“Kill the body and the head will fall.” -Pops
It is with a heavy heart that I write this final Lights Out review as this was the final episode of the series. As was announced before last week’s penultimate episode, Lights Out would not be picked up for another season. I had mixed feelings about the season as a whole, but after tonight, I really liked the direction it was heading. It was a show that needed to find its groove and I feel like it found it too late. I know what Lights Out was trying to do with the family, the pugilistic dementia, and the being broke and that’s all well and good, but ultimately boxing was the real dramatic element. Think back on all the episodes and pick out your favorite moments. Obviously the final fight is at the top, but other favorites are the scenes with Ed Romeo training Lights, and David Morse doing a wonderfully heartbreaking guest appearance. Who brought the most electricity to the screen? Barry K Word, every time. I think as the show grew the writers realized where the strengths were and started to lean heavily in the direction of boxing. After seeing the League of Extraordinary Boxers meeting, I could see where season 2 was heading. It makes me miss the show already. A season designed around the boxing world pitting Hal Brennan against Barry K Word with Patrick taking point, playing both sides, sign me up! It’s tough to let any series go, but the finale did provide very good closure and the season does stand alone.
The whole season has been leading up to the fight between Patrick Leary and Death Row Reynolds and it didn’t disappoint. I was relieved to see that they let fight play out essentially in its entirety. I never had any doubts since the show first began that Patrick was going to win the fight, so although I was curious, I still wasn’t quite hooked until the fight actually happened. The show did three smart things to make the fight more interesting. First was making Death Row claim all he needed was one round to take out Lights. This allowed for a flurry of action right from the beginning and allowed Patrick to instantly get beat up a bit. The second thing was having Barry tell Patrick that Morales took a dive. I had suspected this all along, but seeing doubt creep into Patrick’s eyes allowed for just the slimmest amount of doubt to creep into my own, thus making the fight that much more interesting. The third was the most obvious element: having the ref in Death Row’s corner. I was glad it wasn’t completely ridiculous and could all be justified within the fight. Slow counts for Reynolds and the implementation of the three knockdown rule. My only problem with the fight is just how easy it was for Patrick to come back in the second round. Now, I have never fought before and don’t watch boxing, so these comebacks might be normal. I do know that one punch can change the course of the fight dramatically. So when Pops told Patrick he needed to surprise him and get back on top, I think that moment should have been more obvious. I think the punch that swung the match was the quick right jab to the face when Death Row was winding up, but I can’t be sure. Either way, I though the fight was very well done considering we all knew how it was going to end.
Aside from the fight itself, I thought Patrick going to confession was a good moment. We needed our hero to be redeemed a bit so we can celebrate his victory with him. Death Row made too good of a point that Patrick was no role model. His absolution was necessary for us to be fully on his side. I’m glad he finally admits and takes responsibility for just how unfair it was to put the burden of secrecy on his daughter. That to me was his biggest crime given all we know about how Patrick carries himself. I do think the religious aspect of the Leary family could have been used more effectively. We saw hints of it at times, but it almost just seemed like a convention to get Lights to move on. It was after he talked to his priest that he let Ed Romeo go. I guess the intention was to soften the blow to the viewer about Lights letting go a very popular character, but I can’t be too sure.
Lights Out had some very great supporting characters along the way. I vacillated back and forth about Teresa and Johnny, but Pops, Barry K Word and Hal Brennan were always interesting. I also think, given the chance, we could have seen some great things from Hal’s right hand man, Gus. He just had that slimy look and darkness about him. Even when he was delivering neutral news, it always looked like he was playing an angle. I’ve always thought that casting leads was easy, but that casting great supporting roles is what makes or breaks shows. I think that if the show focused more on the great characters I mentioned above, the show would have had a lot more drive. The daughters never even registered with me emotionally and I never felt like Margaret was a part of the family. I’m not saying the reason for the shows failing was because it focused on the family. The show failed because no one really had an interest in boxing. And it’s really a shame, because I would have loved to see just where this show was heading.
Lights Out was always good, but never great. I never think the show quite pushed hard enough. The stakes never seemed like they were as high as they actually were. Holt McCallany delivered a great understated performance, but I would have liked to see him let loose from time to time. It almost felt like the show was timid for much of the season, but by the end they were ready to open up and let a flurry of punches fly. Hearing Patrick ask his wife, “Who won?” showed us that the show was ready to take his injury to the next level which would have provided a lot more intensity in every fight he fought. Lights Out will be missed, but not really for what it was, but for what it could have been. But as it stands, Patrick “Lights Out” Leary is your undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and no one, not even FX or viewers with Nielsen boxes, can take that away from him.
