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Fall 2002-2003 Broadcast Network Television Schedules
New Program Descriptions, Analysis and Reviews
© Lisa Mateas 2003
New CBS
Shows
Bram and Alice: This show is already poised to get critical raves for its grown-up wit and its storyline about a washed-up novelist (Alfred Molina) who discovers he has an adult would-be writer daughter and they end up living together. Yikes. It's not that Alfred Molina isn't an interesting actor, it's just that he's not particularly TV-friendly. He has a big theatrical head and face and I don't think people can figure out *what* he is. Is he Hispanic? European? (Spanish/Italian actually). It doesn't help that he once played a crazed Iranian husband holding Sally Field hostage in the movie Not Without My Daughter. People may not remember specifics, but there's something just too *much* about him for TV. (Molina starred in the one-season Ladies Man during 1999.) And unless it's about Bram *Stoker* I'm not sure that novelists make the most compelling lead characters. Designed to be a matched-set with Becker, it's helmed by a pair of former Fraiser producers. As of 9/5, Becker and Bram and Alice switched slots, with Becker now getting the 60 Minutes lead-out. REVIEW & UPDATE: Witty, nasty and cancelled, Bram and Alice is one of this season's early casualties. With a tone that evoked the kind of snarl that Britcoms sometimes go for (and how welcome it was!), this series was a pleasant surprise to me. People think Becker portrays a misanthrope? Molina's Bram was a complete bastard and a real blast to watch. Obviously the bitingly sarcastic -- along with the good -- die young.
Still Standing: A Chicago working-class married couple with three kids works hard to make it all come together. Jami Gertz and Mark Addy star as the mom and dad who still want to be cool and yet need to act like parents. This series celebrates the men and women who came of age in the 1970s and who are of course the first generation *ever* to raise children and have doubts about how they are going about it. With characters to which undoubtedly much of the audience out there will relate, this series could touch that "Oh, that's us!" syndrome and make it. It has the primo post-Everybody Loves Raymond slot so CBS has a lot of faith in it, too. REVIEW & UPDATE: Recently given the full-season greenlight by CBS, Still Standing is one of this season's aging baby-boomer skeins designed to spark complicit smiles among a demographically desirable audience. I guess you have to be there -- married, with growing children, desperately trying to convince yourselves that you're still relevant -- to really appreciate the humor here, but at least this one won't make you want to poke your own eyes out if you accidentally tune it in. Lacking the pedigree star power of ABC's John Ritter vehicle, this one has managed to hang in there and CBS is pleased enough to give it a complete season.
CSI: Miami: More of the audience-pleasing world of forensics in this sure-to-work spin-off starring David Caruso, back into series television after his one-season Michael Hayes from 1997. Looks like a great default viewing choice that will cut into Crossing Jordan's audience. FYI, Caruso and his wife own a high-end clothing boutique in Miami so they should have a nice business boost come fall. Ka-ching! REVIEW & UPDATE: Well, duh...this one is a big hit and it's going the distance, for this season and we'll predict many more. The CSI franchise is CBS' answer to the NBC Law & Order machine, and it's good to see some basic episodic television -- rather than primetime soap opera melodramatics masquerading as episodic TV -- making a resurgence. Let's just admit once and for all that people like blood and gore; if it can be packaged in a slick network show that's just ducky and much more palatable to advertisers. Mom and Dad, don't get down on the kids for wanting to play videogames with violent content; shows like the two CSIs are the mainstream manifestation of humanity's morbid curiosity, like it or not. Does anybody remember Jack Klugman and his great turn as QUINCY, M.E.? Things may have gotten a little bloodier and more explicit today, but it's the same thing, really, and it worked then, too. History very often does repeat itself, especially TV history. Late News 11/8: Kim Delaney is out as the female investigator. Update 8/23/04: Cast changes are a'brewing for the show's third year, with one current character set to meet his or her maker in an early episode of the 2004/5 season, making way for a new investigator to be played by actor Jonathan Togo. You may have seen him in Mystic River on the big screen, but I fell for him when he co-starred on UPN's much-missed (find a fan and ask) 2002 sci-fi entry Special Unit 2; he was delightful as the resident computer geek. Not sure he'll be called upon to exhibit the same brainy charm here in the muggy environs of CSI: Miami, but it's great to see a terrific actor getting a good gig.
Presidio Med: John Wells-produced San Francisco-set medical drama starring Dana Delaney and Anna Deveare Smith. I'd dub this "Stronger Medicine"; Lifetime has a prior femme doctor pairing in its Strong Medicine Sunday-night series. Blythe Danner supplies the estrogen emeritus, and the testosterone -- and plenty of it -- comes from the darkly handsome Oded Fehr (last season's UC: Undercover and The Mummy movies) who plays another doc. Will this be more than just soap opera in scrubs? Considering the source possibly not, but Presidio Med will have to do something spectacular to directly compete with both its evil-twin series Meds (also SF-based) and stalwart and unstoppable Law and Order. Give Presidio a chance, I say. REVIEW & UPDATE: No complaints about the pedigree or high-minded intent of this show, but it's not exactly appointment viewing yet for audiences, and unlikely to become so with the Law and Order bulwark. And it wasn't the smartest move to pit the two medical dramas against each other, and then against L & O. The current outcome isn't a surprise...both the CBS and ABC skeins are struggling and NBC reigns. No full season order yet. Update 11/22/02: CBS has ordered a full season of PM; they'll keep the show off the schedule until the first of the year (beefing up sweeps with CSI repeats), then give it a re-launch. UPDATE 1/28/03: Word is officials that Presidio Med has been cancelled after filming 14 episodes, and its slot will be filled by 48 Hours Investigates which moves from Fridays.
