DRAMA
FIRST LOOK: SHAMELESS
Dec 8th
Doing the rounds today – here’s the trailer for Shameless, the US version of the long running, award winning and very edgy Brit TV series, coming soon to Showtime.
I’ve never see the UK show but I certainly know its reputation – and it doesn’t look like Showtime have cleaned it up too much. Thank goodness it’s airing on pay cable rather than network TV!
Shameless stars William H Macy (bizarrely given second billing in the trailer BEHIND Emmy Rossum) as Frank Gallagher, a single father of 6 children who spends his days drunk while his kids fend for themselves. And the kids certainly find themselves in plenty of trouble as you’ll see from the trailer – petty crime, sex, blow jobs and sleeping with married men (and that’s his teenage SON!) It’s certainly not the Disney Channel.
Joan Cusack will also be recurring on the show, starring as an agrophobic Chicago housewife who strikes up a friendship with Frank (a role originally played by Allison Janney before she dropped out to join Matthew Perry in his upcoming ABC sitcom, Mr Sunshine). I sense awards – and a fair bit of controversy!
So are you intrigued by the trailer? Start sending over your thoughts…
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QUICK TAKE: GLEE ‘A VERY GLEE CHRISTMAS’
Dec 8th
Um, gee, thanks Glee!
Exactly what DO you say when someone gives you a Christmas gift you really don’t want? That’s how I felt last night while watching Glee’s 2010 Xmas special, an episode so truly appalling it pretty much sucked the holiday spirits clean away.
I’m used to Glee’s erratic lapses of quality – this is a show that can go from THAT Britney Spears episode to a triumphant Gwyneth Paltrow special in just a few weeks – but blimey, talk about leaving a lump of coal in everyone’s stockings. Honestly, how did the powers at be at Fox let this monstrosity on the air? Was anyone doing quality control? Did anyone even read the script?
All the worst elements of Glee were in full force last night. Endless Rachel whining? Check. Silly and pointless story lines? Check. Sue Sylvester reduced to a one dimensional cartoon character (you WERE right Ed O’Neill) Check. Inconsistent characters. Check…. This Christmas list just goes on and on.
Okay, to be fair, there were three good moments in last night’s show – so let’s deal with them first. Most notable was Kurt and Blaine’s duet on ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ – a refreshing TV moment that felt in More >
SNEAK PEEK: DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ‘PLEASANT LITTLE KINGDOM’
Dec 3rd
It’s been a while since we posted a Desperate Housewives Sneak Peek – 3 weeks of the air isn’t great for show momentum – and I suspect will hurt ratings this coming Sunday…
But Housewives still has 2 episodes to go this year and this week we finally get to see Paul Young’s grand plan put into effect as he starts moving undesirable elements into Wisteria Lane. I like Young’s character but am I the only one who’s finding this plot a little weak as the series ‘central’ mystery? For me it’s up there with Alfre Woodard keeping her son chained up in the basement!
Also – what happened to this year’s annual ‘disaster’ episode? In previous seasons we’ve had plane crashes, tornadoes and hostage situations each November Sweeps. Do I sense some ABC budget cutting?
Oh well, there’s still plenty of good stuff on the show. Gaby faces a moral dilemma regarding her ‘real’ birth daughter – and her illegal immigrant mom. Will Gaby rat on Carmen to keep Grace close by?
Meanwhile Rene opens up to Susan over dinner…
And Tom and Lynette argue over her emasculating attitude in front of the neighbors – check out the terrific punchline from McCluskey… brilliant!
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QUICK TAKE: GLEE ‘SPECIAL EDUCATION’
Dec 1st
Wow, is it sectionals time already on Glee?
Yep, after weeks of rather pointless rehearsals, solos and ‘Very Special Episodes’, Glee finally brought us back to the central competition of the show, though with little fanfare or set up.
This year’s Sectionals raised many questions: Why were a geriatric choir competing (it was a sweet moment but let’s be honest you were thinking the same); Why were only three acts in the running? And where were Vocal Adrenalin this time around? Speaking of which – will we ever see Cheyenne Jackson and Charice again, or have they disappeared into the Glee casting black hole which last year claimed Molly Shannon?
Anyway, snarkiness aside, last night’s episode was a fairly average affair, but coming off the back of last week’s disastrous, and low rated, Sue Sylvester wedding episode – I’ll take what I can get.
NEW TRAILER: GAME OF THRONES
Nov 29th
Here’s the just released latest sneak peek for one of the most eagerly anticipated new shows of 2011 – Game of Thrones, the medieval epic that’ll be hitting HBO screens in Spring 2011.
