Category Archives: Television

April 11, 2007 · 3:23 pm

Why You Need to Watch ‘Friday Night Lights’

Tonight at 8pm EST, there’s a few television options for the average viewer. You’ve got the wonders of America’s Next Top Model, the dwindling Jericho, the forensics of Bones and the…well, the less we speak of ABC’s aging comedies the better. And yet, despite all of those options (I’d actually consider the first three to be decent ones), the best show airing at 8pm on Wednesdays is one that you’re not watching, and one that finishes its season early this evening.

That show is Friday Night Lights. And it is what you should be watching this evening. Now, I’ve got a multitude of reasons why I think you should watch this show, and in my attempt to convince you I am likely to use a large variety of football metaphors. In fact, I may or may not equate every single player to a specific position. And yet, I want all of you who might not understand these metaphors to know that the show is not about football. It is about real life, and how football is actually a manifestation of true emotion for these high school kids and for the people in the town of Dillon, Texas. I’ll let the recent Peabody Awards press release make my case for me:

“No dramatic series, broadcast or cable, is more grounded in contemporary American reality than this clear eyed serial about the hopes, dreams, livelihoods and egos intertwined with the fate of high-school football in a texas town.”

And that’s the reality of it; no show has been as successful at crafting a true ensemble character drama in a small town setting, and I was an early doubter of the show’s ability to succeed. While every storyline has not been perfect, and every character has their off moments, somehow it all comes together into something vividly real. While some people like to bash its jarring camera work, I think that it works to the show’s advantage. It makes it feel less like some slickly produced drama and more of a fly on the wall experience.

Which is why this show absolutely needs to be saved. It is the best new drama on television at this moment, and it is absolutely integral that everyone needs to tune in for the Season Finale tonight (And it WILL be the season finale). And, to help convince you of this, I want to present why this show’s characters are so damn intriguing. Individually, so many of them deserve the attention of both viewers and the television academy.

But, much like a football team, this really is a group effort on the part of the show’s characters. They make this thing work together, and as a result I think we need to treat them like the unit that they are. As a result, I present:

If the Cast of Friday Night Lights were a Football Team…

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Filed under Friday Night Lights, NBC, Television

April 10, 2007 · 8:08 pm

Liveblogging American Idol’s Top 8

9:00pm: We’re down to the final eight competitors now, and Seacrest was two words for us as one of the Monkeys (Dolenz, I think) is shown: Jennifer Lopez. He calls her silver screen work prolific. Really? Prolific?9:02pm: Lopez is here to pimp her album as she coaches the top Ocho. If my Spanish was better, I’d try to interject it into this portion of the liveblog, but alas. Lopez is talking about people feeling good, and she watches it at home. She even has her favourites, but isn’t telling. I bet she likes…other peoples.

9:03pm: Melinda is performing ‘Sway’, and this is a bit of a departure for Melinda. Lopez wants her to be sexy and sultry, and Melinda’s not having it.

9:04pm: The crowd opens the performance by cheering her choice of attire, and she opens singing this entirely like you would expect Melinda to sing a song like this. She is certainly not Latin in her inflections or anything, but her voice is already so rich with sound that it really doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. She isn’t getting a real power moment in the song, but she’s continuing to stand out against the rather aggressive band and backup singers…and ends on the power note.

9:07pm: Randy believes it is another solid performance, not quite her best, and there was some…Salea Cruz? Okay. Paula calls it subtle and sexy. Simon Cowell? He didn’t like it. He just found that the song was all about personality, and she appeared far too old considering her age. He throws around lazy, wooden and lacking in the ‘Wow’ factor.

9:08pm: Melinda’s glad that Simon has finally been able to say something bad about her, which actually sounds more condescending than I would have thought.

9:12pm: Oooh, we’re opening with Melinda AND LaKisha? This is rather dangerous for likely both of these individuals, in terms of perhaps finding themselves in the Bottom 3 for the first time. LaKisha is here to make a better life for her and her daughter…I can’t argue with this. Continue reading →

Dead on Arrival: Andy Barker’s Final Episodes Move to Saturday

Well, looks like NBC is already realizing that Andy Barker was simply too unsuccessful to keep around on Thursdays, as I had previously discussed here at Cultural Learnings.

NBC Bounces Barker to Saturday – Zap2it.com

NBC has bumped “Andy” from its Thursday schedule this week and moved the show’s final two episodes to the barren wasteland that is Saturday night network primetime. The remaining two episodes of the show will air back-to-back at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, April 14.