Without a Trace: Jerry Bruckheimer is at the helm of this action drama about an FBI agent specializing in Missing Persons. Anthony LaPaglia stars, and with Bruckheimer obviously knowing how to make a taut hour of people-pleasing television, perhaps WaT could chip away at ER's bastion. Real life missing persons are always big news and eternally fascinating, with an immediacy that should make for terrific television. CBS has given WaT the perfect lead-out with CSI and there's no reason for anybody to turn that dial if they are fans of the genre. REVIEW & UPDATE: Hmmm...let's see...unbeatable lead-in, similar tone...sounds like a shoo-in -- and it is. Given its full-season order by CBS, Without a Trace is riding the cop show craze this year and while it's not full of sparkling dialogue -- and if you watch L & O, or CSI, you know that's *hardly* a prerequisite these days -- it's meat-and-potatoes crime solving with a slightly unique niche that hasn't been beaten to death heretofore.
Hack: Cab driver show with early buzz; an ex-cop becomes a cabbie and resolves to help people (in his spare time) as recompense for past misdeeds. David Morse, Andre Braugher, Donna Murphy and George Dzundza star in this hour likened to The Equalizer by some. Morse is a solid if somewhat drab performer but could bring a quiet strength to a premise like this, especially since the character's relationship with his young son is part of the mix. It's a tough TV night but with no real adult competition this could fill the plate, and goodness knows it will get terrific promotion from Thursday night. REVIEW & UPDATE: Also on CBS' full-season shopping list, Hack has captured enough audience to keep the meter running for at least the near future. It's a basic serviceable drama -- goodness knows several more imaginative shows are tanking this season -- but CBS obviously sees potential with this show in a genre that's going nowhere but up.
RHD/LA: Michael Mann crime vehicle; it's an abbreviation for Robbery and Homicide Division of Los Angeles. Tom Sizemore, well-respected tough-guy actor (Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down) and favorite of many top directors, heads the the cast and is among the most exciting casting coups this year. RHD/LA has a great pedigree and if people can find it on Fridays and give up one of their Law and Order fixes it could work. Has the potential to be a great hour of TV and could bring more Friday night adult viewers back to the fold. Sounds better than most of the movies you could rent on a Friday night! REVIEW & UPDATE: Well, people are still drunk on Law and Order; RHD/LA is taking it in the 'nads and it doesn't look good, kids. Could it be that this one is just a bit too much for an audience that has shown that it likes its law and order served up in easily digested albeit spookhouse-y gory measures? And how can people turn their backs on an actor like Sizemore? What a shame. No word yet on whether RHD/LA will turn up DOA soon. Update 12/12: Looks like RHD/LA is at the very least on an indefinite hiatus, with new show Queens Supreme set to take over the Wednesday 10pm slot starting in January. Even with decent results from extra Saturday night plays, CBS doesn't seem to know what to do with this tough and worthy show.
Queens Supreme: A name cast – Oliver Platt, Robert Loggia, Annabella Sciorra – certainly gives this judicial drama a fighting chance for survival. Platt’s the eccentric oddball – and of course brilliant -- judge, Sciorra’s the well-connected, newly-minted snippy gal judge, and veteran Loggia is the elder statesman who keeps an eye on them. Add to this the eclectic circus that is the neighborhood of Queens, and here’s a series that sounds maybe a bit too much like A & E’s defunct – and not very watchable -- 100 Centre Street for its own good. In terms of TV appeal, Sciorra has upped her face value this past year with her appearances on The Sopranos, after a career that has seen her in a slew of wife and girlfriend roles, albeit with a tart edge that sets her apart. Platt was a semi-regular on The West Wing during early 2001, and he’s been at the very least a game actor, appearing in everything from the cult fave movie Funny Bones to the now cultural-relic Ready to Rumble, as well as the short-lived Dick Wolf TV flop from 2000 Deadline (which airs irregularly on Bravo). There’s something fussy about Platt’s style that has kept him from breaking into undeniable star status, and who knows if this will do it. I’m not sure if playing an eccentric is the way, but he’s always interesting to look at and different enough to charm. Loggia is a real trouper, the coolest 71 year-old we’ll ever hope to see (or be), with a long-standing career that started in the fifties and has enjoyed a much-deserved recent revival. He’s always been so hip, from his (if you’re old enough to remember it) short-lived but ultra-suave T.H.E. Cat series from the ‘60s, right up to his voicework for videogame sensation Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, and don’t forget that great orange juice commercial he did a couple of years ago. With a cast like this, sounds like we should give Queens Supreme a try, even if there’s nothing really new about judges or lawyers or urban settings with weirdo denizens. We’ll see if it can hold up against the L&O: SVU competition, which its lamented time period predecessor RHD/LA couldn’t. REVIEW: NBC held off the pilot until the 2nd week of the show, and it was probably wise. It was a great deal more wacky than it needed to be. The first segment aired, though of course predictably over the top in many ways, at least showed off Platt as more multifaceted and less annoyingly quirky, a quality that always sounds better than it plays. Ratings aren't encouraging so far. The defense rests. UPDATE 1/28/03: After airing three times and filming 13 episodes, Queens Supreme has been cancelled by CBS. The slot will be filled by a rotating wheel of strong performers: CSI, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, and 48 Hours Investigates. QS just never caught on with viewers; CBS was fairly brutal in giving it its walking papers so quickly, but evidently they didn't see any signs of growth potential. This is becoming a cursed spot for CBS as Queens is the 2nd show to fail in the time period this year. Court adjourned....
