IJB's Summer 2005 REVIEWS II: WILDFIRE & BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
Ian J. Ball
Just to review, so far we've got:
LIST OF GRADED "SUMMER" SHOWS:
Rank TV SERIES GRADE OTHER COMMENTS
---- ----------- ----- --------------
Empire B+
The 4400 B
Beautiful People B
Brat Camp B
Rock Star: INXS B (grade of performance shows only)
The Dead Zone B-
The Inside B-
Wildfire B-
Beach Girls C+
Into the West C+
Over There To Be Graded
Battlestar Galactica C- (no "long" review)
THE SHOW REVIEWS:
-----------------
WILDFIRE (ABC Family):
Overall Grade for Season: B-
OVERVIEW:
It's impossible to review this show without comparing & contrasting
it to fellow ABC Family Monday night drama, "Beautiful People", so I'm
not really going to try.
Of the two, "Wildfire" has always stuck me as about *one-half* a
complete series.
First, you've got a relatively "thin" premise - girl from the wrong
side of the tracks gets out of Juvie (that's pretty much the interesting
half) and is assigned to work at a ranch where thoroughbred race horses
are raised and trained (that's the much less interesting half).
Second is the relatively thin cast of characters. On the
"interesting" side of the ledger is the "ex-Juvie" Kris Furillo
(relative newcomer Genevieve Cortese), and her maybe-boyfriend rich kid
Junior Davis (Ryan Sypek). In the "potentially interesting" category is
Nana Visitor's Jean Ritter and Greg Serano's Pablo Betart (neither of
whom the show ever does much with), and Nicole Tubiola's "Dani" Davis
(who started boring, but got more interesting as the show progressed
through season #1). And in the "absolutely, positively will-never-be
interesting" grouping is Matt Ritter (Micah Alberti) who, while
apparently the show's main male protagonist/romantic lead is about as
interesting as watching paint dry (and even less sympathetic).
It's to the show's credit then that they resisted the obvious 'by
formula' pairing of Kris and Matt, and instead allowed Kris to get
together with Junior (who's both more interesting, *and* a million times
more sympathetic *&* charismatic!). (Though there's no telling how long
that will last...)
In any case, what it boils down to is I was only engaged by
"Wildfire" when Kris was on screen interacting with, variously, Jean,
Junior, Pablo, Dani or one of the guest stars, or when Junior or Dani
were doing something related to their family.
But the show ground to a halt! for me every time Matt showed up (just
*kill* the guy already!!), and Jean's love life didn't really grab me
either.
In general, I like "Wildfire" - enough that I stuck with it through
all 12 episodes.
But it's definitely a series that I feel is "missing something". And
I'm not sure that it's something that can be "replaced" very easily.
If, as announced, ABC Family brings this show back in January, I
*won't* continue tracking this show against first-run "network fare" -
hint to ABC Family: there's probably enough here to float a "summer"
series, but certainly not enough to go toe-to-toe with shows like
"Veronica Mars", "24", "House" and "Prison Break"!
WHAT WORKED:
I like Kris Furillo, and Genevieve Cortese seemed to improve playing
her as the season progressed.
Kudos for actually letting Kris get together with Junior Davis,
sparing us the by-the-numbers (and boring) potential pairing with Matt
Ritter.
I also liked the furtive "mother-daughter" relationship Kris was
developing with Jean Ritter (though, for all that an interview with
Visitor promised a focus on their relationship, there wasn't nearly as
much of it as there could have been).
The show did a good job developing the Davises, Junior, and
especially Dani (who originally came off as a rote "spoiled rich bitch",
but mercifully gained depth starting about half-way through the season).
Nice to see Joe Lando work again, here as (reformed?) reprobate
Ritter dad, Pete. Also pretty good is Jason London (the "thinner" London
twin), playing sleazy bookie Bobby.
