Shameless - "Nana Gallagher Had an Affair" Review

“Whores don’t get cars!” -Eddie

In last week’s review I stated that the episode seemed very jam packed and that it could have been conceivably two episodes. After tonight’s episode, I stand by that claim. The introduction of Monica was a big event, yes, but I think we could have put it all in one episode. Much of tonight’s episode was all resolution of just figuring out when Monica was going to leave. I actually would not have been surprised if she took Liam with her as I’m sure the logistics for a network to keep a baby on set is tough. Not to mention he’ll grow at a faster pace than the show goes. This episode overall was largely resolution of Monica and exposition about other characters. Nothing *really* changed.

At this point in a series we have to start looking at what stories we’re most invested in. What more do we want to see? Personally, I’m very involved in the Fiona/Steve relationship. There’s still a lot of secret and mystery there. Fiona is ok with slowly detaching herself from the family so long as she has Steve there to fall back on. That won’t be the case by the end of the season. She will inevitably find out and it will undoubtedly come at the hand of Fiona’s old love, Tony. I envision this leading to Fiona needing Frank in some way. And that is a dynamic I think the show can lean on in season two. How do Fiona and Frank work together? Maybe Fiona falls off a bit.

I think we’re all pretty involved with Lip and Ian’s stories as well. Both seem to be sharp enough to better their situation. It’s not that I desire them to get better, but I do find the constant search for what they want out of life to be entertaining. With Lip comes Karen. I only care about Karen as she pertains to Lip. I found her story line tonight to be almost uncomfortable. I’ve seen some “purity ball” type things before at church and they are nothing like that. It seemed a little “child porn-y” to have what’s supposed to be a high schooler talking explicitly about her sexual exploits to a bunch of stuffy old men. I’m no prood, but that left me uneasy.

But I think what we ultimately take away from this episode is that Fiona realizes her place. Before she viewed taking care of her family as part of her duties. Something she had to do because her mom left them to fend for themselves. But seeing the prospect of Liam being taken from her, she realized that she actually takes care of the family out of love. I’ve said it before, the Gallagher’s view of the world is skewed, but they definitely hold family values very close to their hearts. Values of course is subjective.

Other thoughts:

The family dinner scene was a nice one. It was an obvious joke but I found it funny that Frank was more upset that Monica did PCP without him than the fact the she slept with his brother.

Ian is now not Frank’s kid. I wonder what that dynamic will do? My guess is nothing right away. Probably just a few jokes here and there.

Frank is at his most detestable when he’s lusting after money. The only thing he cares more about than booze are those dollar signs. I think Frank is at his best when he’s given a particular task for episode, so long as it isn’t a quest for money that hurts the family. He’s done enough damage and I think the show would be better if he was used in ways that seemed selfish, but actually provided for the family.

So apparently the black baby Liam is the product of Frank and Monica. It was explained in one line that Nana had an affair. So I guess Frank is half black? Yet no other kids have any resemblance to an African American. We know Lip is Franks, but no one else. I find this story element to be a bit too much of a stretch.

Sheila finds herself out of the house again as she throws Eddie out in defense of her daughter Karen. So if we’re keeping track, she’s gone outside twice and both in defense of children. Looks like we know the secret. Seeing Frank happy for her was actually a nice moment.

Episodes Season 1 Finale Review

“I’m not gonna fire you, but I do think less of you.” -Merc

It should be stated that until I watched the finale I had no idea it would be the finale. Nothing in the previous 6 episodes led me to believe that we would be approaching the final episode. Only in the penultimate episode did we even get to real conflict. Having that been said, as a whole, I was not a fan of the first season of Episodes. As I was watching the second to last episode and the beginning of this episode I thought to myself, “I’m starting to feel like Matt should have slept with Beverly in the opening episode. It would have been more compelling watching them try to create a comedy pilot amidst all the dramatic tension.” Well wouldn’t you know, that’s what we have planned for Season 2, if there is a season 2.

The entire first season could have been compressed into one Pilot episode. I know this would mean we would miss out of some great banter about how funny English people talk from Matt LeBlanc, but when it comes to action, there was only one time I got interested, after Beverly slept with Matt. Aside from Sean being a super sleuth and all the British accent cracks, I found the finale pretty enjoyable. The arguments between Sean and Beverly were poignant and truthful. I had never like Beverly, and I don’t think I do now, but I did feel a bit sad while watching her lose the man of her dreams. My dislike for Beverly was strong in the opening scene of this episode. She seems awfully content with her affair until Matt tells her nothing happened between Sean and Morning. Oh what? Now that it’s not revenge it’s not okay anymore? Now that you’re the only one at fault the sleeping with “Joey” wasn’t a good idea? How about being beyond reproach or still honoring the commitment to your husband? Is that to much to ask? Apparently for Beverly, yes, it was.

