I suddenly feel so old… It’s only been in recent years that characters on TV were my age and, more terrifyingly, younger, so seeing a show about characters I could have gone to high school with is even more disconcerting… I had mixed feelings about this one going in, but figured I owed it to the class of 2001 to give ABC’s My Generation a shot.
Told as a documentary-style drama, My Generation puts a different spin on an old routine. The show’s conceit is that a documentary film crew has kept up with students from the class of 2000 over the past ten years after graduation. The show unabashedly focuses on cardboard cut-out stereotypes from high school (The Jock, The Nerd, The Rocker, The Rich Kid, The Prom Queen, etc). I’d be more critical of the blatant lack of originality there, but I can believe that a documentarian would likely do that on purpose, looking to high school clichés as a baseline, then seeing how it all panned out. My real problem with the show is how abundantly convenient everything was. It’s ten years later and all these people magically end up back in their home town so they can interact. The fact that it’s told in a documentary style somehow makes this more irksome and yet, less irksome, all at the same time for me. It’s hard to explain, for some reason, the fact that they are presenting this as reality makes me think, “Huh, what a random, crazy happenstance… Okay then.” On the other hand, all the ridiculous connections that happen would never really happen, so that makes the styles kind of a liability. Whatever the effect, I think they could have brought all these people together in less ridiculous ways.
As the pilot progressed, however, I decided to just kind of let it go. I decided to accept the conceit and just go with it. That helped immensely and made me like the pilot quite a bit more than I had. The documentary focuses on 9 classmates and looks at how their lives have changed over the past decade. For as much as I was eager to let the contrivances slide, some of them were just absurd. Of these nine people, the nerd who wants a house full of children ends up an infertile virgin, the punk ends up a pregnant army wife, the most driven kid ends up tending bar in Hawaii, etc, etc. There are mild contrivances and then there are CONTRIVANCES!!! Geez, one here or there would be one thing, but this show went out of its way to make sure that no one ended up where they expected to. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, apparently ever major event to have happened in the past decade affects one or more of these students directly. Enron, 9/11, Indecision 2000, you name it. It was honestly kind of fun to see how these events might affect a person’s path in life, but to see them all sitting next to each other just felt forced and self-indulgent. But, then again, most people are boring, so if this pilot employed any accurate veritas at all, I’d have fallen asleep ten minutes in, so I really shouldn’t criticize. I guess my main quibble is that it could have been done with more grace and creativity than it was.
For all its foibles and anvilicious contrivances, the pilot was enjoyable enough. The characters were likable and interesting for the most part, even if they weren’t original any conceivable regard. At the very least, the different format made them feel somewhat different, so that certainly helped. The main problem with this show (aside from the abysmal ratings) is that I only really cared about a handful of the 9 principal characters. As with most large ensemble casts, there are a few standouts, but there’s also a lot of filler. I have a sneaking suspicion that I’d spend half of every episode wishing they would go back to focusing on someone else. It’s like what happened with Grey’s Anatomy. When it got to the point where Yang was the only character I cared about, it was time to cut ties. I watched a whole of story about a whole lot of people that bored me just for the brief moments of goodness. Not. Worth it. In a perfect world, shows cut the dead weight, but more often than not, you just have to sit through the boring crap for a few glimmers of people you really care about.
The characters were decent enough, but the format is what really held the most appeal to me. The flashbacks to 2000 and current events of the past decade were kind of fun and the soundtrack from my high school days was downright eerie. Seriously, every song that would play would trigger this blinding bolt in my brain of “Oh dear god! Junior year!” It was kind of fun on a nostalgic level, but that feeling is immediately tempered by a remembrance of high school as a whole… [insert cold shudder]
All in all, I didn’t hate this pilot or anything, but I’m not real inspired by it either. On a purely soapy level, I could see this being a show I’d keep up with week-to-week, but I honestly have enough soap in my life. I give them credit for trying something a little new, and quite frankly, the format was the strongest part of the pilot, but this just isn’t a documentary that really has me breathless for more.