Showing posts with label fx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fx. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Damages Season 1 Review
In my quest to become as educated in good TV as possible, I’m having to catch up on many shows that have already aired or are late into their runs. I’ve only seen 2 seasons of How I Met Your Mother, 0 of Chuck, 0 of Homicide: Life On The Streets just to name a few. This is what led me to Damages. It’s an FX drama with a tremendous cast. I admittedly was skeptical about Ted Danson, but his portrayal of Arthur Frobisher was one of the finest portrayals I’ve seen in a while. However, even with a great cast and a great network, Damages never quite lived up to my expectations as a great drama. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not surprised by it fighting for its life on TV.
Damages at its simplest is the story of attorney Patty Hewes, played by Glenn Close, who handles large scale civil cases. Or case as it is with season one. Damages is a serialized drama that follows one case throughout the entire season. Along the way their are lots of elements that complicate the case, but for the most part each episode builds on the case. What sets Damages apart is that it follows two out of sequence story arcs that eventually join up. (There will be no spoilers other than what you would learn in the pilot.) One story arc is one that follows the Frobisher case. That’s actually in the past. The show leads off seeing one of the lead characters Ellen Parsons, played by the gorgeous Rose Byrne, covered in blood hovering over her dead fiance. We slowly learn information about each arc as the story progresses until they finally meet up in the second to last episode. Think of this tactic as Memento-esque. Though while it was very successful for the movie, I’m not so sure that it worked for Damages.
When investing the time to watch a long form drama like Damages is, I want to be kept guessing. I want to try and figure out the case as I go along. Part of why Lost was such a hit is that we never quite understood what everything was until the end. We were led to such wild prognostications, that you couldn’t help but talk to others about it. Whereas with Damages, I really think that the constant illuminating of details of the future arc was a real hinderance on the suspense of the show. I think it could have been more effective is we just saw one scene where Ellen is in jail, covered in blood, talking to Tom saying, “Find Patty Hewes.” That would lead us the whole time to think what could happen to get us there. We’d be forced to try and connect the dots and as plots points were revealed, we’d be genuinely shocked. Only a few times was a piece of dramatic evidence revealed to us in complete surprise. And because those were so few and far between you’d think they’d be huge elements, but they’re really not. Although one does set up the structure for season 2. But despite problems with the storytelling, I still found myself enjoying the show. How could that be? The answer is that the cast is dynamite.
Glenn Close gives an excellent portrayal of Patty Hewes. She’s a tough strong woman who’s mantra is to “trust no one.” Although, the performance is very strong, I’m troubled at Hollywood’s inability to write great women characters that aren’t over the top and almost caricatures. There aren’t a lot of solid understated performances that get critical recognition. I can think of Connie Britton in Friday Night Lights and Julianna Marguilies in The Good Wife. Regradless, the supporting cast is just as, if not stronger than Close. I happen to love Rose Byrne’s performance. Her transition from new budding young lawyer to certified hard ass is quite excellent. Ted Danson is giving perhaps the greatest performance of his career as Arthur Frobisher. Then two of my favorite character actors get a lot of screen time too in Zeljko Ivanek and Garret Dillahunt. Ivanek was most recently the magistrate on True Blood and Dillahunt was Wolcott on Deadwood and can currently be seen as the dad in Raising Hope. Through in Peter Facinelli and Tate Donovan and you’ve really got an all star cast.
I’ll continue watching Damages, but I have no sense of urgency to see how any of it plays out. I’m curious to see if they use the same story telling tactics for Season 2. Looking forward to it only getting better.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Justified "For Blood or Money" Review
"Yeah well at least you got to shoot your dad." Tim
The good thing about this week's episode is that if you're running short on time, you can watch the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes without missing much of anything. In the opening ten minutes they continue teasing us like Catholic school girl about the history between the Bennetts and the Givens clans. We find out that Dickie's limp has something to do with the beef between the families We may not know what happened yet but we know it's going to come into play at some point very soon. We also know that Dickie and Coover really have hardons to get rid of Raylan for good. A desire only magnified when Raylan informs Mags of Dickie's dealings with the Dixie Mafia. As much as Mags tries to keep her cool Raylan just has a way of getting under a person's skin.
