TV Review: ROSEWOOD is Bad

Article originally published as ROSEWOOD Review on Seat42F.

This is my review of FOX’s Rosewood: it is bad. Really bad, wholly unoriginal, and a complete waste of your time. Bad, bad, bad. You can stop reading right now and just skip this one. But if you’d like to know why, and I know many of you want me to back up my opinion with actual information about the show (justifiably so), here’s another 550 or so words about why it’s bad.

First, let’s start with why it’s good. (I tripped you up, didn’t I?) Credit must be given where credit is due, and casting Morris Chestnut as the eccentric lead of the series, Dr. Beaumont “Rosie” Rosewood, Jr., is a good move. I like Morris Chestnut very much, and have enjoyed his work in such programs as Nurse Jackie, American Horror Story, and V. I would happily watch a show in which he is the lead, and the character of Rosie is a fun one in the tradition of Gregory House or Richard Castle.

I also like Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black) as his mother, Donna, Jaina Lee Ortiz (The Shop), as the cop he works with, Annalise, and love Gabrielle Dennis (The Game) and Anna Konkle (The Escort) as Pippy and Tara, respectively. Pippy is Rosewood’s sister and Tara is Pippy’s fiancé, and both work for Rosewood. So overall, the ensemble is good. And really, few shows fail to put together a good cast these days, with lots of deserving performers out there, working for their chance.

What stinks is the premise. ROSEWOOD is yet another crime show about a quirky private citizen with mad skills who hooks up with law enforcement and helps them solve crimes, even though Rosewood should never be allowed out in the field with the authorities. This is the third review of a series with this premise that I’ve written this week alone, and I’m getting awfully tired of the Big Four networks putting out more and more of these programs that are basically copies of one another. Make something original!

The pilot of ROSEWOOD exemplifies this well. Viewers are introduced to Annalise. Rosewood meets Annalise and there are instant sparks between them. He pushily forces his way into her case, while she tries to stay closed off and keep him out. After he helps her bring the criminal to justice, she softens and definitely seems like she’ll let him assist again in the future.

Now, what sets ROSEWOOD slightly apart from its peers is that most of the main characters are not officers. Annalise is, of course, and her boss, Captain Hornstock (Domenick Lombardozzi, The Wire), who is not much in the pilot, are leads. The other three are more connected to Rosewood than the police. However, since Rosewood runs a pathology business in which he examines bodies and Pippy and Tara work for him, they will still be used to look into the crime, so it doesn’t differentiate itself all that much. In fact, the official website describes this as a medical procedural, so it sounds like the series will highlight the medical aspects of the investigation more, which has already been done by Body of Proof, Bones, and others. Any variations from the basic format of the other shows in the same vein are cosmetic, not substantial.

In short, ROSEWOOD lacks anything to set it apart, other than its talented cast, but many bad shows have talented casts. If it’s going to compete against high-quality fare on cable and streaming platforms, it has to give us something more than case-of-the-week, and it’s not going to. So, it’s yet another disappointment in a broadcast television landscape growing more and more crowded with them. The only good part about this is that I may finally have time for that Buffy re-watch I’ve been craving!

ROSEWOOD premieres Wednesday, September 23^rd on FOX.

After THE AFTER

Article first published as After THE AFTER on TheTVKing.

Nearly a year after releasing its first batch of comedy pilots, Amazon.com finally posted two dramas free to stream on their website. One of these pilots is The After, which is from Chris Carter (The X-Files), a suspenseful series send after a post-apocalyptic event. Eight strangers, bound by fate, not coincidence, must come together to survive, fleeing from the rest of the world.

The X-Files was a seminal show for science fiction television, and some of the creepy mystery that seeped through that program is repeated here. There is a creature (Sam Littlefield) with weird tattoos in the woods, and no one can explain to our protagonists what is happening. Even after viewing the entire "Pilot," the long-term plot still seems murky.

But the mistake comes by making The After about a "random" group of strangers thrust together by circumstance. This concept has been done to death, and with much better ensembles. Those that make up the cast are mostly familiar faces, and none of them are bad actors. But neither is this the next Lost, and the layers that begin to peel away in the "Pilot" are predictable and formulaic.

Our central heroine is Gigi Generau (Louise Monot, The Avignon Prophecy), an aspiring actress with a thick French accent, currently stuck far away from her beloved (Jason Lewis, Sex and the City) and their child. She is joined by an 'innocent' ex-con (Aldis Hodge, Leverage), an asshole lawyer (Adrian Pasdar, Heroes), a likely prostitute (Arielle Kebbel, The Vampire Diaries), a gay clown (Jamie Kennedy, Ghost Whisperer), a senile millionaire (Sharon Lawrence, NYPD Blue), a foul-mouthed drunk (Andrew Howard, Hatfields & McCoys), and a cop (Jaina Lee Ortiz, The Shop).

This grouping is a lot like that assembled by broadcast network series with a similar format, such as The Nine and Lucky Seven. There isn't any single actor who stands out as amazing, and though they play their parts well enough, we're taught not to take the characters at face value, which makes it hard to trust any of the players. None of these other shows lasted, so why should The After?

What will set it apart from that category is the gratuitous nudity and frequent dropping of the F-bomb. But don't mistake The After as being HBO or Showtime level quality, as the writing is far less smart. There are some intriguing elements, to be sure, but it's not looking like the next must-see serial drama.

This is evidenced by the other people we see. While the cast is escaping from a parking garage to a mansion to the forest, the general public riots, tries to flip their vehicle, offers no assistance, even from law-enforcement, and tries to rob Lawrence's character's home with guns. The rest of the world's population is shown as a two-dimensional menace, with only the main players getting any development at all. This doesn't bode well for sustainability.

While I do have very mixed feelings on The After, enjoying it but not really respecting it, I probably will watch if it goes to series. After all, at least it's not another police procedural, and it's trying a few new things. Plus Carter's involvement gives me hope there are some bigger, well-thought out arcs that could be brought into the fold down the road. But as a "Pilot," it lacked authenticity and any real, lasting draw. Very disappointing, considering Amazon has only ordered two drama offerings versus eleven comedies so far.

The After is available now on Amazon.com.