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New shows on ABC and CBS

By Jonathan Krieger

The philosophy at Viewers Voice is that we’re viewers, not TV critics. So, while we typically receive a full suite of new shows to preview from the networks, it’s not our business to badmouth any of them. Of course, the telltale result is that I’m often left with very little to say. A lot of times, watching pilots, you ask yourself, who thought this was a good idea?

New shows on ABC

Which is a good lead-in to Cavemen. This show caused me a lot of pain, mostly because my mother was a lot less interested in watching it than I, and spent half the show shouting for me to turn it off. This is the story of a caveman, his brother, and his pal. The show is based on the Geico “so easy a caveman can do it” commercials. It was a lot like watching the commercial, except that it didn’t end as quickly. There are a lot of great character actors in the show; it’s always fun to try to guess if I’m recognizing someone from Star Trek, Freaks and Geeks (those guys are everywhere these days), or 80’s action TV fare. This show is good for that. The writing had potential, once they finish with the never-ending jokes about anti-cavemen stereotypes. At the least, Cavemen answers the age-old question, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if this commercial went on for 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds?” I’ll withhold my answer.

Carpoolers is about… wait for it… four guys who carpool. It has a nice cast, including Jerry O'Connell (Crossing Jordan) and Faith Ford (Murphy Brown). It really is about carpooling. Did I mention the cast being good? It was cute, and it was definitely not a family show.

On the other end of the spectrum is Sam I Am (which may now be named Samantha Who?—these things can change a lot before they air). Christina Applegate (Married with Children) plays Sam, who awakens from a coma with no memory of her life. She seems like a nice girl (especially when played by Christina Applegate, who brings a lot to the role), so some of the offhanded remarks made by the people she meets seem really odd. In the course of a series of awkward conversations and meeting her horrible friends, we discover that Sam was an exceptionally unpleasant person. It’s a lot of fun to see Sam’s friends, family, and boyfriend try to adjust to (or simply, to adjust) this new, nice girl. The show features Jean Smart, who did an amazing job as the First Lady on 24. And of course, I spotted Tim Russ as the doorman (Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager). I wish there had been a second episode; this is a show where you’re curious what they’re going to cook up next.

As much as I enjoyed this show, the dramas are really (forgive the poor play on words) where the action is, starting with Women’s Murder Club (or, Murder Club). Given the title, you might correctly guess that my mom enjoyed it more than I. It’s based on a series of novels by James Patterson (“Along Came a Spider”; also, you may curse him without knowing it, whenever you hear his slogan “I’m a Toys R Us Kid” in your head). The show is about four women who cooperate to solve crimes: homicide detective Lindsay Boxer (Angie Harmon, Law and Order), district attorney Jill Bernhardt (Laura Harris, Dead Like Me, though I think of her from 24), medical examiner Claire Washburn (Paula Newsome, who’s been in everything, most recently Heroes), and rookie reporter Cindy Thomas (Aubrey Dollar, who you may know from Guiding Light). I’m pretty CSI’ed out, so it’s not my thing, but my mom enjoyed it and she’ll check it out when it airs. The story was really engaging, and the cast was solid. It should make for a great show, if ABC lets it develop and audience.

I was on my way back to the UK, so I couldn’t give Big Shots the attention it deserved. It’s about four executive types, four guys who are really close. It has a great cast: Michael Vartan (Alias), Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Josh Malina (The West Wing), and Christopher Titus (Titus). Titus injected a lot of comedy into the show, and of course, McDermott has a huge presence (as he has in real life; we met him on a Viewers Voice visit to The Practice). The pilot episode had a very non-family-friendly story about a guy trying to cover up a night with a transvestite prostitute. It was great entertainment though; I was definitely drawn in, and I’d probably catch another episode, to see where they go with it.

