Back... with Black
Almost filled my DVR by taking a vacation, but I'm finally close to caught up. Rather than comment on shows from three weeks ago, I'll concentrate on those from the last few days.
The Black Donnellys: Just the pilot, but wow. Fresh off The Departed’s Best Picture win, another Irish mob drama announces its presence with authority. This tale of four brothers struggling to find their place in the neighborhood doesn’t sounds like the most original idea, but it’s shot with style and acted with sincerity. The pilot airs again Thursday– watch if you missed it.
American Idol: After a staggeringly bad debut, a couple of the guys rebounded, like strangely-named Sundance Head. Some fell off the table – looking at you, Sanjaya. It’s quickly getting down to a few-horse race (Chris Richardson, Blake, maybe Phil), so it’ll be good to get to the co-ed shows, as many of these men are just grist for the pop music mill.
Veronica Mars: This season’s second case (who shot the Dean?) closed with a whatever. The campus rape case wasn’t great, but at least you cared about whodunit. The twist in this one unfortunately involved finding out that it wasn’t one unlikeable character responsible, but several. The Logan/Veronica relationship is the main thing keeping this show going. Here’s hoping the standalone eps help.
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? After an awkward intro on American Idol, Jeff Foxworthy re-emerged from redneck jokes to host a game show where stupid adults match wits with smarmy children. It’s marginally amusing to watch contestants struggle with grade-school questions, but mostly just points out that everything we learned at that age was worthless. I’d say Pass, but – Fail. And Worst. Theme. Song. Ever.
Amazing Race: All-Stars: After whipping around the world 10 times, this show went the retro route, bringing back teams you loved and teams you loved to hate. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to raise this show out of the rut it’s been in for years. It’s still a lot of waiting in airports and missing cabs, and exotic destinations don’t deliver much impact.
The Black Donnellys: Just the pilot, but wow. Fresh off The Departed’s Best Picture win, another Irish mob drama announces its presence with authority. This tale of four brothers struggling to find their place in the neighborhood doesn’t sounds like the most original idea, but it’s shot with style and acted with sincerity. The pilot airs again Thursday– watch if you missed it.
American Idol: After a staggeringly bad debut, a couple of the guys rebounded, like strangely-named Sundance Head. Some fell off the table – looking at you, Sanjaya. It’s quickly getting down to a few-horse race (Chris Richardson, Blake, maybe Phil), so it’ll be good to get to the co-ed shows, as many of these men are just grist for the pop music mill.
Veronica Mars: This season’s second case (who shot the Dean?) closed with a whatever. The campus rape case wasn’t great, but at least you cared about whodunit. The twist in this one unfortunately involved finding out that it wasn’t one unlikeable character responsible, but several. The Logan/Veronica relationship is the main thing keeping this show going. Here’s hoping the standalone eps help.
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? After an awkward intro on American Idol, Jeff Foxworthy re-emerged from redneck jokes to host a game show where stupid adults match wits with smarmy children. It’s marginally amusing to watch contestants struggle with grade-school questions, but mostly just points out that everything we learned at that age was worthless. I’d say Pass, but – Fail. And Worst. Theme. Song. Ever.
Amazing Race: All-Stars: After whipping around the world 10 times, this show went the retro route, bringing back teams you loved and teams you loved to hate. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to raise this show out of the rut it’s been in for years. It’s still a lot of waiting in airports and missing cabs, and exotic destinations don’t deliver much impact.
6 comments:
Geo - welcome back! How was New York? Did you come back with any cool toys?
Question of the day: In your title, "Say it Ain't So, Geo" Is "Geo" supposed to be prounonced "Jee-Oh" or "Joe"?
Good to be back, Valerie. Had a great time in NY – stayed in a hip hotel, ate myself silly, and scored a few of the new Transformers toys before their release.
Oh, and it's Jee-Oh. Like the ill-fated line of cheap cars.
Blog that trip. Let's hear more.
Good to know, "Jee-Oh"
I'm with Phil...details, we want details. I love NYC.
And what disguise do your new Transformers have? Are they really more than meets the eye?
I've heard good things about that black donnellsys
"Smarter than a Fifth Grader" does have a horrible theme song, but man is it catchy!!! I find myself humming it, singing it, thinking that I'm singing it...while in the shower, at work, doing the dishes, riding the elevator...it's horrible!
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