The meeting with the Bennetts leads Raylay to pay a visit to Emmett, a friend, partner or associate of the Dixie Mafia. Regardless his relationship, Raylan believes he has enough influence to prevent an all out war over the oxy run robbery. As much as the shootouts and action is on Justified it's moments like this and his meeting in Art's office when Raylan is at his best. Raylan possesses a ton of "I'm the smartest guy in this room" arrogance and placed against the often backwoods ignorance of the villains, it plays exceptionally well.
In the final ten minutes of the episode the Death Star of crime has its tractor beam fixed directly on Boyd. I've enjoyed watching Boyd's struggle with staying on the righteous path Ava has demanded of him. Walter Goggins has delivered a stunningly understated performance as Boyd this season to this point. However, as Raylan's arch nemesis it was only a matter of time before his natural inclinations brought him back into the life. Will this mean the end of his relationship with Ava? I guess we'll soon find out.
In between we got a good long look into Rachel's character when her brother in law breaks out of a halfway house and the Marshal service is called in to bring him back in. Along the way to bringing Clinton (Larenz Tate) we find out Rachel's life may not have been as "Cosby Show" as she or we had assumed. Even though we are led to believe Clinton had killed Rachel's sister, what we find out is she died in an accident in which Clinton was the driver. The rub is that he was driving her to the ER to be treated for a drug overdose. Maybe Clinton isn't the villain Rachel makes him out to be. Maybe he's just an ex-con trying to find a way to see his son. I liked Larenz Tate and getting know more about Rachel in the process. I'm not sure I believe the beat down he put on the very large operator of the halfway house though. Too bad Clinton had to ruin Flex's dream of becoming a magician by shooting him in the hand. He could have been the next David Blaine. Now he's just a dead drug dealer Rachel had to shoot to protect Clinton and the other Marshals. If you're going to shoot someone, there's no one with more experience of how to get past it than Raylan.
The final scene with the Marshals sitting around in Art's office swapping stories about family, vendettas and the life was a brilliant piece of writing. We learned as much about Tim in those few minutes as we did about Rachel in the previous forty. Tim and his no nonsense, dry personality is becoming one of my favorite characters.
Looks like next week Boyd gets back to what he does best, blowing shit up. I'm hoping the Bennetts v. Dixie Mafia feud starts gaining steam. I know we still have ten episodes in the season but I need more Mags and Dickie with a little Arlo sprinkled in.
The good thing about this week's episode is that if you're running short on time, you can watch the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes without missing much of anything. In the opening ten minutes they continue teasing us like Catholic school girl about the history between the Bennetts and the Givens clans. We find out that Dickie's limp has something to do with the beef between the families We may not know what happened yet but we know it's going to come into play at some point very soon. We also know that Dickie and Coover really have hardons to get rid of Raylan for good. A desire only magnified when Raylan informs Mags of Dickie's dealings with the Dixie Mafia. As much as Mags tries to keep her cool Raylan just has a way of getting under a person's skin.
The meeting with the Bennetts leads Raylay to pay a visit to Emmett, a friend, partner or associate of the Dixie Mafia. Regardless his relationship, Raylan believes he has enough influence to prevent an all out war over the oxy run robbery. As much as the shootouts and action is on Justified it's moments like this and his meeting in Art's office when Raylan is at his best. Raylan possesses a ton of "I'm the smartest guy in this room" arrogance and placed against the often backwoods ignorance of the villains, it plays exceptionally well.
In the final ten minutes of the episode the Death Star of crime has its tractor beam fixed directly on Boyd. I've enjoyed watching Boyd's struggle with staying on the righteous path Ava has demanded of him. Walter Goggins has delivered a stunningly understated performance as Boyd this season to this point. However, as Raylan's arch nemesis it was only a matter of time before his natural inclinations brought him back into the life. Will this mean the end of his relationship with Ava? I guess we'll soon find out.