“Scrubs” will take over “Andy’s” 9:30 p.m. time period a week earlier than originally planned (Thursday April 12th)

This indeed signals the end of Andy Barker, but this does mean that all of the show’s six episodes will be seen on NBC, which is great for Canadian viewers who were unable to access to episodes on NBC.com. In fact, I have to wonder whether the episodes being available on NBC.com ahead of time were perhaps detrimental to its ratings success. The show was never going to gain enough hype to really catch on, so perhaps those extra thousands of viewers could have been useful? Either way, it was an interesting experiment.

So, now it’s only Scrubs which is currently on the bubble in terms of NBC comedies…perhaps we’ll be waiting until the NBC Upfronts before we get a good idea of where things are headed, and our answer might be found just days later over at ABC.

Cultural Catchup: April 2nd-9th

Okay, so there’s isn’t a whole lot I didn’t get a chance to comment on, but I figure I’ll fill in some gaps here.

Ahead of tonight’s episode, I am perhaps the least interested in the season thus far. To be honest, there just isn’t anything really interesting happening at this particular point. Sure, Fahed has been captured and Gredenko is off bleeding into the pacific, and President Palmer has launched a nuclear missile, but I just don’t care at this point. When 24’s president launches a nuclear bomb, I should at least care; in this case, I thought it was ridiculous but didn’t overly care about its intended target (Especially when, although it’s for good reason, it’s known as ‘Fahed’s country in the Middle East’). At this point, something needs to happen which totally changes the way we look at the series, or at least provides an interesting construct. Jack going from torture session to torture session is not, in my view, interesting television, no matter how hard Kiefer Sutherland tries. They need to get back on their feet, ASAP on this one…we’ll see how they manage this evening.

Lost

This week’s episode of Lost, “Left Behind,” was unfortunately recapless here at Cultural Learnings due to the two 3500 word papers due on Thursday. However, I did get a chance to watch the episode live, and I must say it was quite enjoyable. We didn’t get any major revelations (Although the Smoke Monster flashes now), but we did get a great setup for future episodes. Juliet being integrated into the castaways is a fantastic way to move forward, as it makes a romantic square out of Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet that I think works well. Plus, by uniting some characters together for the first time I think there’s a chance for some new dynamics, and some interesting changes heading into the final portion of the show’s season. It’s picking up a whole ton of momentum at this stage, and I’m guessing it will do quite well with it. This week’s episode promises to bring Jack back to the beach for the first time all season, and I’m sure we’ll see some spark fly between he and Sawyer.

American Idol

Gina Glocksen going home was annoying, but none too surprising. The real question right now is whether or not we’re heading for our 2nd all-female final between Lakisha and Melinda. I think that Jordin is the most likely to get Tamyra’d or Hudson’d in this scenario, perhaps exiting before Blake, but those two seem relatively unstoppable. Only time will tell what happens to Sanjaya, but in all honesty I couldn’t really be bothered.

Survivor

While I’m certainly still watching, I’m not too perplexed with this season of Survivor at this stage. I think that the merge upcoming this week will shake things up fairly well, but there’s just nothing to really shock me in the meantime. That said, this past week’s episode featured the awesome archery/spear powers of Yao Man, who basically destroyed everyone else with his unorthodox style. It’s nice to see someone like him sticking around, and perhaps even moving into a position to get into the final four. However, I have to think that the old guy who everyone likes is going to be pretty well doomed in a final three situation. No one will take him into it, and he’s far too weak to last in an endurance challenge of strength. Still, if the challenge is suited to him, he could well end up the Survivor champion. That would be a breath of fresh air, in my book.

Entourage

The episode last night was fantastic, and I am officially already annoyed that I have to wait an entire week after watching the rest back-to-back-to-back-to…you get the idea. The breakup between Ari and Vince being handled like an actual breakup was absolutely fantastic, with Lloyd and Drama on either side to help establish the scenario in their respectively awesome ways. It’s so funny that Vince is finally at the centre of the show’s drama; so often Eric gets placed as the real centre of things, but in this episode he was the money and the occasional mouthpiece. Vince is really running the show right now, and as the end of the episode shows this was a rather terrible idea. One person who certainly thinks so is new agent Amanda, who is played by the ridiculously stunning Carla Gugino. Pitting Ari against a power-female isn’t anything new (They do it with Mrs. Ari all the time), but it works extremely well here, and I think the episode bodes well for the rest of the season.

The Amazing Race

It’s really too bad that last night’s episode was quite so anti-climactic, because it contained some potentially exciting elements. Just one flight can kill a team, and it doesn’t make for great television. It does, however, make picking a winner incredibly hard.However, I’m nonetheless officially going to put on my “Prediction” hat and perhaps jinx a few racers in the process. As a result, here is my predicted finish order for The Amazing Race: All Stars.