I very much enjoyed the way Matt LeBlanc was portrayed as such a kind hearted easy going sleaze ball. His depiction was calculated the whole time. He’s the type of guy who would befriend you, try and hook you up with a hot actress, and then bang your wife. I particularly enjoyed the moment where he reached over a weeping Beverly to get a drag off of the cigarette he lent her since he was out. He wasn’t focused on the life he just ruined, he needed to get his post coital smoke on. We never really hated him, but we should have. Another character I was fond of was Carol, played brilliantly by Kathleen Rose Perkins. Her desire to please everyone, including her over bearing boss Merc, made for many light hearted moments when she would try and soften the blows to the Lincolns. And I’d like to make quick mention that in his limited screen time, I found Joseph May’s Andy Button to be very funny. If there’s a season 2, I hope they find a way to bring him back.

If the show can find honesty in the characters, I think Season 2 can be decent. I’m not sold on if we need another season of this show, but I think there is some potential. Does Sean pursue Morning? How to Beverly and Sean separate their personal lives from work to do their job? Do they try and take out their frustrations by writing a compelling TV series? I’m not sure. But until I see a second season the way the Lincoln’s feel about their pilot of Pucks! is how I feel about Episodes. I wonder if this is all just an elaborate expensive joke Showtime is playing on the viewers. A few bright spots here and there, but the show ultimately fell flat for me.

Shameless - "Facts Cannot Be Racist" Review

“Fi, I don’t have time to call you every time Frank has a bad idea.” -Kev

Shameless fully delivered tonight! Just a great episode with heart, drama, laughs, suspense, and moments of anguish. If we’re to acknowledge the main plot line for Shameless being the Gallagher’s survival, then we got great subplots tonight for all the characters we care about. Lip’s cheating scandal, Fiona, figuring out Carl’s behavior problem, the shoplifting at Cash’s store, Frank owing money to two crooks, and Sheila’s behavioral disorder. This seems like a lot to pack all into one episode, but they weaved each story line in seamlessly with each other. This creates a real world and culture for the viewer to experience. If we can place ourselves in the world of the characters we can begin to empathize with them more.

Further, all of the subplots served as support for determining the outcome of the biggest question on Shameless: will the Gallaghers look to better themselves. With Lip we saw just how brilliant he is. An investigator from the University of Chicago caught on to his schemes and essentially offered him a scholarship to UC. I wonder if Lip had every really thought about actually going to college and to where it might take him. Liam stuck up to the shop lifting bully for Cash. We’re starting to see him become more comfortable with who he is. It’s only a matter of time before he comes out to his whole family. The entire family bonded over trying to help Carl get over his behavioral issues. The Gallaghers may not be a lot of things, but they are definitely family-centric. It was really good to see all of them come together in support. And by “all of them,” I mean everybody but Frank.

I vacillate constantly on what I think of Frank and what he adds to the show, but after tonight I fully appreciate his place in the show. He almost gives the kids a great bad role model. They see him be a father, but they also see him make terrible decision after decision and I think it serves as a warning to the kids. I also enjoy his rants on the state of affairs. His one tonight about “wussification” of the kids thanks largely to school systems trying to feminize all of the boys was particularly hilarious. The scene near the end when the whole family is walking out of Carl’s parent conference and they walk into Frank and Karen will showed the polarization of the Gallagher family. The kids stand united in their quest to not become Frank all while Frank pursues selfish desires under the guise selflessness.

Tony was not in this episode and it seems like Fiona is going to go with Steve. Before I would have thought that this means Fiona isn’t looking to improve her situation and she’s only looking for fun and excitement, but after tonight’s episode it looks like Steve can add stability as well as excitement. The funny way they showed Steve’s loyalty and use to the Gallaghers was by him essentially paying off a principal with weed. The Gallagher’s have a different way of doing things. They don’ see the world we all do. If giving the principal a teacher discount on weed to keep one of there brothers from being turned over to social services is wrong, then they don’t want to be right.

Other thoughts:
-Hooray for a Robert Knepper sighting! One of the best character actors ever, specializing in playing sleazy scumbags. You may remember him from Prison Break where he played T-Bag.

