"I'm gonna leave you anyway..."

What’s up guys? I’m back!  After a very long hiatus, I felt reinvigorated by the upcoming pilot season.  I also want to mix up my format of my reviews a little bit to keep it interesting for both you and me.

I particularly want to review shows now that are the unsung or forgotten ones.  I’m sure everyone has heard about how great Stranger Things is (it’s super great, guys, go watch it now!), but I want to try to highlight shows that somehow are trucking along, despite minimal press and hype.

This week, I’m reviewing the TV show, You’re the Worst.  This is a show that I’ve heard great things about on a few podcasts I listen to, but other than that, this show has definitely flown under the radar.  For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s on FX and just premiered it’s third season last week.

Instead of breaking down the entire episode, I’m going to try to tease it and not give too much away.

The general premise of this show follows two people: Jimmy, a down on his luck British writer and Gretchen, a party girl PR rep.  They both, at one time or another, are referred to as “the Worst”.  They are both pretty awful people, but I found them both very compelling and charming.  Clearly this show is hitting on the now popular anti-hero vibe and it did a fantastic job of showing how terrible they are and yet somehow I’m still rooting for them.

I also want to give a shout out to the sex scenes in this pilot.  While I’m not the one night stand type of girl, their interaction feels like an ideal and realistic positive night.  They laugh and goof around with each other.  It’s not the steamy intensely serious sex we’re used to seeing portrayed in Hollywood. 

Who I recommend this pilot to: anyone drawn to the drama-comedy genre (tragicomedy? dramedy?)

Who I do NOT recommend this pilot to: anyone who is easily offended as there is lots of sex, language, and a little bit of drug use just in the pilot.  Also, all of these characters are pretty awful people so if the anti-hero trend doesn’t appeal to you, you will hate this show.

Overall, I really enjoyed this show.  The cast is pretty much unknown to me, but they have great comedic timing and chemistry with another one.  I’ve heard that in later seasons, they tackle some deep stuff and I believe this is the kind of show that is willing to push the envelope as far as what TV shows can be about.

I also really had to force myself not to watch another episode before writing this blog entry, so the pilot did a great job in hooking me in.  I give this pilot 10 out of 10 disposable Wedding cameras.

Go watch it now!  The past seasons are on HuluPlus and the new season airs on FX.

The Truth is Out There

This week, I watched the self-proclaimed cult classic, The X-Files, in honor of the new season that just aired.  This show is truly one with major cultural significance — the amazing will they-won’t they couple of Mulder and Scully, the iconic whistling theme song, and the phrase “The Truth is Out There” -  it’s no surprise it lasted for nine healthy seasons.

I have only seen an episode or two in passing and never thought too much of it (there’s something about dated technology that bums me out - microfiche, anyone?), but I figured I had to watch the pilot and see where this phenomenon of a show began.

Like any standard procedural, we see a girl running in the woods, panting and scared.  It’s clear we are seeing her last living moments.  A bright light comes out of nowhere and a figure with a blurred face picks her up.

Smash cut to her dead body and some local policemen examining her:

“She was Class of ’89.”

“It’s happening again, isn’t it?”

Smash cut to a petite redhead, Dana Scully, waiting in an FBI office.

May I say that my first thought when Gillian Anderson appeared on screen was “Damn, she is small!”  Anderson’s height is 5’3”, which looks particularly miniature against Duchovny’s 6’0”.  She also was only 25 years old when X-Files started so that definitely contributed to her dainty, doe-eyed appearance.

Scully is hired to debunk the X-Files, which is where unexplained phenomenon (the occult and supernatural, etc.) get filed away.  And where one determined FBI agent has taken permanent residence: Fox Mulder.

I love love LOVE David Duchovny.  From his first line, I am so on board for his character.  Duchovny has a great wry delivery.  I actually laughed out loud a few times on his lines.

And almost immediately he discloses a personal history where his sister vanished with no explanation when he was 8 years old and he's been obsessed with her disappearance ever since.  I mean, call me a red snapper because I'm hooked!

For this episode, I was intrigued by the ‘A’ story (or main story) about this dead girl in the woods and potential alien abduction of a bunch of kids from the same graduating class.  However, what truly sold me to watch another episode was Mulder and Scully.  Their back and forth, clearly not trusting one another 100% and constantly arguing was so gripping and interesting - the ‘A’ story almost felt secondary to me.  I more wanted to find out more about their dynamic and where it’s going to go.

I liked, as an audience member, how I sided with both Scully and Mulder at different times.  Personally, I am not particularly swayed by ghost stories so I understand Scully’s staunch rationalism in the face of crazy, unexplained circumstances.  But the fun loving fantasy reading side of me loves Mulder and his crazy theories and bold conclusions based on gut instincts - I wanted to yell at Scully, “Oh c’mon!  Stop being so uptight!”  Even though in real life, I probably could never be a Mulder, he’s just so cool, you wanna follow him wherever he’s going.

