Premiere Week Part Deux...

Wednesday was a pretty light night, I caught the very well designed, yet underwhelming Undercovers and the conventionally funny Modern Family.
Undercovers was full of beautiful people, gorgeous set design and a clear story. Unfortunately there are so many shows (and spy shows) on TV these days that I'm not sure this show will make the cut for appointment viewing, but certainly worthy of time on the tivo or catching up on DVDs later. We'll have to see how it fares in its second week.

I was one of the few who did not watch Modern Family in its first season, so perhaps enlighten me, was the first season miles ahead of the season 2 premiere, because it was funny, but certainly didn't live up to the hype that preceded it.

Thursday
Remember when Jim finally came to his senses and asked Pam on a date on The Office. How the internet seemed to brake down under the strain of millions of fan girls and boys squeeing over message boards everywhere. That is what my brain felt like last night while trying to process the insane amount of excellent TV that returned last night.

The Big Bang Theory: It was so great to see these guys (and gal) back in action. What was so brilliant about this premiere episode is that it didn't feel like a premiere, it felt like every other episode, which is in other words, brilliantly funny. No major spectacular or welcome back, but spot on characters in situations we would only find on TBBT.

30 Rock: It's back to work of Liz, Jack and the TGS crew. The best part of insane and seemingly incompetent characters is when you see them actually function. Jenna as a brilliant cut-throat producer once the clause on her contract kicked in on season 5 was as hilarious and thankfully short lived. The heart of the show, the relationship between Jack and Liz was highlighted as they differently deal with "adult relationships" as Matt Damon guest starred and Avery (Elizabeth Banks) remained off-screen.
How long do we think until Kenneth is reinstated as a page at TGS?

The Office: I just... don't know. But I'm going to keep watching. Out of habit? On this overcrowded night The Office has made it to the bottom of the priority list. I miss when this show was great, I think I still have delusional hope that it will become great again, but with Steve Carrell leaving at the end of this season, and probably Mindy Kaling on her way out as well, my delusions are fading.

Community: I originally hated this show because it was trying so hard with the self referential crap. As season one progressed it was that same self referential, or meta and breaking of the 4th wall by Abed that I grew to love. Community is just an all out crazy fest in one of those like our worlds but a little bit off, pitch perfect.
The world of Community reminds me of the world in Scrubs at Sacred Heart. Is that a worthy comparison?

Bones: Heaatwarming, heartbreaking, and everything in between. I love Caroline being the lynch-pin personality bringing everyone together to save Cam's job. The case(s) of the week were especially backgrounded as the reconnecting characters were at the fore, it's really the most important part of the show.
I really appreciate that Brennen actually stopped to recognize how her actions affected others and changed her behaviour to accommodate that. As much as we hate the will they/wont they with Booth and Bones, the fact that he has chosen to move on rather than continue to be strung along makes a lot of sense, was true to his character and worked organically within the story. It's just how they deal with it now that they're a team again will be the test.
Of course Angela and Hodgins come back from Paris with a bun in the oven. She wants a million babies and he wants everything she does. Beautiful.
Other little things I loved: Sweets' new look; Brennan trying to hug Caroline and the literal Mastadon in the room!
LOVED: Sweets' new looks;

Fringe: I'm still processing. But pretty much, Olivia Dunham is not only the most kickass woman on television, but the most kick ass character on television. Mark of a brilliant premiere episode, I'm not only excited for the next episode because of a cliff hanger ending, I'm left excited for the entire season.
Bonus! Andre Royo (from The Wire fame) guest starring as the cab driver who gets stuck driving Olivia around the altverse.

Even more premieres this weekend. Can we say Dexter Crazy!

What shows were you most excited to return? Which was the best premiere episode this week?

Across the Atlantic

American networks are constantly revamping well made British programming to make it more easy to digest for American consumption. Occasionally this works out, The Office being the best example of this. More often than not, in the process of translation the show loses its original appeal and falls flat with audiences all around. Slate's Seth Stevenson talks about why most re-makes don't take off after translation. Stevenson specifically cites the complete failure of the American take on the brilliant U.K. series Life on Mars.


He attributes the success of the American Office to the simple formula worked out by the producers of just adding 10% more hope. Where the utterly dismal outlook of drained zombie-like employees at Wernham Hogg's Slough, England, branch fit in with British television, 10% more hope, a glimmer of optimism without going too far and losing touch with the whole point of the show made the show both palatable and successful on American television.

The failure of Life on Mars (U.S) can be attributed to the skewing of the formula. The American producers seem to not trust their audiences to accept characters who aren't the right definition of beautiful, aren't politically correct and don't fit into the mold of what is typically seen on American television. The American producers added "10 percent more hope, 30 percent more schmaltz, 50 percent more glamour, and 700 percent better production values." In this transformation the show lost its heart and its charm. Gene Hunt isn't nearly as gruff, tough and offensive enough to fill the shoes of his U.K counterpart. Sam is too tall and good looking to create the right kind of tension between his boss, and his love interest is too beautiful but without the sweetness.















