Hey, it’s a day of keeping promises!
OK, so only half of the promise since only new shows are on the review menu today. It’s for space more than anything — I’ll get to returning shows tomorrow, along with Trauma. These reviews just got too long, which is what happens when you put it off for so long:
FLASHFORWARD (ABC, 8 p.m. Thursday): Let’s get this out of the way. ABC should be applauded for committing to one of the more thought-provoking, imaginative ideas we’ve ever seen put on TV. And it’s imaginative right off the bat, not like Lost where you have to wait four years to find out the whole show is somehow about time travel. Actually, scratch that. Let’s never mention FlashForward and Lost in the same sentence ever again. It’s not fair to either show, especially FlashForward, to keep being talked about almost simultaneously. So can we agree to that? Great. Anyway, FlashForward is paced brilliantly even though after the pilot is over, you feel like you’ve just had your head spin-dried in your washing machine. Yeah, there are that many questions. So of course the obvious thought is — how can they keep this up for a year or more? Plus, it only took about a half-hour for me to start punching holes punching holes in the plot. By the end of the show, I was like Rocky against Drago in the 15th round, not because there were any more than any other show, but because it’s the type of show that makes you want to do that. A couple big ones:
–Supposedly, everyone had the FlashForward visions corresponding to the same time. That much has been established. But the boy who came into the hospital said Olivia’s name like he knew her. We later find out the mysterious man in Olivia’s vision is the boy’s father, so that explains why the boy would know her. But the child isn’t in Olivia’s vision. So how does that work?
–What seems like about eight hours after the flash, we already see Olivia and her resident Bryce sipping coffee taking a break and everything is hunky-dory at the hospital. Wait a minute — didn’t the whole world just almost die? Are you telling me that in Los Angeles, where 20 million people live in the metro area, where just about every car in the city crashed into each other, where a helicopter smashed into a building, where we saw a scene so explosive that it was perfectly plausible a kangaroo was hopping around the city streets like they switched sets with I Am Legend or something, that all the injuries and hospital calls were taken care of in about eight hours? Doctors worked around the clock without sleep for days dealing with the 9/11 catastrophe, and this worldwide phenomenon that news reports said left millions dead was all wrapped up medically after about eight hours? That was the moment when I started questioning everything. Same for her husband, FBI agent Mark. After a day like that when he’s been put in charge of the case to find out why it happened, he’s home in time to fix the garage door? I think the FBI might give out some OT on that day.
–Why isn’t Mark questioning EVERYONE about their visions? He has no problem asking everyone at the office, but then he gets home and doesn’t bother asking his babysitter or his daughter and waits until he’s in bed with his wife to ask about hers. And actually, SHE ASKS FIRST!!! It’s his job to know, and if he’s that worried about his vision, ask the people closest to you!
–You don’t make cult — cult happens. So when ABC starts running commercials like, “Was the kangaroo important? Log on to find out!” I start losing interest. If they had the Internet when Twin Peaks was on, David Lynch’s head would have exploded. Just let this evolve, please. Don’t force feed us.