The ending also left us guessing a little and wasn’t 100% stated as to what actually happened.  There’s a suggestion of alien abduction, but nothing is proven and then a unique alien artifact is placed in, what I can only assume is, the same warehouse from Raiders of the Lost Ark.  

I like the vagueness of it and the intrigue as to who or what is standing in Mulder and Scully’s way (all of their files from this case were burned to a crisp in a mysterious fire at their hotel)

Even though procedural dramas are often not my favorite TV shows, I definitely recommend watching this pilot.  Mulder and Scully’s banter alone make it worth it.

I give this pilot 8 out of 10 believers.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

And so the trend continues from the past few entries: some connection from my life inspires to watch a certain pilot and this week is no exception.

Recently I saw the new Tarantino film Hateful Eight, which I absolutely loved (go see it in 70mm if you can) and there on the screen I saw my old friend, Tim Roth.  I absolutely loved him in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs and immediately thought “Where has this guy been since the early 90s?”

After consulting IMDB, I was reminded of a TV show he was on: Lie to Me.  It only lasted a few seasons on FOX and as the title suggests, it has a similar premise as CBS’s The Mentalist:  A man who has an uncanny ability to tell if people are lying.

Going into this pilot, I loved Tim Roth and now coming out the other side, I still love him.  But unfortunately, I had several seasons of The Mentalist in my memory bank for a ready to go comparison.

Obviously the shows invite comparison: the shows premiered within a year of each other.

Both of these shows are procedural dramas featuring a gifted man who doesn’t work as a policeman or an FBI agent but a freelancer for hire.  Both men have a loner vibe to them, but perhaps for different reasons.

Even the lead actors are both not American, although Tim Roth kept his British accent, while The Mentalist’s Simon Baker masks his Australian one with a flawless American one.

Generally I don’t watch procedural dramas as much because it really doesn’t matter if you watch one episode or the entire series.  There’s rarely a continuous through-line and every episode follows the exact same format.  (ie. Law & Order: someone commits a crime and the guilty party is either the first person they interview or someone related to that person.  House: it’s never Lupus, etc.)

I have to imagine the main reason to stay with a procedural drama then, would be because the characters are compelling and you want to visit them once a week to see what they’re up to.

Lie to Me didn’t really hit that for me - Tim Roth is smart, but in a callous Sheldon Cooper “I don’t care about people’s feelings” kind of way.  His female work partner (whose name I can’t remember but she did look good in her work dress so I’ll call her Hot Dress) is clearly supposed to be his foil and I guess love interest?  I didn’t really feel any chemistry, but there was an attempt at banter (Roth belittles Hot Dress for eating a pudding cup at 10 AM and then later for an orange slushy…yes, fortunately this is the show’s only awkward attempt at humor.)

Also the show relied heavily on the science of body language and facial ticks, which got very technical and didn’t really engage me.  The Mentalist had more of a Sherlock Holmes feel to it of noticing tiny details and making everyone feel stupid.  After watching several episodes of The Mentalist, I feel like I can play along and be smart like our “mind-reading” protagonist”.  With Lie to Me, I feel like they constantly were teaching me the slight variations of facial expressions with real science (maybe?) and I didn’t feel engaged.

The biggest difference between The Mentalist and Lie to Me, which made me find the latter lackluster, is that I have no real backstory for Tim Roth or explanation as to why he is the way he is.  On The Mentalist, Simon Baker has a very interesting backstory where he used to pretend to be a psychic and he pissed off a serial killer, Red John, on national television, and said serial killer murdered his wife and daughter.  Red John is still at large and clearly Simon Baker is hoping to find him and exact revenge.  Simon has a charming wit and fun loving exterior, so I was immediately charmed by him and then to learn of this dark past where he is dead set on revenge is absolutely thrilling.  

So, as you may have guessed, I will not be watching another episode of Lie to Me, but I do highly recommend The Mentalist.  Simon Baker’s quips alone are worth it and then the Red John hunt through-line through the series makes the viewing so much fun!

I give the Lie to Me pilot 5 out of 10 pudding cups

It's easier to get into than to get out of...

After another kick of Gilmore Girls episodes, this week, I felt inspired to watch another critically acclaimed TV show featuring Lauren Graham: Parenthood!

My first impression, upon finishing the pilot, was surprise.  Surprise because of how funny the show was.  This humor may stem from the original source material: the 1989 movie Parenthood, featuring Steve Martin, Keeanu Reeves and countless other recognizable names.

Don’t get me wrong: this is a drama, no doubt in my mind.  (And we’ll get to the tears, don’t worry!)

But the highlight of this show for me was the large family meal scenes.  I loved the natural chaos, the give and take of conversation.  A lot of comedy flows out of these moments.  It felt like a real family dinner and not a heavily scripted drama.  

Peter Krause (from Six Feet Under and Sports Night) is the first brother we meet as he is taking a morning jog and soon receives a series of phone calls from various family members.  It reminded me of Arrested Development, where Jason Bateman’s character has a heart of gold who is always called upon to bail out his family when everything goes terribly terribly wrong.