-I was sad that Veronica was trimmed from this episode. I really do like her and Kev together.

-Shameless does a good job with all their supporting characters. Even if they don’t have a lot of screen time, we still no exactly who every one is. This was especially evidenced by Kash’s wife. She really shone tonight.

Episodes - "Six" Review

“It’s not funny enough. It’s not smart enough, it’s nothing unique or special, it’s just profoundly mediocre.” -Beverly

My how self-aware Beverly is about Episodes. Wait. She was talking about the fictional show Pucks! she’s creating my mistake. Episodes is traveling down a path it does not want to go. It had a chance to make a kind of clever statement on the production of TV shows and the perils of making bad decisions while being a great show at the same time, however I can only think of one word to describe this show: predictable.

In this Episode we pick up where the show first started. When a TV series or any other media starts en media res I look for their to be profound changes from where we first saw the middle to when we actually get there. We want to be left with a sense of, “So THAT’S how that happened. Wow.” But instead I couldn’t help but think, “That’s it? That’s what led us to that point?” Sean and Beverly’s relationship is boring. We don’t particularly like any one of them and they’re always fighting. So it’s actually a bit surprising when Sean decides not to act on his impulses and pursue that starlet. This misdirection of course leads us to the elementary comedic tactic of Beverly observing what she thinks is an adulterous hug, whereas actually Sean and Morning are trying to save the marriage of Beverly and Sean.

Beverly storms out of the house and crashes her car into Matt LeBlanc because, wait for it, she’s driving on the wrong side of the street because she’s British! How hilarious is that?!?! Needless to say, Beverly uses this time with Matt LeBlanc to get to know him and she finds that he’s actually an alright guy. But, in an attempt to make Matt LeBlanc as unlikable as possible, he takes advantage of Beverly’s vulnerable situation and ends up romancing her. So now the woman with the supposed integrity and morals jumps at the first opportunity to screw the first person she gets to. But let’s not forget the most important part, she still doesn’t quite know the full truth about Sean and Morning. They say the cover up is worse than the lie. We’ll see what kind of effect this has on the relationship and the show.

As predictable as I thought the episode was, at least we have some action. Something has actually happened. Beverly has slept with Matt LeBlanc. I do not think that Beverly and Sean can survive this, much less the show, Pucks!. I think Episodes may have gone to the well too early. In Beverly’s verbal accosting of Matt she tells him that he’s ruined the show because, “everyone knows you’re going to get her in the sack eventually.” She of course was talking about the inevitability of his character getting together with Morning’s, but we’ll cross apply that statement to the show Episodes. I hope the writers have a way of making the inevitability I saw about Beverly getting with Matt not be the death of Episodes. Though I’m not so sure if I’ll be crushed.

Other thoughts:

-If Merc is self aware, I’d like that. I think he knows the show is crap. So I hope we get to see the Lincoln’s struggle to get the show back to prominence. And in doing so, they get back to the show’s original heart.

-Matt being introspective about the show is nice. It’s what the show needs. We can’t forget that he’s playing himself and how interesting of a dynamic it is that he’s so self aware. But, let’s not forget that he did work in how big of a penis he has to sub in for all the self deprecating humor.

-The guard at the gate of the Lincoln’s neighborhood is a good recurring joke.

Shameless - "Three Boys" Review

“The devil’s in my balls Billy and he’s coming for the rest of me.” -Frank

In a very good episode of Shameless we learn a lot about the characters when they are faced with confrontation. Frank is faced with the possibility of having testicular cancer. His diatribe on why testicular cancer makes sense was classic. “Which is why I don’t believe in intelligence design.” A really great moment for Frank. I’m warming up to Frank as a character. It was nice to see some real moments from him in this episode, specifically when he realizes he might die of sickness. I wonder if Frank had ever really contemplated death before. Not so much death by itself, but death in a way that he was not responsible for himself. Frank is a selfish man, and he proved it when he drunkenly stated that he would rather take his own life rather than let the sickness get him.

Liam was confronted with his secret boyfriend ,Cash’s, real life. It’s all fun and games for a teenage boy to have an affair with a married man until he goes to his place and sees pictures of his wife and kids. It became too real, and Liam ran. I’m happy that he did. Liam is a Gallagher and it doesn’t seem like many of them want to be tied down to too many things, well expect for maybe Liam, who’s tied down to both a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

Veronica and Kev, who by the way are an awesome on screen couple, were confronted with the idea of marriage. Kev justified calling the wedding off originally because he’s still married. I wonder if he wasn’t tied if he would actually take the leap, rather than put on a fake wedding. Veronica just might be the most easy going woman alive. She took Kev being married in stride and decided to get high and devise a way to fake the wedding. Further, I never thought a couple calling off a marriage could be so romantic. Kev and Veronica’s fake marriage, is ironically, the strongest relationship in the show.