In between we got a good long look into Rachel's character when her brother in law breaks out of a halfway house and the Marshal service is called in to bring him back in. Along the way to bringing Clinton (Larenz Tate) we find out Rachel's life may not have been as "Cosby Show" as she or we had assumed. Even though we are led to believe Clinton had killed Rachel's sister, what we find out is she died in an accident in which Clinton was the driver. The rub is that he was driving her to the ER to be treated for a drug overdose. Maybe Clinton isn't the villain Rachel makes him out to be. Maybe he's just an ex-con trying to find a way to see his son. I liked Larenz Tate and getting know more about Rachel in the process. I'm not sure I believe the beat down he put on the very large operator of the halfway house though. Too bad Clinton had to ruin Flex's dream of becoming a magician by shooting him in the hand. He could have been the next David Blaine. Now he's just a dead drug dealer Rachel had to shoot to protect Clinton and the other Marshals. If you're going to shoot someone, there's no one with more experience of how to get past it than Raylan.
The final scene with the Marshals sitting around in Art's office swapping stories about family, vendettas and the life was a brilliant piece of writing. We learned as much about Tim in those few minutes as we did about Rachel in the previous forty. Tim and his no nonsense, dry personality is becoming one of my favorite characters.
Looks like next week Boyd gets back to what he does best, blowing shit up. I'm hoping the Bennetts v. Dixie Mafia feud starts gaining steam. I know we still have ten episodes in the season but I need more Mags and Dickie with a little Arlo sprinkled in.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Justified "The Moonshiner War" Review
Season 2 of Justified kicked off tonight and Raylan Givens was just as cool, slick but a little less trigger happy as ever. Before things could really get going though it was time to settle all old business and that meant Miami.
We picked things up with an edited version of the the end of last season's finale. I was hoping there was some way Bo Crowder was going to survive last season mostly because I'm a big MC Gainey fan. It wasn't to be. Boyd set out to find Pilar and exact his revenge for killing his daddy. Boyd's attempt to kill Pilar is thwarted by Raylan and Raylan takes her back to her uncle in Miami to use as a bargaining chip.
I'm I the only one who had flash backs of Niel going after Van Zant in Heat when Raylan showed up at Reyes' glass walled house? Anyway, with the help of the Miami Chief Deputy Marshal the loose ends in Miami were all neatly tied up as Raylan headed home to Kentucky.
It was nice to see a show where an officer/agent actually is held accountable for his actions. Raylan finds himself in paperwork hell for everything that went down with his father and the Crowder clan last season. So when Agent Brooks asks for his help tracking down a sex offender, he jumps at the opportunity.
The show makes a point to address the uncomfortable situation a black female agent finds herself in when questioning these backwoods white criminals. I have a feeling the racial tension will continue to play a part throughout the season.
The search for the sex offender leads Raylan and Agent Brooks to the Bennetts a clan of pot farmers. We've already been introduced to their harsh brand of justice when they make a man put his leg in a bear trap for growing on their land. The Bennetts are led by the matriarch of the clan Mags and her three sons Doyle, Dickie and Coover. Doyle it turns out is a local sheriff. While Dickie played by the always beautifully weird Jeremy Davies is the sadistic seed. Coover is just plain nuts and nearly meets his end tonight when he tries to test Raylan's patience.
The sex offender story is used as a vehicle to introduce us to the new villains in Raylan's life but the fun is all on the horizon. Somehow we made it through and entire episode without Raylan killing anyone. By the looks of it his ex wife, Winona, is looking to rekindle their relationship or at least the physical part of it. Boyd who had gone missing after the encounter with Pilar shows back up at the end of the episode working in a mine. Somehow I doubt we've seen the last of Boyd's criminal ways.
This was an excellent beginning to what I hope is a great second season for Justified. I'm really looking forward to the confrontations with Mags and the Bennett boys, especially Dickie. I love the potential Jeremy Davies brings to that character. Personally, I'd be happy if we've seen the last of Ava. Beyond getting Raylan involved with the Crowders I don't think she brought much to the show. The relationship with Winona is a more interesting subplot.
What were your thoughts on tonight's premier? Are you as excited about the Bennett clan as I am?
We picked things up with an edited version of the the end of last season's finale. I was hoping there was some way Bo Crowder was going to survive last season mostly because I'm a big MC Gainey fan. It wasn't to be. Boyd set out to find Pilar and exact his revenge for killing his daddy. Boyd's attempt to kill Pilar is thwarted by Raylan and Raylan takes her back to her uncle in Miami to use as a bargaining chip.
I'm I the only one who had flash backs of Niel going after Van Zant in Heat when Raylan showed up at Reyes' glass walled house? Anyway, with the help of the Miami Chief Deputy Marshal the loose ends in Miami were all neatly tied up as Raylan headed home to Kentucky.
