Here's our weekly run down of new shows:
American Guns, 2011, 1 season, reality
Hounds, 2012, 1 season, gritty sitcom
And one new season added:
Cold Blood, 2010, added season 5 (3 seasons total), TV documentaries
I decided to take a shot at Hounds. A British comedy (?) that takes place in the world of dog racing. I can think of absolutely no good reason why, but dog racing has always seemed like a shifty world to me, so I was interested to explore it a little more.
The show opens with Marty (Mick Innes) helping his employer, David, into the back of his van to take him to the hospital. "You'll be fine," he assures him. The camera then cuts to Marty and his friends pall bearing a coffin. As Marty sees David's daughter (Susana Tang) weeping, he lets go of the casket to reassure her, letting his corner of the coffin drop askew.
"Sorry, my heads so full of tears I can't think straight," he excuses himself.
"Maybe blow your nose," she shoots back.
He does. This is Mr. Bean, except he doesn't laugh at himself. And for me, that makes all the difference. Without Marty laughing at himself, I have to do it for him. Do I feel bad laughing at such a hapless man? I do. But I laugh anyway.
The protagonist, unfortunately, is Will (Toby Sharpe), David's estranged son. Will is willed David's house and guardianship over his half-sister. In contrast to Marty's earnest dullard, Will is a heartless defense attorney, best around. Marty actually knows and cares for the sister, Lily, so Will keeps him around. And we're off. This is basically The Odd Couple, a familiar sitcom trope. We've got the dumb good-guy, and the smart bad-guy, and they have to live together. Just to keep it fresh this show has a twist of an Asian half-sister.
The ensemble works. Sure it's basically throwing a couple of cliches at each other and seeing what sticks, but this does stick. It's funny, and irreverent. Occasionally broad, but mostly subtle and digging. The world the show is built in is strange. Like Arrested Development strange, so I look forward to exploring around.
Conclusion: Middle of the queue
Friday, April 12, 2013
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Good Luck Charlie
Since the last time we got together Netflix has added two new TV shows.
A.N.T Farm-A Disney Chanel show
Hardcover Mysteries-A documentary style show that talks about the real life mysteries behind popular fiction
Since neither of those appealed to me, I thought I'd flip the script a little bit. So we have our first "Last Chance!" Good Luck Charlie will expire on May 2nd, and since there is only two seasons, I suppose you could catch up if you wanted.
"Good Luck Charlie" takes off as the Mom of 9 month old Charlie is about to start back at work. The implications of Charlie's addition to the family are still strangely stark considering she's been around for nine months. Charlie has three siblings, Teddy, who is surprised she has to cancel her study date so she can help babysit, Gabe who claims that Charlie's addition as the youngest "ruined his life," and PJ who is played as being so oblivious he probably doesn't realize he has a baby sister yet.
The show is narrated by a series of home videos by Teddy to her older brother Charlie, which was the only highlight. The show plays to such obvious jokes, as a study date which everyone thinks is romantically motivated. Teddy's date in fact sinks to such levels that he stretches his arm, and then puts it around her. The teenage son has an off pitch garage band. Dad, Bob, fell down the stairs and hurt his butt.
"Good Luck Charlie" is a sitcom for children because they're the only ones who haven't seen these familiar tropes already. It was cute, and aside from my artistic sensibilities it was completely inoffensive, but without an 8 year old in the house, it just isn't for me.
Conclusion: Off the queue
A.N.T Farm-A Disney Chanel show
Hardcover Mysteries-A documentary style show that talks about the real life mysteries behind popular fiction
Since neither of those appealed to me, I thought I'd flip the script a little bit. So we have our first "Last Chance!" Good Luck Charlie will expire on May 2nd, and since there is only two seasons, I suppose you could catch up if you wanted.
"Good Luck Charlie" takes off as the Mom of 9 month old Charlie is about to start back at work. The implications of Charlie's addition to the family are still strangely stark considering she's been around for nine months. Charlie has three siblings, Teddy, who is surprised she has to cancel her study date so she can help babysit, Gabe who claims that Charlie's addition as the youngest "ruined his life," and PJ who is played as being so oblivious he probably doesn't realize he has a baby sister yet.