And once again, Fiona is confronted with the choice between Steve and Tony. As a side note, I’m actually really interested in Steve’s car stealing business. I think it adds nice spice to the show. I go back and forth on who I want Fiona to end up with. The real chemistry is with Steve, but Tony is solid and can support them. My feelings toward which guy I want her to end up with is directly correlated to if I want the Gallagher’s to better themselves or not. It’s strange to watch a family be so content with so little. I’m on the fence if I’m mad that they’re not trying to move up socially, or glad that they’re just finding a way to live happy. This is the main conflict of the show. Where do the Gallagher’s go? What’s going to happen that makes them change? And if they don’t change, how does the show keep us interested?

Other thoughts:

-I love seeing new ways the Gallagher’s get free stuff. Today it was stealing toilet paper and seat covers from the public restrooms and peeing drug free in a cup for a meal.
-Anthony Andersen with Tourettes is a nice surprise.
-Good to see Mac’s mom from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia make an appearance. Her spitting on her hand to put out her cigarette was clever. Never seen that before.
-I hope the show doesn’t flip Liam from being gay to wanting to be with his pretend girlfriend. That would seem like a cop out.

What are thoughts on the Gallagher’s improving their situation? How do you view the role of Frank?

Episodes - 2/6/2011 Review

“Nobody stopped watching a TV show because a librarian looked too hot” -Roger

Relationships are key to the success of Episodes. We don’t really care so much about the creation of Pucks! as we do about what that process is going to do to the Lincolns. Last week we got to love Matt LeBlanc. We appreciated him despite his faults, but I feel like this week we took two steps back with him. It was as if the writer’s were trying to make him unlikable. Being insensitive with the speaker at the rape convention, endorsing infidelity, telling the young British writer to get out his country. I just didn’t get the point of tearing down his likability.

This episode focused heavily on the LIncoln’s marriage and what Pucks! is doing to it. Beverly has already teased Sean about his captivation with Morning’s breasts, but this week it went one step further. We learned that Sean left his previous wife for Beverly, so there’s precedent for cheating. She’s jealous that he’s going to the wine tasting with Matt, and it turns out that Morning is there too! So even more reason for Beverly to be jealous. At the end of the night LeBlanc and Morning essentially give Sean the opportunity to cheat, but Sean denies...too a point. When he gets home he has the “who else was there” circular argument with his wfie. (Side note: I’ve had this conversation several times, and if you lie at first, the conversation does not end that civilly.) He comes clean and tells her they had a moment, but he declined. She seems a bit bothered, but content, until she catches Sean masturbating to the sex tape of Morning that he learned about from LeBlanc.

I’m not quite sure what we’re supposed to think. Is Sean capable of cheating? He seems to actually love Beverly. Is LeBlanc trying to set up Sean? Or is he just having his back. Is Morning really interested in Sean? She spoke of his brilliance. Or is she just a sexual deviant? With all this going on, I’m curious how it’s going to effect the creation of Pucks!

Other thoughts:

There was a nice exchange betwee Sean and Matt that summarizes the conflict in creating the show. Sean says, “I’m her [Morning] boss. She has to be nice to me.” LeBlanc replies, “I’m not nice to your wife.”
Liked Beverly being so candid with Carol about “making the show worse.” Probably not what you want to say to the producers though.
Seems far fetched for Carol to believe that the only reason Merc won’t leave his wife for her is because she went blind. You’re smarter than that Carol.
Bringing in Andrew Leslie to laugh at where the American version has gone is a good idea. Gives Sean some perspective.

Do you think Sean and Beverly’s marriage will last?

Californication "Freeze-Frame" Review

Sometimes sports and fiction kind of collide to form a magical rainbow. Right after tonight's Super Bowl feature Ben Roethlisberger I turn on Californication with an opening exchange that included this gem.

"How do I look?"

"Like a statutory rapist in a suit."

See what happened there?