In general, this show is a pleasant diversion, and I like it overall.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
Skipping Matt for a moment, one of the things that really irked me
was the roster of "disappearing cast members". Chief among them was
Shanna Collins (who played Dani's best pal, Amber) - Collins was fairly
prominently displayed in the show's early episodes, but she totally
disappeared after 5 episodes in). Similar things happened with Dennis
Weaver (who played the Ritter granddad), and Andrew Hoeft (who played
the youngest Ritter, Todd), both of whom disappeared for large stretches
of the season. Only a little better was James Read (best know for being
the Halliwell's dad over on "Charmed"!) who played "Daddy" Davis, Ken,
and who at least showed up when most needed. Memo to the producers:
Either sign these people to longer more reliable contracts, or get rid
of 'em.
In fact, I think one of the problems with this show may be that there
*aren't* enough characters (at least regular ones) to keep things
interesting.
And, it goes without saying - I pretty much hate the character of
Matt Ritter. He's whiny. He's a punk. He's a loser. He's not good enough
for Kris. And he's basically a bore.
All in all, I find this show "thin" (starting with the show's horse
racing premise) - there's just enough to keep you engaged, but it's all
very borderline...
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (ABC Family):
Overall Grade for Season: B
OVERVIEW:
"Beautiful People", which at first glance appeared to be a shallower,
soapier version of "Gilmore Girls" (a series BP's superficial premise is
obviously *heavily* patterned on), actually is a more multifaceted beast
that it might be given credit for.
You see, the show's title is no accident, and it is not apparently
thrown in there just so it could be used as a pseudo-hip throwaway line
by Gideon Lustig (Ricky Mabe) in the pilot. What has become apparent
over the course of the show's eight episode is that it is, in fact, a
literal rumination on "Beautiful People" - What makes people beautiful?
Is it their physical beauty? Their intelligence? Their talents? Their
material wealth? Their soul? And what are the consequences of being
beautiful? How does one become "beautiful"? Etc.
(See? Lynn designs clothes; Karen's a model; Sophie's a photographer
- Makes "beauty", depicts "beauty", captures "beauty". Get it?!)
OK, so it's a little overly thematic. But this deeper core premise is
the first thing that differentiates "Beautiful People" from its
antecedent, "Gilmore Girls" - the second is that BP is obviously not
aiming for the oh-so-witty, 500-words-a-minute banter/dialog of GG.
With perhaps only one exception, I like all the characters, and the
show's set up. And they've established a number of good "soap/drama"
elements that will be worth pursuing if/when the show is picked up for a
second season.
Regardless, I came to really enjoy this series - ultimately, more
than the 'thinner' "Wildfire".
Bottom line: I have come to quite like this show. And I hope it is
picked up for a second season.
WHAT WORKED:
First thing? The cast!
I know that some don't like GG-refugee Sarah Foret (Foret guested in
a fifth season episode of "Gilmore Girls") as the precious younger
daughter (with the precious name) Sophie Kerr, but I thought she was
quite good in the role, which is important as she seems to the show's
primary focal character. Also great is Daphne Zuniga (playing a much
more sympathetic character that Jo Reynolds on "Melrose Place") as Mama
Kerr, Lynn.
But, as is often said - it's the 'second leads' that make or break
most shows. Luckily, "Beautiful People" seems to have drawn a strong
hand on that front. First up is newcomer Jackson Rathbone as 'richy
rich' (and Sophie Kerr love interest #1) Nicholas Fiske, who does a real
admirable job at giving likeability to a character that could easily
come off as an opportunistic sleaze in other hands. Also good is
long-time child actor is Ricky Mabe as put-upon-artistic son (and Sophie
Kerr love interest #2) who (most of the time) manages a good balance of
sarcastic snarkiness and wounded vulnerability. Even the two "teen"
female character also-rans Annabelle (Kathleen Munroe) and Paisley
(Jordan Madley) are given unexpectedly "deeper" portrayals. Also good
(in a effectively "clichd" part) is Arnold Pinnock as Lynn's put-upon
boss, Toby Sayles, and James McCaffrey as Lynn's old flame (and current
love interest?) Julian Fiske.