New ABC Shows
Dragnet (January): Dick Wolf does Dragnet -- isn't that what he's been doing all along? Sure it's easy to mock Jack Webb's groundbreaking original series for its trademark stylistic dialogue and what I guess people think are corny performances, but take a look at any episode of Law and Order and you'll see exactly the same thing, except the latter has been dubbed "brilliant." Why shouldn't this new series work? Wolf's trading on one of the most recognizable titles in TV history. Don't give credit to him if this one works; the guy who should be taking the bows has been dead for twenty years, and he's sorely missed. Update 12/11/02: ABC has made some major Sunday/Monday changes, with Dragnet now set to take over The Practice's Sunday 10pm slot (TP moves to Monday 9pm). NBC's Boomtown is a little vulnerable, not being quite the smash hit everyone hoped, so a Sunday dose of Friday et al could help ABC shore up the night, beginning with its post-Super Bowl Alias push come January. Dick Wolf will now have two shows on Sunday, on different nets. Update 7/03: Renewed for a second season after so-so results on Sunday night, and with a revised title for its sophomore year, L.A. Dragnet has been moved to Sunday nights at 10pm after Disney. With NBC's movie and CBS' The District as competition, this will probably be a lead-in call. Perhaps L.A.D will finally find the audience it couldn't quite locate last fall. Update 11/7/03: Dick Wolf finally flops; ABC has cancelled L.A. Dragnet effective immediately.
Miracles (January): A supernatural detective drama with a outstanding cast -- Skeet Ulrich, Angus MacFadyen, and Hector Elizondo. The twist on this one is that the investigators are from the Catholic Church. One imagines they'll be tackling all the usual subjects -- Virgin Marys on cracker boxes and levitating mystics -- and that sounds like a lot of fun. Despite all the bad things happening in the Church lately, there's nothing like a bout of stigmata or end-of-the-world-prophecy to bring back that old frisson of doubt to non-believers. Could be creepy and fun, but it'll be in a very tough time period come January, against both CSI:Miami and what's left of Crossing Jordan, but will probably have a sure-fire lead-in with Dragnet. Viewers are always up for a little spooky adventure and if it has a taking-it-seriously tone it could be *seriously* effective. Update 12/11/02: Miracles will now have The Practice as a lead-in with the move of Dragnet to Sunday eves. It's going to be tougher than ever tackling CBS' unbeatable line-up, and the loss of Dragnet can't be good news to the Pius X-files bunch here. Say a few Hail Marys for Miracles; it will need them! Update 4/3/03: Miracles has been officially cancelled after continued disappointing numbers. Timeslot will be filled by a double-run of The Practice. Amen.
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter: The consummate performer and much-loved TV personality John Ritter returns to series TV with this sitcom; the title pretty much sums up the premise. 8 Simple Rules... is part of ABC's 8p - 9pm "Happy Hour" (complete with Happy Face logo) strategy. Ritter is golden, having more than proven his acting chops with some great dramatic roles of late and now he's back to basics. BTW, there are actually TWO teenage daughters in the show, and one son. And a wife (Katey Sagal from Married with Children). Seems guaranteed to get a look-see from lots of folks, and the bets are on this one rather than The In-Laws or the running-out-of-steam That 70s Show. After a lot of back and forth on shortening the title, it looks like ABC's going with the long one, from W. Bruce Cameron's source material book. REVIEW & UPDATE: Early returns are very positive on this one; come November the bloom is a teeny bit off the rose but still it's a very bright spot for ABC. Ritter's just fine, though Sagal (early on at least) seemed too cold for him, but lately the match feels a little better. The kids are almost shockingly rude, and they come off as a tad mean because Ritter brings such a good-natured ease to his father role. Ritter has become an idealized Everyman and he's no dummy, occasionally getting in a zinger that shows that Pop is still tops. ABC has ordered an extra quartet of episodes for 8 Simple... (and two others), bringing total tab to 26 half-hours for this season, quite a vote of justified confidence. UPDATE 3/03: ABC has given 8 Simple... its 2003-2004 season renewal. UPDATE 9/25/03: After the untimely death of series star John Ritter on 9/11/03, 8 Simple Rules is being retooled into a show about how a family copes with the death of the father. ABC is running the three completed Ritter episodes for this year, then reruns will follow, with the new episodes planned for November. Update 10/17/03: Veteran actor James Garner will appear in at least four of the new episodes, playing Katey Sagal's father. Suzanne Pleshette is signed for at least the first of the new eps as Katey's mother; in the show her mom and dad have just recently split-up.
Life with Bonnie: Bonnie Hunt, comedienne-actress-writer, returns to sitcom-land as writer-producer-director-star of this sitcom about a working mom -- local TV host -- trying to cope with her busy schedule. Hunt's been searching for a TV hit through several tries; maybe this one will take. Mark Derwin (who also starred in one of Hunt's previous TV forays) plays her husband. REVIEW & UPDATE: After a writing staff cleanout, this one's been holding its own in the ratings but has taken it on the chin a bit with the return of Fox's 24 which is finally getting the numbers it deserves. Still, LwB is far from a disaster and further validates ABC's comedy strategy this season. Hunt is a bright gal with an obviously great sense of timing, but it still seems odd and presumptuous to use characters who are on TV as representing a regular job or lifestyle. There's a layer of unfunny insider tonality -- primarily in the improvised scenes -- to this show that isn't making it any more amusing to a viewing audience. Full season order on tap. UPDATE 3/30: ABC has given LwB its 2003-2004 season renewal.