The show is narrated by a series of home videos by Teddy to her older brother Charlie, which was the only highlight. The show plays to such obvious jokes, as a study date which everyone thinks is romantically motivated. Teddy's date in fact sinks to such levels that he stretches his arm, and then puts it around her. The teenage son has an off pitch garage band. Dad, Bob, fell down the stairs and hurt his butt.
"Good Luck Charlie" is a sitcom for children because they're the only ones who haven't seen these familiar tropes already. It was cute, and aside from my artistic sensibilities it was completely inoffensive, but without an 8 year old in the house, it just isn't for me.
Conclusion: Off the queue
Monday, April 16, 2012
Lilyhammer
So I know "Lilyhammer" isn't particularly new to Netflix, it came out about two months ago, but it was the first Netflix original series, and so I wanted a chance to watch it. "Lilyhammer" is a social turning point for people like me who only watch Netflix, because rather than watching only those shows that have already been used up by others, I'm part of the exclusive club that gets to watch this new show. "Lilyhammer" certainly isn't the show I'll judge Netflix on, for it's new original programming venture, saving those judgments until I can see more anticipated shows like "House of Cards" or the "Arrested Development" reboot. "Lilyhammer" is a 45 minute dramedy, that premiered it's first 8 episodes all at once. Currently there are no stated plans to shoot more.
The show is essentially a simple fish out of water story. A New York City mafia member, decides to testify against his new boss, and goes under the witness protection program to rural Lilyhammer, Norway.
The morning after he arrives, Frank Tagliano opens his door to see a severed sheep's head, he begins to think that he had been found, just as a woman runs down the street because she had dropped her dinner for that night--that's about where this show was at for 45 minutes. Steven Van Zandt from "The Sopranos" makes the comedy work by playing his role with dead seriousness, but at the same time because he never makes a knowing wink to the ridiculousness of the scenario, the show's struggled to settle into a tone. By the end, however, the earnestness Van Zandt plays his character with makes the show charming, and despite the fact that the show features two cultures completely foreign to me clashing, relatable.
The show is slickly produced and the Norwegian settings are gorgeous, but the thick accents and regular subtitles do become distracting. The pacing, was slow enough that I found myself regularly tuning out of the show. It should be noted that Netflix does take ample advantage of producing this show outside of the FCC's jurisdiction. If you're looking for a safe family centered network program, this isn't the show for you. The show had some high points, but it didn't have the atmosphere for a drama, the laughs for a comedy or the energy for a dramedy. I know Netflix has the freedom to try out different types of shows because they don't have the pressure of immediately appealing to a target audience. For this show, however, I'm not sure that it will appeal to much audience at all.
Conclusion: Off the Queue
The show is essentially a simple fish out of water story. A New York City mafia member, decides to testify against his new boss, and goes under the witness protection program to rural Lilyhammer, Norway.
The morning after he arrives, Frank Tagliano opens his door to see a severed sheep's head, he begins to think that he had been found, just as a woman runs down the street because she had dropped her dinner for that night--that's about where this show was at for 45 minutes. Steven Van Zandt from "The Sopranos" makes the comedy work by playing his role with dead seriousness, but at the same time because he never makes a knowing wink to the ridiculousness of the scenario, the show's struggled to settle into a tone. By the end, however, the earnestness Van Zandt plays his character with makes the show charming, and despite the fact that the show features two cultures completely foreign to me clashing, relatable.
The show is slickly produced and the Norwegian settings are gorgeous, but the thick accents and regular subtitles do become distracting. The pacing, was slow enough that I found myself regularly tuning out of the show. It should be noted that Netflix does take ample advantage of producing this show outside of the FCC's jurisdiction. If you're looking for a safe family centered network program, this isn't the show for you. The show had some high points, but it didn't have the atmosphere for a drama, the laughs for a comedy or the energy for a dramedy. I know Netflix has the freedom to try out different types of shows because they don't have the pressure of immediately appealing to a target audience. For this show, however, I'm not sure that it will appeal to much audience at all.
Conclusion: Off the Queue
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Pitch
The Pitch, AMC's reality show based on actual ad agencies, not the 1960's one that usually brings attention to AMC, was added to Netflix just yesterday, April 12th. I almost didn't want to write about this one, since while it is technically a TV show, it is not actually premiering on AMC until April 30th, meaning the only currently available episode is the Pilot. Still my curiosity got the better of me. As you've noticed I'm a sucker for unique distribution channels, and there is no reason to believe that Netflix won't continue to carry the episodes so I thought I would give it a chance.
