Downloadable Fall T.V. preview Part 1:
Reluctant Heroes Imbued with Powers They Don't Understand!!!!
I've been downloading and watching all the fall t.v. pilots I can get my hands on so, to make myself feel like less of a waste of space, I'll waste space on the internet by clogging it with my opinions of them. SHAZAM!
So for part I of this escapade I'll deal with three shows that seem to follow a trend in t.v. brought on by some mass market research and/or the popularity of Heroes: Viewers love people who are reluctant heroes and have been given some sort of power they don't understand.
You know you love it too. Don't lie. The networks know.
Well on to the crop (with pictures, IMDB links and .torrent links for the interested)
1) PUSHING DAISIES (ABC)
Who is behind this?
Barry Sonnenfeld (who you can make sound good by putting Men in Black/Addams Family in brackets behind his name or you can make sound bad by putting Big Trouble/RV in there) and Bryan Fuller! (who you can't make look bad because his brackets are Wonderfalls/Dead Like Me/Heroes)
Who is our reluctant hero?
Ned (Lee Pace) . He was a sad little child who grew up to own a pie store (SHAPED LIKE A PIE!) and now is a seemingly low-key nice guy.
What is their power/How were they imbued with it?
His touch brings the dead back to life. He's had it presumably since he was born though only discovered it pre-sad little child phase.
Why are they reluctant?
One touch brings the dead back, a second makes them dead again forever. Also, if he re-animates someone for more than one minute a person in their general proximity will drop dead to make up for the imbalance (no word on if they, in turn can be brought back to life).
Who forces them to use said powers?
The Re-animated version of his first love who feels for the dead(awwww), a money hungry P.I. who wants to solve murders/get rewards (CHI MCBRIDE!) and probably a general sense of decency.
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Pie shop waitress who loves him (KRISTIN CHENOWETH!)and presumably the two aunts of the un-deceased first love (SWOOSIE KURTZ AND ELLEN GREENE!)
Who is out to antagonize all this confused power usage?
Nobody yet except maybe the criminals they take down with their powers. Knowing Fuller though it'll probably be their own moral dilemma, their own lack of knowledge of the power and/or someone imbued with the same power but using it differently.
How does all this make me feel?
Awesome. If you can't tell from all the exclamation marks the cast is amazing. It does get a little Broadway (both in cast and in this case, love of palindrome names) but still, that's the way Fuller tends to throw down. The show has a dreamy feel and has sets and shooting so amazing I have trouble believing they can afford to keep it up for a whole season.
This show is very much a retread of the Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me territory but I loved both of those shows and they were torn away from me so, I could care less.
My only complaint is that it balances its dark humor with some stuff so saccharine (please Jesus let the fairy tale narrator only exist for the pilot) that it doesn't so much balance as make me barf.
I know though that all this will pay off though in Fuller's hands. He writes some of the most interesting and complex comedic characters out there so ,yes this will be smart. Yes this will be funny. Yes I will give up on life if it's canceled before it gets a chance.
2) BIONIC WOMAN (NBC)
Who is behind it?
Sci-fi powerhouse team Ronald D. Moore and David Eick from the wickedawesome Battlestar Galactica.
Who is our reluctant hero?
Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan) , bartender at The Plaza (they never say it's not Vancouver so I'll assume it is) and girlfriend of a fancy science professor at UBC.
What is their power/How are they imbued with it?
After being smooshed in a car accident she gets a robot arm, robot legs, a robot eye and a robot ear as a present from her boyfriend who is really a shady government operative. There are also nanobots in her blood which seem to heal her and do who knows what else.
Why are they reluctant?
Boyfriend wasn't supposed to give her powers so the government is pissed, they want her in jail or dead. She's confused. Also she seems pretty emotional about everything so that's probably in there too.
Who forces them to use said powers?
Shadowy government officials figure she owes them for saving her life so they want her to do missions against various equally shadowy sci-fi things.
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Deaf/Goth sister (ANN!) and presumably the world at large. Oh and shadowy evil people.
Who antagonizes all this confused power usage?
Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff as Bionic Woman 1.o who doesn't know why she's mad at her but really wants to kill the boyfriend. There's also a Russian dude who is maybe a robot and maybe commands the first bionic woman and the boyfriend's even shadowier father.
How does all this make me feel?
GONG!
I give Moore and Eick the benefit of the doubt as Galatica is so amazing but seriously this pilot was balls. I pray to the t.v. tiki that more than just the listed effects were temp. because man OH man, save the jaguar leap Sackhoff takes about 1 minute in they effects were balls.
Also, anything dramatic was stupid, confusing or lame. I think they are trying to stress the "woman" in Bionic woman but failing by making her overly emotional and confused by said emotions (the wrestling with love with her boyfriend/sister is eye-gougingly bad).
The things that I could see saving it are :
1) Galactica cameos for all the nerds (there are at least 3 in this episode alone).
2) fights on the streets of Vancouver make me laugh.
