Join THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB

Article originally published as THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB Review on Seat42F.

The “Launch” of ABC’s THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB is just around the corner. Based on the novel by Lily Koppel, which is subtitled A True Story, the series follows the wives of the Mercury Seven, America’s first astronauts. Set at the beginning of the 1960s, this program focuses on the women behind the now-famous men who ventured above our planet and out into the unknown.

The Mercury program is well-known, but how much people know about the individuals involved may vary. Being from Ohio, I definitely know who John Glenn (Sam Reid, Hatfields & McCoys) is, and I’m also vaguely familiar with Alan Shepard (Desmond Harrington, Dexter) and Gus Grissom (Joel Johnstone, Getting On). But how many know the names Deke Slayton (Kenneth Mitchell, Ghost Whisperer), Scott Carpenter (Wilson Bethel, Hart of Dixie), Gordon Cooper (Bret Harrison, Reaper), and Wally Schirra (Aaron McCusker, Shameless)? (Unless you’re Matt Myra, of course.)

THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB isn’t really about the men, anyway, though, so while they do appear, they aren’t the focus. Instead of telling us a history story, it strives to show us the personal side, zeroing in on the wives who stayed home. They are as eclectic a bunch as their husbands, if not more so, but they are going through a shared experience no one else could possibly quite understand. And so, despite the varied personalities who wouldn’t necessarily be drawn to one another without this major influence, these woman come together to be profiled by Life magazine and to support one another.

The group is interesting, though it’s hard to get to know them all in a single hour. There’s flashy Rene Carpenter (Yvonne Strahovski, Chuck), who doesn’t pay much attention to the rules set out for the group. Trudy Cooper (Odette Annable, House M.D.) is hiding a divorce put on hold for the sake of her husband’s career, and is a pilot in her own right. Louise Shepard (Dominique McElligott, Hell On Wheels) doesn’t want her past to come out, likely part of the reason she resists the forced bonding. Annie Glenn (Azure Parsons, Salem) seeks to keep her severe stutter out of the public eye. Betty Grissom (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Better With You) is loving the new attention. Marge Slayton (Erin Cummings, Detroit 1-8-7) and Jo Schirra (Zoe Boyle, Downton Abbey) seem less well defined in the pilot, “Launch,” but there’s plenty of time to get to know them later.

It’s very hard to do period pieces, and THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB struggles much of the time. When showing momentous events, it excels at capturing the gravity and the emotion, and makes one feel what the characters feel. But it’s very easy to take for granted the costumes and settings, which appear decent enough, and because of the way the roles are played, it doesn’t feel all that different from today, other than some surface, superficial, stereotypical things.

While this could be a good thing, helping an audience relate to what they’re watching, that’s not how it comes across here. THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB feels much more like Mistresses, or a lesser Desperate Housewives, than anything that would come from this era. There is much bickering and drama, conflict appearing to pop up just for the sake of conflict, rather than to advance the story. Maybe this is how things were between these gals, competing to sell their family as the best, and thus earn their husband a top spot; I couldn’t say for sure. But it feels purposely bent towards modern sensibilities, to its detriment.

Perhaps that’s why ABC is burning it off during the summer. While cable keeps chugging along with solid offerings year ‘round, the broadcast networks tend to use the warmest months to get rid of their junk they don’t think anyone wants to watch. Despite a few good qualities, I do feel like THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB just isn’t good enough for the regular season, and so belongs where it is.

THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB premieres Thursday, June 18^th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Breaking In breaks back into the airwaves

FOX's Breaking In, or breaking_in, as the title is sometimes written as, seemed canceled at the end of last year, but received a last minute reprieve. Fans who were elated at the news have had to wait a long time but new episodes. But that wait is over this week, as the second season premieres with "The Contra Club."