This pilot wasn’t without its charms, but I think I’d rather go watch a real documentary, thanks…
I was all gung-ho to get all the new network pilots reviewed for this here blog, but then NBC decided they'd wage a war of attrition by picking up... well, basically they're an entirely new network. Never, in all my days, have I seen so many new pilots for one network. Don't get me wrong, the reign of terror implemented by Jeff Zucker (what I affectionately refer to as a "clusterzuck") essentially decimated the network, prompting the complete overhaul, but this all begs the question, where did they get this kind of money?! Seriously, the network was ailing before they decided to shell out millions of dollars in development. Well, however it happened, it wore me out. As such, it's only now, with barely a month to go before premiere week, that I finally move on to ABC.
Oh, ABC... They're a bit more subversive about their implosion, but show for show, they're in almost as much trouble as NBC. Once again, they've picked up a hell of a lot of pilots and forked over obscene amounts of cash. Suffice it to say, both these networks need some major hits to come out of this fall's slate of pilots. The fate of each network (or at least the suits in charge of this mess) may very well depend on it. Seriously, last season was a disaster. With the exception of Modern Family, nearly their entire slate got canceled, or should have. If ABC had more going for it, V wouldn't be come back and neither would The Middle. They can't afford to have another season turn out like that, so they've picked up a lot of shows (rather expensive shows) and are promoting the hell out of them. Some appear to have some promise. Others? Not so much... At present, their established shows are a little too established (i.e. they're getting a little long in the tooth... that is, to say, they're OLD), so they're banking on some new blood. They pretty much have to at this point.
Here is the tentative ABC schedule for this fall (please bear in mind that this list is subject to change--and quite frankly, it's been months since this list was first compiled, so it might have errors already):
MONDAY 7 p.m. Dancing with the Stars 9 p.m. Castle
TUESDAY 7 p.m. No Ordinary Family (new) 8 p.m. Dancing with the Stars Results Show 9 p.m. Detroit 1-8-7 (new)
WEDNESDAY 7 p.m. The Middle 7:30 p.m. Better Together (new) 8 p.m. Modern Family 8:30 p.m. Cougar Town 9 p.m. The Whole Truth (new)
THURSDAY 7 p.m. My Generation (new) 8 p.m. Grey's Anatomy 9 p.m. Private Practice
FRIDAY 7 p.m. Secret Millionaire (new) 8 p.m. Body of Proof (new) 9 p.m. 20/20
There are other new shows which will be reviewed here, but I assume they'll be premiering at midseason. Or, depending on how well these ones do, they could premiere earlier than that... The suits at ABC are already shaking in their boots and hoping to hell that isn't the case. Heh.
Anyway, as per my arbitrary usual, we'll start off with the dramas.
BODY OF PROOF
Description: Stars Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt, Jeri Ryan as Dr. Kate Murphy, Geoffrey Arend as Dr. Elliot Gross, John Carroll Lynch as Detective Bud Morris, Windell Middlebrooks as Dr. Curtis Brumfield, Nic Bishop as Peter Dunlap and Sonja Sohn as Detective Samantha Baker. Christopher Murphey wrote the pilot, which was directed by Nelson McCormick.