As a side note, with so many shows that I watch only on Netflix, I'm wondering when I can have a separate queue for TV shows I've caught up on, and only want to know when they get new episodes.
I was skeptical when the pilot began with this line, "The world is not kind to ad agencies. It will chew you up and spit you out if you're not competent." This doesn't sound to me like a unique problem to ad agencies, since it seems like the world is unkind to most incompetent businesses. The show feels more like a traditional documentary in style, but the substance of the show is actually a contrived game that reminded me of pre-celebrity versions of the Apprentice. Two advertising companies have seven days to put together a pitch to win an account. This week the account was with Subway. I'm not going to lie, having the contrived competition element to the show certainly makes it an easier, if less thoughtful watch for me.
The two companies represent the big city cutting edge "we want to do something you've never seen before" sentiment of WDCW from Los Angeles, who had previous experience working with Quiznos, and the small town McKinney agency from North Carolina that described themselves as a "family." So a little bit of culture war baiting going on.
The assignment was to get 18-24 year olds to eat breakfast at Subway. It was fun to see the inner workings and differences between the two offices, and my inner snob loved listening to the early bad ideas and criticizing them. As it went along, seeing the two visions come to life was exciting. WDCW settled on a campaign about zAMbies, or morning zombies, get it? McKinney had a youtube rapper compose a jingle.
I won't tell you who won, but the final decision managed to capture some real tension in the room, and I had grown attached enough to the two companies (I was rooting for McKinney) that I felt like I cared who won.
By the time the show was over, it already felt like an old reliable guilty pleasure. It may not be a show I'm excited to get home and watch, but I know it will dependably wind me down at the end of a long day.
Conclusion: Top of the Queue
As a side note, with so many shows that I watch only on Netflix, I'm wondering when I can have a separate queue for TV shows I've caught up on, and only want to know when they get new episodes.
I was skeptical when the pilot began with this line, "The world is not kind to ad agencies. It will chew you up and spit you out if you're not competent." This doesn't sound to me like a unique problem to ad agencies, since it seems like the world is unkind to most incompetent businesses. The show feels more like a traditional documentary in style, but the substance of the show is actually a contrived game that reminded me of pre-celebrity versions of the Apprentice. Two advertising companies have seven days to put together a pitch to win an account. This week the account was with Subway. I'm not going to lie, having the contrived competition element to the show certainly makes it an easier, if less thoughtful watch for me.
The two companies represent the big city cutting edge "we want to do something you've never seen before" sentiment of WDCW from Los Angeles, who had previous experience working with Quiznos, and the small town McKinney agency from North Carolina that described themselves as a "family." So a little bit of culture war baiting going on.
The assignment was to get 18-24 year olds to eat breakfast at Subway. It was fun to see the inner workings and differences between the two offices, and my inner snob loved listening to the early bad ideas and criticizing them. As it went along, seeing the two visions come to life was exciting. WDCW settled on a campaign about zAMbies, or morning zombies, get it? McKinney had a youtube rapper compose a jingle.
I won't tell you who won, but the final decision managed to capture some real tension in the room, and I had grown attached enough to the two companies (I was rooting for McKinney) that I felt like I cared who won.
By the time the show was over, it already felt like an old reliable guilty pleasure. It may not be a show I'm excited to get home and watch, but I know it will dependably wind me down at the end of a long day.
Conclusion: Top of the Queue
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Come Fly With Me
The full length episodes of the first series of the British Comedy "Come Fly with Me" has been available on Netflix for about two weeks. It is the most readily available the full episodes have been in the US, since when they aired on BBC America they were cut down 6 or 7 minutes each, in order to fit into a normal broadcast time slot. The show has been renewed for a second season that will air this fall.