A new secretary begins work at Contra Security. Her name is Veronica (Megan Mullally, Will & Grace, Chrildrens Hospital, Parks & Recreation), and she is annoying, creepy, and a mess. But before the staff can begin pranking her, Oz (Christian Slater) orders them not to. Getting suspicious, the employees dig a little and discover that Veronica works for a company who Oz is trying to sell Contra to. When the deal falls through, the team breaks into Veronica's employer, and fixes it. Except, now they have to work for Veronica, who isn't pleased with their shenanigans.

"The Contra Club" is very much a transition episode, so it's hard to make a judgment call about whether the return of Breaking In is successful or not. Much of this episode centers on the "mystery" of Veronica's character, which is, sadly, not a mystery at all, because of numerous previews and press releases that spoil the twist. In this, FOX kills the suspense of the premiere, and the things that should be enjoyable about the episode are ruined. This is a marketing misstep, not a creative team failure.

Breaking In thrives on the interaction between Oz's team as they pull off jobs. Due to the story structure of "The Contra Club," the job of the week is short, and doesn't allow a lot of reveling in what makes the show good. Add to this the loss of Josh (Trevor Moore), and things don't quite add up to a great example of the series. Worse yet, Melanie will only appear in some of the episodes because Odette Annable is now starring in House, and Breaking In basically drops any romantic story between her and Cameron (Bret Harrison). So that's two out of the four team members MIA most weeks, and a big plot point gone. And Dutch (Michael Rosenbaum), who isn't in every episode of season one, but is fantastic when he is present, has also been dropped. One can assume that Dutch is no longer necessary because Cameron isn't going after Melanie, and Veronica is now the antagonist, though only time will tell if she will be a good fit replacement.

Luckily, Oz and Cameron's relationship, the other major element of the series, remains solid. Cash (Alphonso McAuley) also continues in his plum comedic role. So some things that are proven positives are still present.

There is a wild card that "The Contra Club" doesn't address. The other new main character is Molly (Erin Richards, the UK's Being Human), Veronica's long-suffering minion. She gets scarce screen time in the premiere, and almost nothing about her is revealed, except that she is sorely mistreated, and allergic to cats. How she will fit into the office chemistry is still a mystery.

When a series is pulled back from death like this, networks like to retool to expand the appeal. Unfortunately, in this case, Breaking In had a great formula already, and just needed time and promotion to help it, not changes made to the plot. This new presentation may be better, or it could end up being worse.

So was "The Contra Club" a great episode? Again, hard to tell with the marketing screw up. However, it does get the characters and story set up for what will surely be a make-it-or-break-it sophomore run. Ratings are up a bit for the show, though not as high as normal for the timeslot it is filling, so it will just depend on if an audience can be built as to whether Breaking In will get a third season.

Watch Breaking In Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

MORE: If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Catch up on streaming episodes of Breaking In. Click here to read every Breaking In review I've written.

breaking_in goes to "21.0 Jump Street"

     FOX's breaking_inwas recently canceled after a mere half dozen episodes, the last of which aired this week. The episode "21.0 Jump Street," which will serve as the series finale, found most of the team assigned to work for Mike Tyson (guest starring as himself), while Cam (Bret Harrison) is supposed to help a high schooler being cyber-bullied. But Cam finds the assignment harder than expected, and after asking Cash (Alphonso McAuley) to assist with a photo shop project, the situation gets even more complicated. The entire team ends up helping Cam right the situation, but as it turns out, the whole thing may have just been a nice present to Cam from his boss, Oz (Christian Slater).

     It is sad that yet another funny sitcom bites the dust without really being given a chance. breaking_in has a unique concept and a wonderful cast. Oz is the crazy, paranoid boss. Cam is a slacker hacker. Cash is the tech geek whiz. Josh (Trevor Moore) is an expert with disguises. Sexy Melanie (Odette Annable) can pick any lock. And Melanie's crazy boyfriend, Dutch (Michael Rosenbaum), is the wild card. Besides each member fitting into place nicely, with wonderful chemistry, Rosenbaum in particular stands out for making viewers forget all about his many years as Lex Luthor.