Less Than Perfect: Eric Roberts plays a vain anchorman and Andy Dick is a quirky co-worker in a television network-set sitcom. Certainly it's a less-than-perfect cast, likeability-wise; these two guys come with a lot of baggage. Not that they don't sound perfect for their roles, but watchability is something else. In terms of qualifications, Dick's in familiar territory from his experience with News Radio and Roberts has made a few sitcom guest appearances. The story actually revolves around the working-girl problems of character Claudia (Sara Rue) and the rest of the zany crew, but with the only name performers being Roberts and Dick they'll set the tone. REVIEW & UPDATE: Also holding onto ABC's Tuesday night glow, LTP is actually fairly cute and of course it's great to see a show sans children in the cast. Andy Dick plays a beleaguered character who's almost appealing (never thought that would happen) and Roberts is just right as Mr. Ego. Kind of throwback-y in a good way, and much has been made of the fact that there are a couple of gals in the cast who weigh over 85 pounds. Great to see and sad that it's a big deal, but if it helped get the show its full season nod, fill that plate up! UPDATE 3/30: LTP has received its 2003-2004 season order from ABC.
MDs: The other San Francisco-set medical drama this season, this one with a principled doctors vs. stingy HMO theme at the center. Once called "The Oath" and also supposed to contain liberal amounts of humor ala M*A*S*H*. William Fitchner, veteran of many movies (Contact as Jodie Foster's blind colleague, Blackhawk Down) and a string of appearances in Grace Under Fire in the early 90s, and appealing Brit John Hannah (The Mummy features) star, and they're an interesting couple of actors and worth watching. Unfortunately they are competing in what's the toughest drama race of the season -- 10pm Wednesday, against Law and Order and Presidio Med. In fact, Hannah's running against his own The Mummy co-star Oded Fehr and his starring role in Presidio Med. It's a pity that so many good folks are being thrown up against Law and Order. I'm rooting for both the doctor shows. Update: Title changed in July from Meds to MDs (to distance from Presidio Med on CBS). REVIEW & UPDATE: Again, the two medical shows vs. Law and Order is a bad prescription for success. In another time, another timeslot, this show would probably fit the bill, but it's just not amazing enough to jolt folks from their ingrained viewing habit. There's also something lacking in the chemistry between the two leads, and why oh why did they make Hannah play his character with a thick Scottish accent? Och! All he lacks is a sporran. Out for this November sweep period, MDs will reportedly return come December with some production staff changes. Update 12/12/02: Calling Dr. Kevorkian! ABC has officially cancelled the series. The timeslot will be filled by specials until January when Celebrity Mole tunnels in for its run.
Dinotopia: Spin-off from the fairly successful May miniseries about an imaginary world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side. Though the first night of the mini did gangbusters, it grew a little tedious and I guess the default viewers for this will be little kids who are afraid of Tim Curry in Family Affair. Too bad, because it will probably help sink Push, Nevada. But what else do you put against Survivor and Friends? This isn't destined to be ABC's happiest "Happy Hour". Update 12/17/02: The dinosaurs are going extinct again, but this time don't blame a giant comet, it's just bad ratings. ABC's 2nd Thursday failure, Dinotopia will remain on thru December.
Push, Nevada: An IRS agent (Derek Cecil) is on a desperate quest to find a cache of missing cash, leading him to a mysterious small town where's everybody's weird. Viewers play along by picking up in-show clues, creating a more immersive viewing experience and possibly snagging a chance to win a like amount of dough in real life. Executive Producers are Ben Affleck and his partner. ABC likens it to Twin Peaks in terms of style, and they promise an array of guest stars to spice up the proceedings. Also featuring Armande Assante as Mr. Smooth (typecasting, to be sure), Push, Nevada couldn't be in a tougher timeslot and is going to get an inappropriate and dud lead-in with Dinotopia. Too bad, because this one sounds intriguing. Are they going to repurpose this on ABC Family to try to bolster interest? Hope so. REVIEW & UPDATE: Well, I should have known better than to enjoy a show like Push, Nevada. It was one of the first cancelled series -- out by November -- and it feels more like murder to me. P,N was clever, unusual, with spunky performances and an idiosyncratic visual style that really popped. I've often thought that audiences deep down really don't like having quirky touches mixed in with their drama, no matter how often they claim the contrary. Look at what's working on TV today -- by-the-book crime melodrama with some borderline overdone performances. At least people will sit through something more offbeat on pay cable, and I think a big part of the appeal there is more explicit content and the always-popular bare breasts. Oh well...Push, Nevada is no more, and more's the pity. It was a terrific little show.
That Was Then: A 29-year-old man is given the ability to go back to a day when he was sixteen -- in the 1980s -- and make changes that will impact his future. This time-travel show is one of two on the networks (check out Do Over on WB) this year; this one's serious, the other's a comedy, but both feature distressed men who get a second chance to live high school over again. There's a definite male "growing-up" angst on display in a lot of the shows this year. Whether it's Sept. 11 nostalgia over-reaction or just a way to comfort those of us caught in lousy lives, it's all over the place this season. REVIEW & UPDATE: Both the back-in-time shows this season have arrived with a thud. Not that they were particularly bad, it's just that the nostalgia thing didn't resonate like some folks thought it would. Who might have predicted that in a time of enough real-life issues to keep folks quaking, that audiences would be flocking to a full plate of bloody crime dramas for their entertainment fill? Rhetorical question, that one...duh. That Was Then has received its cancellation.