It was nice to see a show where an officer/agent actually is held accountable for his actions. Raylan finds himself in paperwork hell for everything that went down with his father and the Crowder clan last season. So when Agent Brooks asks for his help tracking down a sex offender, he jumps at the opportunity.
The show makes a point to address the uncomfortable situation a black female agent finds herself in when questioning these backwoods white criminals. I have a feeling the racial tension will continue to play a part throughout the season.
The search for the sex offender leads Raylan and Agent Brooks to the Bennetts a clan of pot farmers. We've already been introduced to their harsh brand of justice when they make a man put his leg in a bear trap for growing on their land. The Bennetts are led by the matriarch of the clan Mags and her three sons Doyle, Dickie and Coover. Doyle it turns out is a local sheriff. While Dickie played by the always beautifully weird Jeremy Davies is the sadistic seed. Coover is just plain nuts and nearly meets his end tonight when he tries to test Raylan's patience.
The sex offender story is used as a vehicle to introduce us to the new villains in Raylan's life but the fun is all on the horizon. Somehow we made it through and entire episode without Raylan killing anyone. By the looks of it his ex wife, Winona, is looking to rekindle their relationship or at least the physical part of it. Boyd who had gone missing after the encounter with Pilar shows back up at the end of the episode working in a mine. Somehow I doubt we've seen the last of Boyd's criminal ways.
This was an excellent beginning to what I hope is a great second season for Justified. I'm really looking forward to the confrontations with Mags and the Bennett boys, especially Dickie. I love the potential Jeremy Davies brings to that character. Personally, I'd be happy if we've seen the last of Ava. Beyond getting Raylan involved with the Crowders I don't think she brought much to the show. The relationship with Winona is a more interesting subplot.
What were your thoughts on tonight's premier? Are you as excited about the Bennett clan as I am?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Lights Out - "Bolo Punch" Review
“This isn’t the ring, Patrick. You’re in over your head. You can’t punch your way out of this.” - Theresa
Finally some action! Up until this point, Patrick ‘Lights” Leary has been relatively passive. I know, he want after the dentist, but I’m talking about his financial situation with his family. I wanted the show to be all about boxing, but it looks like we’re in for a fight over financial struggles with Patrick and his brother and wife. We learn that Johnny is a degenerate gamble, he used be addicted to drugs, he’s getting divorced and he’s lost all of Patrick’s money (and probably their father’s.) We’ve learned that Johnny is not to be trusted with money. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his character once Patrick fires him (which will happen).
But to me, the most important thing happened this episode. Patrick finally told Theresa about them being broke. I was delighted to see that Theresa’s reaction was immediately about the girls and that she embraced him after the exchange. It built some much needed compassion from a character I otherwise don’t like very much. The dramatic irony was getting to be too heavy. Theresa was bound to find out and the writer’s couldn’t keep the secret away long, so I’m glad they just came out with it. Now we’ll get to learn more about Patrick in the coming episodes. Where is he going to place his allegiance too? With his wife who vowed to stay with him through richer or for poorer? Or with his brother? Who he had to bail out of gambling debt by winning an unsanctioned cage match? A scene, that seemed a bit cheesy. And the choice to have tribal drums be the only score to the fight seemed curious. I’m worried that if Patrick keeps lying to his wife he’s going to lose her. I want him to be able to fight and keep his family, but I don’t think that’s possible.
The show is not perfect, but I feel like it’s heading in the right direction. We finally got to see Patrick fight. We finally got to see his hunger to box again. We saw him tell his wife about them being broke, and then we saw him promptly lie to her face to get them out of trouble. My big complaint is that we haven’t seen Johnny do anything particularly redeeming so it’s hard for me to A) feel bad for him and B) care about Patrick trying to save him.
Other thoughts:
-Would Patrick really step in the way of a gun? His family means everything to him. Gave up his livelihood for them, yet he steps up to Omar. Doesn’t quite make sense.
Catherine McCormack can’t do an American accent to save her life. Unless she’s not trying to.
Barry knows of a simulcast but still sends a fax. Nice.
Classic scene where Patrick and his father want to see “the fight” on the TV and the waitress says the fight is on, but she was talking about UFC, he was talking about boxing. A nod to the state of current combat sports.
I really liked the character of Omar. Curious if that will be the end of him as the show will try and focus it’s narrative.
What did you think? Will you keep watching? Are you excited to finally see Patrick fight?