     Because there are no other sitcoms with a similar concept, its departure is a major loss to television. The premise is original and fresh, and the writing and acting are solidly funny. There are plenty of pop culture references, and zany, but not wholly unrealistic, situations.

     Even sadder, this marks the fourth project in as many years that has been pulled out from under Harrison, a very talented actor due to get a big break any second. The Loop is only vaguely amusing, but Harrison had a memorable recurring role in the second season of just-canceled V, and his star turn in Reaper, which criminally lasted a mere two seasons, should be remembered for years to come. Harrison picks good projects, that aren't given much of a chance.

     Plenty of sitcoms, much more poorly made than breaking_in, have gotten much longer lives. Currently on the air, Rules of Engagement, The Middle, and Two and a Half Men spring to mind. If justice exists, breaking_in will be rescued, as efforts are currently underway to do just that. It's a slim hope that the series may see a second season, but it's there all the same.

     The episode "21.0 Jump Street" is a great example of the series, allowing each member of the ensemble some meaty material, and so it is as good as any to end with. Cam returns to his high school and finds romance with a former classmate who has long harbored a crush on him. Melanie gets to try out high school for the first time, having been denied the experience by her grifter father. Oz plays things cool, and leaves viewers wondering if the whole episode is in service of helping an employee, or an actual job. Dutch gets to work through finding out that Cam has a thing for Melanie, but does not fall into predictable tropes.

     If you are so inclined, please write to FOX and ask them to bring back breaking_in. It deserves more time.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Click here for all of my Current Season Reviews.

     To purchase breaking_in streaming episodes, please click here.

Article first published as TV Review: breaking_in - "21.0 Jump Street"on Blogcritics.

breaking_in "Pilot" pretty funny

     Most network television shows are winding down by this time of the year, or more accurately, ramping up for a big finale. But there are a few that, for whatever reason, didn't make the schedule until now, and are getting one last chance to succeed. Usually, these series air for less than ten episodes and are never heard from again. There are exceptions, such as Grey's Anatomy, that end up being runaway hits. Wednesday, FOX presented breaking_in, a sitcom that I find really funny, so I hope it's the next exception.

     The story begins with Cameron (Bret Harrison, V, Reaper) in his seventh year of college, easily hacking his way through school, and being paid to help others do the same. A man named Oz (Christian Slater, The Forgotten, My Own Worst Enemy), who runs a security company, catches Cameron in his illicit activities. Oz offers Cameron a choice: be exposed and go to jail, or come work for him. You see, Oz's company breaks into businesses for a living. They are not crooks, exactly, but hired to be crooks by their victims to test security measures. Cameron reluctantly accepts the latter option.

     Harrison is a comic genius, brilliant at playing the straight man forced into situations he doesn't want to be in. He's done it multiple times before, and he accomplishes it just as well as ever here. Slater, on the other hand, exudes power and threat with a glance, and is obviously relishing his role as leader of the crazies. His catch phrase, "I'll allow it," is uttered with a smirk whenever he catches one of his employees pranking another, even if the prank goes beyond the bounds of human decency, as they usually do.

     These are the two actors the show will depend on. One fairly fresh faced and new, the other experienced with an established following. Their interactions are some of the best parts of the episode, and there will definitely be a power struggle between the two as the series goes on. Cameron initially wants out, but by the end of the pilot, decides to stay. However, I do not see him going along easily with Oz's free-wheeling ways, so there are bound to be plenty of clashes.


     Joining Cameron and Oz in this odd job are Cash (Alphonso McAuley), a nerd obsessed with candy bars and hazing the new guy in outrageous ways, Josh (Trevor Moore, The Whitest Kids U'Know), a sometimes jerk and flaw(less?) character actor who vies for leadership, Creepy Carol (Jennifer Irwin, Eastbound & Down, Still Standing), an annoying office worker who sneaks up on people, and Melanie (Odette Annable, formerly Odette Yustman, October Road, Brothers & Sisters, Cloverfield), a total psycho whom Cameron is attracted to. Of course, she already has a boyfriend, with a personality more similar to hers, named Dutch (Smallville's Lex Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum). There are other employees; it's a big office; but none that got any attention or lines.