Veritas: The Quest: Young Ryan Merriman goes the Indiana Jones route in this new entry produced by Touchstone and the fellas that brought you the much-praised Judy Garland miniseries and the TV version of the musical Annie. Promising Lara Croft-life antics (and let’s hope this series is less of a disappointment than that movie!), V:TQ is the story of a father and son team of adventurers whose specialty is delving into ancient mysteries in exotic locations. Add a little intrigue in the form of as enigmatic cabal bent on keeping secrets secret, and you have something that hopefully will work better than Young Indiana Jones did several years ago. Many folks are always up for some two-fisted derring-do, and after Merriman’s exposure in the Sci Fi Channel’s successful miniseries Taken, he may have developed a little fan base of his own to help things along. We’re assuming this will have stellar production values – so did the Lara Croft movie – but there’s more to making this kind of action appealing than mere set dressing. They –- the cast and producers -- need to believe it, and so do we out here watching. Heck, I even enjoyed the syndicated kinda-lousy Relic Hunter series with Tia Carrere, so I’m rooting for this one. Monday 8pm isn’t exactly an easy time period, but this will get some good promotion inside the Super Bowl and maybe some of the folks following Sydney’s exploits on Alias can be persuaded to share their love with the Veritas gang. The truth will out, as it always does. Perhaps these days, it'll turn out to be "In Tivo, Veritas"…. Update 4/3/03: Off the Monday night 8pm schedule even before the War with Iraq began, and then officially on hiatus ever since, Veritas has received its cancellation notice from ABC.
New NBC Shows
American Dreams: It's back to the 1960s with this high-concept hour, the chronicle of a Philadelphia family touching on American cultural icons from the era. The holy grail here is a teenage girl's wish to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand -- need it be mentioned that Clark's company is behind this one? Promising to offer a giddy array of contemporaneous visual material alongside the family drama, Dreams got a lot of buzz during the upfront. Sounds to me like a beautiful idea that may be a little too conceptual for the general public. Hey, but maybe it's just a really entertaining hour; can't imagine it would be too heady with Clark at the helm, which would be good for its survival. This one promises to be chock-full of music designed to stimulate the feel-good brain lobes and sell soundtrack albums. Also thankfully it will feature a black family in the cast. REVIEW & UPDATE: Given a nice vote of confidence by NBC with not only a full season order but an extra three on top, American Dreams is somewhat underachieving its buzz but still nowhere near a miss. There's such a wave of goodwill about this series -- probably a lot is just plain industry respect and affection for Dick Clark -- that it's too bad it hasn't quite found its niche yet. AD is pretty earnest stuff, not anything extravagant stylistically and of necessity fairly cliched regarding the political and social nuances of the time period, but overall it's a nice show that at least manages to blaze its own path on the crime-ridden streets of primetime this year.
Boomtown: Sounds like Los Angeles crime Rashomon-style, or Pulp Fiction-style if you like your metaphors less vintage, as events unfold through the P.O.V.s of cops, attorneys, rescue workers and reporters. Ex-New Kid on the Block Donnie Wahlberg stars, along with Jason Gedrick and Mykelti Williamson. Has a great Law & Order:CI lead-in and sounds more down and dirty than its competition The Practice. Maybe folks will tune in after watching The Sopranos on HBO, too. REVIEW & UPDATE: Boomtown is no bust. It's doing nicely for NBC and has turned out to be just about as good as the potential. Boomtown seems to move fast enough to dodge some of the lousy dialogue bogs of many other dramas this season, and the multifaceted character groups provide stylistic differences which add to the interest. This is a capper to a good night for NBC, and though Boomtown is having a hard time maintaining L&OCI's strong lead-in numbers, it's been renewed for a full season. Update 10/8/03: In its Friday night 10pm slot Boomtown's been a bust so far, so L&O:SVU will step in as of 10/10. Boomtown will go on hiatus, but that's as far as NBC is taking it so far, the show being a critical fave but one that audiences just aren't embracing, last year or so far this year. 11/5/03: Boomtown has officially been cancelled by NBC.
In-Laws: The usually hard-edged but always skilled Dennis Farina tries his hand at a sitcom as he plays a man whose newlywed daughter and his culinary-school-attending son-in-law move in with him and his wife to save money. This Meet The Parents-like premise might prove strong enough to last; produced by Kelsey's Grammer's company. Jean Smart co-stars as Farina's wife. REVIEW & UPDATE: Things aren't looking swell for this entry, though it's far from a stink-fest by any means. This is one of those shows where people live in really posh digs and yet the kids pretend to have money troubles. And of course the daughter and her hubbie are a few years too old to benefit from the "that's me on the screen" factor which is helping the shows with teenage offspring attract parental viewers. Jean Smart is attractive and a pro, Farina has got the whole exasperated papa routine down pat, but it doesn't look like it's enough.
Hidden Hills: Married life in the 'burbs gets the ultra-creative treatment in this sitcom featuring imaginative dream sequences, a frisky and attractive cast and more than a little innuendo. Following Frasier is a good place for this show, but its edgy take and sexy subject matter might be just too much. REVIEW & UPDATE: Even Frasier is taking his licks this year, so mining the gold in Hidden Hills isn't as easy as it might have once looked. If this show were on pay-cable and had nudity it would rule, blowing stuff like Mind of the Married Man right out of the hot tub. On network, though, with zero skin and no genuine naughtiness, it's both too tame and yet too much at the same time. Unlikely to survive the whole season with a bang, it's nevertheless received its season order.
Good Morning Miami: Mark Feuerstein (Conrad Bloom) stars as the producer of a failing morning TV show who's on a quest for bigger ratings and a chance to score with the show's fetching hairstylist. It's the other media-set sitcom of this season, and at least there's a Latina in the cast. Suzanne Pleshette plays the main character's grandmother, for heaven's sake. Did we skip a generation or something? From the creators of Will & Grace, GMM is in one of the cushiest timeslot hammocks anywhere, between W&G and ER. REVIEW & UPDATE: NBC, impressed -- or at least not too depressed -- by the way GMM has retained the lead-in, has handed out a full season order to this trying-hard comedy. It's enabled NBC to hold onto a respectable number against CBS' CSI (which wins the time period), and helped keep ER on top (or almost) so far. GMM's position is alternately posh and beleagured -- take a breath and relax with Will & Grace's lead-in, but gird those loins to stave off the assault of CSI. There can only be one winner, but a #2 can feel pretty good, too.
