all about and you'll enjoy the show. There was points to like and the ratings this week were very good. I expect this one to be successful, I'm just not sure if it's for me. Yet.

Thoughts from the Media Room - Ringer

I must have watched the promo for this one, 4 or 5 times trying to wrap my head around what was going on with this.

Premise:Twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan (both played by Gellar) have been at odds for the last six years and find that their lives are both unraveling at the same rate. Bridget, a recovering alcoholic and ex-stripper, is on the run from the mob after witnessing a murder. She flees to her twin sister Siobhan's home.


I don't want to give anymore away than that, because it quickly spirals from there.


First off, the green screen work in this episode was so brutally amateur it was laughable. I had read comments on Twitter during the airing about it, but I really didn't think it would be that bad. Awful. It's really not all that professional when the camera loses focus either. But hey, don't let that take away from the great potential this show has.


They made great use of the classic tv storytelling technique of showing you the end and then rewinding to see how we got to that moment, then throwing in a juicy nugget in right after. The CW is certainly stepping into some unknown territory with this one, typically when you think of the CW, you think teenie bopper type shows or should I say, youth oriented. This is a show that is dark, complex and very well acted. Not that other CW shows aren't well acted. They just aren't this dark and certainly aren't this complex.


I don't want to talk too much about what happens during the middle because I really don't want to spoil it for anyone that might be reading this. But the Ringer has certainly put itself in a great position with several story-lines that will allow the writers to go in any direction they really want to go with this. Each character seems to have something shady going on, hidden away, some dirty little secret that they don't want getting out. I love that.


After the promos I was intrigued. After the pilot I'm hooked and I want to see where this goes from here.

Thoughts from the Media Room - Free Agents

Next up tonight we checked out Free Agents, if you read my Wednesday night preview I mentioned that I have watched the first maybe 10 minutes of the UK version of this one and I really wasn't too excited to watch it.

Premise: The series follows the lives of two public relations executives, a recently divorced man(Hank Azaria) and a woman(Kathryn Hahn) trying to move on after the death of her fiancee, who discover that they seem to have an attraction for each other. They have a drunken one-night stand, but try to stay professional at work, where their friends will do anything to get them to re-enter the dating scene.


Going in I expected not to like this, but I was really surprised with what I was watching.  The chemistry between the two leads goes from very awkward when it really is awkward to totally believable when the two are sharing a very close moment near the end of the episode.  The sparks between these two was very believable.  I first saw Hahn in Traffic Light and later in Mad Love, Traffic Light wasn't crazy but she played crazy really well.


Hahn plays the confident type in the office but deep inside she is hurting and she's hurting bad.  While Azaria is just a mess, an Ultimate Mess all around.  These two are at the lowest points of a persons life and while only one half of the couple realizes how much they need each other to get through these tough times right now.  We all know how it'll end up, these types of shows usually get them together together far too quickly.  The quick wit between the two characters is what makes the show great and them getting together really will kill that.  Here's hoping we can keep things casual as long as possible.  But in the end I quite enjoyed the episode and look forward to seeing another one.  

Thoughts from the Media Room - Up All Night

So tonight was a slow night in the media room here, so it was a good chance to catch up on some stuff  from earlier in the week.

First up we've got Up All Night starring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph.  I've always been impressed with how Christina A has been able to break out of her role from Married With Children and go on to be successful with very different characters. Will Arnett, I'm sorry, you play a creep in everything and frankly you usually make me feel quite uncomfortable for some reason.  After watching this pilot I've come to the conclusion that I really don't like Maya Rudolph as much as I thought I did.


Premise:  Reagan(Applegate) is returning to work as a producer for Ava (Rudolph), who plays an Oprah like character but who's much meaner, while her stay at home husband (Arnett) raises their newborn baby.  


I've watched a couple promos for this one and I actually laughed out loud a few times.  I was really looking forward to this one.  Well, apparently the funny parts were in the trailer because I didn't find this pilot all that enjoyable.  Arnett still comes off as his usual creepy self and that really doesn't fit with the character he's trying  to play here.  I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry between Reagan and Chris and I actually found it very hard to believe that they were celebrating their 7th wedding anniversary.  It almost felt like the baby was a result of a one night stand and they were just trying to make this thing work.  Rudolph does what she does in everything but I just don't buy her as this celebrity talk show host.  She's apparently so successful that a guest drops a spot on the Ellen show to come on her show.  I just didn't feel that grandness to her character.


What was the deal with the beeped out cursing?  Is someone taping this adventure for an upcoming episode of Ava so Rudolph can discuss the difficulties that back to work mothers have to deal with?  These new parents talk about how outgoing and hip they were before the baby, but the swearing is just lost on me and I didn't think it had a place in this type of show.


It's a show about new parents that really doesn't bring anything new to the table and in this tv fans opinion, is horribly mis-cast for two-thirds of its leads.


Sadly, I won't be giving this one a second shot.