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Season 1 Premiere: Tell Me You Love Me

Posted on September 19, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired September 9, 2007

This new show from HBO is really pushing the boundaries, and that’s saying something. The problem that I’ve found is that it’s not very good. I’m not against any particular aspect of any show – after all, I have watched Big Love and The Sopranos on HBO.

Other shows, like Deadwood, though I never watched regularly, had plenty of action (and plenty of cussing). But this one takes it to a new extreme. There’s very little language – a few words here and there, mostly used in regular conversation, so it’s not bad, but the real over-the-top part is in the sex. Not that I’m complaining. It’s just that it’s unusual for any television show.

Season 1 Premiere: Rock of Love

Posted on July 29, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired July 15, 2007

It is perhaps interesting that there are any bands from the 80s that are able to walk, much less tour every year. But since they do, it should probably come as little surprise to see them pop up on reality shows. Of course, you would probably expect to see them on shows like Celebrity Rehab or The Surreal Life, but doing the unexpected is what gets celebrities where they are, right?

That is exactly what Bret Michaels has decided to do. Back in the 80s, he brought the girls backstage. Now that reality shows are all the rage, he is putting them on cable television for all to see.

Season 1 Premiere: Damages

Posted on July 25, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired July 24, 2007

This new series has really been heating things up with ads. They are all over the place. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to the ads to tell you what the series is about, so if you want to know you needed to watch. While the pilot episode was presented commercial-free (or at least, with limited interruptions, meaning a really long one now and again), it didn’t do much to help figure out what the series would be about.

If you are a fan of non-linear storytelling, then this might be the one for you. The tale starts in an elevator. A lobby, really, as the elevator opens. There, we are introduced to Ellen Parsons. To my knowledge, there is no relation to bandleader Alan Parsons. Ellen is covered in blood. This is the end of the season, to “now” as it were. Throughout the episode – and in fact throughout the season – flashes will take you back days and months, and from there it will take you forward again, to gradually piece together how Ellen ended up covered in blood in an elevator in the lobby. Ready?

Survivorman vs. Wild

Posted on July 22, 2007

There is not much shortage of reality programming out there. On one channel, we have Man vs. Wild, which claims to have a man taking on the wilds – though at least one article would seem to indicate something a bit different. On another channel (actually the same channel in the US, since Discovery shows both) you get Survivorman, which also shows one guy, stranded and making his way back again.

Which should you choose? Should you choose either? It all depends on if you care about which one is more real.

Strategy of a Fifth Grader

Posted on July 15, 2007

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader has been on for a few months now, and while the multiple-choice format means that there is always a chance you may be able to win a million dollars, there are certain ways of approaching the questions that would see to make it more likely. Yet no one takes that approach.

Season 1 Premiere: Pirate Master

Posted on June 4, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired May 31, 2007

When you think reality television, your mind must go to none other than Mark Burnett. The man practically invented the genre. While he has had his failings, you have to think that he is going to put up something worthwhile, especially when it is right there in his wheelhouse.

I mean really – lush scenery, incredible landscapes and pirates, for crying out loud. It has to be good, right?

Season 1 Premiere: On the Lot

Posted on May 22, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired May 22, 2007

At least partially because we have a son who enjoys creating his own movies, we tuned in to watch On the Lot, a new offering from Fox. After seeing their numbers, it appears we might have been the only ones watching.

The premise of the show is relatively simple. Like any other performance-based reality show, the contestants present their offerings and hope to be the last one standing. The difference here is that the contestants are actually not the performers – they are directing them. These contestants want to make movies.

Drive

Posted on April 15, 2007

This new series from Fox has hit the scene with a huge amount of advertising, so it will be interesting to see if it lives up to the amount that they are spending on it.

The cast is decent – though it’s a large ensemble cast, Nathan Fillion seems to be taking the lead with his portrayal of Alex Tully, a contractor who receives a call one day that his wife has been kidnapped and he needs to show up for a race in order to win her back. Implausible, perhaps, but it seems to be a bit interesting.

Season 1 Premiere: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Posted on March 8, 2007 · Season 1 · Episode 1 · Aired February 27, 2007

In this new game show from Fox, each contestant must answer ten questions, and each correct answer is worth progressively more money. The first one $1000, the second $2000, and so on, up to $500000. If they answer all ten questions, then they are given the opportunity to answer an eleventh question, worth $1 million.

To make things interesting, the contestants are all regular people, and they are given five “classmates”, who are all fifth graders (or of that approximate age). Each of their classmates can help for two questions. If they don’t do anything, the classmate has to sit down, and the contestant picks another to stand next to them for the next two questions.

Grease: You’re the One That I Want

Posted on January 7, 2007

We caught this mid-season replacement while we were looking for something, and figured we’d watch. All in all it wasn’t bad, but talk about your ripoffs. Three judges sit behind a table and watch as “talent” (and I use that word loosely) streams by them in search of their fifteen minutes of fame. Sound familiar? No, it’s not American Idol. That starts next week. This is instead the public casting call for a new Broadway production of Grease. What an idiotic idea.

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