Finally some action! Up until this point, Patrick ‘Lights” Leary has been relatively passive. I know, he want after the dentist, but I’m talking about his financial situation with his family. I wanted the show to be all about boxing, but it looks like we’re in for a fight over financial struggles with Patrick and his brother and wife. We learn that Johnny is a degenerate gamble, he used be addicted to drugs, he’s getting divorced and he’s lost all of Patrick’s money (and probably their father’s.) We’ve learned that Johnny is not to be trusted with money. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his character once Patrick fires him (which will happen).
But to me, the most important thing happened this episode. Patrick finally told Theresa about them being broke. I was delighted to see that Theresa’s reaction was immediately about the girls and that she embraced him after the exchange. It built some much needed compassion from a character I otherwise don’t like very much. The dramatic irony was getting to be too heavy. Theresa was bound to find out and the writer’s couldn’t keep the secret away long, so I’m glad they just came out with it. Now we’ll get to learn more about Patrick in the coming episodes. Where is he going to place his allegiance too? With his wife who vowed to stay with him through richer or for poorer? Or with his brother? Who he had to bail out of gambling debt by winning an unsanctioned cage match? A scene, that seemed a bit cheesy. And the choice to have tribal drums be the only score to the fight seemed curious. I’m worried that if Patrick keeps lying to his wife he’s going to lose her. I want him to be able to fight and keep his family, but I don’t think that’s possible.
The show is not perfect, but I feel like it’s heading in the right direction. We finally got to see Patrick fight. We finally got to see his hunger to box again. We saw him tell his wife about them being broke, and then we saw him promptly lie to her face to get them out of trouble. My big complaint is that we haven’t seen Johnny do anything particularly redeeming so it’s hard for me to A) feel bad for him and B) care about Patrick trying to save him.
Other thoughts:
-Would Patrick really step in the way of a gun? His family means everything to him. Gave up his livelihood for them, yet he steps up to Omar. Doesn’t quite make sense.
Catherine McCormack can’t do an American accent to save her life. Unless she’s not trying to.
Barry knows of a simulcast but still sends a fax. Nice.
Classic scene where Patrick and his father want to see “the fight” on the TV and the waitress says the fight is on, but she was talking about UFC, he was talking about boxing. A nod to the state of current combat sports.
I really liked the character of Omar. Curious if that will be the end of him as the show will try and focus it’s narrative.
What did you think? Will you keep watching? Are you excited to finally see Patrick fight?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday, October 18, 2010
ApeDonkey Power Rankings 10/18/10
Top 5
1. FX - This past week's Sons of Anarchy not withstanding, no one has been on a hotter streak than FX. SOA, Terriers, Sunny and The League have all been hitting it on the screws for a solid month now. Donal Logue is one of those actors I've always liked but wished he was on better show (The Knights of Prosperity the lone exception) and it appears he's finally found it with Terriers. Following a slow two week start, both Sunny and The League are in mid season form as the funniest shows on TV. SOA is well SOA. They came out of the gate blasting and have kept it going all season. If you're not up on original FX programming then you hate entertainment.
2. Death to the BCS - If you're a college football fan or just someone who hates fat cat corruption, I can't recommend this book more. The authors Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter and Jeff Passan expose the BCS for the self serving, corrupt and borderline illegal cartel it is. The hypocrisy and obvious double talk coming from the BCS is astounding. Read this book and you'll find yourself pissed every time a new college football poll comes out.
3. Sunday Night Television - While Boardwalk Empire and Dexter continue to do their thing, Mad Men and Rubicon both wrapped up their seasons this week. Mad Men once again delivered as the best drama on television. It was a strange transition season for Don Draper. Of course he continued to plow through women like Rex Ryan through a family size bag of M&Ms but we also got to see him become more introspective and looking for more than just the next great line or lay. Peggy finally shed the little girl in a man's world act and really came into her own. By mid season she was clearly Drapers right hand and second in command of the creative department.
Rubicon had a solid if not spectacular rookie season. As long as you had the patience to let things develop, you were paid off by the writing and acting by season's end. The finale moved at a pace inconsistent with the rest of the season and was sorely lacking in Kale. The whole episode seemed to speed along trying to tie loose ends just in case they don't get a second season. I have no idea if AMC is going to bring it back but I'm all in if they do.