The show is a mockumentary, apparently based on a couple of documentaries on Airports that had aired in Britain, I haven't seen either. Because virtually all of the characters are played by either Matt Lucas or David Walliams, including a number characters in black face and cross dressing, as a result the show often felt irreverent and at times even racist. Most of the humor was generated from the outrageous caricatures and their juxtaposition with the deadly serious voice over narrator. One of the characteristic moments was the owner explaining the new customer friendly and easy to use system of getting passengers credit card numbers to give them a life jacket. This is an absurdist humor, and definitely British and some people will get a huge kick out of it. In fact the show made me guffaw on a couple of occasions. The rest of the time though I was bored. The show has no through story, but is rather just a series of little vignettes. By the time the show was done I was glad to be done with it. If you love British Humor, give it a shot, but as for me...
Conclusion: Off the queue
The show is a mockumentary, apparently based on a couple of documentaries on Airports that had aired in Britain, I haven't seen either. Because virtually all of the characters are played by either Matt Lucas or David Walliams, including a number characters in black face and cross dressing, as a result the show often felt irreverent and at times even racist. Most of the humor was generated from the outrageous caricatures and their juxtaposition with the deadly serious voice over narrator. One of the characteristic moments was the owner explaining the new customer friendly and easy to use system of getting passengers credit card numbers to give them a life jacket. This is an absurdist humor, and definitely British and some people will get a huge kick out of it. In fact the show made me guffaw on a couple of occasions. The rest of the time though I was bored. The show has no through story, but is rather just a series of little vignettes. By the time the show was done I was glad to be done with it. If you love British Humor, give it a shot, but as for me...
Conclusion: Off the queue
Monday, April 9, 2012
Jane by Design
This was a slow weekend TV wise for Netflix, with not a single new TV show being added, but they've been a lot busier over the last week, so this should give me a good chance to do a little catch up.
On Friday Netflix began offering the first half of the ABC family show "Jane by Design." The release is significant because it is being offered before even the first entire season of episodes has aired on television. It is also significant because the first episodes only finished up a month ago. The TV to Netflix turn around time was especially quick.
The show acknowledges the amusing fact that almost all actors who play high school students look like they are in their mid 20's. The show uses a simple age mix up, because who knows their co-workers anymore, to get the main character, Jane, a job at fashion house, Donovan Decker. While the show also generates drama because Jane is socially backwards at her high school. In other words (Mach Ado About Nothing+Never Been Kissed)*The Devil Wears Prada. So the pilot felt like a paint by the numbers chick flick retread. That certainly doesn't mean it's irredeemable.
Andy McDowell plays the head of Donovan Decker like a poor man's Meryl Streep, while Erica Dasher, who play's Jane, does so in a confused bumbling sort of way that leaves me confused as to how anyone would have mistaken her as an employee. The pilot episode also introduces us to Jane's relationship with her brother Ben, her legal guardian since her father died, and her best friend Billy. Both of which she is permitted to have long dialogues with revealing her inward thoughts and feelings.
The bottom line is that "Jane by Design" is a TV teenage chick flick. It's not terrible, but it certainly won't get anywhere near my playlist again.
Conclusion: Off the queue
On Friday Netflix began offering the first half of the ABC family show "Jane by Design." The release is significant because it is being offered before even the first entire season of episodes has aired on television. It is also significant because the first episodes only finished up a month ago. The TV to Netflix turn around time was especially quick.
The show acknowledges the amusing fact that almost all actors who play high school students look like they are in their mid 20's. The show uses a simple age mix up, because who knows their co-workers anymore, to get the main character, Jane, a job at fashion house, Donovan Decker. While the show also generates drama because Jane is socially backwards at her high school. In other words (Mach Ado About Nothing+Never Been Kissed)*The Devil Wears Prada. So the pilot felt like a paint by the numbers chick flick retread. That certainly doesn't mean it's irredeemable.
Andy McDowell plays the head of Donovan Decker like a poor man's Meryl Streep, while Erica Dasher, who play's Jane, does so in a confused bumbling sort of way that leaves me confused as to how anyone would have mistaken her as an employee. The pilot episode also introduces us to Jane's relationship with her brother Ben, her legal guardian since her father died, and her best friend Billy. Both of which she is permitted to have long dialogues with revealing her inward thoughts and feelings.
The bottom line is that "Jane by Design" is a TV teenage chick flick. It's not terrible, but it certainly won't get anywhere near my playlist again.