Life on Mars (U.S) & Life on Mars (U.K.) Can you spot the differences?

The most offensive move on the part of the U.S. production was its strange attempts to provide closure once the series had been canceled. With no regard to the original concept the producers create a scenario that really sounds like a bad joke. Sam wakes up in 2035 on board a spaceship, the whole life in the 1970s had been a virtual reality hallucination to pass the time on his journey. This basically breaks the entire premise invalidates all the uncertainties (is Sam in a coma? is he dead?)The U.K. series comes to a solid end after two series carefully solving the dilemma. The U.S. series jacked the finale full of crazy and let it set out to sea.

With news breaking of the latest U.K. to U.S. remake of Torchwood on FOX, which way do you think the show will go?


Click here to read the full article on Slate.com.

TV News Round-Up: The Office, Doctor Who, Lost and more!

After a significant slowdown during the holidays there is plenty to report in TVland.

On the Doctor Who front is it old news that Steven Moffat will be taking over the show moving forward. Here is a video of former Doctor David Tennant interviewing Moffat about his new gig.


Speaking of ex-Doctors, Christopher Eccelson will be portraying John Lennon in a BBC movie Lennon Naked. Someone must have had their head in the Who-verse on casting day because Naoko Mori (Torchwood) will be playing Yoko Ono.


The Office may have a long awaited guest appearance by the one and only Ricky Gervais, hot off his gig hosting the Golden Globes, and promoting his new HBO series, recently hinted that David Brent (his character from The Office UK) may make an appearance on the American series.


Now that NBC has come to its senses and kicked Leno's late-night-butt out of prime-time, NBC has announced its post-Olympic prime time schedule, one that makes room for more scripted television. Yay!

The new season of 24 starts tonight airing two hours of its two day, 4 hour event. In honour of Starbuck finding her place in the work of Jack Bauer she sits down for an interview with BuzzSugar about her new role...and more importantly, about what it's like to have been a part of something as fantastic as BSG, and her love of sci-fi.

The LOST premiere is fast approaching and there seems to be a steady stream of information that really doesn't reveal a whole lot. Here's the latest. LOST's TCA panel revealed some returning cast members, and that Emilie DeRavine was very, very confused by the script for the first episode. hmm...

In other news, LOST producers claim that for LOST the end will really be the end. No sequels, spin offs or the like. Do you believe them?

The Office - Where do we go from here?

Stop reading here unless you want to be completely spoiled for last night's episode of The Office, "Murder".

"Murder" was an excellent episode of The Office. It was outlandish, ridiculous, but nothing unbelievable (*cough* Michael driving into a river because his GPS told him to *cough*). Some highlights of the wacky side of this episode include; Dwight getting into a physical fight with... himself. Andy asking out Erin, and then somehow managing to screw it up even after she says yes, Angela as Voodoo Mama JuJu, a stand off at fake gunpoint between Michael, Dwight, Andy and Pam, and tons of really bad southern accents. It was also one of the most somber episodes we have been treated to in a long time.

The game for which this episode was titled incorporated the entire ensemble of the characters in the office as they each took on a role for the game. The ensemble cast and the magic that happens when they all interact is one of the aspects of the show that truly make it special, reminiscent of such classics as "Office Olympics". This episode was very office based and allowed all the characters to have a role in the main plot.

But here's the bad news, rumours have been circulating that Dunder Mifflin will be declaring bankruptcy. Despite their efforts neither Jim or Michael manage to get a response from the frantic corporate office in New York. Things go from bad to worse when David Wallace tells Jim that Dunder Mifflin is likely to be insolvent by the end of the year, then he hangs up.

This is jarring not only for Jim who now alone holds the harsh reality of the future of the company, but for us as Office viewers. What does the end of Dunder Mifflin mean for the show? Realistically, it would mean the end of the series. I wouldn't have a problem with a carefully planned end of the series (although I would miss it terribly). I don't see how the writers can get out of this one without a completely unrealistic "saves the day" moment, I also cannot imagine how the series could continue as we know it if the company goes under. Perhaps a reemergence of the Michael Scott Paper Company?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Where do you think the show will go from here? And does this mean we're nearing the end of The Office?

DOSE Lists it's Favourite TV Nerds

Get ready to embrace your inner (or outer) nerd because we know we can relate to one or more of the TV characters on this list. Dose lists off it's favourite on screen nerds and why. Some highlights are Chuck, Sheldon (Big Bang Theory), Willow (Buffy) and Mac (Veronica Mars).
Click here for the list