June 23, 2006
Fall TV Sneak Preview: CBS
OK, I watched three of CBS new shows this morning. Here's my quick report.
The Class: It's funny how a show can go from bad to so-so to pretty good in the span of 18 minutes. I was ready to skip Class, a comedy about a group of twentysomethings who have known each other since being in the same third grade class, minutes after turning it on. Why? Well, when you're not laughing much, that's normally not good. At first blush Class looked like another one-note comedy that featured a bunch of half-baked jokes. Wisely, however, it appears as if the writers are more interested in creating a character-based comedy that's willing to tackle such real-life issues as depression while still making us laugh -- and care.
Shark: Just like I thought -- James Woods doesn't disappoint as Sebastian Stark, a snarling, cutthroat attorney who'd send his own mom to The Big House if it meant keeping his perfect record in tact. Woods doesn't simply chew the scenery, he devours it while yelling such lines like, "Your job is to win! Justice is God's problem." How dedicated is Stark to his profession? Dig this...he has a mock courtroom -- in his own house! Believe me, you won't be able to take your eyes off Woods. You can almost see the veteran big screen actor rehearsing his Emmy speech (it would be his third) inside his head while he's barking his lines.
Jericho: What hath Lost wrought? Jericho, that's what, a snoozer drama about a small Kansas town that's plunged into chaos after a mysterious nuclear mushroom cloud appears. Are the residents of the itty bitty town the last people left on earth? Will they continue to fight over gas like we do in Florida when the power has been out for a few days? Will viewers really care? Invasion, ABC's alien invasion drama, didn't exactly set any ratings records last fall. That's not good news for the producers of this series. While CBS is clearly trying to piggyback on the success of that plane survivors trapped on a weird island drama, Jericho doesn't get off to such a hot start.
Posted by Kevin Thompson at June 23, 2006 1:12 PMKevin, is it me or is ol' Woodsy simply playing the same guy he played in True Believer -- just less hippie-like. If you don't remember True Believer -- a tried-and-true HBO repeater -- it's one where Woods, a former hippie radical lawyer who's become the guy a drug dealer hires when his constitutional rights have been violated, takes on the ol' unwinnable case. Also stars Robert Downey Jr.
jt
Posted by: Tully at July 3, 2006 5:10 PMAfter seeing what ABC did to INVASION, I will not give another show a chance for a very long time since no matter how good it is...it will be delayed, no promo and eventually cut!
INVASION had such a large demographique (my mom 60) loved it like I did and she does not even like sci-fi!!!
Viewers in the UK, Ukraine, Germany, Mexico and Canada are up in arms about its unfair cancellation. See for yourself at http://www.petitiononline.com/33030/
Viewers, beware of ABC's programming. If it does not sell enough soap or shampoo... like the reality shows it will be cancelled.
Posted by: Marc Auguste at June 26, 2006 11:26 PMI agree with the comment about Invasion! That was a gr8 show and ABC screwed it up by putting it on hiatus TWICE!
Posted by: todd elco at June 26, 2006 6:12 PMAs my url may imply, I am looking forward to Jericho...I think it is going to surprise people if CBS gives it a chance. It has a similar tone to Miracles, my favorite show that was also unjustly cancelled. I feel your pain M. Martin.
Posted by: anonymous at June 25, 2006 3:19 PMUnfortunately for Jericho, no new show can match the high quality of the unjustly-cancelled 'Invasion.' I wish it better treatment than the ABC suits gave one of their best shows, however.
Posted by: Michael Martin at June 23, 2006 1:59 PM