Mister Sterling: Mr. Josh Brolin’s going to Washington in this new drama, playing a former California governor’s son who’s tapped to finish out the term of a deceased senator. Previously eschewing the political life, young Sterling leaves his position in prison reform and resolves to serve his state, idealism intact. Produced by a former West Wing writer, and set in the same fictional world – Pres. Bartlett is the Chief Executive here, too – Mister Sterling co-stars the enormously talented Audra McDonald as the newly-minted senator’s Chief of Staff. What a TV season this is, when someone with the grace and talent of Ms. McDonald (TV watchers should remember her performance in HBO’s movie Wit) shares the same network as the offal-eating desperates of Fear Factor! Mister Sterling sounds idealistic and probably will be on the same wavelength of The West Wing, so if you can’t stomach that show’s pretentiousness this may not be the show for you. Some people have opined that these days Americans are more receptive to entertainment with a political theme, but since there’s only one show that’s really ever made it in the genre – namely The West Wing (and I say wait until you see what it does in its back end to judge its footprint, and I predict it will be a bomb of terrifying proportion) – it’s probably better to pretend these are just a bunch of lawyers (as most politicians are) and respond accordingly. Review: This show certainly means well, and if you enjoy the constant tit for tat machinations that probably are closer to real political life than not, then Mister Sterling will please. Brolin’s got a really huge television noggin (he almost looks like a human bobble-head doll sometimes), but that makes him more interesting to watch, at least. Déjà vu – hopefully intentional, otherwise a real lame-o-rama cliché – as Sterling jumps aboard his motorcycle and roars down the highway as the rebel with a cause that he is, just like his Papa the elder Brolin did as Dr. Steven Kiley when he entered Marcus Welby's staid world back in 1969. As expected, the supporting cast is appealing and uniformly well-cast. Of course if you’re a real political junkie, a series like this is as unreal and stylized as Kabuki or maybe Sesame Street, but at least it won’t leave a rotten feeling in your soul when you’re through watching it. You’ll have to turn to some reality programming to get your dose of that. Vroom on, Mister Sterling!
New FOX Shows
Oliver Beene: The other 1960s-set series, this half-hour comedy is all about an eleven-year-old boy and his adventures in growing up. If it works like That '70s Show and not Freaks and Geeks it could be a winner. Did all the producers in Hollywood just the big 5-0 or something? There's some kind of mid-life crisis nostalgia-boom going on, and I think it's more about the people making the shows than the supposed post-9/11 gestalt. This show recalls The Wonder Years with Oliver's adult self narrating off-screen. If laughing at the notion of backyard bomb shelters makes anybody feel better about living with the threat of nuclear annihilation today, then take your yucks while you can. (Late news 6/13/02: Fox has officially announced that the show won't bow until January post-NFL, due to baseball and football Sunday primetime overruns.) Update 12/22/03: Fox is bringing back Oliver Beene to Sundays at 7:30pm, beginning Feb. 2004.
The Grubbs: Randy Quaid and Carol Kane head up the cast in this sitcom about a family of chronic underachievers, including a son who may not be as much of a loser as the rest of his clan. Is this supposed to be a zany romp or a heartwarming inspiration? Not having seen it I can only say that the write-up sounds more like the latter. With Quaid and Kane around it seems guaranteed to go way over the top on a regular basis. REVIEW & UPDATE: Well, at least update. Fox has kept this one off the air with an indefinite postponement and reduced the episode order, not exactly auguring a good future for this skein. It's hard to work up much pity for this one. Doesn't look like it will ever hit the air, but at least we have a topnotch show in the timeslot, the delightful return of Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Highly recommended!
girls club: A trio of young women, friends since law school and now roommates, work together at a San Francisco law firm. Guaranteed to be jam-packed with lots of heart-to-heart talks and beautiful-but-brainy female angst. Produced by David E. Kelley, starring Gretchen Mol, Chyler Leigh (That '80s Show), Kathleen Robertson (Beverly Hills 90210), and Giancarlo Esposito. If you're still pining for the exploits of skinny gal lawyers since the departure of Ally McBeal, this is your show. REVIEW & UPDATE: Cancelled after only one airing, this show came and went in a flash. How people can diss this one like it was a pile of pus and have thought Ally was a pip is a little much, but the deed is done and this girls club has had its last meeting. Not that there was necessarily much to defend, but how this trio of extra-skinny lawyerettes so quickly earned the rabid scorn -- if not the eyeballs -- of a nation is puzzling.
Cedric the Entertainer Presents: This companion piece for The Bernie Mac Show stars fellow The Original Kings of Comedy comic Cedric Kyles in a half-hour that hopes to evoke the excitement of variety shows of the 1950s. Kyles and his rep company of actors, comics and dancers will create a recurring cast of characters and skits. Uncle Miltie may be dead and buried, but let's hope that Cedric can keep the tradition alive. REVIEW & UPDATE: Cedric isn't a shoo-in for a full season yet, but he's working well enough with Bernie Mac to make a renewal look very possible. Update 11/15/02: Cedric received his full season order, as announced by Fox yesterday. 7/1/03: Update for Fall 2003 Season: Though renewed and episodes are in the can, it looks like Cedric will NOT be returning as a regularly scheduled program. No replacement has been named for the timeslot yet.
