Southland returns on TNT

     Southland was a gritty cop show set in Los Angeles that aired on NBC last spring for seven episodes.  Although it was initially renewed for a thirteen episode second season, the premiere date in the fall was pushed back, and then the show was abruptly canceled, without the final six filmed episodes ever seeing the light of day.  Part of the reason the show was pulled was because of its dark tone.  The direction of the series also changed for the second season, focusing more on Adams, Sherman, and their partners, giving less importance to the rest of the ensemble.  It was also to be more procedural, less serial, than before.

     Beginning tonight at ten p.m., TNT will air all thirteen filmed episodes.  Depending on how the ratings go, perhaps they may even order more.  Though an extension has not yet been announced, TNT owns the rights to do so.  The episodes will air in production order, starting with an extended version (by about six minutes) of the pilot.  As of March 2nd, the show will have exhausted the already aired episodes, and begin showing new ones, for those fans who have already seen the first seven.  TNT has also restored language that was cut due to broadcast content standards that cable is not constrained by.

     The series stars Regina King (24), Benjamin McKenzie (The O.C.), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), and Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers) as the aforementioned partners.  Also starring are Kevin Alejandro (Shark), Arija Bareikis, Shawn Hatosy, and Michael McGrady (Day Break).  The show is not really my cup of tea, but if you enjoyed it last spring, this is all very good news for you.  It definitely stood apart from other cop dramas currently on television.

     SPOILER ALERT!  Although I have not yet been sent the new episodes, I can reveal that Ben will have to face dealing with John's pain medication addiction, Chickie will be ostracized by the other cops, Lydia will have trouble balancing her personal life and her job, and Sammy will feel left out when he and Nate join a drug task force with Gil, an old friend of Nate's.  Sammy also will be trying to have a baby, and Mercedes will not be very accepting of Nate as her father, which will end up causing something really bad.  Sal's daughter will manipulate him, black mailing him after she finds out about his affair.  These are but a few of the details already released about upcoming episodes.

Chuck vs the season premiere

    NBC's Chuck is the little show that could.  Numerous times now it has been near death, only to rise again triumphantly.  The end looked so likely early in season two that producers ramped up the juice, squeezing what was planned for several seasons into several action-packed arcs.  It shook up the show in new and awesome ways, and was rewarded with a third season this year, and six additional episodes have already been picked up on the top of the original order of thirteen.  In fact, last night's two hour premiere scored the highest ratings Chuck had seen in some time.  That, combined with an NBC primetime schedule that is about get a lot thinner because of the departure of The Jay Leno Show, suddenly has this nerd looking a lot cooler.  Chuck will air again tonight in it's normal time slot.

THE NEXT SECTION CONTAIN SPOILERS.  IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED LAST NIGHT'S SEASON PREMIERE, DO NOT CONTINUE READING UNTIL YOU DO.

     When last we saw Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, Less Than Perfect), the computer in his head had just been upgraded in such a way that gave him skills as well as knowledge, a curse as well as a blessing, as Chuck does not seem to have control of when the skills manifest.  As season three opens, six months have passed, and Chuck's world has changed dramatically.  Apparently, our hero gave up the girl of his dreams, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and his tech wizard job to chase the dream of being a real, professional spy, then washed out pathetically.  Returning to his sister Ellie's (Sarah Lancaster, What About Brian?) couch, he checks in at his old job at the Buy More, only to be disgraced further.  Even Casey (Adam Baldwin, Firefly) begins to feel sorry for him.

     True, Chuck had his jobs back by the end of the first hour, but it was nothing less than thrilling.  Chief among the surprises, I am still rocked by the apparent surprise murder of Emmett (Tony Hale, Arrested Development).  Of course, that facilitated the return of several key characters to the Buy more.  Also, the second hour featured the return of Sarah's friend Carina (Mini Anden, My Boys) and a great plot for Morgan, who remembered her fondly from her first visit.

     Of course, it wasn't all shocking.  To restore status quo, and the only weak part of the episode, Chuck's best friend, Morgan (Joshua Gomez, Without a Trace) was fired from his job in Hawaii and returned, unfortunately without his girlfriend, Anna Wu (Julia Ling, who was sadly dropped from the cast this season).  That won't hold the show down, though, as there are plenty of great plots coming up.  For starters, Chuck's brother-in-law, Captain Awesome, (Ryan McPartlin) is now in on the secret that Chuck is a spy.  Chuck will slowly be getting more powerful, and his relationship with Sarah has never been more confusing.  General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) knows more than she's saying.  And there are a bevy of big guest stars, including Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), and the return of Chuck's dad, played by Scott Bakula (Men of a Certain Age, Star Trek: Enterprise, Quantum Leap).  This is certainly must-see-TV.