Tonight's "Freeze-Frame" episode was truest in a long time and possibly the season. Hank was back to his charming silver tongue ways as he continues to pound away trying to break through Abby's fortress walls. I'm starting to think that Hank is way too reckless and the match with Abby is way too obvious for it to ever happen. What we learned about her tonight is that she digs writers and silver tongue devils. See what I mean? Way too obvious.

Everything falls apart for Hank in the final 10 minutes of the episode. He has to let Karen move on with a new man. Then he puts jeopardizes his own freedom by getting himself photographed in bed with Mia and Sasha. I guess this statutory rape case may not go away as easily as it appeared it would at the beginning of the episode. One day Hank probably should realize only bad shit happens to him when Mia's around and just get the hell away from her.

On the Runkle front we learned that Charlie is kind of a pussy when it comes to blood, but we already knew that. We also found out he's a cheap bastard who probably didn't get a successful vasectomy. Which leads us to the realization we've all seen coming for weeks that Runkle is going to be Marcy's baby's daddy. How else do they keep the stellar Pamela Adlon relevant in the show? We also were reminded that Stu is "rich as fuck and hung like a moose."

One question for you though, is Madeleine Martin (Becca) the worst kid actor since Shane Botwin or is she the best? I can't tell if she's that bad an actress or just playing a bizarrely odd kid. You tell me.

Episodes Review

Episodes has an inherent struggle. How do you make a show about the creation of a show interesting AND funny? This episode provided the blueprint on how to do that. Less time spent on the creation of show and more time spent developing the relationship between Matt LeBlanc and the Lincolns. The extended scene between the Lincolns and LeBlanc in the bar was perhaps the best scene so far in the show. With LeBlanc getting drunk, he was finally able to voice his opinion on Besty, errrr, Beverly. It really allowed their relationship to grow and the schadenfreude Beverly feels finally allows her to have compassion on Matt and invite him into their home. In order for Episodes to be successful, I think it will rest on the likability of the interactions between Matt and the Lincolns.

This was a very strong Episode for LeBlanc. He played downtrodden drunk with bursts of levity quite well. I especially liked when he was explaining why he lost his kids. It’s a very drunk thing to try and justify your transgressions, so when he exclaimed, “She was already in the house! It shouldn’t have counted!” I had to laugh out loud. I was also moved to laughter when Matt was so candid about the nature of his relationship with Kendra. “We f*ck once in a while.”

Random Thoughts:
You’d think the Lincolns would have a better car than a Mustang.
I hope we stay away from drama about Beverly being jealous of Sean and the attention he gets on the set from women. I don’t buy it.
I miss Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carol already. She was my favorite part of early episodes.
Cup stacking is impressive.

What are your thoughts on Episodes? Is the show moving in a better direction than when it started?

Shameless - "Casey Casden" Review

“They’re having a party across the street. For Kids. No booze. What’s the point?” - Frank

When it comes to watching Shameless it becomes about identifying with the Gallaghers. If you can identify with some or any of the characters, you can appreciate the show. I appreciate the show. I appreciate the show. I understand the struggle to make ends meet and working hard to get what you need. However, what I hadn’t understood was the lack of desire to better themselves. It wasn’t until this episode where I first heard Fiona utter a sentiment about the desire to improve their situation. In a moment of exhaustion she said, “I hope I’m not fucking up the kids.” This is the first instance where I felt that honestly Fiona wanted to better their situation.

As for the specific story of this week’s episode it was nice to have a self contained episodic plot line. Girl steals baby, Galaghers make a plan, Gallaghers execute plan, Gallaghers get rewarded. Hold on. Gallaghers get rewarded? They stole a baby and lied about it. Yet they end up getting rewarded? Correct. The writers do a brilliant job of painting them in a sympathetic light that we forgive the transgression and cheer the outcome. It’s a curious dynamic the writers have initiated.

Two of my favorite characters on the show since the start have been Kevin and Veronica. It’s nice to see that the show is about to tip in the direction of their soon to be marriage. I found this story line a bit strange because we hadn’t figured out the story with Steve and Fiona, but I guess we are to just assume that that worked out. I predict we’ll see less and less of Tony when it comes to Fiona’s love life.

I’m still not into Frank as a lead character. I don't know what he adds, and I certainly didn’t understand the seduction of him by Lip’s girlfriend. I hope he starts to play a part in the evolution of the family or else I see no point for his character, but I don’t see the show getting rid of them, and thus I feel the show is will be stuck in neutral.
So what do we want from the Gallaghers? Do we want them to better themselves? Or do we just want them to survive and be happy? I think these questions will start to answer themselves in the coming episodes.