4. MLB Playoffs - Slow down before you start pumping your fist and waxing poetic about the beauty and pageantry of the baseball playoffs, I've watched maybe three innings total. I mean come on it's football season. I'm just so happy that since the MLB playoffs are here Joe Buck won't be fucking up any football games for 3 weeks or so. There are only two types of people who enjoy Joe Buck. People who watch a game with a score book on their lap and people who hate football.
5. Travis Rodgers Now - Travis has been on the air for a couple months now and is easily the best mid day show in the Houston market. It will take you about five minutes to realize where the best parts of the Jim Rome Show came from. Here's a hint, you can hear him from1-3 on 1560am. The truth is 1560 now has the three best sports radio shows on the air. The one anomaly is between 10-1 when some guy name Rogers Hampton laughs for three straight hours at some Rush Limbaugh impersonator. Back to Travis, unless you're one of those strange people who have a job during the day and can't listen to the radio, Travis Rodgers Now is better than anything else on the radio or television at that time. Believe me, I know.
Bottom 5
1. :01 - Maybe Nebraska should have worried less about the :01 of last year's game and more about the 60:00 of this season's. Bo Pelini had his cry baby act in full effect on Saturday so Will Muschamp and the Texas defense gave him plenty to cry about. And yes an Omaha steak taste much better when seasoned with the salty tears of a Pelini brother. The UT defense completely shut down "Heisman candidate" Taylor Martinez, to the point he was pulled from the game in the second half. Yeah, the Nebraska hopes and dreams were dashed Saturday but at least they have classy fans. You know, the classy fans that booed when Curtis Brown went down with an injury. Is Lincoln a popular retirement destination for Philly residents?
2. Women - This was a bad week for women and sports. Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer allowed Chris "Time to Die" Rainy to rejoin the team. Coincidentally, the Gators were in the midst of a two game (now three) losing streak. Baylor's basketball coach Scott Drew has decided that punching women and breaking their jaw is no longer an egregious enough offense to keep LaceDarius Dunn off the team. Finally, The original fifteen second man Rick Pitino has decided that being 6'10" is penance enough for punching the mother of your one year old son and fracturing her spine. Wake Forest transfer Tony Woods is looking to join Louisville. Way to set an example you makers of men.
3. Texans defense - Terrible. They can't cover. They no longer can stop the run. I've got an idea. How about Bob McNair take a break from trying to break the players union. Rick Smith take a break from looking slick and trying to win every negotiation and Gary Kubiak take a break from hiring defensive coordinators without interviewing candidates and calling grown men kids. How about these guys get together and figure out how to fix this defense. Look, I know it's outside the box to make trades during the season, but aren't you doing your franchise and your fans a disservice if you don't at least call the crypt keeper to see how many souls Nnamdi Asomugha or Richard Seymour will cost. A baby soul like Amobi's has to fetch a decent price doesn't it?
4. Steve Tasker - Tasker is completely over matched being paired with Gus Johnson. In fact, Tasker is completely over matched being asked to offer analysis on football. Once you've caught his act it becomes perfectly clear that he was a special teams guy mainly because grasping an offense was well beyond his mental capacity.
5. Me - Last week I moved Nebraska up to #2. Down they go. I put Antonio Gates in the power rankings top 5. Down he goes. I put Rubicon in the power rankings top 5. Disappointing finale. Old 97's make the power rankings top 5. I can't get a ticket to the sold out show. I also lost 6 of 7 fantasy football games, stubbed my toe in the bath and had a large section of fence torn down by one of my dogs. This week's gotta be better.
1. FX - This past week's Sons of Anarchy not withstanding, no one has been on a hotter streak than FX. SOA, Terriers, Sunny and The League have all been hitting it on the screws for a solid month now. Donal Logue is one of those actors I've always liked but wished he was on better show (The Knights of Prosperity the lone exception) and it appears he's finally found it with Terriers. Following a slow two week start, both Sunny and The League are in mid season form as the funniest shows on TV. SOA is well SOA. They came out of the gate blasting and have kept it going all season. If you're not up on original FX programming then you hate entertainment.
2. Death to the BCS - If you're a college football fan or just someone who hates fat cat corruption, I can't recommend this book more. The authors Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter and Jeff Passan expose the BCS for the self serving, corrupt and borderline illegal cartel it is. The hypocrisy and obvious double talk coming from the BCS is astounding. Read this book and you'll find yourself pissed every time a new college football poll comes out.