Conclusion: Off the queue
Friday, April 6, 2012
Let's Big Happy
The last two days have added a lot of new TV shows on Netflix, though primarily children's shows. Here's the list:
The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, 2010, 2 seasons, Toddlers
Blue Water High, 2005, 3 seasons, Teen Drama
GI Joe: Renegades, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Jane by Design, 2012, 1 season, Dramedy
Johnny Test, 2005, 4 seasons, Cartoon
Ken Burns: Baseball, 1994, 1 season, Documentary
Lost Tapes, 2008, 3 seasons, Reality
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Pound Puppies, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Transformers Prime, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
World of Quest, 2008, 1 season, Cartoon
Netflix is one of several outlets where the new web series Let's Big Happy is premiering. All seven episodes of the first season came on line at once, last Wednesday and started on Netflix a week ago, March 30th. Let's Big Happy may push what we think of when we think of television, since each of the episodes only run eight to thirteen minutes, in fact the entire season is barely only an hour. As we start to move away network commercial television model, but also the basic cable model, I think we're going to be seeing more shows that tell their story in the amount of time they want to, rather than conforming to the twenty two and forty four minute templates. Since I'm often looking for something to fill those ten minutes before bed, or if I got ready to early, and need something to do as I wait for my wife to get ready, I thought a ten minute show may be right up my alley.
Each episode features a new band. These are actual bands that are looking to get some exposure through the show. The show's basic concept is that a music blogger, Olive, discovers these bands and tries to get them exposure through elaborate stunts. The fun of the show is watching Olive and the band pull off the stunts, while listening to some new music each week.
The problem is that the show must be sponsored by Taco Bell, so while watching what basically amounts to a commercial for a band, I get to be reminded that someone actually invented the Dorito Taco, several times. In fact the "stunt" for this episode involved driving people to the band by advertising "Free Tacos," although apparently Google wouldn't pony up since the show's internet searches happen on Goochle.
Angela Sarafyan who plays Olive, is just wacky enough that you would happily call her your friend, and inhibits the character with just the kind of energy you need to make an eight minute show work. At the end of the episode, the bottom line is I liked the show. It was fun, laid back and never took itself seriously. The next time I'm waiting to leave for dinner, I know exactly what I'll be doing.
Verdict: Put in in the Queue
The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, 2010, 2 seasons, Toddlers
Blue Water High, 2005, 3 seasons, Teen Drama
GI Joe: Renegades, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Jane by Design, 2012, 1 season, Dramedy
Johnny Test, 2005, 4 seasons, Cartoon
Ken Burns: Baseball, 1994, 1 season, Documentary
Lost Tapes, 2008, 3 seasons, Reality
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Pound Puppies, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
Transformers Prime, 2010, 1 season, Cartoon
World of Quest, 2008, 1 season, Cartoon
Netflix is one of several outlets where the new web series Let's Big Happy is premiering. All seven episodes of the first season came on line at once, last Wednesday and started on Netflix a week ago, March 30th. Let's Big Happy may push what we think of when we think of television, since each of the episodes only run eight to thirteen minutes, in fact the entire season is barely only an hour. As we start to move away network commercial television model, but also the basic cable model, I think we're going to be seeing more shows that tell their story in the amount of time they want to, rather than conforming to the twenty two and forty four minute templates. Since I'm often looking for something to fill those ten minutes before bed, or if I got ready to early, and need something to do as I wait for my wife to get ready, I thought a ten minute show may be right up my alley.
Each episode features a new band. These are actual bands that are looking to get some exposure through the show. The show's basic concept is that a music blogger, Olive, discovers these bands and tries to get them exposure through elaborate stunts. The fun of the show is watching Olive and the band pull off the stunts, while listening to some new music each week.
The problem is that the show must be sponsored by Taco Bell, so while watching what basically amounts to a commercial for a band, I get to be reminded that someone actually invented the Dorito Taco, several times. In fact the "stunt" for this episode involved driving people to the band by advertising "Free Tacos," although apparently Google wouldn't pony up since the show's internet searches happen on Goochle.
Angela Sarafyan who plays Olive, is just wacky enough that you would happily call her your friend, and inhibits the character with just the kind of energy you need to make an eight minute show work. At the end of the episode, the bottom line is I liked the show. It was fun, laid back and never took itself seriously. The next time I'm waiting to leave for dinner, I know exactly what I'll be doing.
Verdict: Put in in the Queue
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