Whew! Feels better to write it all down. It’s still an impressive display of courage to air a show like this, which almost makes it doomed to fail. Its ratings were very good to start, but you have to imagine a good portion of the audience made its way through, said “Huh?” and set their DVR for Survivor instead. You just have to wonder if in March, people will be writing in to Matt Roush saying things like, “Why can’t the networks ever stick with anything risky?” or “Are there any plans to burn off the remaining episodes of FlashForward?” Plus, I had the feeling I could just tune in to the season finale and get all my questions answered. Still, it’s a creative achievement that deserves everyone’s eyes for at least a month. GRADE: B+
THE GOOD WIFE (CBS, 10 p.m. Tuesdays): The other day I played Water Gap Country Club and hit a 50-yard blind chip from the left side of the green to about a foot on the elevated 18th green. For the next half hour, it was all I could think about. When my wife asked how I played, I told her “surprisingly well” and proceeded to expound on the chip. To me, that’s shows like 24 and yes, FlashForward. About three months ago, I played golf before my brother’s wedding and doubled the last hole even though I only had a wedge in off my drive. I immediately forgot about that round and anything good that happened in it and thought about lunch. When my wife asked how I played, I said, “Eh” and ordered my third beer. I scored just about the same both times. That wedding round is The Good Wife. They may be just about the same, but one leaves me wanting more, the other one leaves me looking forward to lunch. Nothing against Good Wife — it seems like a less-soapy version of LA Law. It’s just not my thing anymore. GRADE: B-
THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Fox, 8:30 p.m. Sundays): Unless you like Family Guy, there was no way you were even thinking of tuning in to this. And that’s fine, it’s a divisive show you either love or hate. Seth MacFarlane, fresh off the FlashForward cameo, is establishing a fan base/cult similar to Joss Whedon, where people will give everything he does at least a little try, and in some cases, will stick with his creations for about five years too long. Why else would American Dad still be on the air? So The Cleveland Show already has its audience. But the show seems more like a traditional sitcom — albeit a funnier version of one — than a spin-off of Family Guy. It’s understandable why they would want it to build its own identity, but there should probably be some aspects of Family Guy left untouched. But the second Cleveland left Quahog, it just felt like . . . a sitcom. That’s not a compliment, even though it still was kinda funny. GRADE: B-
MODERN FAMILY (ABC, 9 p.m. Wednesdays): When we heard back in May that this was an “Office-style sitcom,” I didn’t know they meant it ripped off The Office to the point where they even made a Michael Scott clone, right down to the inner-child desperate for attention quality. So now we’ve got two mockumentary-style Office clones – with Parks and Recreation — and all of them are pretty funny, but none can touch the original. So why keep trying? The worst part about Modern Family is that it’s not just a rip-off of The Office, it’s also a rip-off of the short-lived ABC sitcom Sons and Daughters, which was pretty funny, but never seemed to get support from ABC. But this does, for some reason, even though they’re basically the same show. Weird. It still made me laugh more than any new show this year not called Glee not called Glee, so all it did was teach me that this is where I’m at in my life now, that I like mockumentary-style jokes. GRADE: C+
COUGAR TOWN (ABC, 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays): Here’s where benefit of the doubt comes in. When you have people as talented as Bill Lawrence (Spin City, Scrubs) making the show and Courtney Cox and Christa Miller starring in it, there’s room to grow. When you see sprinkles of Scrubs-style humor splattered throughout the pilot, you hold out hope it can be good in the future. These people have earned our trust and respect over the years, and you hope they’ll earn it again after a pilot that goes from “unfunny” in parts to “made me giggle” in others. Up to you whether you want to stick with it after the ratings for it and Modern Family were both big. I just don’t understand how anyone can think any of these shows are half as funny as Glee. GRADE: C
COMMUNITY (NBC, 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, soon moving to 8 p.m.): Uh oh, falling asleep alert. That’s never good. But about halfway through the watching second episode, I fell asleep. I was sick, it was late, so it might not be the all the show. But I can watch The Office at 4 in the morning on my death bed and would still laugh at it. So there’s that. I’m willing to give it plenty of chances, more because of its timeslot than anything. But when 30 Rock comes back and I have four sitcoms to watch on Thursdays, there needs to be some improvement or I’m gone. GRADE: C
BROTHERS (Fox, 8 p.m. Fridays): If you saw The Cleveland Show last night, they made a joke about white people making sitcoms for black people and expecting said black people to think they’re funny. That was EXACTLY the thought I had watching the 15 minutes I saw of Brothers when I noticed Ted Wass (the dad on Blossom) not only was the director, but a producer too. Seeing as they’re both on the same channel, you have to wonder if the joke was a direct shot at Brothers, which I have no idea how got made it to TV. Unwatchable is too nice and it isn’t accurate, because I watched for 15 minutes even though I knew after 30 seconds it was garbage. I got sucked in for two reasons: 1. I was waiting for something funny and 2. I wanted to see some sign of why anyone would think it’s funny. I saw neither. It’s not like there’s a big star that got this made, even though I’ve always liked Daryl “Chill” Mitchell. No one at Fox was saying, “You know who needs a sitcom? Michael effing Strahan, that’s who!” So what got this on the air? I guess it’s a somewhat relatable plot with a life-imitates fiction premise after Strahan’s wife took him for all he had, but other than that, I’m lost. GRADE: D-
Mike Sadowski is pretty boring, but here's the quick scoop: Lifelong NEPA resident, Abington Heights grad ('93), Elizabethtown College grad ('97), sports reporter ('97-'99), news and cops reporter ('99-'04) and pretty much doing everything at the Read Full
fall premieres (flashforward, cleveland show, cougar town, more)
Hey, it’s a day of keeping promises!
