There are a lot of hospital dramas on TV. I think I watch them all…well almost. This show follows a resident at a hospital that needs a lot of changes to make a more ethical place and he is bent on making that happen. It is a new way to approach a medical drama and it serves well for the genre. I like the show and the many characters that weave in and out of the plot.
Red versus Blue. Men versus Women. Gordan Ramsey versus 16 cooks. High class dining at high stakes. A cooking competition to earn a chef’s job at a 5 star restaurant. This is one of the first successful food reality competitions. It’s a good show but if there is something else on, I usually watch the other.
Grade: C+
A woodsy Alaskan family with a fishing operation plunder through the struggles of life after the matriarch passes away. It really doesn’t sound like a comedy but in every essence it is. Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, and Will Forte bring this animated series to life. I fear that this show will continue to place Offerman in a stereotypical manly man role, but I do love him in this genre. I really have not been able to get into many of these adult centric cartoons lately, however this one is unique and hits the notes that make me tingle with delight.
Grade: A
What defines us? What turns us into what we become? Fox’s Gotham is a show to answer these question for the Detective Comic’s most famous dark knight’s town. Gotham is the origin story of Batman seen through the eyes of new detective James Gordon(Ben McKenzie). If you are in the know of Batman lore, Gordon becomes the commissioner of Gotham and Batman’s biggest allie. I am a big Batman fan since the mid 80’s having read many of the comics growing up and keeping up from time to time as an adult. I know the origins of most of the character’s from all of the Batman comics and variations from each as well. I think it will be fun to see it from this vantage point so young in Batman’s life.
The show’s pilot starts with the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents after attending a movie. The director of the pilot episode, Danny Cannon, captured many iconic images straight from the comics. For example the pearls that fall to the ground during the death and robbery of the Waynes along with the image of Bruce kneeling in the middle of his fallen parents are classic to the comics and were almost identical in the pilot episode of Gotham.
I am excited to see where all this leads and the routes that each character takes to become who they become. I will not miss an episode of this fantastic show.
Grade: A+
In the season four opener four months have passed for the New Girl roomies. Everyone is single and have attended troves of weddings this summer. Jessica Biel guest stars in this season four first episode, as a wedding guest at yet another wedding and poses as competition for Jessica’s(Zooey Deschanel) prey, the best man. This season has been lauded as the return to the energy and fun of season one with everyone single and Schmidt (Max Greenfield ) going after Cece (Hannah Simone). If this season opener is any sign of what’s to come then I am disappointed. This show can do so much but it jumped the shark last year with Jessica and Nick (Jake Johnson) becoming a couple. This should have been a last season situation, but now we have to live through the awkwardness of this for this season, which they will keep referencing, which dulls the comedy.
Over all the show was good though and I will continue to watch, but I do think there is room to improve.
Grade: B+
“You wouldn’t abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn’t control the winds.”
― Thomas More, Utopia
The idea of Utopia originally came from Thomas More’s book, Utopia. This is a place that is the promised land, but not just the promised land for the chosen but for all. This is the enter-speriment that FOX is conducting with Utopia. Taking 15 people from all walks of life and putting them together for a year with limited resources to create a society that they all can thrive in that would be their Utopia.
With everyone being so diverse from a Pastor to a polygamist to a lawyer to an ex-con, I don’t see how they can resolve and become one Utopia, but it may be entertaining to watch. It may also be an eye-opener to the public that we need to respect differences more and be more than tolerant. I really don’t like that word, tolerant. It means to me that you are allowing something to happen even though you don’t agree. In my Utopia, that word is null. If someone is different then they are different, it is not up to me to decide to let them be. Just be. I think with the personalities that have been chosen by the producers that there will be a lot of conflict that will make the show watchable for the masses, but it will not be a great experiment.
I will continue to watch the show to see how much of an experiment it actually is and I will stop when I decide that it is more about entertainment.
Grade: B-
Another Hospital Drama…… That’s what I thought going into this. Do we need yet another McDoctor going into the on call room and getting it on with an intern show? Then I watched the pilot episode and to my ecstatic surprise the show was about the patients in the pediatrics ward. I wonder though how long I can root for a protagonist who is in the hospital? Won’t they inevitably get better or unbetter and die? Does FOX really want to put their audience through that? They’re kids. I’m glad I am not making those choices. I was, though, happy I made the choice to watch The Red Band Society. The writing was fresh and it is always good to see young people as the leads in shows instead of those you see in every new drama that gets canned every season(I’m talking to you Christian Slater). The story is told by a kid who is in a coma, this is a neat device in my opinion. But how does he know what is going on outside of his room??….suspension of disbelief…ok. The kids are all kinds…one that needs a heart, needs lungs, has cancer, an eating disorder, and one who needs courage.. Wait no.. that last one was The Wizard of Oz….different kid story. The first episode was mostly exposition. Now that we know the characters, I am excited to see what the next few episode have in store. It officially premiers on September 17, 2014, but you can see it on Hulu until then.
Grade: B+
Jack Bauer is back and he’s wanted. He rescues Cloe from the US Government in London while the the President is there as well meeting with the Prime Minister about the use of drones. A drone pilot is accused of killing 2 American troops and 2 British troops, Jack knows who is the real culprit and will do whatever it takes to bring them to justice and save the President, who is also the father of the woman he loves. This is why I love this show. Years of action put into 24 hours, well 12 in this season’s case. My wife calls this the ulcer show, because it never lets you stop worrying about Jack. I call it exciting and fun.
Grade: A+