My Take: First thought? Ugh. As much as I’d like to believe that this is a searing character piece about a woman trying to start over, I think we can safely assume it’s actually a crime procedural dressed up as an actual drama. Dana Delany is a power-player who can absolutely anchor a show, but I find myself wishing she were at the helm of something else. Based solely on the trailer, it’s hard to tell just what proportions of the show will be drama and procedural. If this were CBS, I’d err on the side of lots of procedural, very little everything else, but this is ABC, so it’s a tough call. They’ve been trying to tap into this woefully overdone genre for ages, but with very little success. Off the bat, I’d say the procedural elements seem pretty generic, and for as much as I enjoy Delaney, the drama elements seem pretty bland to boot. ABC hasn’t really been delivering quality drama on its dramas lately, so the odds of them delivering in an overdone story like this are slim. Overzealous neurosurgeon ruins relationship with child then has life-changing event (a car accident) that causes said doctor to reevaluate life. Been there, done that. Only in more compelling ways (you know, with the adorably moody Ephram Brown on hand). This show is already making me miss Everwood. Long story short, this looks pretty hackneyed and uninspired. If anyone could make this more than your typical crime procedural, it’s Delaney, but I’m less than confident that she can make that happen. Truth be told, even if this is considerably more drama laden than it looks, it’s not the kind of concept that has me chomping at the bit. Delaney deserves better, and the viewer audience at large deserves fewer procedurals on the docket. People seem to love this procedural crap, however, so this one might just have a chance. The sexy medical examiner (a la Rizzoli & Isles, and to a certain extent, Castle) seems to be the latest trend these days… for completely unknown reasons. Ugh.
DETROIT 1-8-7
Description: Stars Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”) as Detective Louis Fitch, Jon Michael Hill as Detective Damon Washington, James McDaniel (“NYPD Blue”) as Sergeant Jesse Longford, Aisha Hinds (“True Blood”) as Lieutenant Maureen Mason, Natalie Martinez as Detective Ariana Sanchez, D.J. Cotrona as Detective John Stone and Shaun Majumder as Detective Aman Mahajan.
My Take: In case Body of Proof just didn’t manage to plumb the depths of overdone genres enough, ABC has also decided to take on a cop show. Sigh. This seems pretty standard as well, but there were little elements of the trailer that pointed to something more unique. They’re taking the angle that there’s simply so much crime and murder in Detroit that the good guys are simply trying to stem the tide because there’s no conceivable way to actually stop the violence. The fact that they take a very matter-of-fact approach to such a horrific problem has a certain quirky appeal, but I think it was primarily a reaction to being on network TV. When they were looking for a shell casing on the street was probably the best aspect of the trailer for me. “I think I’ve got it! Oh, nope, it’s a .45.” Heh. I couldn’t help but to smile. I’m hoping they find a way to make this genre new and fresh, but I’m pretty sure at this point, even all the trappings in the world couldn’t make it truly special. After watching The Wire, I’m supremely confident that for a cop drama to really be as gritty as writers want it to be, it needs to be on HBO or Showtime. Even basic cable would have a hard time doing it justice, but network TV? I’m not holding my breath. I have a sinking feeling that they wanted this to be a realistic, hard-hitting, brutal look at one of the roughest cities in the country, but that it had to be sanitized and watered-down for the general public. The “cop show” has never been very high on my list, but it has been infiltrating my schedule more and more lately. Will Detroit 1-8-7 continue the trend? I seriously doubt it. I’ll give it a shot, but suspect the pilot will be the only episode I’ll ever see.
MY GENERATION
Description: Stars Michael Stahl David as Steven, Kelli Garner as Dawn, Jaime King as Jacqueline, Keir O’Donnell as Kenneth, Sebastian Sozzi as Falcon, Mechad Brooks as Rolly, Anne Son as Caroline, Daniella Alonso as Brenda and Julian Morris as Anders. Created and written by Noah Hawley (“The Unusuals,” “Bones”), who is also an executive producer, along with Warren Littlefield, Henrik Bastin, Patrick Magnasson and Martin Piersson.