We’ve featured a few clips from Thrones before, but just to remind you, the series is based on a series of bestselling books by George R.R. Martin and stars Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Mark Addy (The Full Monty) and Peter Dinklage (Death At A Funeral).
Personally I’m still not massively feeling the show – but I do think it will be a big hit for HBO. Following the huge success of The Walking Dead it seems to me that shows that are a little out of the box – and have a cinematic feel – are destined for big success. I think Thrones may be a bit too male skewing for Dead like numbers but who knows… lots of women out there seem to love Spartacus…
But what do you think? Are you liking the look of Game of Thrones… and how do you think it’ll fare?
SNEAK PEEK: GLEE – BLAINE IS BACK!
Nov 26th
Sometimes a character just instantly takes off with the public – and boy, has Glee struck gold this season!
I am of course referring to Blaine, Kurt’s gay mentor who took approximately 3 minutes of screen time, singing a certain Katy Perry song, to become an instant fan favorite.
Seriously, it’s pretty stunning how much press coverage Blaine / Darren Criss has received over the last couple of weeks. With Teenage Dream now officially the fastest selling Glee song ever (take that Don’t Stop Believing!) it’s no wonder Criss is set to become a regular cast member.
Personally I’m thrilled. As you know I’ve had my issues with the character of Kurt over the last few months, but Blaine is a fantastic role model for gay kids across America – likable, smart and also sexy (like many gay men on TV, Kurt is kind of asexual)
Well now Blaine is back with another song and he’s taking on Train’s summer smash, Hey Soul Sister. Personally I don’t think it’s quite as good as Teenage Dream, but I’d far rather listen to this track as opposed to anything from last week’s tone deaf episode!
GLEE’S ARTIE: BEFORE HE WAS BIG!
Nov 24th
You know him best as whiny, wheelchair bound Artie Abrams on Glee (probably my least favorite character on the Fox show)
But you may or may not know that actor Kevin McHale had a whole OTHER musical career before his Glee days.
Kevin used to be part of a boyband called NLT (which stands for Not Like Them) a fairly unsuccessful outfit that also featured the Perez Hilton protege Travis Garland.
NLT released four singles in total and they pretty much all bombed. But the videos still live on online and show a whole other side of McHale that’s pretty much never seen on the Fox high school musical…
Personally I can kind of see why the songs never took off – they’re totally forgettable and generic – and the first video is a pure N*Sync rip off. But what do you think? Bland boy band pop – or do you see something special?
Start weighing in all you Gleeks…!
QUICK TAKE: GLEE ‘FURT’
Nov 24th
And this is why guest stars aren’t always a good mix for Glee…
Just one week after Gwyneth Paltrow’s triumphant appearance on Fox’s high school musical, Glee last night introduced us to Sue Sylvester’s Nazi-hunting mother, played by comedy icon Carol Burnett. Except you really wouldn’t know Carol was a famous comedienne given that she couldn’t muster a single laugh – or even a smile – last night. Honestly Burnett’s whole performance and story line were totally flat. Which pretty much sums up the episode as a whole really, definitely one of the worst Glee episodes to date.
And wouldn’t you know it – guess who wrote the script – show creator Ryan Murphy. I’ve talked about Ryan several times here on Remote Patrolled as it really does seem that he’s the show’s weakest creative link – responsible for the worst episodes of the series to date (the Britney special, the Laryngitis episode, the appearance of the Acafellas). Murphy’s heart is in the right place but his writing is horribly heavy handed (I use the phrase ‘after school special’ a lot when reviewing Murphy’s episodes). Plus he lacks the ability to tell good ideas from bad and often pursues truly ridiculous plot lines that More >
RATINGS ROUNDUP – 20TH NOVEMBER
Nov 20th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
PSYCH: In its fifth season – and still going strong, USA’s comedy drama series Psych managed an impressive 2.98 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 share on Wednesday night. To put that in perspective, those figures are better than pretty much everything on The CW, including America’s Next Top Model and highly touted newbies Hellcats and Nikita. And yet when was the last time you saw the Psych stars on the front cover of a magazine?
I must admit Psych is one of those shows that has largely passed me by too – but with a sixth season already confirmed and these kind of ratings no wonder the USA network is such a drama powerhouse these days…
SARAH PALIN’S ALASKA: Oh yeah – we’re going there! How could we not! Whatever you think of Sarah Palin and her politics you certainly can’t deny the power of Sarah’s fanbase.
As you undoubtedly read, Alaska debuted on TLC with 4.95 million viewers, an absolute smash for the network and proof of the power of the Palin brand.
But I’d hold off on popping those champagne corks quite yet. For starters the show’s 1.2 18-49 rating isn’t all that impressive. Secondly More >
