New Shows POLL - Two NEW & Four Returning Shows Premiering on 09/20
Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball
* No, Alan's still not dead - instead, he can be found
inhabiting here: http://www.nj.com/tv/ledger/
P.S. Sorry for missing yesterday's edition - David has already
given me plenty of 'demerits' for that... :/
Two new series and four returning series have their premieres tonight
(09/20/06).
The two new series are:
"JERICHO" (CBS - new!)
"KIDNAPPED" (NBC - new!)
The four returning series are:
"The Biggest Loser [4]" (NBC - 2 hours!)
"America's Next Top Model [7]" (CWN - 2 hours!)
"Criminal Minds" (CBS)
"CSI: NY" (CBS)
So, what did you think?
All comments welcome; grades are good (letter grades preferred).
--
"Teenagers *are* FREAKS." - Lizzie McDonald, from "Life With Derek"
(episode 1.3 (#104), "The Party")
David
Counsellor, Ian J. Ball" <ijball***SPAM-No***@mac.com.invalid> wrote:
>The ALAN SEPINWALL Memorial* New Shows Poll:
>
>* No, Alan's still not dead - instead, he can be found
> inhabiting here: http://www.nj.com/tv/ledger/
>
>P.S. Sorry for missing yesterday's edition - David has already
> given me plenty of 'demerits' for that... :/
The sensation you've had all day that someone's giving you the evil
eye...?
All me.
Obveeus
"Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball"
<ijball***SPAM-No***@mac.com.invalid> wrote:
> "America's Next Top Model [7]" (CWN - 2 hours!)
Grade: B
The only one I watched on the new list for tonight. Why a 'B' grade...
Lots of good stuff in this show. Just a few thoughts below:
Early in the episode Tyra berates some woman for equating her job as a
'dancer' (stripper) with being a form of 'modeling'. According to Tyra,
modeling is totally different from stripping. So, the next photoshoot for
the contestants is: nude modeling. Way to go with the (at least slightly)
hypocritical crap, Tyra.
Tyra Banks almost always relates the photoshoots to something she has
personally done so she can play up her role as mentor. This would have been
a great time for her to walk out in front of all the contestants buck naked.
Instead...nothing from her. Tyra, you really missed the boat on that one.
I know the point of this 'nude' photoshoot is to try and separate those
willing to work in the modeling industry from those that just think it would
be fun to be on the cover of a magaizine. However, what the segment showed
was that women can be coerced into taking off their clothes through peer
pressure and threat of the 'loss of the opportunity of a lifetime'. The
segment would have felt much more palatable if the woman that didn't feel
comfortable taking off her clothes would have kept them on and ditched the
show. That would have been 'girl power'...which is what Tyra claims to be
trying to promote.
They narrowed down the cast to those models that get to 'live in a house
together'...like so many other reality TV shows. The thing is, when they
show up at the house it is covered with pictures of Tyra Banks and the
voiceover begins an infommercial about Tyra magazine. Again, Tyra, you
really missed the boat. Everything is not really about you.
In the next segment Tyra pretends to be a Diva that thinks everything is
about them...oh the irony. She uses the Diva act as a way to introduce the
next photoshoot. They will be doing the 'most controvercial photoshoot
yet'. Then they announce that it will be a photoshoot about stereotypes?
So, I'm thinking: ok, they will have the 'girl next door', the 'former crack
addict crawling out of the gutter', the 'girl that looks like a tomboy', the
'girl that looks like a man in drag', the token minority girl' (on this show
that means Asian or Indian), the 'privelaged girl', and the rocker/edgy
girl'. Unfortunately, they didn't mean the stereotypes that they repeat
every season in the casting of ANTM. Instead, they mean the public
stereotypes: dumb blonde, anorexic, angry diva, black woman trying to act
white, bulimic, lazy diva, backstabber, etc...
Interestingly enough, the anorexic and the bolimic are going to be player by
the twin sisters that made the cast...gee, can I see a future plotline?
Interestingly enough, the angry diva is played by the model that is
terrorizing everyone else back at the house. Ah, a current and future
plotline.
Nothing eventful in the photoshoot except for the woman playing the lazy
diva (I won't get out of bed for less than $10,000) is late to the set. She
gets yelled at for being late...totally unacceptable she is told. She
apologizes...yawn. It was a real shame she didn't think to say something
like 'I was just getting into character'. That would have been a funny
moment.