3. Sunday Night Television - While Boardwalk Empire and Dexter continue to do their thing, Mad Men and Rubicon both wrapped up their seasons this week. Mad Men once again delivered as the best drama on television. It was a strange transition season for Don Draper. Of course he continued to plow through women like Rex Ryan through a family size bag of M&Ms but we also got to see him become more introspective and looking for more than just the next great line or lay. Peggy finally shed the little girl in a man's world act and really came into her own. By mid season she was clearly Drapers right hand and second in command of the creative department.
Rubicon had a solid if not spectacular rookie season. As long as you had the patience to let things develop, you were paid off by the writing and acting by season's end. The finale moved at a pace inconsistent with the rest of the season and was sorely lacking in Kale. The whole episode seemed to speed along trying to tie loose ends just in case they don't get a second season. I have no idea if AMC is going to bring it back but I'm all in if they do.
4. MLB Playoffs - Slow down before you start pumping your fist and waxing poetic about the beauty and pageantry of the baseball playoffs, I've watched maybe three innings total. I mean come on it's football season. I'm just so happy that since the MLB playoffs are here Joe Buck won't be fucking up any football games for 3 weeks or so. There are only two types of people who enjoy Joe Buck. People who watch a game with a score book on their lap and people who hate football.
5. Travis Rodgers Now - Travis has been on the air for a couple months now and is easily the best mid day show in the Houston market. It will take you about five minutes to realize where the best parts of the Jim Rome Show came from. Here's a hint, you can hear him from1-3 on 1560am. The truth is 1560 now has the three best sports radio shows on the air. The one anomaly is between 10-1 when some guy name Rogers Hampton laughs for three straight hours at some Rush Limbaugh impersonator. Back to Travis, unless you're one of those strange people who have a job during the day and can't listen to the radio, Travis Rodgers Now is better than anything else on the radio or television at that time. Believe me, I know.
Bottom 5
1. :01 - Maybe Nebraska should have worried less about the :01 of last year's game and more about the 60:00 of this season's. Bo Pelini had his cry baby act in full effect on Saturday so Will Muschamp and the Texas defense gave him plenty to cry about. And yes an Omaha steak taste much better when seasoned with the salty tears of a Pelini brother. The UT defense completely shut down "Heisman candidate" Taylor Martinez, to the point he was pulled from the game in the second half. Yeah, the Nebraska hopes and dreams were dashed Saturday but at least they have classy fans. You know, the classy fans that booed when Curtis Brown went down with an injury. Is Lincoln a popular retirement destination for Philly residents?
2. Women - This was a bad week for women and sports. Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer allowed Chris "Time to Die" Rainy to rejoin the team. Coincidentally, the Gators were in the midst of a two game (now three) losing streak. Baylor's basketball coach Scott Drew has decided that punching women and breaking their jaw is no longer an egregious enough offense to keep LaceDarius Dunn off the team. Finally, The original fifteen second man Rick Pitino has decided that being 6'10" is penance enough for punching the mother of your one year old son and fracturing her spine. Wake Forest transfer Tony Woods is looking to join Louisville. Way to set an example you makers of men.
3. Texans defense - Terrible. They can't cover. They no longer can stop the run. I've got an idea. How about Bob McNair take a break from trying to break the players union. Rick Smith take a break from looking slick and trying to win every negotiation and Gary Kubiak take a break from hiring defensive coordinators without interviewing candidates and calling grown men kids. How about these guys get together and figure out how to fix this defense. Look, I know it's outside the box to make trades during the season, but aren't you doing your franchise and your fans a disservice if you don't at least call the crypt keeper to see how many souls Nnamdi Asomugha or Richard Seymour will cost. A baby soul like Amobi's has to fetch a decent price doesn't it?
4. Steve Tasker - Tasker is completely over matched being paired with Gus Johnson. In fact, Tasker is completely over matched being asked to offer analysis on football. Once you've caught his act it becomes perfectly clear that he was a special teams guy mainly because grasping an offense was well beyond his mental capacity.
5. Me - Last week I moved Nebraska up to #2. Down they go. I put Antonio Gates in the power rankings top 5. Down he goes. I put Rubicon in the power rankings top 5. Disappointing finale. Old 97's make the power rankings top 5. I can't get a ticket to the sold out show. I also lost 6 of 7 fantasy football games, stubbed my toe in the bath and had a large section of fence torn down by one of my dogs. This week's gotta be better.
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