I usually like to watch at least two episodes of a new show before really passing judgement on it. Pilots need to do a lot in terms of introducing the world and the characters and the tone of the show and isn't always a good indicator of what the show is going to be week in and week out. So here's how I feel about this fall's crop of new shows now that we're a few weeks in.
2 Broke Girls - Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs have really great chemistry and I think watching the relationship between Max and Caroline develop will be really fun. The problem is that the rest of the show is kind of awful. The supporting characters are all caricatures, almost bordering on offensive, and the jokes are...bad. They're mean, or dated, or just stupid. I like that there's a bit of a trajectory for the show with the cupcake business but even that concept feels a bit tired.
Status: On notice.
New Girl - Despite a cast member change (Coach is out, Winston is in), the show we saw in the second and third episodes was pretty consistent with what we saw in the pilot. Whether you like this show is still basically dependent on whether you like Jess (and Zooey Deschanel) or not. If you do, there's really a lot to like here. Jess is definitely wacky but there are enough moments where she pulls it back and is more normal. I'm liking Nick a lot (I was a fan of the actor from that odd movie Paper Heart) and I think they're figuring out Schmidt more and more.
Status: Definite keeper.
Suburgatory - One of the most pleasant surprises of the season. Silly but smart and Jane Levy and Jeremy Sisto are really great. A bonus: Alan Tudyk (of Firefly and Serenity) is hilarious as the ridiculously tanned and chipper Noah.
Status: Definite keeper.
The Secret Circle - I called the pilot "slick" and the show has definitely kept that up. I like the characters and the episodes have great pacing and effects and all that but the mythology is already tripping me up. I guess the characters are still figuring things out on their own as well but I'm so confused about what the parents know and what their intentions are and when things happened to them. Oh, and Cassie's mom graduated high school in 1995?? So basically all the teens were born when their parents were 18? I hope that the writers have this stuff figured out. Oh, and I really don't care about Melissa/Nick, and the whole Cassie-Adam-Diana love triangle is just kinda dreadful.
Status: Keeper, for now.
Showing posts with label New Girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Girl. Show all posts
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday Top Threes: Food!
J: Stole this topic from my favorite podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour -- what are your top three favorite movies about food or featuring food?
Mira: Stopping by cuz I can. And I LOVE this question!
1. No Reservations: Loved this, and made me wanna eat everything they were making.
2. Simply Irresistable: A silly movie, but so likable.
3. Chicken Run: It's probably extremely horrible that I put this on the list... but... I remember still watching this in the movie theater and the movie making me really crave chicken pot pie. Why is this so terrible, you ask? Well, it's a movie about chickens trying to run away from people who had created this machine where you stuck the chicken in and out popped a chicken pot pie.
Honorable mention: Waitress for the pies, if only I liked pie more.
Need to watch: Ratatouille, Julie & Julia, Chocolat, Tortilla Soup.
I think I know at least one, if not two, of Burkie's answers. :)
Jennifer: My answers are pretty standard...
1. Big Night: I can still picture that crazy timpano. Love Stanley Tucci!
2. Eat Drink Man Woman: Mmmm Chinese food.
3. Julie & Julia: The Julie parts of the movie kind of grated but all the scenes with Meryl Streep as Julia Child eating were hilarious and made me really really hungry. And Stanley Tucci again!
Honorable mention: The movie isn't about food, but I love the scenes in Sabrina at the culinary school in Paris =)
Mira: Stopping by cuz I can. And I LOVE this question!
1. No Reservations: Loved this, and made me wanna eat everything they were making.
2. Simply Irresistable: A silly movie, but so likable.
3. Chicken Run: It's probably extremely horrible that I put this on the list... but... I remember still watching this in the movie theater and the movie making me really crave chicken pot pie. Why is this so terrible, you ask? Well, it's a movie about chickens trying to run away from people who had created this machine where you stuck the chicken in and out popped a chicken pot pie.
Honorable mention: Waitress for the pies, if only I liked pie more.
Need to watch: Ratatouille, Julie & Julia, Chocolat, Tortilla Soup.
I think I know at least one, if not two, of Burkie's answers. :)
Jennifer: My answers are pretty standard...
1. Big Night: I can still picture that crazy timpano. Love Stanley Tucci!
2. Eat Drink Man Woman: Mmmm Chinese food.
3. Julie & Julia: The Julie parts of the movie kind of grated but all the scenes with Meryl Streep as Julia Child eating were hilarious and made me really really hungry. And Stanley Tucci again!