OK, so only half of the promise since only new shows are on the review menu today. It’s for space more than anything — I’ll get to returning shows tomorrow, along with Trauma. These reviews just got too long, which is what happens when you put it off for so long:
FLASHFORWARD (ABC, 8 p.m. Thursday): Let’s get this out of the way. ABC should be applauded for committing to one of the more thought-provoking, imaginative ideas we’ve ever seen put on TV. And it’s imaginative right off the bat, not like Lost where you have to wait four years to find out the whole show is somehow about time travel. Actually, scratch that. Let’s never mention FlashForward and Lost in the same sentence ever again. It’s not fair to either show, especially FlashForward, to keep being talked about almost simultaneously. So can we agree to that? Great. Anyway, FlashForward is paced brilliantly even though after the pilot is over, you feel like you’ve just had your head spin-dried in your washing machine. Yeah, there are that many questions. So of course the obvious thought is — how can they keep this up for a year or more? Plus, it only took about a half-hour for me to start punching holes punching holes in the plot. By the end of the show, I was like Rocky against Drago in the 15th round, not because there were any more than any other show, but because it’s the type of show that makes you want to do that. A couple big ones:
–Supposedly, everyone had the FlashForward visions corresponding to the same time. That much has been established. But the boy who came into the hospital said Olivia’s name like he knew her. We later find out the mysterious man in Olivia’s vision is the boy’s father, so that explains why the boy would know her. But the child isn’t in Olivia’s vision. So how does that work?
–What seems like about eight hours after the flash, we already see Olivia and her resident Bryce sipping coffee taking a break and everything is hunky-dory at the hospital. Wait a minute — didn’t the whole world just almost die? Are you telling me that in Los Angeles, where 20 million people live in the metro area, where just about every car in the city crashed into each other, where a helicopter smashed into a building, where we saw a scene so explosive that it was perfectly plausible a kangaroo was hopping around the city streets like they switched sets with I Am Legend or something, that all the injuries and hospital calls were taken care of in about eight hours? Doctors worked around the clock without sleep for days dealing with the 9/11 catastrophe, and this worldwide phenomenon that news reports said left millions dead was all wrapped up medically after about eight hours? That was the moment when I started questioning everything. Same for her husband, FBI agent Mark. After a day like that when he’s been put in charge of the case to find out why it happened, he’s home in time to fix the garage door? I think the FBI might give out some OT on that day.
–Why isn’t Mark questioning EVERYONE about their visions? He has no problem asking everyone at the office, but then he gets home and doesn’t bother asking his babysitter or his daughter and waits until he’s in bed with his wife to ask about hers. And actually, SHE ASKS FIRST!!! It’s his job to know, and if he’s that worried about his vision, ask the people closest to you!
–You don’t make cult — cult happens. So when ABC starts running commercials like, “Was the kangaroo important? Log on to find out!” I start losing interest. If they had the Internet when Twin Peaks was on, David Lynch’s head would have exploded. Just let this evolve, please. Don’t force feed us.
