New TV Scorecard: Franklin & Bash

There are, as it turns out, quite a few new series premiering this summer that I want to check out. I thought it might be fun to give each new show a quick rating once it's premiere has aired.

The summer season kicked off last night with the premiere of TNT's Franklin & Bash. TNT brings us a lighter lawyer drama (gee, who would have imagined we be getting a new lawyer drama this season? *insert eye-roll here*) in the vein of Boston Legal and The Defenders starring television vets Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. There is a true glut of law drama out there on television these days, even during the summer seasons, and if it wasn't for my love of both of the leads, I would probably have passed this up. But the casting genie struck again and so here we are.

Overall I found it mostly pretty enjoyable. There wasn't anything terribly innovative or unique about it, but it puts together the many tropes about funny lawyer shows together fairly well. Add to that a pretty impressive cast and it has potential. I definitely would like to see some of the more ridiculous elements toned down a bit going forward--look, I don't mind a random shot of MPG's naked behind, I am only human, but it was terribly unnecessary to the story. There was no real apparent reason for him to have actually been naked in that hot tub, other than as a "shock" factor.

The basic plot is that Gosselaar and Meyer play two oddball and underdog attorneys whose strange, yet often successful, antics attract the attention of the senior partner of a prestigious law firm. He drafts them to come work for him, to invigorate his practice. They clash with some of the more stick-in-the mud (and less scrupulous) employees of the new establishment. Now they must try to find their way among the big leagues whilst still maintaining their heart and integrity, and without conforming. Yada, yada, yada.

Like I said, not so much original, but amusing. There seems to be a pretty outstanding chemistry between Gosselaar and Meyer.  I totally buy that they have been friends since childhood. Here is a bromance of epic proportions in the making. Reed Diamond, who put in lovely turns on Journeyman and Dollhouse makes an excellent foil to the goofy pairing of the leads.

If the show can even out and stop trying so hard to be "cool" then it could turn out to be a really fun romp. Definitely more The Defenders and less Boston Legal, please.

Things I would like to see by the end of the season:

1. Stop trying to be so "in your face." I think someone behind the scenes believes they were shooting a show for MTV or something. Just because these guys are partying and hanging out naked in hot tubs and having random hook-ups with new coworkers doesn't mean it needs to be portrayed so...crassly.
2. Likewise, let's cut out a little of the cartoonish nature. These are adults, it is okay if they behave that way. Yes, lawyers can cut loose and have fun, but that doesn't mean they should be acting like college kids. It also means that the dominatrix being charged with prostitution should not show up for her first day in court looking like, well, a hooker. 
3. Please tone down or just get rid of Gosselaar's character's crush on his old flame. I can see this being his big character "development" and I just really hope I am wrong. Unless said development is him accepting that she has moved on and doing likewise, I am really not interested. I have seen it a million times already (with this same actor, even). It has been done to death, and it is lazy writing. Let's just skip it, okay?

I will keep watching for now. It is Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, of course I will keep watching. Hopefully the show can find its legs quickly and will outlast many of these actors' other attempts at series. There is great potential here, this could be a wondrous quirky, amusing, entertaining show, if everybody will just calm down a teeny bit and refrain from going overboard with the stories and characters.

First impression rating: 7/10 (and a pair of swimming trunks for MPG).

Another Goodbye

[Note: I am pretty sure this posted last week, but I guess with Blogger's issues it got reverted back to a draft, so reposting now.]

Wow, this is not a good week for television I like, apparently.

News broke yesterday that Fox has not renewed Human Target for a third season. Well, what the reports are actually saying is that it has been canceled, but I beg to differ here. I think that's some sites just trying to stir people up. There is a difference between cancellation and not renewing, and while it may be negligible, it is still there, so let's call it what it is, okay?

Anyway.

I wish I could say I am surprised by this news, I really do. But I'm not. Who is? Even those of us who loved this show (me!me!me!) could see that Fox was struggling to find a place for it on the network. The ratings were not great, and the constantly changing time slots didn't really help either. But that's just the way Fox does things, and I do think they gave it a fair chance. Much like with Dollhouse, I was amazed and grateful it got a second season at all. So I can't complain too much that after that second season

That doesn't mean I am happy about the news by any stretch of the imagination. It was far and away my favorite show currently airing on television, and I will be very sad to see it go. It certainly won't leave the void that Stargate Universe has left. Still, there will be the sense that something is missing, and I wish we could have gotten a season three.

I know it is based on a series of comic books. I also know that the show heavily tuned down the actual supernatural/science fictional aspect of the comic books. I think they might be worth checking out though.

I will also eagerly look forward to whatever Mark Valley decides to do next. I have to admit, his presence in the starring role of the series was one of the reasons I was disinclined to give Human Target a chance when I first heard about it (and wow I am so very glad I changed my mind). Even his part in the early days of Fringe wasn't enough to erase from my memory his turn as a smug, self-satisfied, creep of a guy on Boston Legal.* But as Christopher Chance he completely managed to blow me away. Dude's got some range, ya'll. Acting!

