First Thoughts: Life

My enthusiasm for Life is only tempered by the fact that I know that the show will fail and be cancelled within a month. With minimal PR, at least in comparison to Chuck and Bionic Woman, I imagine that not even NBC has high hopes for Life. Which is surprising, since it's better than Chuck and anything else new I've seen so far this week.

I've been a big fan of Damian Lewis since I first watched Band of Brothers. Capt./Lieut. Dick Winters was the glue of the series, keenly touching on the themes of virtue and duty while not being stuffy or jingoistic. His scenes with Ron Livingston as the comic foil were some of the best non-action moments of the program.

So I was of course more than excited to see him pop up as the lead actor of Life, and he exceeded my expectations. Part Rain Man, part Monk... Lewis' Det. Charlie Crews is peculiar, partial to Zen-like nonsensical sayings, yet interesting. The story behind his odd behaviors is the 12 years he spent in prison, getting beaten up (prison-style) as a former cop convicted of murder. The pilot played off of his past quite well...and his ignorance over modern technology wasn't gimmicky...it was actually rather amusing.

I didn't know from the previews that Life would be more of a procedural drama, which brings it down a notch for me, since procedurals are usually television's version of Mad Libs. I'll be curious to see how they balance the "find out who framed me" plotline with the weekly crime scene procedural stuff. If they strike a strong middle ground, Life is definitely a keeper for me.

And my only other criticism is the lazy "documentary" interviews that were inserted into the pilot. It's a lazy way to present exposition, and it rarely works as a plot device. Look at Entourage's "Behind the Scenes of Medellin" episode as another example of a flawed mockumentary.

Show us actual scenes with Crew's former partner or his attorney...they do a much better job of developing character and backstory than a silly head-on interview can do.

Also...is Adam Arkin really this desperate? I mean, he was great in his role and all, I'd just think that he could get some meatier roles with his resume. And the MILF neighbor from FNL plays the lawyer...does this mean we won't have to endure the annoying cuteness of Bo Miller, the brat next door? Cause that would make me even MORE pumped for next week.

First Thoughts: Cane

Ah. First day of school...Opening Day...Midnight Madness...and the first disappointment of the fall TV season.

I shouldn't be all that surprised, after all, that Cane was boring and unimpressive. It's a soap opera trying to be like the Sopranos, but its on network TV, so it will be lobotomized and watered down. I should have called it, but I was blinded by the residual good feelings of Jimmy Smits as Rep. Matt Santos from the West Wing.

Actually, that was part of the problem with Cane. If you're going to have a drama about a family in a cutthroat business, then you better have some characters who are cutthroat. Hector Elizando needed to wake out of his Princess Diaries stupor and grow some business sense...or at least seem like someone who would be a hardass to worth with. The only character with any sense of ferocity is the "villain"...who is so one-dimensional that he's laughable.

Milquetoast is probably the one word I'd use to describe Cane. The flashbacks, filmed in sepia tones, even, were so poorly done that I thought I'd switched channels to Lifetime. The preview for the rest of the season made Cane look even worse...why they are fixating on the murder of Quinones, the man who killed Elizondo's daughter decades earlier, is bizarre.

While some people criticized The Sopranos for rarely having corpses come back to haunt the mob family, I appreciated that you never quite knew what would happen next, and that the Mafia operated on a different level of legality than everyone else.

If the Vega/Duque family are even worth caring about, then they need to be powerful enough to be above the law. Otherwise, they're as boring as watching molasses move. I'm done with this one.

First Thoughts: Reaper

So remember how I wrote yesterday that Chuck had the problem of being derivative and seemingly unoriginal? That was nothing compared to Reaper, which is pretty much exactly what you would expect if a lower-budget network like the CW tried to rip-off Chuck. The similarities between the shows are depressing and make Reaper just look lame in comparison.

Unfulfilled potential in main lead actor? Check (or should it be Chuck?) Wise-cracking sidekick? Check. Unattainable female lead? Check. Mockery of Big-Box stores? Check. Lead actor has unexplained mental powers? Check. Sigh.

I wouldn't have even considered watching the show had Ian (yay!) not auspiciously mentioned how excited he was for its premiere and that it was "one of the best reviewed new shows" of the season. And, its not as if this were Kid Nation and I wish had my hour back, but I'm mostly shrugging off Reaper as a failed attempt at a bizarre premise for a show.