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Filed under 24, American Idol, Entourage, Lost, Reality TV, Survivor, Television, The Amazing Race

Tagged as HBO

April 8, 2007 · 1:39 am

Easter Sunday: What Would Jesus Watch?

First of all, a big ol’ Happy Easter to everyone. Since a large majority of North Americans are spending time with family today, what better time to sit in front of the television and enjoy hours of your favourite TV shows? There’s plenty of options for those family gatherings, should you be too full from feasting on Ham and such things to do something more active. So, let’s take a look at each hour of television to see what might be your best bet.

But, I figure it’s not really fair to just use my opinion, so considering the spirit of the day and the spirit of good humour (Seriously, this is intended in a light-hearted manner), let’s ask ourselves a rather important question:

What Would Jesus Watch?

That’s right, considering that today celebrates Jesus’ resurrection, I figure that it’s fitting to take a look at what he might view on television this evening. There’s a whole lot of TV, so he’ll have a lot to choose from. As a result, he’s got his TiVo ready to record a 2^nd program in every hour. He just couldn’t choose one, clearly. To offer a more diverse view (He is really quite set in his ways), I’ll then offer my pick of what I would watch during that particular hour. So, without further adieu, let’s took a look at what’s new on TV tonight.

8pm EST

What Would Jesus Watch?

7^th Heaven (The CW) – While he disapproves of some of the Camden family’s more immoral moments, Jesus enjoys their spirituality and the lessons which the show prescribes to its viewers. He’s very upset that the CW is planning to cancel the show, and has organized a letter campaign.

What Would Jesus Tivo?

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) – Yes, Jesus has a Tivo for those moments when there are two shows he just can’t miss in an hour. In this case, Jesus can’t help but be moved by the stories of human triumph over adversity, plus that Ty Pennington is a real hoot.

What Would Myles Watch?

Amazing Race: All-Stars (CBS) – I’m going to have to disagree with Jesus on what to watch this hour, although I can’t blame him for not wanting to view The Amazing Race after the amount of annoyance it’s caused God all these years. With the amount of people who ask Him to help them win a reality TV show, I think there’s a heaven-wide ban on the program. And a letter-writing campaign against it.

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Filed under 7th Heaven, Entourage, Reality TV, Television, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, The Sopranos

Tagged as Easter, HBO

April 7, 2007 · 2:59 pm

That Other HBO Show: The Return of Entourage

April 8th has been a day of much excitement for many television viewers, and television websites, as it signifies the beginning of the final season of The Sopranos. And, while this is surely a momentous occasion for all involved, it is important to remember that there’s another HBO show returning tomorrow night as well. That show is Entourage.

From a personal perspective, I didn’t know much about Entourage up until this past September. I had read that it had something do with Aquaman for a while, and I knew that Jeremy Piven played an agent named Ari Gold that was apparently quite good considering the amount of awards he was nominated for. However, I really knew nothing about the series; without actually getting HBO in Canada, and without being at home to see it on the Movie Network, I was basically incapable of really watching Entourage.

However, I took a weekend in September to get caught up, and what I found was an incredibly enjoyable series that overcomes any of its flaws with it’s own brand of posse brotherhood and agent/talent relations. Vince is the movie star, the standard model turned actor who struggles with the problems of credibility and relationship drama. His best friend Eric is his brains, brought to Hollywood to manage his career. He reads his scripts, organizes his meetings, and more or less has to keep Vince in line. Making this far more difficult are Johnny Drama, Vince’s half-brother who was once a television Viking, and Turtle, the posse’s driver and requisite spender of moneys. As a whole, they are the entourage, and tend to make Vince’s (former) agent, Ari Gold’s, life a living hell, not that he doesn’t attempt to do the same to Eric, Vince and Co.

Based on the lifestylings of Mark Wahlberg, who serves as executive producer, this premise is certainly not foolproof. There have been times which have certainly placed the characters in ridiculous scenarios, and sometimes the show has suffered because of it…and yet in the end it all works out. Sometimes it all seems too far-fetched, and yet others it could not be more grounded. I think that it’s Ari who truly humanizes the show at times, because he’s really just an average guy himself. He has a wife, he has kids, he has a day job that bleeds into his nights and weekends, and there’s something human about that. Mind you, Ari is also a hilariously bitter and angry man who has ridiculous mood swings, but it all seems to work because of Piven’s performance.