Doh! 20 Years of The Simpsons

     Can you believe that Matt Groenig's The Simpsons has been on Fox for twenty years?  The longest running primetime show on television, it started as a short on The Tracey Ullman Show, and became a cultural phenomenon.  I was six when the show premiered, and was not allowed to watch it for many years.  However, I, of course, did become a fan awhile ago, and though some people think the show has lost its freshness, it still consistently delivers the funny.

     The anniversary kicked off last night with an episode featuring Krusty the Clown.  It wasn't anything special, but fairly good, as most episodes are.  Krusty was forced to share his show with a young woman dressed as a princess (voiced by Anne Hathaway).  The two fell in love, and it was a sweet story, ending with them together.  Meanwhile, Homer and his friends were wooed by another power plant after Mr. Burns dropped the daily doughnuts in the break room.  The episode was not earth shattering, but provided a few chuckles, which after twenty years, is pretty good.  As the credits rolled, the following words appeared on the screen: "Thanks for 20 wonderful years.  The best is yet to come."  Eh, maybe not, but it's still certainly worth watching.  Other guest voices in the episode included Eartha Kitt, Maurice LaMarche, Gary Larson ("The Far Side" cartoonist), and Jackie Mason.

     Following the regular episode, Fox aired a one hour special ("In 3-D!  On Ice!", though it was neither)  Hosted by documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), it featured interviews with Seth McFarlane (Family Guy), Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park), Conan O'Brien (The Tonight Show), Sting, Bryan Williams, Hugh Hefner (Playboy), Seth Meyers (Saturday Night Live), David Cross (Arrested Development), Dan Rather, and many others, including many people that worked on the show, and even fans.  The opening was very cool, featuring a variety of bands, well known and not, playing the theme song.  It chronicled the way the creation of the series, and the effect it has had on the world.

     Whether you like them or not, The Simpsons has certainly left its mark on the world.  And it shows no signs of stopping.  There are currently no plans to stop making the show.  It airs Sunday nights on Fox.

Leno Loses in Primetime

    For months now, the chronically unfunny (in my opinion) Jay Leno has hosted The Jay Leno Show five nights a week on NBC.  What is unusual about this late night talk show is that it airs in primetime.  NBC decided this year to give up ten o'clock five nights a week as a 'bold experiment', and it has failed big time.  Not for NBC, the network insists, as Leno is performing as expected.  Plus it costs them very little to make his show, versus five other, bigger budget programs.  The problem is the affiliates.

     NBC doesn't own most of the local NBC stations.  Affiliates began complaining that Leno was losing them viewers for their eleven o'clock newscasts.  This is very bad because advertisers pay top dollar to run spots during the news, and lower ratings mean less money.  The local affiliates count on that money to stay afloat.  Some threatened to pull Leno off the air, even before the show premiered, and in return NBC threatened to stop allowing them to air any NBC shows.  Things seemed to have settled once Leno began airing in the fall, but when November sweeps came back, the unrest returned.  NBC has backed down and agreed that on February 12th Leno will be leaving ten o'clock.

     The problem posed is that Leno still works for NBC and they have no desire to get rid of him.  However, Conan O'Brien is under contract to host The Tonight Show, and Leno cannot take it back.  Currently, NBC would like to air a shortened Leno from 11:35-12:05, bump The Tonight Show back to 12:05-1:05, and by extension, move Late Night With Jimmy Fallon back to begin at 2:05.  This would leave Last Call With Carson Daly out, as two a.m. belongs to the affiliates, though NBC has pledged to keep him at the network.  Currently, none of this moving around is finalized, other than Leno leaving primetime, but all involved parties are in talks to make it happen.

     So what would air at ten p.m.?  Suddenly NBC has five more hours to fill.  Top on the list are new episodes of Friday Night Lights, which has aired on satellite already, but NBC is allowed to begin airing as of March 1st, and had planned on bringing back soon anyway.  Also likely is the USA-aired Law & Order: Criminal Intent, an expanded Dateline, and another reality show or two.  Nothing is set in stone, and NBC could end up airing other shows from it's networks, including Bravo, USA, or even SyFy.

