I love the 80s. I grew up in the 80s. This show is about growing up in the 80s and it is rad. This is a retelling of the childhood of Adam F. Goldberg the creator of the show as he grew up in the 80s and his obsession with filmmaking and recording everything with his camcorder. The early seasons for this show were quite interesting and remarkable, however as the series tears on it has grown a bit stale relying on an 80s stereotype for each episode.
Grade: B-Category Archives: ABC
The Good Doctor
Freddy Highmore plays a new surgical resident with Autism in this ABC medical drama. Another British actor playing an american. I like this show and the light it puts on people with disabilities and unique circumstances. However at times it does border on exploiting those same people. The action centers on the choices the main character makes and those around him as they all deal with his autism. In a sense this is Doogie Howser but instead of age the conflict is autism.
Grade: B+
Shark Tank
This show has been on for over 10 seasons and it has made lots of money for the sharks but it has also made lots of money for the entrepreneurs and ABC. It is what it is, a commercial for the stuff the sharks buy. It is interesting to see how this kind of business is done, but if there is something of substance to watch, I watch the substance instead. There are good things about this show: taking those who have nothing and making something out of them. There are also bad things: Greed. Every shark has shown greed on this show, but the worst is Kevin O’Leary, the so-called Mr. Wonderful. But if I had the chance to show an invention on this stage I would do so.
Grade: C-
The Rookie
Captain Hammer has joined the police force at the age of 45. Oh my. This ABC show has been on a couple of seasons now and my initial review was that it was hokey and I loved it. I still think it is a good show. Nathan Fillion, the lead actor, does a great job and is able to make you like him no matter the situation. This past season they have tried to make the show more dramatic which is noce but I think they can go a lot farther, but perhaps the distance I want is more than network TV is allowed to go.
Grade: B-
Selfie
(SUNG TO THE TUNE OF MY FAIR LADY’S “WOULDN’T IT BE LOVERLY”)
All I want is a show that’s good
With characters that can be understood
With no pretentious plot
Oh wouldn’t that be watchable
Lots of jokes to make me laugh
Lots of action and those who can act
Act Stan, Act San, Act Uta—
Oh wouldn’t that be watchable
…..I would go on but I think I would put more into writing this parody than the writers of Selfie did on the entire pilot episode.
The concept is taken from Shaw’s Pygmalion or for you musical theatre buffs My Fair Lady. It is an attempt to modernize the story. Girl, Eliza, is stuck in a social media rut with tons of likes but no real friends in comes Boy, Henry…no they did not change the first names from the original…some might think that is clever…I think it is lazy…. Boy helps girl to be the life of the party. That’s it.
The only saving grace of this show is Karen Gillan who plays Eliza. You may recognize her from Doctor Who and most recently The Guardians of the Galaxy (where she is really unrecognizable). I will watch this show one more time if it doesn’t improve I will stop. If it does I will let you know. You can watch it on Hulu or watch the premiere on ABC TUE SEPT 30 8|7c.
Grade: C-
Forever
What if you were immortal? Would it matter to you if those around were not? Dr. Henry Morgan
played by Ioan Gruffudd is indeed immortal and has been around for 300 or so years and has seen and has gone through death a lot. Every time he dies he wakes up in a body of water…naked.
Judd Hirsh back from the days of Taxi plays his sidekick Abe and when I learned what their relationship in the show is(you’re going to have to watch it…I will not give it away here) that is when I said this is a show I am going to watch. I love smart writing and interesting character relationships. Gruffudd’s character is a coroner or some sort of post mortem body examiner. He meets detective Jo Martinez
played by Alana De La Garza when he is involved in a case where a subway train conductor dies. He is treated as a suspect and proves much like Sherlock Holmes that he is not the murderer.
Throughout the pilot we learned a little about the character’s life and lost love. It plays with the idea of immortality being so great but you still feel pain both physical and emotional. I cannot wait for this show to officially premiere and other episodes to come out. You can watch it on Hulu or you can wait and with it on ABC on TUE SEPT 23 10|9c. I will be watching it again, and if you know me you know I never watch anything twice.
Grade: A+