My Take: In theory, this show should speak to me and my peers more than just about any other demographic. I graduated in 2001, so this pseudo-docu-soap should tap into my sensibilities on a fundamental level… and yet? Not so much. I don’t know, this trailer was really more of a behind-the-scenes look than anything else, so it’s hard to tell exactly what the show itself will look like, but from what clips they did show us, it looks pretty damn sappy. Have you chased your dreams? Faced your fears? Gag me. If they present it as a straight up narrative about people who just so happen to be this age, that could fine, but I have a sneaking suspicion this is a platform for the writers to send a heavy-handed message. Call me crazy, but I’m not so much a fan of the ham-fisted soap-boxing, thanks… I want to give them a little credit for at least trying to come up with a basic conceit that’s a little different, but at the end of the day, they’ve simply picked a few handfuls of clichés out of a bag and put them all in the same show. The jock, the rich kid, the overachiever, the good girl, we get it. We get it a lot, in fact. I realize that they’ve constructed the show around high school clichés (and what clichés those clichés turn into), but that doesn’t make them any less generic. There were a couple of elements of the trailer that had me mildly interested, but by and large, this doesn’t strike me as a keeper. The only way this is really going to work is if they’ve hired some actors who can turn those standard one-dimensional characters and make turn them into something really special. I have serious doubts, but with a considerable amount of luck, this might be something worth watching. Chronologically speaking, I kind of feel like it’s my duty to watch it, so here’s hoping it’s better than it looks. To its credit, it was created by the same guy behind The Unusuals, which happens to be a show that turned out to be just that. Better than it looked.
NO ORDINARY FAMILY
Description: Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”) stars as Jim Powell, Julie Benz (“Dexter”) as Stephanie Powell, Romany Malco (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) as George St. Cloud, Tate Donovan (“Damages”) as Mitch McCutcheon, Autumn Reeser as Katie Andrews, Christina Chang as Yvonne Cho, Kay Panabaker as Daphne Powell and Jimmy Bennett as JJ Powell. The pilot was written and executive-produced by Jon Feldman. The series is executive-produced by Feldman, Greg Berlanti, Morgan Wandell and David Semel, who also directed the pilot.
My Take: I’ve heard pretty good things about this one on the web, and I want to be excited for it, but I’m apprehensive. It’s the kind of concept that has to be handled in just the right way or it could be disastrous. On its face, a show about a family of superheroes sounds like carefree fun. Those associated with it keep saying that it is NOT The Incredibles, but first off, yeah, actually, it kind of is, but secondly, only not as good. I think I’d be a lot more excited about it if it were animated… you know, because then it wouldn’t have Michael Chiklis or Julie Benz at the helm. I honestly never watched much of The Shield and that has a lot to do with how unappealing Chiklis is. Aside from being difficult to look at, his overall manner and acting style are off-putting. He isn’t someone who would have me excited for a show simply because he’s in it (I’m not going to lie, the primary reason I’ve been watching Criminal Minds is that Matthew Gray Gubler is simply beautiful). Then there’s Julie Benz. I’ve hated most of her past characters (even the ones the audience wasn’t supposed to hate), so I have to assume it has something to do with her. She’s a fine actress, and I suppose she’s just doing what is asked of her, but for whatever reason, I generally hate her. I really hope her newest incarnation is nothing like her previous roles, because frankly, Darla redux? Rita 2.0? No thanks. Aside from disconcerting casting decisions, this one looks like it could be a lot of fun. If handled in just the right way, I think this show could do for the superhero genre what Chuck did for the spy-thriller. A more light-hearted, carefree approach could work incredibly well... I’m not totally sure how they’d make this work in the long term, but presumably, they should be able to bank a least a season or two of quality. Here's hoping. I mean really, how bad could it be? It can’t possibly follow the same trajectory as Heroes, right...? Right?!
abundantly convenient everything was. It’s ten years later and all these people magically end up back in their home town so they can interact. The fact that it’s told in a documentary style somehow makes this more irksome and yet, less irksome, all at the same time for me. It’s hard to explain, for some reason, the fact that they are presenting this as reality makes me think, “Huh, what a random, crazy happenstance… Okay then.” On the other hand, all the ridiculous connections that happen would never really happen, so that makes the styles kind of a liability. Whatever the effect, I think they could have brought all these people together in less ridiculous ways.