Whew! Feels better to write it all down. It’s still an impressive display of courage to air a show like this, which almost makes it doomed to fail. Its ratings were very good to start, but you have to imagine a good portion of the audience made its way through, said “Huh?” and set their DVR for Survivor instead. You just have to wonder if in March, people will be writing in to Matt Roush saying things like, “Why can’t the networks ever stick with anything risky?” or “Are there any plans to burn off the remaining episodes of FlashForward?” Plus, I had the feeling I could just tune in to the season finale and get all my questions answered. Still, it’s a creative achievement that deserves everyone’s eyes for at least a month. GRADE: B+
THE GOOD WIFE (CBS, 10 p.m. Tuesdays): The other day I played Water Gap Country Club and hit a 50-yard blind chip from the left side of the green to about a foot on the elevated 18th green. For the next half hour, it was all I could think about. When my wife asked how I played, I told her “surprisingly well” and proceeded to expound on the chip. To me, that’s shows like 24 and yes, FlashForward. About three months ago, I played golf before my brother’s wedding and doubled the last hole even though I only had a wedge in off my drive. I immediately forgot about that round and anything good that happened in it and thought about lunch. When my wife asked how I played, I said, “Eh” and ordered my third beer. I scored just about the same both times. That wedding round is The Good Wife. They may be just about the same, but one leaves me wanting more, the other one leaves me looking forward to lunch. Nothing against Good Wife — it seems like a less-soapy version of LA Law. It’s just not my thing anymore. GRADE: B-
THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Fox, 8:30 p.m. Sundays): Unless you like Family Guy, there was no way you were even thinking of tuning in to this. And that’s fine, it’s a divisive show you either love or hate. Seth MacFarlane, fresh off the FlashForward cameo, is establishing a fan base/cult similar to Joss Whedon, where people will give everything he does at least a little try, and in some cases, will stick with his creations for about five years too long. Why else would American Dad still be on the air? So The Cleveland Show already has its audience. But the show seems more like a traditional sitcom — albeit a funnier version of one — than a spin-off of Family Guy. It’s understandable why they would want it to build its own identity, but there should probably be some aspects of Family Guy left untouched. But the second Cleveland left Quahog, it just felt like . . . a sitcom. That’s not a compliment, even though it still was kinda funny. GRADE: B-
MODERN FAMILY (ABC, 9 p.m. Wednesdays): When we heard back in May that this was an “Office-style sitcom,” I didn’t know they meant it ripped off The Office to the point where they even made a Michael Scott clone, right down to the inner-child desperate for attention quality. So now we’ve got two mockumentary-style Office clones – with Parks and Recreation — and all of them are pretty funny, but none can touch the original. So why keep trying? The worst part about Modern Family is that it’s not just a rip-off of The Office, it’s also a rip-off of the short-lived ABC sitcom Sons and Daughters, which was pretty funny, but never seemed to get support from ABC. But this does, for some reason, even though they’re basically the same show. Weird. It still made me laugh more than any new show this year not called Glee not called Glee, so all it did was teach me that this is where I’m at in my life now, that I like mockumentary-style jokes. GRADE: C+
COUGAR TOWN (ABC, 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays): Here’s where benefit of the doubt comes in. When you have people as talented as Bill Lawrence (Spin City, Scrubs) making the show and Courtney Cox and Christa Miller starring in it, there’s room to grow. When you see sprinkles of Scrubs-style humor splattered throughout the pilot, you hold out hope it can be good in the future. These people have earned our trust and respect over the years, and you hope they’ll earn it again after a pilot that goes from “unfunny” in parts to “made me giggle” in others. Up to you whether you want to stick with it after the ratings for it and Modern Family were both big. I just don’t understand how anyone can think any of these shows are half as funny as Glee. GRADE: C
COMMUNITY (NBC, 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, soon moving to 8 p.m.): Uh oh, falling asleep alert. That’s never good. But about halfway through the watching second episode, I fell asleep. I was sick, it was late, so it might not be the all the show. But I can watch The Office at 4 in the morning on my death bed and would still laugh at it. So there’s that. I’m willing to give it plenty of chances, more because of its timeslot than anything. But when 30 Rock comes back and I have four sitcoms to watch on Thursdays, there needs to be some improvement or I’m gone. GRADE: C
BROTHERS (Fox, 8 p.m. Fridays): If you saw The Cleveland Show last night, they made a joke about white people making sitcoms for black people and expecting said black people to think they’re funny. That was EXACTLY the thought I had watching the 15 minutes I saw of Brothers when I noticed Ted Wass (the dad on Blossom) not only was the director, but a producer too. Seeing as they’re both on the same channel, you have to wonder if the joke was a direct shot at Brothers, which I have no idea how got made it to TV. Unwatchable is too nice and it isn’t accurate, because I watched for 15 minutes even though I knew after 30 seconds it was garbage. I got sucked in for two reasons: 1. I was waiting for something funny and 2. I wanted to see some sign of why anyone would think it’s funny. I saw neither. It’s not like there’s a big star that got this made, even though I’ve always liked Daryl “Chill” Mitchell. No one at Fox was saying, “You know who needs a sitcom? Michael effing Strahan, that’s who!” So what got this on the air? I guess it’s a somewhat relatable plot with a life-imitates fiction premise after Strahan’s wife took him for all he had, but other than that, I’m lost. GRADE: D-