     What exactly will happen remains to be seen, but NBC is hoping it will all be worked out by February 12th.  This could shape up to be one heck of a battle, or a huge disappointment.

Vampire Die-aries

     CW presented yet another teen-angst drama this fall, this time taking our resurgence in vampires into account.  The Vampire Diaries is steeped in old mystery, history, and the fanged ones, but it is also the type of hour soap you would expect from the network that airs 90210 and Gossip Girl.  The problem is, it's a little too into the teenage genre and less into the vampire one.

     The high school characters are largely flat and one dimensional.  The main girl, Elena (Nina Dobrev, Degrassi: The Next Generation), tries to have depth, dealing with loss of her parents, and dating a one hundred and sixty-two year old, but the actress just doesn't have the acting ability to pull it off.  Similarly, her best friend, Bonnie (Katerina Graham), is a descendant of a witch, who the viewer sees in flashbacks, but her emotions are displayed only at surface level.  And don't even get me started on the guys, who have much less back story to work with, but aren't any better at it than the girls.  The only one who really succeeds is Candice Accola as Caroline.  Perhaps that's because her character actually is ditsy and shallow.

     The vampires, however, are mixed.  While Stefan (Paul Wesley, Everwood) only occasionally shows glimpses of talent, Damon is played deliciously evil by Ian Somerhalder (Lost).  Damon's motivation has barely been made clear, but he is played in such a way that he seems likable, and every time he does something monstrous, I am surprised anew.  Intellectually, I know that the character is not trustworthy in the least, but I am still drawn in.  This is the way to play a vampire, all atonce seductive, tricky, and villainous.  Currently, Damon is the best thing the show has going for it.

     That being said, the mythos and history of the town where the show is set is rich enough to keep things going for awhile as the actors grow into the roles.  It's been done before on other shows.  Sometimes it just takes time for a show to truly find its way.  The series was developed and is currently led by Kevin Williamson, creator of Dawson's Creek, so it has that going for it.  While currently it is barely worthy as a guilty pleasure show, take a lesson from Williamson's history and realize that it could grow into something really great down the line.  Either way, the tween fans of Twilight will find plenty to obsess over in the meantime.  After all, it just won Favorite New TV Drama at the People's Choice Awards.

     The Vampire Diaries is currently on hiatus and will return Thursday, January 21st at 8pm.

Merci Mercy

    When NBC announced a new medical drama about nurses called Mercy, eyes, including mine, rolled.  Don't we have enough medical shows?  Not only that, but no less than two others were also premiering this fall.  However, Mercy has somehow set itself above and pack, and proved that there can still be fresh, fun medical shows.  I credit the amazing cast, all of which are wonderful, but I'm going to focus on the Top 5, hard as it was to choose 5.  Mercy airs Wednesdays at 8pm, and just returned to the air this past week.

     Virtual unknown Taylor Schilling stars as Veronica.  She is delightful, pretty, and sympathetically human.  The blond is really trying to make things work with her childhood sweetheart, Mike (Diego Klattenhoff), despite his cheating ways while she was in Iraq.  However, she also cheated on him during her second tour.  She is doing a highly entertaining job balancing all the personal crap with her job.

     Fresh off of the canceled Men in Trees, James Tupper plays the aforementioned lover, Dr. Chris Sands, who followed her home and is now a doctor at the hospital where Veronica works.  (Side note, Diego Klattenhoff was also recurring on Men in Trees near the end).  He gets to talk a lot more on this show, and it doesn't hurt.  Unlike many dramas, it does not seem inevitable that he will end up with Veronica.

     I'd never heard of James LeGros (Ally McBeal), but his performance as Dr. Harris has been the most interesting so far.  He started as a total jerk, and then, after his wife's murder, he became a grief-stricken total jerk obsessed with not letting anyone else die.  He manages to convey a character who doesn't fall into stereotypical growth, but gets to explore strong emotion in a very satisfying way.

     Child star Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is also a nurse at the hospital, young, green, and gullible.  Her character, Chloe, is not just the comic relief, however, as her attempts at love have been well performed as well.  She adds an element to the show that is completely necessary to the series's success.

     Kate Mulgrew, perhaps best remembered as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, is quickly establishing a new character to remember, Veronica's mother.  She plays the alcoholic matriarch of a "white trash" Irish Jersey family.  She has taken to the role with relish, and always steals the scene when she appears on screen.  Hopefully an upgrade to series regular will soon be forthcoming.