Random Thoughts:

-Why was the baby dressed in a Superman costume?
-Hardly any Liam in this episode. Weird considering the whole last epsiode was about him and finding a new fake girlfriend.
-I hope we get more of Veronica’s mom. She seems like a party.
-I guess we won’t be privy to the conversation where Fiona and Steve get back together,
-Looking forward to Mac’s mom from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia being on next week’s episode.

What are your thoughts on the Gallagher’s situation?

Shameless-ly Lights Out Episodes

As the calendar flipped from 2010 and we all mourned the loss of Terriers and Rubicon, 2011 arrived and brought us a brand new batch of shows to love and then see unceremoniously canceled before their time. Well some of them will just be put out of their misery or our misery depending on your point of view.

Sunday kicked off a the new season for Showtime including two new shows to bookend every red blooded man's favorite Californication, Shameless and Episodes. Shamelesss the hour long drama about a tight-nit group of siblings struggling to keep the lights on and their dead beat drunk dad off the floor. Episodes is the new half hour Matt LeBlanc vehicle about an English TV writing couple who move to LA to adapt their series for American television and have Matt LeBlanc forced upon them by the network.

On Tuesday FX brought us Lights Out, the new boxing drama to love and hate for all the same reasons we love and hate every boxing drama. Holt McCallany plays Patrick "Lights" Leary a former heavyweight champ who five years in to retirement finds himself broke. With three kids, a mortgage and a wife in med school, what's an old fighter to do but put everything on the line for that one last big purse.

Shameless

The Good

I guess Emmy Rossum was a star before this show, she was in Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera. I didn't see either movie so she was a refreshing new face to me. And what a new face it is. Five minutes in and it's obvious she's the real star of the show. I liked brothers Lip and Ian a lot too. There's definitely room for fun and tension between these two. Lip is the schemer of the two and the only family member that knows Ian is gay. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind further exploits these two find themselves in. A dad catching you getting a hummer from his daughter under the dinning room table was quite a start.


The Bad

William H. Macy's Frank was a little too much caricature and not enough character. I think he was supposed to provide a little levity to a depressing situation but came off as over the top and rather pathetic. I don't get the Steve character at all. You have a poor Chicago family based in the realities of the lower class and then you throw in a character out of 'Gone in 60 Seconds' complete with his own slow motion action scene. 

Wishful Thinking

I want to see the kids and especially Fiona deal with the realities of her dead beat father. There has to be resentment and buried hatred for what he's done to her and the family towards Frank. At some point, Fiona has to deal with what she's lost by having to be a mother to all these other kids. I really don't care what happens between her and Steve in the future. The less we see of him the better as far as I'm concerned. I hope to see William H. Macy get to develop this character and add a greater level of depth than we got to see in the first episode. I was excited by what I saw from the previews for the upcoming season and I'm looking forward seeing where this goes.

Episodes

The Good
 The Brits had good English accents? It was good to see John Pankow in something. I thought the guy had falling off the Earth since playing Michael J. Fox's buddy Fred Melrose in The Secret of My Success. The first episode was just about as boring as its lead characters.


The Bad
It was dreadfully boring. LA jokes are easy and old. The network supporting characters were the same tired cliches we've seen a thousand times. Crickets lots and lots of crickets.

Wishful Thinking
I'm going to give it another episode before I flush it because the "star" of the show Matt LeBlanc doesn't show up until the next episode.  And yes that's how boring the premiere was. We're hoping Matt LeBlanc can save it.

Lights Out

The Good
Holt McCallany owned the role of Lights Leary. Aside from him being a white heavyweight, I had no doubt that he was a retired boxing champ. The boxing scenes, limited number of them there was, were already better than the scenes from The Fighter. Pablo Schreiber and Stacy Keach are both nice as Leary's brother/manager and father respectively. The premiere was mostly spent setting up the back story and issues Leary will have to confront as he gets ready to get back into the ring after a five year layoff.


The Bad
Was it impossible to find an American actress to play Leary's wife. Or at least someone who wouldn't constantly butcher a New York, American or whatever accent she was trying to do. I've never been a Catherine McCormack fan and she's done nothing so far on Lights Out to change that. The story is cliche. Ok it's more than cliche it's basically the only retired boxing champ story there is.

Wishful Thinking
Boxing stories build drama naturally. You're capturing two men who are stepping into an arena to battle one another. As long as the cast delivers solid performances and the director doesn't run the ship aground this series should be a keeper.