3) The Shadowy officials mention how science has come to the point where science fiction is reality so potentially she'll be fighting aliens and bigfoots (bigfeet?) and werewolves like in the original. I can get down with that.
But seriously, I was more interested in The Sarah Connor Chronicles...seriously.
3) CHUCK (NBC)
Who is behind it?
I've got three letters for you: McG. Luckily, the man is counter-balanced by by Josh "The O.C." Schwartz so we are all allowed to get excited.
Who is our reluctant hero?
Chuck...duh? He's an employee of the geek squad (I mean "Nerd Herd") at a Best Buy (I mean "Big Buy")
What is their power/How are they imbued with it?
His college roommate was a rogue spy and for unknown reasons sent him a magical supercomputer's information which crammed it's way into his skull. Now he knows all the CIA and NSA secrets and is capable of realizing complex patterns which can solve crimes...or something.
Why are they reluctant?
He's Seth Cohen as an adult basically. He's awkward and uncool. He works at Best Buy. He has no robot arms/death touch to protect him when bad guys attack.
Who forces them to use said powers?
Decidedly less shadowy government officials played by Adam "Not related" Baldwin and Yvonne "I dont know her either" Stzechowski. OH and their respective bosses played by some woman and CANDYMAN!!!
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Basically everyone though he's surrounded by so many secondary characters someone is likely to find out about...every week? HILARITY ENSUES!!!!
Who antagonizes all this confused power usage?
Terrorists? No, actually I don't know. Probably baddie of the week type problems. Also, the CIA/NSA aren't keen on him so maybe them as well.
How does all this make me feel?
Pretty good.
It's all pretty solid and funny stuff. I love whole world of working at Best Buy. It's a good touch. Their lame adults seem pretty close to lame adults though Chuck suffers clearly from the "Seth Cohen" syndrome of it being completely unbelievable that he's not charming and girls don't like him since he's an attractive, constantly charming-acting person.
It definitely gives Pushing Daisies a run for its money but there is a the niggling problem of not kind of understanding where it's going. It could end up a pretty procedural show with Chuck becoming a Monk of high level security threats. Will they travel across the country? Will there be interesting bad guys? Are there other computer brains?
Definitely worth a look though. It can take over Bionic Woman's slot when its gone. Zing.
Anyway, for those interested all the torrents are available at www.mininova.org
That's all for now. I need to wait for Cavemen to download.
CAM
Reluctant Heroes Imbued with Powers They Don't Understand!!!!
I've been downloading and watching all the fall t.v. pilots I can get my hands on so, to make myself feel like less of a waste of space, I'll waste space on the internet by clogging it with my opinions of them. SHAZAM!
So for part I of this escapade I'll deal with three shows that seem to follow a trend in t.v. brought on by some mass market research and/or the popularity of Heroes: Viewers love people who are reluctant heroes and have been given some sort of power they don't understand.
You know you love it too. Don't lie. The networks know.
Well on to the crop (with pictures, IMDB links and .torrent links for the interested)
1) PUSHING DAISIES (ABC)
Who is behind this?Barry Sonnenfeld (who you can make sound good by putting Men in Black/Addams Family in brackets behind his name or you can make sound bad by putting Big Trouble/RV in there) and Bryan Fuller! (who you can't make look bad because his brackets are Wonderfalls/Dead Like Me/Heroes)
Who is our reluctant hero?
Ned (Lee Pace) . He was a sad little child who grew up to own a pie store (SHAPED LIKE A PIE!) and now is a seemingly low-key nice guy.
What is their power/How were they imbued with it?
His touch brings the dead back to life. He's had it presumably since he was born though only discovered it pre-sad little child phase.
Why are they reluctant?
One touch brings the dead back, a second makes them dead again forever. Also, if he re-animates someone for more than one minute a person in their general proximity will drop dead to make up for the imbalance (no word on if they, in turn can be brought back to life).
Who forces them to use said powers?
The Re-animated version of his first love who feels for the dead(awwww), a money hungry P.I. who wants to solve murders/get rewards (CHI MCBRIDE!) and probably a general sense of decency.
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Pie shop waitress who loves him (KRISTIN CHENOWETH!)and presumably the two aunts of the un-deceased first love (SWOOSIE KURTZ AND ELLEN GREENE!)
Who is out to antagonize all this confused power usage?
Nobody yet except maybe the criminals they take down with their powers. Knowing Fuller though it'll probably be their own moral dilemma, their own lack of knowledge of the power and/or someone imbued with the same power but using it differently.
How does all this make me feel?
Awesome. If you can't tell from all the exclamation marks the cast is amazing. It does get a little Broadway (both in cast and in this case, love of palindrome names) but still, that's the way Fuller tends to throw down. The show has a dreamy feel and has sets and shooting so amazing I have trouble believing they can afford to keep it up for a whole season.
This show is very much a retread of the Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me territory but I loved both of those shows and they were torn away from me so, I could care less.