V Vindicated

     Back in November, I was raving about a brilliant pilot for FlashForward and a lame one for ABC's V.  Now the tables have turned.  While Flash Forward suffers along, V has delivered three excellent episodes before breaking for four months.  Stupid to go on such a long hiatus right after premiering a great new show?  Monumentally.  The interim may kill the show, and that would be a shame, because it has really shaped up.

     Why has it improved so much?  Because the aliens are awesome!  In four short hours, viewers have already covered plenty of nifty little twists about our complex Visitors.  For one, there is a movement called the Fifth Column made up of Vs that want to overthrow head honcho Anna (Morena Baccarin, Firefly).  It appears that they were mostly defeated awhile ago, but now they are back, including Ryan (Morris Chestnut), who may have fathered the first hybrid baby.  Equally creepy is the sophisticated way Anna plans to inject the human population with her concoction, and the jackets that spy on people.  Why she had her daughter, Lisa (Laura Vandervoot, Smallville, whom I sincerely apologize to for criticizing her casing) seduce Tyler (Logan Huffman) is anyone's guess, but surely there is more than meets the eye.  Plus, super large fleet of Vs on their way to Earth!

     Back in the human camp, the teamup of federal agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost) with Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) makes much more sense now that we now he is ex-military and can hold his own.  A priest that can stitch up a bullet wound and throw a punch?  Sign me up!  What I really want to know is when Chad (Scott Wolf, Everwood) is going to stop taking orders and start fighting back.  Clearly he is suspicious of Anna and the gang, but since they've given him a stardom, he seems reluctant to question them too difficult.  But that can't possibly go on too much longer.

     If you haven't given V a chance, or canceled the season pass after the mediocre, plot-hole ridden pilot, you still have plenty of time to catch up.  After all, only four episodes have aired.  V will return on March 30th.

Heroes finally finding footing

     Way back in October when I last wrote about NBC's Heroes, I lamented that the show was struggling, but celebrated a few bright spots on the horizon.  After having just viewed Monday's two-parter, I am happy to report that Heroes has found it's stride again.  If you had written Heroes off, now is the time to get back on board.  Catch up online, then read on.

     As before, there has only been limited Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee), who used to be just about the only part of the show worth watching.  As their names did not even appear in the latest installment's opening credits, one must assume that the plummeting ratings forced the main characters down to limited episode counts.  Not that Hiro has become uneccessary to the show.  He still should have a hand in the showdown, and he has not yet resolved his plot to rescue Charlie (Jayma Mays, Glee).  However, I am gratified to see Heroes mess with time travel and changing the timeline, but not have things go disastrously wrong, as is the norm for science fiction, and have to have it put back.  Ando's new standing is welcome.  There has also been very little seen on Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy), who popped up only briefly in the fall, before disappearing again.  Similarly, another less popular character, Tracy (Ali Larter, Final Destination, Varsity Blues) has appeared in just five of the first thirteen episodes this year.

     Meanwhile, while Claire (Hayden Panettiere, I Love You Beth Cooper) has not gone into lesbianism, as I thought she might, she has gone through a lot, being lied to by her adopted father, loosing her biological father, and almost falling prey to a cult.  She is staying interesting and relevant to the plot.  Speaking of her biological father, it appears that Nathan's (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) plot, months after his death, has finally played out and he will no longer be a part of the show.  This is mostly welcome, though he had gotten more engrossing last season.  The character I most miss at this point is Matt (Greg Grunberg, Alias), who had a hell of an episode battling the villain in his brain, but hasn't been seen since.

     Speaking of villains, has Sylar (Zachary Quinto, 24, Star Trek) finally met his match in newest main cast member Samuel (Prison Break's Robert Knepper)?  Their showdown this week gave me chills, and made me yearn for more.  If the two ever fought head on for long, or teamed up, it would be quite a show.  Samuel is easily the most complex, compelling enemy to grace television screens in quite some time, and his carnival slash cult has given much drive to Volume 5: Redemption, the title for this fourth season.  The place had introduced a slew of new heroes with unusual abilities, and brought a few old ones back out of the woodwork.  Plus, what the heck was up with Sylar's new tattoo of a familiar face?  With only six episodes left, Heroes doesn't have much this spring, but what it does offer will surely be worth tuning in for.