     Rosenbaum will make you forget all about Lex in seconds. He is unrecognizable with hair and an attitude. Moore basically takes all of the things he does well in his IFC sketch show and does them within a larger plot, a good use for the actor. Irwin is likely a recurring character, but her familiar face is welcome. McAuley is funny, and I assume Cash will be Cameron's best friend before long. Annable is everything you want in a love interest. She's generically sweet and attractive, but it's the flashes of insanity that will set her apart. Ensemble wise, the chemistry is great from the get go. Each different personality brings something unique to the table, which will help with varied assignments.

     As soon as Cameron comes to work at the company, Oz puts him in charge of a mission. Oz is very much of the "toss him in the water and he will sink or swim" persuasion, not a caring mentor. He hires the people he thinks will get the job done, and has little patience for hand holding.

     Josh takes offense, feeling passed over. I find that surprising, because Oz seems the type to give this test to any rookie, and Josh should have seen it before. Cameron also has a temperament that will serve him in a leadership role, as he listens to everyone and cares about people. Josh, on the other hand, will clearly let ego get in the way.

     Don't make the mistake of thinking Josh is dumb, though, or he would never have gotten the job in the first place. Josh subtlely tricks Cameron into stealing the wrong car in his first assignment. Cameron pulls off a complicated, tricky job with the entire team, but has done so at the wrong dealership. Josh does prove he's not a total tool, and Cameron shows his ability to handle difficult people, when Cameron gets Josh alone to help him fix the mistake. Cameron is not a pushover, as one might first suspect. During the second attempt, he just throws a rock through the window and runs inside. Hilarious.

     I think this series has some real comedy gems within it, and I look forward to more episodes. breaking_in airs Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Article first published as TV Review: breaking_in - "Pilot" on Blogcritics.

Click here for an alphabetical list of all of Jerome's Current Season Reviews.

 

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

V Getting Past "Birth Pangs"

     While I have mostly enjoyed ABC's V, it has had wild swings in quality. At times, the episodes flow nicely and make a lot of sense. Other times, there are gaping plot holes a whole fleet of invading V ships could swarm through. This season has been a bit more even than the first, but the show has gotten to a point where it is exciting enough to overlook some of the flaws. Just some, mind you. If they start to swing too far back the other way, it won't take long to turn against the show once more.

     Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) is series heroine. The last couple of weeks, Erica has been taking a turn towards bada**, which is welcome. It's about time. For too long, Erica and her friends have been hiding in the dark, barely fighting back against the V invaders. They've done a few little missions, but nothing that meant all that much in the larger scheme, other than slaughtering the eggs at the end of last season. However, after the death of international Fifth Column leader Eli Cohn (Oded Fehr), Erica now finds herself in charge of a vast organization, and she decides to use it.

     At first, though I love seeing Erica in that position, I was resistant to the change. What a coincidence that the worldwide leader just happened to be in Erica's neighborhood! And after only a week or so of knowing each other, he hands the whole thing over to her, rather than the people he has been working with for years. Then I stepped back and tried to view it from his perspective. Erica is a very formidable woman, and has huge stakes in what is going on. Additionally, she has ins and connections that the other followers do not. As such, I began to accept that twist. Eli's top lieutenants doubting her until she could deliver to them progress and a plan also helped with the transition, though I'm not sure that what she accomplished this week would really have been enough to win over her skeptics, converting them into enthusiastic followers.

     That being said, Erica has already uncovered more about the V in the last few weeks than she has all season. She and Hobbes (Charles Mesure) have a rousing sequence in the apartment complex, and her video chat with her original cell is pretty inspiring. With Sid (Bret Harrison) on board, real progress is being made on understanding the V's DNA tampering. As Erica gathers more and more people working for her, I get more and more behind the belief that Erica can topple the technologically-superior aliens. And now that her son Tyler (Logan Huffman) is not around, she has a bit more focus.

