Sarcasm Included

The new TV season has arrived, bearing fresh offerings from the land of unoriginal ideas, hoping to lure us into their make-believe worlds. A few episodes later, here is my verdict on them (those which I have seen, anyway).

SITCOMS

2 Broke Girls
My top pick for new sitcom. Created by Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City) and comedienne Whitney Cummings, the show features two struggling waitresses in Brooklyn who dream of opening their own cupcake business. The baker, Max, is dark and damaged while the brains, Caroline, is a disgraced Park Avenue princess coping with life in the other side of the bridge. The comedy is great, even daring at times, and the acting is nicely done. While, like this review suggests, the supporting characters need more development and the story is still yet to progress, 2 Broke Girls is still hilarious. Watch this clip if you don’t believe me:

New Girl
The show that got Zooey Deschanel, beloved indie movie icon, to jump into television. She plays Jess, a quirky schoolteacher who moves in with three guys after she finds her boyfriend cheating on her. The guys, ranging from the sentimental to the incredibly douchey, must learn how to live with her-ahem-unique personality in the process. At first, watching Jess be so incredibly kooky might unnerve Zooey’s fans who are used to her cool persona, but after a while, like with the guys, she grows on you. She needs them just as much they need her. Brilliant performance by Zooey but too bad the original Coach character from the pilot has been replaced.

Up All Night

Help!

From the executive producer of SNL, comes a sitcom that brings Christina Applegate and Will Arnett together. They play new parents adapting to the entirely new living situation. The wife, Regan, keeps crazy hours working for a demanding Oprah-like TV talk show host (done brilliantly by SNL alum Maya Rudolph) whereas husband Chris is a stay-at-home dad. The plot is creative, uses everyday situations and turns them absurdly upside down. This is a show that brings together comedy masters.

Yup, this sums it up

Free Agents
Adapted from a UK show, the series has the benefit of two great actors in the lead: Hank Azaria and Katherine Hahn. The plot is straightforward: two newly single PR executives try to build a relationship while working together. Unfortunately, the comedy falls short. It might be refreshing to see Hank Azaria, of Simpsons fame, become a sensitive older guy who is incredibly clueless about dating and he’s certainly trying hard but somehow it’s just not funny enough. Pity, I’ve always liked Katherine Hahn and Natasha Leggero is so good as the acerbic assistant. Perhaps the British humor just doesn’t translate well?

How to Be a Gentleman

Yeah...real classy

It only premiered last Thursday, so this review only covers the pilot and unfortunately, it is disappointing. The main character, Andrew, is a columnist for an Esquire-type magazine, who specializes in etiquette and gentlemanly behavior. When his magazine is purchased by another who wants to turn it into another FHM (perhaps), he is forced to change his column and his lifestyle. Aided by a highschool friend turned gym owner, Bert, he starts learning how to be less of a gentleman. Written by the main actor himself, David Hornsby (husband of Bones’ Emily Deschanel), this show needs to be funnier and fast. Andrew’s manners, transported from 19th century, are adorable at times but they’re not enough to hold the show up, at least not yet.

DRAMA

The Playboy Club
This show has been cancelled after three episodes. It had potential and was certainly counting on the 60s feel of the hit series Mad Men to obtain ratings. Unfortunately, audience did not warm to the story of Playboy Bunnies. In fact, since the inception, it has had more critics (feminists) than praise. The cast is incredibly attractive and the plot offered some glimpses of intriguing subplots (mobsters and a secret society) but in the end, NBC pulled the plug anyway.

Smoking...then it flickered and died

Hart of Dixie
Arguably one of the new shows with the lowest rating, Hart of Dixie has two things going for it: Josh Schwartz and Rachel Bilson. Schwartz is responsible for hits such as the OC and Gossip Girl while actress Rachel Bilson is supremely beloved by viewers. The main character, Dr. Zoe Hart, is a typical type-A New Yorker driven to become a world-class neurosurgeon like her father, but finds her dreams crushed when she is told that her lack of bedside manner is hampering her career advancement. In a spontaneous moment, she accepts a mysterious offer from a kindly old man to join his practice in Bluebell, Alabama. As she copes with the town’s eccentric citizens, she learns interesting things and meets gorgeous men, of course. The show is entertaining if you like the antics of a Southern small town and the cast looks amazing (notice I said, looks). However, it is a Josh Schwartz show, so expect twists and outrageous subplots. Hope this show survives.