The lead actor, Bret Harrison, does his best to make Sam unexceptional and uninteresting...and it strains incredulity that he would be uncomfortable around his hot female co-worker (who could have been Hillary Swank had she been attractive). Yes, it's odd that in a series about a 21-year-old (and Sam looks like he's 25 years old, because he IS) whose soul is sold to the devil, the part that makes me pause the most is the unspoken love between two of the lead characters.

Missy Peregym, the shapeshifter from last year's season of Heroes, is a fine actress...I just have a hard time believing that she'd be single and mopey. Hot people can't be sad...at least, thats what I like to tell myself.

The saddest part about Reaper is the missed opportunity with Ray Wise as Applegate, Beezlebub, The Devil. As the best part of 24's Season Five, Wise's presence was underused in the pilot, and I hope for his sake that he gets a bigger role in later episodes. The best role in Damn Yankees is Applegate...Good Ol' Days is a ham-handed showstopper, but the character is rife with opportunities to chew the scenery. Why not let Wise take over the spotlight wasted on Bret Harrison?

Lastly, the special effects were awful. This was one of the many things that confused me about Buffy's popularity...where the special effects struck me as second-rate. The scene with the arsonist was laughable in its melodrama, especially when you compare it to the effects from Heroes or Chuck.

What were your thoughts on the zamboni thing? I was cracking up at the audacity of it....but seemed out of sync with the tone of the rest of the show. If they're going dark comedy, with Wise as the star, then there's still hope.

First Thoughts: Big Bang Theory

Dorks are all the rage this season, or at least, on Mondays around 8:30 pm. Enter this scripted...er...comedic...er...sit-com version of "Beauty and the Geek" starring the second best part of "8 Simple Rules", Kaley Cuoco, and a few other guys including the Nicholas Cage impersonator from Studio 60. So, he's gotten a promotion.

Speaking of Studio 60 remembrances, the nameless, speechless Asian character from that show ended up on Chuck as a member of the Nerd Herd. And she actually spoke! Another promotion!

I believe it has been Ian who has said that pilots are often a poor way to judge a TV show, which is kind of like judging a restaurant during its first two weeks. I say that because there was a lot of repetition in the types of jokes told, as if the writers needed to browbeat the premise into our brains. I'll give the show another episode or two, mostly because of Jim Parsons.

He has great comedic timing and fits his character perfectly, reminding me of David Hyde Pierce's scene-stealing performances as Niles Crane on Frasier. Sadly, Johnny Galecki as Parson's roommate, is not very good and does little to build up the empathy I'll need to feel sorry for him when Kaley finds ways to reject him frequently, yet gracefully.

For tips...he should check out Chuck. Dork power.

First Thoughts: Chuck

So I'm a day late with my first post of premiere week, but it took a tad long to help a friend move, so forgive me.

We start things off with Chuck, which in spite of a full-speed ahead ad campaign that aimed to make a smart show look as stupid as possible (think the opposite of Studio 60), was actually very very good. It's my early favorite for the best new show of the season.

Even though lead-man Zachary Levi (Jew!) borrows too many of his mannerisms from John Krasinski of The Office (good) and Jimmy Fallon (unspeakable), he really pulls off the endearing and charming qualities of Chuck, which in a few words describes the show overall: endearing and charming.

The only problem I have so far is that everything seems derivative or it reminds me of someone else. Chuck's character takes the idealism (and occupation) of Steve Carrell from 40-Year-Old Virgin and the unfulfilled potential and sense of humor of Jim from The Office. His goofy sidekick is the pathetic (in a good way) lovechild of Seth Green and Jamie Kennedy. The CIA love interest is your typical blonde bombshell (see: Christine Taylor or Paula Kruger).

As for last night's ep, it set up the premise of the show rather well while still leaving many loopholes in logic...that will hopefully be explained in upcoming shows. Why Bryce picked Chuck of all people to send the CIA's secrets to is perhaps the biggest question out there. I do like the comic potential of having the NSA guy working at NotBestBuy, so consider me excited for the next episode of Chuck.

Score one for NBC's Monday night.