Honorable mention: The movie isn't about food, but I love the scenes in Sabrina at the culinary school in Paris =)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Fall TV: two cute premiers
New Girl
I watched the sneak peek premier that was available on fox.com for whatever reason. The actual TV premier is tonight! The show was everything I expected it to be, mostly because the first episode was pretty much 40% already shown in all the promos for the show. Sort of like how Modern Family started out. In any case, if you were wondering if Zooey was going to be as cute as ever -- she is. If you were wondering if the characters were going to be amusing -- they are. If you were wondering if this show has high potential for success-- it does. Now I need to see some new material!
Oh yeah, for anyone not in the know -- since Jenn does this for all new shows -- a short synopsis. Zooey Deschanel plays Jessica, a teacher who recently walked in on her boyfriend cheating on her. Though Zooey is gorgeous, somehow she always chooses to play quirky characters and Jessica's quirk is that she's nerdy in the way that would get skinny boys picked on and thrown in lockers. Anyway, she finds a new place to live with 3 guys: Coach a trainer (who apparently only was in the pilot) soon to be Winston a professional basketball player, Nick who is still nursing a broken heart from a breakup 6 months earlier, and Schmidt who plays a guy who tries to hard and thus is forced to pay up to the "douchebag jar" on a regular basis.
All I can do is hope that this show can find a strong direction that keeps us watchers hooked. I love Zooey and I really want her to stay on TV! :)
2 Broke Girls
This show had a decidedly sitcom feeling to it, which is hard for me to get past sometimes.Still, it has some witty dialogue, especially Kat Dennings' character, Max. Additionally, it didn't try to draw out storylines too much -- lots happened quickly: Max realizing the despair of Caroline's (the other broke girl) new life and feeling sorry for her; Caroline meeting Max's hot boyfriend, Max dumping the hot boyfriend because he's a man-slut. I think that the sarcastic but soft-hearted nature of Max is well paired with the ditzy but very smart nature of Caroline. Hopefully the show will find more to develop, but the first episode set everything up well...
So yeah, what the show is about: There are two girls, one who was always broke and working two jobs as a waitress and a nanny for a rich yuppie family with twins, and one who's father was just convicted of a ponzi scheme thus freezing all of the family's assets. The formerly rich one gets a job at the diner in Brooklyn because none of her upper east side friends would ever catch her there and ends up moving in with the always poor one. The two together plan on trying to save their money to open a cupcake shop, with the always poor one baking and the formerly rich one managing the business with her Wharton MBA. At the end of episode 1 they have saved $327 toward the $250,000 they need.
I watched the sneak peek premier that was available on fox.com for whatever reason. The actual TV premier is tonight! The show was everything I expected it to be, mostly because the first episode was pretty much 40% already shown in all the promos for the show. Sort of like how Modern Family started out. In any case, if you were wondering if Zooey was going to be as cute as ever -- she is. If you were wondering if the characters were going to be amusing -- they are. If you were wondering if this show has high potential for success-- it does. Now I need to see some new material!
Oh yeah, for anyone not in the know -- since Jenn does this for all new shows -- a short synopsis. Zooey Deschanel plays Jessica, a teacher who recently walked in on her boyfriend cheating on her. Though Zooey is gorgeous, somehow she always chooses to play quirky characters and Jessica's quirk is that she's nerdy in the way that would get skinny boys picked on and thrown in lockers. Anyway, she finds a new place to live with 3 guys: Coach a trainer (who apparently only was in the pilot) soon to be Winston a professional basketball player, Nick who is still nursing a broken heart from a breakup 6 months earlier, and Schmidt who plays a guy who tries to hard and thus is forced to pay up to the "douchebag jar" on a regular basis.
All I can do is hope that this show can find a strong direction that keeps us watchers hooked. I love Zooey and I really want her to stay on TV! :)
2 Broke Girls
This show had a decidedly sitcom feeling to it, which is hard for me to get past sometimes.Still, it has some witty dialogue, especially Kat Dennings' character, Max. Additionally, it didn't try to draw out storylines too much -- lots happened quickly: Max realizing the despair of Caroline's (the other broke girl) new life and feeling sorry for her; Caroline meeting Max's hot boyfriend, Max dumping the hot boyfriend because he's a man-slut. I think that the sarcastic but soft-hearted nature of Max is well paired with the ditzy but very smart nature of Caroline. Hopefully the show will find more to develop, but the first episode set everything up well...
So yeah, what the show is about: There are two girls, one who was always broke and working two jobs as a waitress and a nanny for a rich yuppie family with twins, and one who's father was just convicted of a ponzi scheme thus freezing all of the family's assets. The formerly rich one gets a job at the diner in Brooklyn because none of her upper east side friends would ever catch her there and ends up moving in with the always poor one. The two together plan on trying to save their money to open a cupcake shop, with the always poor one baking and the formerly rich one managing the business with her Wharton MBA. At the end of episode 1 they have saved $327 toward the $250,000 they need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)