FlashForward shows only flash of ingenuity

    ABC's new show Flash Forward, while starting with an exciting and interesting pilot, has become mostly dull.  Maybe that's why it's rumored to be one of the shows facing cancellation soon.  Don't get me wrong.  There are still moments of excitement.  The show just needs to step it up.

     First, let's look at the plots that are exciting.  Demetri's (John Cho, Star Trek, Harold & Kumar) murder coming up in March, which was starting to drag, got a shot of adrenaline in the fall finale when Nhadra (Shohreh Aghdashloo, 24, House of Sand and Fog) revealed that his would-be killer is best friend and fellow agent, Mark (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love).  It was also kind of cool that Demetri's fiance, Zoey (Gabrielle Union), actually saw his funeral, not their wedding, in her flash forward.  The other neat twist was when Al (Lee Thompson Young) committed suicide, proving that what everyone saw was by no means set in stone and could, indeed, be changed.  It was unexpected, and gave a boost to an otherwise boring episode.

     The problem is that the rest of the cast aren't sparking the same interest that those couple of agents are.  For instance, despite their desire to avoid ending up in bed, Olivia (Sonya Walger, Lost) and Lloyd (Jack Davenport, Swingtown) can't seem to stay away from each other, and that was before the kidnapping at the end of the fall finale.  Aaron's (Brian F. O'Byrne) plot involving his daughter has unfolded so slowly that it is hard to keep interest.  Ditto pregnant lesbian Janis (Christine Woods).  Even the much-publicized arrival of Simon (Dominic Monaghan, Lost, The Lord of the Rings) failed to add to the intensity much.

     Flash Forward still has a chance.  Thus far it has allowed itself to get caught up in the too many characters with too much going on syndrome, but Lost escaped it, and so can this show.  If it gets it's act together quick.  It is probable that if it doesn't return from break strong right away, it will not live to see a second season.  More likely, flash forward to the handful of loyal viewers finishing the drama during a summer burn-off of the last few episodes.

Golden Globes need polish part II: comedy and supporting roles

     On January 17th, the Golden Globes will kick off the winter awards season by naming their winners. Globes are given for both TV and movies, but since I write mostly about TV, we're just going to deal with that. Here's who is nominated for comedies and supporting roles and who should win, in my opinion. Disclosure: I never score very well with awards ballots, so these predictions may be way off.  Click for Part I: Drama and Miniseries.
 
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL - 30 Rock (NBC), Entourage (HBO), Glee (FOX), Modern Family (ABC), The Office (NBC). Four excellent choices, and then there's Entourage. 30 Rock has had it's chance, give it to one of the newbies. I love Modern Family, but Glee should win because it's more fresh, more groundbreaking, and has more merchandise. A DVD of the first half of the season is already on sale.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL - Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Steve Carell, The Office; David Duchovny, Californication; Thomas Jane, Hung; Matthew Morrison, Glee.  Alec has had his wins, and Carell has been on so long, it seems a little late to award it.  Not that The Office has gone downhill, but still...  I think this one is going to go to Matthew Morrison, as Glee could easily go for a near sweep, although Thomas Jane could be the dark horse.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL - Toni Collette, United States of Tara; Courteney Cox, Cougar Town; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Lea Michele, Glee.  This may be the category Glee loses because, after all, you can't win them all.  Fey has already won, and Collette's show only did so-so.  Cox is funny, but her show certainly isn't the breakout hit, though it's adequate.  I believe Falco has this one all tied up.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION - Jane Adams, Hung; Rose Byrne, Damages; Jane Lynch, Glee; Janet McTeer, Into the Storm; Chloe Sevigny, Big Love.  Lynch deserves it, hands down.  Unfortunately, she has never gotten the respect that she deserves, and she may not again.  McTeer seems a good guess, but Adams might be a contender.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION - Michael Emerson, Lost; Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother; William Hurt, Damages; John Lithgow, Dexter; Jeremy Piven, Entourage.   Where is Jim Parsons's (The Big Bang Theory) name in this list?  The fact that he is not on here, but Jeremy Piven once again is, is a crime.  Parsons should have won this category.  That being said, there are four excellent choices here.  My gut says Lithgow, though Hurt wouldn't surprise me either.  Harris should have won the last couple of years, and Emerson has deserved it for awhile, too.  However, Hurt and Lithgow were two intense, exciting, new performances, so I'd say the smart money is on them.  Or maybe not.