At the end, we are introduced to the judging panel...same as last
year...which is good because they are all interesting to hear from and they
don't all mindlessly agree with each other (or disagree just to fight) like
is so typical on most judged shows. All the women are critiqued...some for
actual faults (closing their eyes in all their photos) and some for
imaginary faults (designed to throw the audience off of who will likely go
deep in the competition). Then, the do a roll call and get to the
elimination: the woman eliminated is called boring looking and not a top
model...odd. I agree with everything they are saying, but can't help but
notice how very much she looks like Naima, a past winner of this show.
12 are left, so who will become America's Next Top Model...tune in next week
and see who moves on.
P.S.
The woman that looked to be from Indian heritage...not top model material.
They should have just cast Arti from The Amazing Race. Sure, she was a foot
shorter, but at least she was attractive.
P.S.S.
Last year's winner...lousy commercial. She is touting some jewelry along
with the makeup: 'ammer and ametiss' jewelry. Really kinda sad. The big
knock against her last year was her inability to speak clearly. With months
to prepare for the commercial, months to take speech lessons, and as many
takes as a major makeup company can afford...this is the best she can do to
say 'amber and amethyst'? Really, really sad.
Another P.S.
This year they did away with the token plus sized model. I'm glad. While
plus sized modeling is a real industry, this competition just doesn't work
well trying to compare plus sized models with skinny ones. If they ever
bring back the plus sized model, they should just do it as a season with an
entire cast of plus sized models. And yes, I really think that would
work... especially when anything size 10 and over is considered plus sized
by their definition.
Jeremy Billones
Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball <ijball***SPAM-No***@mac.com.invalid> wrote:
>"JERICHO" (CBS - new!)
I got a last-minute request to tape "Dancing With The Stars" for a friend,
so I had to download the pilot last night.
I don't really care about any of the characters yet, but I think they've
fairly well established the premise.
I'm annoyed at the large neon sign that says "The black guy is an escaped
prisoner, but he has a chance to start over in this new world and like
any good ABC Afterschool Special [1] the Good People Of Jericho will
(eventually) give it to him." Unfortunately, if they decide to surprise
us by going in a different direction it's liable to be even more stupid.
I'll give it a few weeks. I give the pilot a C+
>"KIDNAPPED" (NBC - new!)
I'm enjoying VANISHED, and two shows with the same plot (albeit implemented
in radically different ways) is probably pushing things on my schedule.
I like the cops on VANISHED more than the cop & ex-cop here, and VANISHED
also opened the story up right at the start with the reporter and the
Massachusetts subplot. So I'll probably drop this one.
But I give the pilot a B.
[1] You know, I doubt they could make those anymore, even if they wanted too.
--
Jeremy Billones
"It's a place used the world over where people can come together to bitch about
movies and share pornography together." This is a much more sophisticated idea
of the Net than we find in high-tech cyberthrillers, where the Net is a place
that makes your computer beep a lot. - Roger Ebert on "Jay & Silent Bob..."
Micky DuPree
bill...@radix.net (Jeremy Billones) writes:
: In article
: <ijball***SPAM-No***-05B4FF.162...@news-lb-02.socal.rr.com>,
: Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball
: <ijball***SPAM-No***@mac.com.invalid> wrote:
:: "JERICHO" (CBS - new!)
I was thoroughly turned off by the extended preview available in my
cable company's video-on-demand library, so I just gave it a pass. Not
a fair trial, I know, but I'm fed up with some Americans' infatuation
with the bunker mentality.
:: "KIDNAPPED" (NBC - new!)
:
: I'm enjoying VANISHED, and two shows with the same plot (albeit
: implemented in radically different ways) is probably pushing things on
: my schedule. I like the cops on VANISHED more than the cop & ex-cop
: here, and VANISHED also opened the story up right at the start with
: the reporter and the Massachusetts subplot. So I'll probably drop
: this one.
I don't mind the similarity in premise. I don't actually have a lot
invested in the cops in _Vanished_ except for the fact that the primary
is under an undeserved cloud from his last kidnap case, and the family
is a nightmare to work with. The thing I liked most about _Kidnapped_
was the ex-fed's explanation about how his goals (safe victim retrieval)
differed from the feds' (safe victim retrieval; ransom recovery;
perpetrator capture, prosecution, and incarceration). I hope they play
up that difference and how it will affect their respective approaches.
On the minus side, that was the most dead-weight, interminable musical
montage at the end of the _Kidnapped_ pilot that I can remember seeing
in a TV show (and I've seen a lot at this point). Maybe I missed
something because my attention wandered, but my subjective impression
was that absolutely nothing happened for about two and a half minutes
while the characters struck static poses of concern. I think they could
have cut the entire sequence and not lost a thing.
-Micky