Here’s a bit of Southern hospitality:

No-brainer title, don't you think?

Unforgettable
On the surface, it is a typical police procedural starring TV veterans Dylan Walsh and Poppy Montgomery. The catch is Detective Carey Wells (Montgomery) has a special ability; she remembers every single thing, except her sister’s murder. She now uses that ability to catch criminals while still investigating the cold case. Playing ex-spouses who used to be coworkers and are now working together again, the lead actors are doing an okay job. The writers might have a difficult job finding out ways to use Carey’s ability to solve cases sooner or later, though. To be frank, I’ve lost interest in this show.

Ringer

Amazing poster

All hail the return of Sarah Michelle Gellar to television! What’s more, this is the perfect show for her comeback. It centers on twin sisters, both played by Gellar (duh), who are polar opposites. Bridget is the screwed-up one, a former addict trying to make amends, while Siobhan’s life is in upper-class New York society. When the sisters finally reunite, Siobhan commits suicide and drowns herself. In a crazy moment, Bridget decides to take over her sister’s life and impersonates Siobhan. As it always turns out, Siobhan’s life is much more complicated than she thought. There’s the affair with the best friend’s husband (!) and the attempt on her life (!!), not to mention the pregnancy (!!!). On top of all this, Bridget is wanted by a dangerous criminal and a persistent FBI agent. Even more shocking, Siobhan is still alive (!!!!). Yeah, once you get over the many crazy intrigues…what am I talking about? The crazy intrigues is the best thing about the show. Just sit back and watch them spin out of control.

Revenge

Ooooh....yeah

A modern re-imagination of the classic novel, The Adventures of Monte Cristo (my favorite, I might add), the show takes place in the exclusive Hamptons’ society. Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp from Brothers and Sisters) is a newly arrived heiress who charms the residents with her wit and sophistication. Underneath all that is a burning desire to destroy the others’ lives as a revenge. Years before, a group of people framed her father and took everything away from her. Now, she is determined to get her payback. Naturally, the plot is intricate but this is my favorite kind of show. There are still so many questions left unanswered but I am more than content to get all the answers by watching to the very end.

Prime Suspect
It’s supposed to be an adaptation of the extremely successful British miniseries of the same name, starring the great Helen Mirren, but this version bears little resemblance to the original. Starring Maria Bello as a tough police detective who works in a chauvinistic environment, the show is gritty. The cases are gruesome, the drama feels genuine and not over-the-top. Maria Bello’s character, while much less screwed-up than the original, is prickly enough to be compelling. Fingers crossed NBC got a good thing going with this one.

Charlie’s Angels

Still kinda cheesy, no?

This one is a remake from the 1970s action show starring three beautiful women who solve cases for their mysterious boss, Charlie. In a useless effort to be different, the Angels are now former criminals trying to do some good. Why useless? Because this show still feels campy. Apart from Rachael Taylor, everyone is just hired to look pretty and not do much else. The writers and producers have not retooled the plot enough to make it relevant to the 21st century. Perhaps only the pilot is disappointing but I wouldn’t know; I’ve only seen the first episode.

A Gifted Man

Look at that face

Perhaps the best thing about the show is Patrick Wilson. The incredibly handsome actor, a multi-talented Broadway vet, plays a successful neurosurgeon in this show. His neat life is suddenly complicated by the appearance of his ex-wife, who ran a clinic for the underprivileged. He later finds out that his ex is actually dead and her ghost has been visiting him and asking him to help with her old clinic. Now, he has to balance his posh practice with the troubles of the less fortunate. The pilot was a little heavy-handed with the supernatural (think ghostly white visions) but that is thankfully gone by the second episode. Very promising.

Pan Am
Yet another series set in the 1960s. Unlike the Playboy Club and Mad Men, though, Pan Am takes a lighter direction. Featuring the stewardesses and pilot of the airline, the look of the show is amazing. To spice up the plot, all kinds of subplots are introduced. There’s espionage, extra-marital affairs, heartbreak, and above all, that desire to see the world. Christina Ricci is the star of the show, with her big eyes and sassy demeanor. Finally a show that doesn’t take a grim view of the era.

How pretty...