However, since it has been an incredibly long time since we last checked in with the boys, let’s perhaps consider where things were at last we checked: Continue reading →

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Tagged as HBO

April 5, 2007 · 10:58 pm

Thursday Night TV Club – April 5th, 2007

Supersized Comedy Night

Done Right

NBC’s Funny Foresome

So, while the last edition of Thursday Night TV Club dealt with primarily ABC’s drama lineup, this week provided a unique two and a half hours of fresh comedy at NBC. Supersized episodes of The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs coupled with a new Andy Barker resulted in a very satisfying night of comedy. How satisfying was it? Well, I actually have a specific positive thing to say about every episode. This is quite rare, especially with a show like Scrubs that I’ve criticized often in the past.

But, the reality is that each show stepped up to the plate in their own way, and each deserves a special Thursday Night TV Club Award of Recognition.

Award of Recognition for the

Most Well-Negotiated Return

The Office – “The Negotiation”

After a long break, The Office returned with an episode that did everything right in such a situation. Having gone on hiatus with the dramatic ‘Cocktails,’ the show needed to balance the drama of Roy’s anger with the comedic elements the show is known for. The show took that drama and managed it; there was no true confrontation between Jim and Pam, there was no on-screen discussion of the scenario, it just happened in the cold open and was dealt with off-screen. This was a strong decision, and shows the deft touch of the show’s producers.

What it allowed was for the comedy to move forward. Whether it was Dwight the hero and Jim’s attempts to be nice to him, Angela’s sexual excitement over Dwight’s actions or Toby’s continued torture at the hands of Kelly, the show was packed with the type of character interactions that are integral to the show’s dynamic. Michael’s salary negotiation helped to reveal more regarding his relationship with Jan, his hatred of Toby and the show managed to return after a dramatic event without missing a beat. It was a well-negotiated return indeed for the recent Peabody winners.

Award of Recognition for the

Best Justification of Renewal

30 Rock – “Fireworks”

Tina Fey’s sitcom was recently renewed for a 2^nd season and tonight’s episode showed why. It was balancing all of the show’s elements with deft coordination throughout the episode. It dealt with Liz’s relationship problems, Tracy’s Paranoia, Jack’s insecurities, Special Guest Stars like Will Arnett, and the usual office madness which occurs. And yet, the show managed to do with ease. Liz’s relationship with Floyd went through a logical pattern, Will Arnett was as awesome as ever (“TV. On your PHONE!” I was just waiting for the ‘Come on!’). It was fantastic.

I’ve since realized why this might have been the case: Jane Krakowski’s Jenna was nowhere to be found. While her character isn’t a curse on the episodes she is in, the show just seems to work that much better without her. The character of Jenna just doesn’t seem necessary at this point, as this episode showed; did anyone really miss Jenna? Either way, the show continued its consistent streak, which was a powerful reminder as to why NBC made the decision to renew the show in the first place.

However, we can’t forget the show’s greatest moment: Tracy dreams that he is on Maury Povich to find his biological father, which is Alec Baldwin playing Thomas Jefferson, and hilarity ensues. I loves me some Maury.

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Filed under 30 Rock, NBC, Scrubs, Television, The Office

Tagged as Thursday Night TV Club

April 4, 2007 · 3:49 pm

Cultural News Bytes: 30 Rock Renewed, Peabody Awards

This will be quick, I swear (So don’t judge me):

– 30 Rock has been officially renewed for a 2nd Season. Yay! We do not yet know the fate of Scrubs, although chances are we’ll be seeing it on ABC before NBC next season considering this move.

– Friday Night Lights’ renewal is looking more and more likely, as it is one of three NBC series to be awarded with a Peabody for entertainment programming. The other two series (‘Scrubs’ and ‘The Office’) join ABC’s Ugly Betty amongst primetime candidates.

That’s it. Seriously.

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April 3, 2007 · 12:31 am

How ‘Wedding Crashers’ Could Cancel Your Favourite NBC Drama

One of the things that has always been quite perplexing about Lost has been its inability to provide a solid lead-in for any shows. Both this season (‘The Nine’) and last (‘Invasion’), ABC attempted to build new series in the 10/9c timeslot to no avail; Lost just wasn’t providing the right lead-in audience for either show to thrive enough to be worthy of renewal. In fact, ABC got so tired of it that they moved Lost into the timeslot to give newscasts a strong lead-in and to boost 18-49 numbers in the time period. But, it looks like the mystery has been solved: Sci-Fi fans don’t like to stick around for the rest of the network’s offerings. Because, as the season nears its end, the post-‘Heroes’ slot on NBC is about to get its third occupant.

NBC Invites ‘Crashers’ to the Party – Zap2it.com

“The Real Wedding Crashers,” a hidden-camera show based on the hit 2005 movie…will debut at 10 p.m. ET Monday, April 23, following the return of “Heroes.