Fastlane: Lots of buzz for this entry from director McG, who went from music videos to making a big-screen smash out of Charlie's Angels, as he brings his hip perspective to this snazzy crime drama which has been characterized as the TV version of The Fast and the Furious. Tiffani Thiesen stars as the cop boss of two renegade officers played by Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy, whose glam beat on the Sunset Strip means they have to live the same high life as the bad guys. Should have enough fancy cars, stunning women and flash n' gloss to satisfy TV adrenaline junkies. REVIEW & UPDATE: Pretty goofball and basically non-offensive, Fastlane is as absurd and pumped-up as a fourteen-year-old boy's wet dream and just as narratively sound. No matter, because that's not the game they're playing here. This is all about boys, toys and Ms. Tiffani as their slinky, sexy den mother. Lots of pretty camera angles and snazzy editing, and if that's good enough for your average car commercial, it works even better here. Facinelli has an interesting face, with its young Paul Newman-ish angles, and he can spin a line delivery with some wit. Same for Bellamy, minus the Newman face.... 11/13 Update: Fox has given a pickup to Fastlane for the entire season.
30 Seconds to Fame (Winter): Reality show wherein contestants with special skills face the scorn -- or approval -- of a panel of harsh judges and the studio audience. The Fox website for the new season shows a pair of contortionist fellows doing their stuff, so this reworking of the old Gong Show premise should at least give us a front row seat to some of the more extreme participants in life's rich pageant. REVIEW & UPDATE: Obviously winter came a little early this year, as this one's been on the schedule regularly throughout the fall. No word so far on its future.
Meet the Marks: Described as "Candid Camera meets Big Brother" in the trades, a troupe of improv actors are set up in a neighborhood house, find their "marks" and make merry with them. I aver that improv actors are becoming as annoying as mimes; worse, actually, because they talk, too. Producer Vin Di Bona masterminded many of the America's Funniest whatever shows, so at least he knows the territory. It will be up again Jamie Kennedy's similarly-themed show; there's thankfully only one of him and he's pretty darned funny. If you must look at improv, stick to him.
Septuplets (Winter): Teen comedy/drama about the love lives of seven 16-year-old siblings living in their family's "small, upscale, family-run hotel situated on an idyllic beach in Southern California" (from the Fox website). One can only assume the dough to buy this castle came from a lawsuit against the fertility doctor. This is on at 9:30pm? Sounds like something that could work someplace, but probably not there. Too kiddy for the time period.
Firefly: Joss Whedon's new entry is a science fiction western set 800 years in the future, featuring a band of travelers who roam the war-ravaged galaxy in their tiny space transport. The word on this one is that the pilot wasn't up to expectations and is being reworked. It's in a time period where even the much-acclaimed Dark Angel didn't last (as well as a string of previous shows), so let's hope this ship gets back on course and Whedon has a chance to create the next Star Trek. REVIEW & UPDATE: Whedon's not striking gold twice so far yet with Firefly, and it would be just as easy and accurate to say it's because the show is too *good* as to say the opposite. Friday's a tough night, likely viewers are probably out living it up or renting something to watch, and so far this "oater space" epic is struggling badly. Why isn't this getting a second play someplace so viewers can get a chance to see it? So much for media company synergy. FX should be clamoring to introduce this to more viewers, and Fox should be, too. Update 11/19/02: Fox has ordered two more episodes on top off an earlier six episode pickup. Update 12/16/02: The light has gone off for Firefly. Its last airing will be 12/20 (the original 2-hour pilot episode, finally!), with several unseen episodes to remain that way, at least for now. Whedon's evidently looking around for another network to come to the rescue; we'll see. Too bad this one never caught on with viewers.
John Doe: Enigmatic action thriller whose hero has amnesia, is a polymath (by training or birth no one knows), and just might be a secret government agent or maybe a man from another world. Mimi Leder is among the producers of this familiar-yet-somewhat-novel mixture which takes the main character from his mysterious appearance on a deserted island to sparkling Seattle where he tries to find his place in the world. Dominic Purcell (recurring character on Beastmaster) plays the mystery man Doe. Drama watchers at 9pm on Friday have a plethora of choice and it might all come down to lead-in, in which case Doe might want to start sharing some of his wisdom with Joss Whedon, but pronto! REVIEW & UPDATE: It's a good news/bad news situation here; the bad news is that numbers aren't great, but at least John Doe is improving on Firefly. Difficult night, complacent viewers, who knows what's the problem here, but JD is a well-produced and intriguing hour that just might overcome the odds and make it. 11/13/02 Update: Just received its pickup by Fox for entire season.
New WB Shows
Everwood: Family drama in the vein of and companion piece to Seventh Heaven, starring Treat Williams as a newly-widowed Manhattan brain surgeon who transplants his two children to a new life back in his small Colorado hometown. Does Williams have the charisma and likeability to make this work? He's been basically an action hero over most of his career but the 51-year-old actor may be ripe for a makeover. Nothing else for teens at this time period and if it can hold the Seventh Heaven lead-in its chances are good. REVIEW & UPDATE: One of the first shows to be renewed, Everwood has accomplished its mission. Williams still isn't Mr. Charisma but it's telling that both this series and Seventh Heaven have made household names out of two actors who weren't anything close to it before, and weren't the likeliest candidates to be pressed to America's television bosom. Enjoy the view, guys.
Birds of Prey: The creative team behind Smallville turns again to a popular DC comics title for this potentially exciting fantasy/actioner about three female crimefighters. Dina Meyer, Ashley Scott and Rachel Skarsten star in this New Gotham-set adventure with ties to Batman, Catwoman and Batgirl. The fanboys are already aflutter over the possibilities and since butt-kicking femmes are back in fashion this one could be fun. It's following the waning Dawson's Creek and will have to compete with Fastlane and Bachelor II for thrillseeking viewers. REVIEW & UPDATE: Holy tenterhooks, Bat Daddy! It doesn't look good for these glam do-gooders, what with another batch of similarly desperate dames doing their own battles over on Bachelor II, to much more audience interest. Fans of the fantastic are rooting for this one, but so far superhero lightning hasn't struck twice for the Smallville folks and the ladies are in dire straits. Update 11/19/02: WB has clipped the wings of Birds, declining to order more than the initial 13 episodes, and in fact it's not certain that the final four of the first batch will be produced at all. After its promising preem week, BoP's audience flew the coop. Bye, bye, birdies!