My only complaint is that it balances its dark humor with some stuff so saccharine (please Jesus let the fairy tale narrator only exist for the pilot) that it doesn't so much balance as make me barf.
I know though that all this will pay off though in Fuller's hands. He writes some of the most interesting and complex comedic characters out there so ,yes this will be smart. Yes this will be funny. Yes I will give up on life if it's canceled before it gets a chance.
2) BIONIC WOMAN (NBC)
Who is behind it?Sci-fi powerhouse team Ronald D. Moore and David Eick from the wickedawesome Battlestar Galactica.
Who is our reluctant hero?
Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan) , bartender at The Plaza (they never say it's not Vancouver so I'll assume it is) and girlfriend of a fancy science professor at UBC.
What is their power/How are they imbued with it?
After being smooshed in a car accident she gets a robot arm, robot legs, a robot eye and a robot ear as a present from her boyfriend who is really a shady government operative. There are also nanobots in her blood which seem to heal her and do who knows what else.
Why are they reluctant?
Boyfriend wasn't supposed to give her powers so the government is pissed, they want her in jail or dead. She's confused. Also she seems pretty emotional about everything so that's probably in there too.
Who forces them to use said powers?
Shadowy government officials figure she owes them for saving her life so they want her to do missions against various equally shadowy sci-fi things.
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Deaf/Goth sister (ANN!) and presumably the world at large. Oh and shadowy evil people.
Who antagonizes all this confused power usage?
Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff as Bionic Woman 1.o who doesn't know why she's mad at her but really wants to kill the boyfriend. There's also a Russian dude who is maybe a robot and maybe commands the first bionic woman and the boyfriend's even shadowier father.
How does all this make me feel?
GONG!
I give Moore and Eick the benefit of the doubt as Galatica is so amazing but seriously this pilot was balls. I pray to the t.v. tiki that more than just the listed effects were temp. because man OH man, save the jaguar leap Sackhoff takes about 1 minute in they effects were balls.
Also, anything dramatic was stupid, confusing or lame. I think they are trying to stress the "woman" in Bionic woman but failing by making her overly emotional and confused by said emotions (the wrestling with love with her boyfriend/sister is eye-gougingly bad).
The things that I could see saving it are :
1) Galactica cameos for all the nerds (there are at least 3 in this episode alone).
2) fights on the streets of Vancouver make me laugh.
3) The Shadowy officials mention how science has come to the point where science fiction is reality so potentially she'll be fighting aliens and bigfoots (bigfeet?) and werewolves like in the original. I can get down with that.
But seriously, I was more interested in The Sarah Connor Chronicles...seriously.
3) CHUCK (NBC)
Who is behind it?
I've got three letters for you: McG. Luckily, the man is counter-balanced by by Josh "The O.C." Schwartz so we are all allowed to get excited.
Who is our reluctant hero?
Chuck...duh? He's an employee of the geek squad (I mean "Nerd Herd") at a Best Buy (I mean "Big Buy")
What is their power/How are they imbued with it?
His college roommate was a rogue spy and for unknown reasons sent him a magical supercomputer's information which crammed it's way into his skull. Now he knows all the CIA and NSA secrets and is capable of realizing complex patterns which can solve crimes...or something.
Why are they reluctant?
He's Seth Cohen as an adult basically. He's awkward and uncool. He works at Best Buy. He has no robot arms/death touch to protect him when bad guys attack.
Who forces them to use said powers?
Decidedly less shadowy government officials played by Adam "Not related" Baldwin and Yvonne "I dont know her either" Stzechowski. OH and their respective bosses played by some woman and CANDYMAN!!!
Who do they have to keep their powers a secret from?
Basically everyone though he's surrounded by so many secondary characters someone is likely to find out about...every week? HILARITY ENSUES!!!!
Who antagonizes all this confused power usage?
Terrorists? No, actually I don't know. Probably baddie of the week type problems. Also, the CIA/NSA aren't keen on him so maybe them as well.
How does all this make me feel?
Pretty good.
It's all pretty solid and funny stuff. I love whole world of working at Best Buy. It's a good touch. Their lame adults seem pretty close to lame adults though Chuck suffers clearly from the "Seth Cohen" syndrome of it being completely unbelievable that he's not charming and girls don't like him since he's an attractive, constantly charming-acting person.
It definitely gives Pushing Daisies a run for its money but there is a the niggling problem of not kind of understanding where it's going. It could end up a pretty procedural show with Chuck becoming a Monk of high level security threats. Will they travel across the country? Will there be interesting bad guys? Are there other computer brains?
Definitely worth a look though. It can take over Bionic Woman's slot when its gone. Zing.
Anyway, for those interested all the torrents are available at www.mininova.org
That's all for now. I need to wait for Cavemen to download.
CAM
posted by Cam at 3:22 PM
2 Comments:
you forgot "Reaper"
I haven't seen it yet. Damn CW!!
I'm sure there's probably another one in there somewhere too. I guess Sarah Connor kind of is...
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