Sunday Night TV - 1/17/11

Shameless

So episode 2 is our real introduction to Frank. He likes to drink. He doesn't like his sons. He's OK with his daughters and he really hates Canada. What we also learn is that even though he's a giant dirtbag, his kids still love their father and even though he makes their lives exponentially harder, they turn west Chicago upside down trying to make sure he's OK. Most of all what we learned is the lengths Frank will go to be taken care of and to continue his plush disability check to disability check lifestyle. He moved in with Sheila (Joan Cusack) and that length appeared to be about 9 inches in a most uncomfortable place. Steve was taught a lesson about coming between Fiona and her family and sorry douche but stealing a minivan for her doesn't make up for kidnapping her dad and dumping him in Toronto. I personally would have been happy to see Fiona give Steve the boot all together but I suppose he'll make his way back into her life and we'll all have to put up with him in the weeks to come. Hey maybe that cop friend of Fiona's can take care of that problem for us.

Californication

Not much really happened this week besides some pill and alcohol induced reflection by Hank and we met Rob Lowe's character Eddie Nero who's slated to play Hank in the movie version of Fucking & Punching. So, what did we learn from this week's episode? Not much. Hank is still ruled by his dick, Runkle is up to fifteen women and Rob Lowe likes to dress up as Brad Pitt. We did finally see Hank feel some remorse for the disappointment and embarrassment he's brought his daughter. I thought Hank's line about wanting Harvey Keitel to play him because Harvey likes to show his dong on screen was fantastic since David Duchovny is a notorious on screen dong swinger.

Big Love

So I decided to stick it out with Big Love because this is the last season and I've made it this far. Fortunately, it looks like I may be rewarded for my loyalty. There's no questioning last season was bad. It was more than bad it was god awful. The whole Bill going down to Mexico and rescuing his family in a blaze of glory nearly forced me to cancel my season pass. In their final season it looks like the show is going back to its core principles by focusing on the family and Bill's fight to live the principle. Gone is the casino, JJ's weird gyno son and just about all remnants of last season's bizzaro world. In comes Barb trying new things like drinking, in comes Nicki bullying ten year old boys and a new group of other polygamists who have been living the principle in secret just like the Hendricksons. We finally saw Bill hit with a bit of humility when he realized the pain and feelings of betrayal he's brought upon the people in his life. Even with this bit of humble pie Bill's still the biggest self righteous gas bag on television but it seems at the state house he may no longer be the biggest fish in his pond.

Episodes

I have to say ep. 2 was much better than the first but still not good enough to inspire me to set a season pass yet. Matt LeBlanc played a very capable TV star Matt LeBlanc with all the typical over sexed, pampered star cliches. Hopefully we've seen just about the last of Myra and Andy. The characters are horribly done and continue to clog up the screen with stale unfunny quips. The bit with Merc's blind wife could have been funny if it had been a bit more subtle but I don't think subtlety is in the plans for this show. The seeds of what will undoubtedly be the main tension of the show were planted this week. Sean is obviously embracing the LA lifestyle and willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get their show on the air. While Beverly will continue to fight against LA, the network, body image issues and Matt. At the current pace Episodes probably has two more chances to build momentum and sell me on it. With as crowded as Sunday night is you've got to better than this to crack the DVR lineup.

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.