     On the subject of Tyler, why the heck doesn't Erica tell him the truth? She should have done so a long time ago. I can't believe that she can't stop him from going to the Vs if she just explains what is going on. Tyler's true loyalty to the aliens is bonded mostly through one particular V, Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), who is on Erica's side! If Erica doesn't want to inform Tyler, can't Lisa? She cares about him, too, so she should stage some sort of break up to keep him safely away. Instead, both Lisa and Erica, who are supposed to care about the boy, let him be pulled into Anna's plans, in which, by the way, Tyler is expendable. Great job, you two!

     Erica has a chance to succeed because of the V uprising brewing against Anna (Morena Baccarin), the series' other leading lady, only on the opposite side of the fight. While thus far the show has shown a two woman battle of the wills between Anna and Erica, every week Anna's daughter, Lisa, is growing more formidable. Yes, Anna is beginning to suspect that Lisa's loyalty isn't with her mother, casting suspicion on her actions. But Lisa has the support of her imprisoned grandmother, Anna's mother, Diana (Jane Badler), which I am thinking may give Lisa the power that she needs to take over the fleet. But if she does that, the show will be over, so I'm not expecting it anytime soon.

     Diana, on the other hand, is simply mysterious. I know she stands against her daughter, but Badler's sly looks make me think that Diana is not just going to stand behind Lisa, either. She must have her own motivations, and while Diana does exhibit emotion, I'm not convinced she suddenly developed feelings for her just-reconnected with granddaughter. I worry that once Lisa gets Diana free of her prison, Erica and the others may suddenly be battling two formidable enemies.

     Luckily, all of these power struggles have been the most interesting part of the show. On both sides of the line, leadership is being questioned and changed, in sometimes action-packed ways, like buildings blowing up and fierce shoot-outs. Honestly, as much as I like the personal drama side of things, V can be a little weak with the writing, so a focus on big action and betrayals is probably the smartest way to go to keep an audience. Know your strengths and your weaknesses, and play to the former.

     I am pretty unnerved about Anna's new hold over Hobbes, supposedly having his wife prisoner. It feels like this has already been done before with Ryan (Morris Chestnut) and his daughter. I think it's lazy of the writers, having lost Ryan from Erica's central group, to just do the same thing to another one of her friends. Unless they play it quite differently going forward, this was a bad move.

     As to how Ryan may or may not be relevant to the story anymore, I don't really see his place. His daughter is more attached to Anna than him, and she's the subject of Anna's latest experiments. The only place story-wise I see to go with Ryan is to have him rescue his daughter. In which case, he will need to find a hiding spot and be a father. I don't see how Ryan could re-enter the fight, unless his daughter is aged to at least teenager before he rescues her (a possibility, I know). Then perhaps they could get into the Fifth Column together. As such, I wonder why Ryan even survived the explosion last week. I think it may have been more dignified than what is character is about to become to the show - a drag.

     Then there's Father Jack (Joel Gretsch). While he has pledged to be a soldier now that he's been kicked out of the church, I can't imagine that means he'll be fine with a killing spree. Will he be Erica's moral compass, letting her know when she's gone too far? I hope that is how he will be used, as if he's not willing to step up in a violently aggressive manner, and I don't see that as a realistic choice, that's his only real purpose.

     Lastly, we have Chad (Scott Wolf), who is just a courier right now. I'm glad that he was swayed from V-supporter to a member of the Fifth Column. But now what? Will he just be a message relayer from Lisa to Erica? I don't see him excelling in combat. His access is limited, at best. Anna uses him, but doesn't really trust him. His place in the series confuses me.

     We're definitely more in the middle of a story arc than at either end, so now is mostly just the time to wonder. To see what comes of things, watch V on ABC Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.