Sigh. My poor DVD shelves are littered with one- and two-season television series that I so deeply loved but that just couldn't cut it in the network world. One day the system will be ready to nurture and sustain this kind of brilliance as a matter of course, as opposed to the few shows that miraculously slip through the cracks and make it. But that day is not today I fear.

Goodbye Human Target. Thanks for being so spectacularly awesome. I'll see you again when you make your way to my DVD collection, I am sure.

*Sidebar: I have absolutely no idea how I was able to stand watching Boston Legal at all, truth be told. There were no good people on that show, I swear. They were all horrible excuses for human beings. Yet somehow, I stumbled across it a few seasons from the end and could not look away. Go figure. But dude, Mark Valley's character was one of the worst, I swear.

Another Goodbye

Wow, this is not a good week for television I like, apparently.

News broke yesterday that Fox has not renewed Human Target for a third season. Well, what the reports are actually saying is that it has been canceled, but I beg to differ here. I think that's some sites just trying to stir people up. There is a difference between cancellation and not renewing, and while it may be negligible, it is still there, so let's call it what it is, okay?

Anyway.

I wish I could say I am surprised by this news, I really do. But I'm not. Who is? Even those of us who loved this show (me!me!me!) could see that Fox was struggling to find a place for it on the network. The ratings were not great, and the constantly changing time slots didn't really help either. But that's just the way Fox does things, and I do think they gave it a fair chance. Much like with Dollhouse, I was amazed and grateful it got a second season at all. So I can't complain too much that after that second season won't be getting any more.

That doesn't mean I am happy about the news by any stretch of the imagination. It was far and away my favorite show currently airing on television, and I will be very sad to see it go. It certainly won't leave the void that Stargate Universe has left. Still, there will be the sense that something is missing, and I wish we could have gotten a season three.

I know it is based on a series of comic books. I also know that the show heavily tuned down the actual supernatural/science fictional aspect of the comic books. I think they might be worth checking out though.

I will also eagerly look forward to whatever Mark Valley decides to do next. I have to admit, his presence in the starring role of the series was one of the reasons I was disinclined to give Human Target a chance when I first heard about it (and wow I am so very glad I changed my mind). Even his part in the early days of Fringe wasn't enough to erase from my memory his turn as a smug, self-satisfied, creep of a guy on Boston Legal.* But as Christopher Chance he completely managed to blow me away. Dude's got some range, ya'll. Acting!**

Sigh. My poor DVD shelves are littered with one- and two-season television series that I so deeply loved but that just couldn't cut it in the network world. One day the system will be ready to nurture and sustain this kind of brilliance as a matter of course, as opposed to the few shows that miraculously slip through the cracks and make it. But that day is not today I fear.

Goodbye Human Target. Thanks for being so spectacularly awesome. I'll see you again when you make your way to my DVD collection, I am sure.

*Sidebar: I have absolutely no idea how I was able to stand watching Boston Legal at all, truth be told. There were no good people on that show, I swear. They were all horrible excuses for human beings. Yet somehow, I stumbled across it a few seasons from the end and could not look away. Go figure. But dude, Mark Valley's character was one of the worst, I swear.

**Said in my best John Lovitz voice.

I Don't Know What the Heck Is Going On...

...but I really, really don't like it.  Okay, this post is about television, which I watch way too much of.  I know this.  But it is what I do.  It is what it is.

I was just starting to figure out the new schedule for the shows I watch now that the holidays are over and shows seem to be starting up again with new episodes or settling into new timeslots and whatnot, and this week has thrown a big ol' wrench in the works.  Grumble grumble.

First, Tuesday night there was a new episode of No Ordinary Family that aired on ABC.  Now, this is far from my favorite show, but it is still fun, and until Glee comes back from hiatus, I can watch it live, which I have kind of been digging.  But.  For some reason, my local affiliate decided that instead of airing the new episode of No Ordinary Family on Tuesday, they were instead going to air "Good Morning Texas After Dark," an hour of the local morning show people talking about fashion during prime time.  What the heezy?  This wasn't even No Ordinary Family's first week back from break--who had this brilliant idea?  It is all the more annoying because the show did air everywhere else.  Yes, I know, I know, I can watch it online, but frankly, that's kind of a pain in the butt for me to do right now, because my time on the computer is limited to when the baby is asleep or watching Super Why, and I have other stuff to do besides try to watch television on it.  Besides, there is a reason we bought a humongous television--and it wasn't so I could watch television on my much smaller computer screen.  Sigh.  I emailed the affiliate and very politely asked if and when they are planning to air the episode (I worked at a cable company for over seven years, almost two of them spent in correspondence, you can bet your bottom I was polite, I know what kind of ire that kind of thing can invoke and how easily most people can go off the rails about it to people who had no control over the decision).  They responded quickly and just as politely to let me know it will run at 3 a.m. this Saturday morning.  Great, thank you.  My DVR is set.  I don't have to watch it on my computer, hurray!