Family Affair: Dr. Frank-N-Furter meets Mrs. Beasley as Tim Curry steps into Sebastian Cabot's formidable butler shoes in this remake of the 1960s TV series Family Affair. While Cabot was a benign if perturbed presence in the original, certainly Curry's arch delivery will take his Mr. French into decidedly more diverse territory. Evidently nobody remembers that the original was an exceedingly banal sitcom saved by a catchy theme, but it's still got a name that means something (at least to parents) and feels instantly accessible. With Gary Cole in the Uncle Bill role and a trio of adorable young people as Buffy, Jody and Cissy. REVIEW & UPDATE: WB's comedies are having a tough go so far, and Family Affair is no exception. Despite a good pedigree on paper -- or maybe it's just one of those "it sounded good at the time" deals -- it's not making a dent against the competition. Even so, it's gotten a full season nod, so perhaps all is not lost. It will have a total of 19 episodes this year, a few less than originally ordered as a consequence of WB's pick-up of Fox's series Grounded for Life.
Do Over: Ex-NBC exec Warren Littlefield developed this; the premise is similar -- very similar -- to ABC's That Was Then, but this one's supposed to be funny. A thirty-four-year-old with a less-than-spectacular present gets a chance to go back twenty years to his 1980s high school past to try again. Starring Penn Badgely, Gigi Rice, Michael Milhoan, Angela Goethals. Review & Update: Do Over has been given a full-season order, which at least puts it ahead of ABC's That Was Then, an early-season cancellation victim. This season's two versions of the Way-Back machine didn't capture the fancy quite as anticipated but WB is is a more tentative position so far than ABC, who has seen nice gains with its comedies and obviously fee to wield the axe and cut out the deadwood. This series will also have a 19 episode season (like Family Affair) to make WB's swallowing of Grounded for Life more economically palatable.
What I Like About You: Nickelodeon veteran Amanda Bynes goes broadcast, joined by former Beverly Hills 90210 star Jennie Garth. When their father takes a job out of the country, impulsive teenager Bynes has to move in with her career girl older sister in New York. From the producers of Smallville, et al; Bynes' Nickelodeon provenance means a lot in this time slot and it sounds like a perfect match for the rest of the night. REVIEW & UPDATE: This one will be around for the whole season, at least, thanks to the efforts of this attractive cast and a Friday night line-up that offers some hope to WB.
Greetings from Tucson: The life of a Hispanic family -- well, sort of (Mexican-American Dad, Irish-American Mom) -- as seen through the eyes of the fifteen-year-old son is the background for this sitcom. Along with ABC's The George Lopez Show it's evidence of baby steps being taken by the majors networks to capture some of the growing Latino TV audience. And how nice to see something that isn't set in San Francisco! REVIEW & UPDATE: This one's working well enough to get its passing grade for a total season pickup. In what has come to be a good match with the other WB sitcoms on Friday, GfT offers a real ratings happy ending to the week for the weblet.
New UPN Shows
Half and Half: Two half-sisters who grew up separately end up becoming neighbors in a San Francisco apartment building. This latest addition to UPN's urban Monday night looks smart and sassy, with the veteran Telma Hopkins fitting both descriptions nicely. Not for all tastes, of course, but if I had to choose I'll bet these two gals are a lot less annoying than the chicks over on girls club, though in what's a really common coincidence this season, both shows are set in San Francisco. REVIEW & UPDATE: Renewed by UPN for the entire season, Half and Half's two attractive and talented leads are certainly as good if not better than what the Big Three are offering, and it's too bad that the UPN Monday line-up is so skewed that crossover viewing is almost guaranteed nil.
Haunted: A private investigator recovering from a near-death experience (played by Party of Five's Matthew Fox) taps into the voices from the hereafter to solves crimes in the here-and-now. Soft of a Sixth Sense-y premise which is a little different from what we've seen before. Difficult time period against teen king Smallville, and cognoscenti fave 24. It's a good pairing with Buffy but competition will certainly keep this from achieving what it might under different circumstances. REVIEW & UPDATE: This intriguing premise didn't catch on, despite a solid performance by Fox and some good spookhouse moments. With a bit too much of a downer feel to create easy viewer affection and anticipation, and with pretty tough competition, Haunted had a tough hill to climb and unfortunately UPN has cut short its journey. This season the problem is that there are actually so *many* decent dramas to watch. In a hothouse environment this savvy show might have thrived, but in the current season there's no time for much coddling.
The Twilight Zone: Actor Forest Whitaker hosts this 2nd reincarnation of the classic TV series. The only anthology on this season (and the format usually doesn't work), it's produced by the same folks who made The Outer Limits an unlikely Showtime and syndication surprise hit several years ago, so they obviously get the formula. Good spot after Enterprise, but those viewers have never supported any of the lead-out shows no matter what they were, so they must be fleeing to the hallowed halls of the Oval Office and West Wing. There's no reason to think TTZ can hold them any better, but maybe the format will encourage sampling. REVIEW & UPDATE: Anthology shows are only as good as the segment you've just seen, and this one has the same feel as The Outer Limits, meaning good production values even if the stories aren't looking like timeless classics-in-the-making. While the numbers haven't been as good as previous shows in the same time-period, and part of the problem is that Enterprise is down this year, too, UPN has given this one the greenlight for the whole season.
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