“…A group of five improv performers will take to the churches and reception halls or our fair nation, posing as guests or cater-waiters or other attendees to disrupt the proceedings, presumably to make sure that the happy couple never forgets their wedding day…One catch: The bride and groom know what’s coming. They’re in on the joke and will help the “crashers” reveal the hoax at the end of each episode.”

Now, I won’t speak to the reality show in question, as that’s an entirely different issue altogether. However, from a programming perspective, this has quite a few ramifications for NBC:

A ‘Black Day’ for the ‘Donnelly’ Brothers

It’s a tough break for Paul Haggis and company, as the show is more or less dead at this stage. The show opened to meager returns to begin with, and has continued to fall over the past few weeks. While the show appears to have stayed on fairly good ground creatively, it reminds me of the debut of Daybreak in the fall: the show wasn’t the problem, it just lacked the marketability of other hit shots. Of course, Daybreak was taking over for a hit show; the Black Donnellys had the biggest watercooler show as its lead-in, and should have been able to take better advantage of it.

The Fate of the Black Donnellys? Chances are the remaining episodes will be available online at NBC.com over the summer.

Lights Remain Out at ‘Studio 60’

It’s somewhat less than surprising that NBC isn’t quick to move Studio 60 back into a timeslot where it struggled to find an audience, but it’s still yet another sign of indifference to Aaron Sorkin’s drama. It’s very clear at this point that the show won’t be renewed for a second season, but considering the star power involved chances are that NBC is looking for a place to burn off the rest of the series. Its ratings were actually above what the Black Donnellys was averaging, so we should be returning to Studio 60 at some point before summer hits.

The Fate of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Chances are that it will take over for Raines on Friday nights at 9/8c once it finishes its 8-episode run (Or sooner if its ratings fall substantially)

Bad Luck for ‘Jordan’, says ‘Medium’

I’m stretching for titles here, but the fact is that two of NBC’s returning dramas are currently fighting it out in tough time periods on Wednesday, and each could have used a reprieve. ‘Crossing Jordan’ has moved from its safety on Sundays into a battle against ‘American Idol’ and ‘Criminal Minds’ on Wednesdays at 9, while ‘Medium’ finds itself against ‘CSI:NY’ and ‘Lost’ at 10. Mondays at 10 is Medium’s old timeslot, and any chance of the drama regaining its past ratings success has more or less been lost with this decision. Similarly, after struggling against ABC and CBS on Sundays and failing to improve on Wednesdays, Jordan is officially out of options.

The Fate of ‘Crossing Jordan’ and ‘Medium’? They’ll be riding out their remaining episodes in their current timeslots, and chances are that NBC will be looking for some new dramas next season. That said, Medium has the best shot at renewal.

The Bigger Question:

What is the Fate of Non-procedural Drama at NBC?

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Filed under Crossing Jordan, Heroes, Medium, NBC, Television, The Black Donnellys

Tagged as Studio 60

April 2, 2007 · 12:22 pm

Why I Stopped Watching Prison Break, and Why You Should Do the Same

It was the summer of 2005, and the most buzz-worthy show of the year was Fox’s gritty new drama ‘Prison Break.’ Debuting in August, the show garnered fairly substantial audiences for the period and became a success for FOX on Monday nights. As someone who tends to watch the opening episodes to any show, I found Prison Break to be quite an intriguing premise. Tuning in, I found that there was something oddly compelling about the show.

It wasn’t star Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), who can’t act to save his life. It wasn’t Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burroughs), whose character lacked any real motivation. No, it was rather two elements which intrigued me. First, the premise itself held a great deal of promise; while other shows have featured prison dynamics in a grittier sense (‘Oz’), Prison Break was its network equivalent. Plus, whether it was far-fetched or not, the entire escape plan was uniquely compelling.

Second, I enjoyed Robert Knoepper’s portrayal of T-Bag, one of the most delightful TV villains in quite some time. His interactions with Abruzzi and Michael and everyone else were a true highlights of the show, and it kept things interesting while they spent time in the clink.

And, through the first season, these two elements were enough to keep me watching. There were other redeeming elements (Michaels’ relationship with the Warden, with Tancredi), but on the whole those two pillars got me through the bad times. Said bad times included the entire conspiracy plot, the constant near escapes foiled by unexpected roadblock construct, and in general a lack of originality. And yet, I stuck through until the very end.

It was with great apprehension that I viewed the show’s first season finale, for it left things ever so open for the second season. They were literally running off into the woods, their plane plan ruined, with seemingly nowhere to go. They had broken out of prison, fulfilling my initial interest in the show, so the decisions made by producers at this point would make or break my future viewership.

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