Now, if this had been the only incident, I could chalk it up to a fluke.  But last night.  Last night.  Oh man.  First off, I was super jazzed because from seven to ten, miracle of miracles, I had three shows scheduled to come on, one after another, with no conflicting shows, and that was it.  Perfect.  Two of those were new episodes of Human Target, which, I have recently realized, truly is my absolute favorite television show that is still on the air (all time fave props still go to Stargate Atlantis), and then there was finally going to be a new episode of The Defenders, which I really enjoy despite myself and never get to watch live.

Dinner time ran a little past seven, but I wasn't worried because that is what DVRs are for.  So at 7:20 I sat down and fired up Human Target to find...an episode of Raising Hope.  What??  Pull up the guide and it says that Human Target is what is currently on Fox, from 7 to 9.  Um...okay.  Fast forwarded through everything recorded up to the live footage, just in case something ran over, but nope.  After Raising Hope came the coverage of the Arizona shootings memorial.  Oh.  Okay.  Well, I get it.  That is something that it makes sense to preempt a show for.  I'm disappointed, because I was honestly really psyched about Human Target, but maybe it is just going to start late.  I go to Fox's website to see if there is anything about the rescheduled time, but nope, it says that Human Target is a two hour special event from 7-9.  Hmmm.  I remember that when I turned the television on, an episode of Big Bang Theory was playing on CBS, so I flip back to that.  The guide says "Live to Dance" is currently airing on CBS.  Um...no it's not.  Then that other comedy that I don't watch comes on when BBT is over, but the guide still says dancing.  It also says that The Defenders is still set to come on at 9, but now I am skeptical, because the commercials I catch on CBS while I am flipping around say that the Dance show is up next, but nothing about The Defenders or the show that the guide says is supposed to be on at 8.  Seriously, what the heck is going on here?

Fox, I get, actually.  It was a last minute thing and they put some filler in around the special coverage.  Makes sense.  Their website now says that the Human Target episodes will be rescheduled soon.  I've got my DVR set to record every ep now, so in case I miss the announcement and they come on at 3 in the morning, it should still catch them.  It looks like they did tweet beforehand that the show would be preempted, but I of course did not get that.  Oh Twitter, how I loathe you.  The guide not catching the last-minute changes also makes sense, because, well, last-minute.  I mean, if even Fox's website didn't show the change until halfway through, then the guide is excused.  But I do not understand what was going on with CBS.  They didn't air any coverage of the memorial, so why was their schedule all farked?  It looks like the memorial went from 7:30 to a bit after 8, so CBS wasn't moving their show to a time where it wasn't against the special on the other network.  Around 10 I checked out what was recorded in my buffer and it looks like The Defenders did come on, but it started about 20 minutes late.  I hastily flipped over to CBS and hit record so I could catch the end of the episode.  Sigh.

It just seems to me that in this day and age it is hard enough for networks to get people to sit down in front of their televisions to watch a show live.  Screwing around with the time at the last minute, and not making sure that people are well aware of it (or keeping the guides updated so that the DVRs can catch the moved episode) seems like a monumentally stupid idea.  That's all I am saying.

I realize these are petty concerns.  I do.  But still.  I needed to vent a bit.  I am a creature of routine.  I get really really cranky when my routines are screwed with (just ask Hubby).  I am learning to be more flexible about changes to the routine--it is a necessity of parenthood--but a little notice would be nice.  It doesn't help when the change in the routine is also a disappointment in its own right.  Also, I am a little bit irked because I came very close to missing an ep of No Ordinary Family, and I probably did miss a bit of The Defenders, and neither of these are shows that I am going to get on DVD.  It is annoying.

But, on a happier note, the lack of anything new airing at a predictable time Tuesday night and last night meant that I burned through a lot more episodes of season two of Dollhouse, which I started watching this past weekend.  I am now officially past the halfway point of the season.  Four episodes to go.  I had forgotten how incredibly intense and amazing those last few episodes were.  Wow!  Such an amazing show.  Part of me wishes it could have gone on for a couple more seasons, because there were definitely some hints at stories I would have wanted to see developed down the road.  But honestly, I am okay with the short run of the series, because it was concluded in such an amazing fashion.  I won't call it satisfactory, because I think there was too much bad stuff that went down at the end to call it a happy ending.  But I don't feel in any way gypped.  A shorter story arc, when allowed to be given a start and a middle and an end, which this series had, comes away so much tighter and more intense.  The Brits figured this out a long time ago. I wish the networks here could grasp that concept.

But they apparently don't even know what they are airing any more, so...yeah.