Peter Krause definitely had this helpless feeling to him.  He’s such a good guy, he can’t NOT help, even if he overextends himself in the process.

My favorite actress, Lauren Graham is a sister in this family and a single mother (Clearly she’s got the market cornered).  She is moving into her parents’ house because of her financial troubles with her two teenage children in tow.  She then goes on a date with an old high school boyfriend and has a classic meltdown at the restaurant.

Bring on those Graham tears!  Honestly I love when Lauren Graham cries because without fail, it hits me where I live and I start crying as well.

Dax Shepherd plays the black sheep brother, who really can’t get it together.  His opening scene has him climbing out of a girl’s bed and finding random frozen sperm in her freezer.  A great TV moment where with no dialogue I know a lot about his character.  Dax definitely has some great moments throughout this pilot as the commitment-phobic man child who needs a big brother to constantly run to — I definitely am excited to see where they take his character throughout the series.

The patriarch of this family is played by Craig T. Nelson (apparently there were recent talks of rebooting Coach, an early 90s show that he was on and I honestly was very confused as to why this show was pulled into the revival/reboot tornado that we currently find ourselves in).

I mostly remember Craig T Nelson as the voice of Pixar’s Mr Incredible, but I always thought he looked like a sweet older man, full of wisdom and experience.  In Parenthood however, they decided to make him a genuine asshole.  There is a scene where he plays one on one basketball with one of his grandsons and proceeds to elbow the boy in the face, causing a severe nosebleed.  And while the rest of the family clamors to get some ice, a towel, etc, Craig T Nelson actually defends his action, saying the boy needs to toughen up.

Wow.  This boy, by the way, is around 8 years old and in a moment I’ll reveal how truly messed up Mr. Nelson’s tactics are.

I feel like the writers are offering an older generation’s perspective.  Less touchy-feely, everyone gets a gold star/participation trophy, don’t use red pen, it hurts kids’ feelings to a philosophy of strength and independence, where emotions are weak and hugs are for sissies.

It’s hard to watch at times, but clearly it does have a place on TV, especially for an older viewership who perhaps isn’t as appalled as I am and can actually relate or at least understand where my boy Craig T is coming from. 

The last sibling is a sister played by Erika Christensen, a big shot lawyer whose career clearly dominates her life.  So much so that her young daughter prefers her father and starts having little tantrums every time Erika tries to read her a story or cut her food for her.  I really enjoyed the inclusion of this character because I think it demonstrates a struggle that women have to face even in 2016: Trying to make it big in whatever career field they’ve chosen and then raise a family on top of it.  And I thought the portrayal of this family felt more balanced.  Usually a TV portrayal will either have the mother be completely ignorant of her children as she greedily climbs the corporate ladder or she struggles so hard to balance the two and her family is so blind and unappreciative of her sacrifice.  In this pilot, I felt both ways at different times, so no one person was the villain and thus this mother/daughter relationship felt more real, because it was complicated and not clear who was at fault.

A slightly spoiler-y thing ahead so in case you want to watch the pilot with fresh eyes, you’ve been warned: SPOILER ALERT

A big reveal about three quarters of the way through the episode is that Peter Krause’s son is autistic.  With my 2016 POV, it was pretty easy to notice this, but I think all the way back in 2010, this topic was not breached nearly enough on national television.

Talking to people who watched the show when it originally aired, I learned that the openness with which they addressed autism in the pilot episode was considered groundbreaking and I completely understand why.

Watching both parents try to process this sudden and unexpected diagnosis is so heartbreaking.     Peter Krause is in full denial of this reality and his wife, played by the lovely Monica Potter, is devastated.  She is grieving at the difficult life her son, Max, has ahead of him and also angry at Peter Krause for not facing the truth.

By far the most heartbreaking was the interaction Craig T and Peter Krause have together after the diagnosis.  Unaware of the news, Craig T heartlessly criticizes Peter’s parenting.  Peter turns to him and says “Dad, there’s something wrong with my son.”

Peter proceeds to say more than once and I could feel my lip quivering, holding back tears.  Whew boy!  Heavy stuff for primetime.

Luckily the pilot has an uplifting ending of Max wanting to go to his baseball game and the entire extended family uprooting their lunch plans together to take him.  And Peter Krause, who has been a little intense about Max’s baseball career, simply beams as his son takes the plate, not caring what happens next, just glad that he’s participating.

Overall this pilot succeeded in providing so much information without feeling like a dreaded info dump.  It showed family tension and history through action, rather than clunky dialogue and while they unpacked a lot of characters and story arcs in one episode, it didn’t feel rushed or disjointed to me.  I was engaged and am excited to see what happens next.  Of course my only reservation, which has been confirmed by those who’ve watched the show, is that most prime time dramas quickly slip into melodrama and become a soap opera.  But as a pilot I will give it 8 out of 10 Lauren Graham tears.