At least this show has "layers".
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
Probably the weakest link in the bunch is model-turned-actress Torrey
DeVitto as Karen Kerr, but probably the worst thing that can be said
about her is that she's merely "adequate". OTOH, I found most of the
storylines based around Karen to be tedious, and Karen is a
significantly unsympathetic mess.
Several of the actors do *not* convincingly pass for their ages -
Rathbone, Munroe and Madley would barely be convincing as college-aged,
let alone high school!
Toronto (and back lots) do *not* convincingly pass for New York City
here. (But, then again, I'm not sure that back lots all that
convincingly pass for Stars Hollow, CT either...)
It was a little dodgy to cast (fellow "Melrose Place" alumnus) Grant
Show as **EVOL** ex-husband Daniel Kerr in the season finale.
--
"Read less. More TV." - Dr. Greg House, "House"
http://homepage.mac.com/ijball/TV-Blog/
WQ
Ian J. Ball wrote:
> [Better late than never?... I'll cover "Rock Star:INXS" tomorrow.]
>
> Just to review, so far we've got:
>
> LIST OF GRADED "SUMMER" SHOWS:
>
> Rank TV SERIES GRADE OTHER COMMENTS
> ---- ----------- ----- --------------
> Empire B+
> The 4400 B
> Beautiful People B
> Brat Camp B
> Rock Star: INXS B (grade of performance shows only)
> The Dead Zone B-
> The Inside B-
> Wildfire B-
> Beach Girls C+
> Into the West C+
>
> Over There To Be Graded
>
> Battlestar Galactica C- (no "long" review)
>
>
--- Methinks thou dost gradest too high. "Empire" is about a B, "The
4400" an F, "The Dead Zone" a D, "The Inside" a B, "Into the West" a D
[but even then, so what?], "Over There" a B [while I recognize it as
the best thing Bochco has ever done, it's not exactly appointment TV,
but still pretty good as it is - some shows just hit you that way], and
"Battlestar Galactica" an F. The others I haven't seen or just aren't
even worth the trouble of grading an F.
Laddy
"Ian J. Ball" <ijball***NO-SPAM***@mac.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:ijball***NO-SPAM***-E80D2B.150...@news1.ucsd.edu...
> THE SHOW REVIEWS:
> -----------------
> WILDFIRE (ABC Family):
> Overall Grade for Season: B-
>
snippage
> All in all, I find this show "thin" (starting with the show's horse
> racing premise) - there's just enough to keep you engaged, but it's all
> very borderline...
>
For me the horseracing is an integral part of the show. I like the setting.
It's purty. It's very different from most current shows. I agree that Matt
is the weakest link. I think he's on the road to redemption in the series.
That's about the only way they can get him with Chris and mess up his
friendship with Junior. Maybe they won't go that route but I'm betting they
do. I think I read that the early episodes with Henry, Todd, and Amber were
in the can before additional episodes were ordered. There may have been a
break in production. You'll notice that Chris's tan disappeared after a few
episodes. They may have not used them to save money in the middle episodes,
but I don't know for sure. I think they definitely need Amber, Todd, and
Henry and should weave them into the episodes. Whether this show can be
sustained in anyone's guess. Since Junior, Matt, and Dani haven't graduated
high school, one wonders how they'll handle that. I also don't see why ABC
Fam would try to run new episodes during the regular season and so stated
last week.
>
> BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (ABC Family):
> Overall Grade for Season: B
>
I watched this one but didn't get the same enjoyment as you. I don't care
all that much for any of the characters or the premise for that matter. I
would watch more episodes if available during the summer.
ienj...@yahoo.com
Erin Woodbridge's Bestest Friend, Ian J. Ball
ienj...@yahoo.com wrote:
> What happened to FX's Rescue Me?
Don't watch it.
But if you ask really nicely, I'm sure you can get Hole to write a
review for you...
--
"I did *NOT* have sex with Gil Kurvers!" - Erin Woodbridge
(on numerous occasions), "Edgemont"