Article first published as TV Review: V Getting Past "Birth Pangs" on Blogcritics.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

V - "Red Rain"

     To be perfectly honest, not a lot happened in the second season premiere of ABC's V this week. After the huge developments and cliffhanger last spring, it was a remarkably tame episode. Not one person died or had their life really even threatened. No shots were fired; nothing blew up. The worst thing that happened was when Tyler (Logan Huffman) got a little bump on the head during a would-be riot, which quickly calmed down. That doesn't mean it was a bad episode, but I honestly expected more excitement.

     Anna (Morena Baccarin) continues to battle human emotion, sparked when Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) destroyed all of her solider eggs in the season finale. Some of the ships' captains, and especially Marcus (Christopher Shyer), seem to have noticed the slip, though Anna denied the feelings were real or had a significant impact on her. What I find curious is, if Anna is so easily affected, why doesn't she suspect more of her people are? The whole 5th Column came about because Visitors started to sympathize with humans. Now that Anna has seen just how easy it is to lose control, she shouldn't be asking how some of her people did the same, but why didn't more of them? In fact, she doesn't ever have even appeared to consider seriously that her daughter, Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), is more than just play acting her relationship with Tyler.

     That is merely one of the plot holes in the series. Plot holes are probably the number one mistake V makes. The acting is good, even Vandervoort, one of the best on V, whom I found lousy on Smallville. The special effects look fantastic. The drama builds just fine. Real action and danger play out wonderfully. But then there are these major aspects that just don't make sense. Let's look at more examples.

     Chad (Scott Wolf) has decided to join the human resistance against the Visitors. Sure, Jack (Joel Gretsch) is hesitant to let Chad know too much about the secret group, but he is given membership by the end of the episode. Besides that, Chad ignored plenty of evidence right in front of his face before, but seeing a human get pricked with some needles, and interviewing a few more who went through the same thing, but not even finding out why the Visitors were doing the pricking, swayed him? Based on his character as shown up til now, he should have asked Anna what the purpose of the pricks were, and if he couldn't get to her, assumed that they were something helpful. I didn't see a great reason for his sudden change of heart.

     Why were the humans so forgiving of the Visitors about Red Sky and Red Rain? I understand that Anna gave an explanation that Red Rain was a gift to mankind, healing the damage we had done to the planet. Yep, that sounds nice. But once she says that, no one seems to remember that she spent four days refusing to engage with the humans and arousing suspicions. She shut down healing centers, and stopped shuttles. No one asked her to explain why she did that, they just took her word that Red Rain was good, and everything was fine. Why? How?

     Lastly, I thought the twist of Anna letting Ryan (Morris Chestnut) go and keeping his baby so that she could control him, a major terrorist (from her perspective), down the road, was a good move. It was a nice story that made sense. But Hobbes (Charles Mesure) figured out Anna's real motivation immediately, and no one paid him much attention when he pointed it out. Maybe they believed him, but just couldn't see any way to get around Anna's game. That would have been fine, if they took a moment to say that. Instead, viewers are left confused at why nobody cares Anna has a potential mole in their group.

    The episode wasn't all bad. Dr. Sidney Miller was introduced to the cast, as the 5th Column's newest member. Though he wasn't given a choice about membership, and despite his obvious hesitation to join up, he also didn't argue much. Miller is played by Bret Harrison, who I thought hilarious on both The Loop and Reaper. I'm glad to see him get some more work, and hope he sticks around. The series would benefit from some of his brand of humor.

     I'm not sure why I like V, given the obvious flaws that run rampant within the series. There is still something about it, perhaps the underdog fight to save the world, that is appealing. As I mentioned, perhaps it's the actors themselves, who really commit to the material, even when it's not up to par, which is often. For whatever reason, I hope V sticks around long enough to fix those issues. And given that the show is beginning season two just as screwed up as season one was, let's hope the people making the show realize there are issues that need to be fixed.

     V airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on ABC.


Article first published as TV Review: V - "Red Rain" on Blogcritics.


For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.