Dirty Sexy Money had a great cast. Mind boggling, in fact. Peter Krause (Six Feet Under – a great show that my mom had only just introduced me to days before) plays a lawyer who is drawn in to working for (more appropriately, taking care of) the thoroughly bizarre Darling family, which includes William Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh, and Donald Sutherland. It definitely reminded me of Arrested Development; I’m sure this was intentional. This is easily one of the best of the shows I’ve seen. Like a lot of great shows, this will have to work to build an audience; there were a lot of stories to follow. The entire family is dysfunctional (e.g., the priest who’s trying to get his son into a top school without actually admitting that the “fatherless” boy is his), and they rely completely on their lawyer to sort things out. We also see Krause’s character as a boy, kept on the outside yet always a part of the Darling family, because of his father’s role in their lives. It’s definitely worth a watch, at least for a few weeks to see where it goes (I seem to be saying that a lot).

Finally, Pushing Daisies. From the first shot, this looked like a Tim Burton film (e.g., Edward Scissorhands), with brilliant, saturated colors and unreal, cartoonish landscapes. In one of the Burtonesque moments, a woman wears a nightgown that precisely matches her wallpaper. It’s hard to describe the story – I don’t want to spoil any of it for you, because it’s magical, like a kid’s storybook (albeit a slightly twisted one). As the title suggests, it’s about death, and the main character’s relationship with it. It was actually a lot of fun to watch with my mom. I think we used every variant of “Oooh” and “oh”, as the show continually teased us with things that looked bad becoming good, and wonderful things turning, suddenly, horribly wrong (hence, “oh, no” something awful is coming, “Oh! Yay” it’s okay, “Oh!” didn’t see that coming, and “OH!” that’s so much worse!). This is a show that involves the audience. Two of the characters couldn’t touch one another. For half of the show, they were right next to one another, in situations where you were hoping they’d touch, and at the same time squirming in your seat and waving your arms at them, “No!”, recognizing the show is teasing you and loving it at the same time. Pushing Daisies stars Lee Pace as Ned, British actress Anna Friel as childhood love interest Chuck, and Chi McBride as the investigator that makes use of Ned’s gift (which I’m not going to tell you about). It’s not exactly a kids’ show, but if you have any little ones that like to dress in black and prefer rainy days to sunny ones, they’re not going to blink when this show is on. The twisted humor permeates the entire show; e.g., the lead is really good at making pies, and he owns a restaurant called “The Pie Hole.” And I can’t even being to explain the two sisters, one of whom is played by Swoosie Kurtz. You’re just going to have to watch the show.

New shows on CBS

CBS has delivered some amazing shows this year. First off is The Big Bang Theory from writers/producers Chuck Lorre (Two And A Half Men) and Bill Prady (Gilmore Girls). These shows are both incredibly addictive, so I hope this one takes as well. I say this as a geek afraid that the show may be too nerdy for the mainstream: it’s a comedy about two socially inept scientists and the beautiful girl that moves in next door. The scientists, Leonard and Sheldon, are played by Johnny Galecki (Roseanne) and Jim Parsons (Judging Amy), and their neighbor Penny is played by Kaley Cuoco from 8 Simple Rules (she could be playing the same character, really). The things that my mother and I got the biggest kicks from also worry me for the broader audience. When Penny comes over to their apartment, Leonard and Sheldon engage in dueling whiteboards, criticizing equations that they’ve written on boards on opposite ends of the living room. I’ve done this sort of thing, so I was laughing out loud the whole time. Sheldon, who is even more socially awkward than Leonard, then creates a hilarious but extremely uncomfortable scene when Penny sits in his spot. When she steps out of the room, he explains at length the many factors that lead to identifying that particular couch cushion as the ideal place to sit, and it never occurs to him, as it would a normal male, that you should let the pretty neighbor sit wherever she wants. When their friends show up, things get even more bizarre and hopelessly nerdy. It could’ve become uncomfortable for the viewer, but Cuoco manages to pull off a perfect smile; maybe Kaley is used to guys falling apart around her, so none of it fazes her in the least. I really hope this show sticks around. I don’t know if it will be true of the series, but the pilot was directed by James Burrows (Will and Grace). I’d like to think this means CBS is investing in the show.

Cane. It’s so hard to summarize this show. This is another one I rushed to watch before getting on a plane, and another one where I wish they’d sent a second episode. Imagine that you’ve gone to see a fantastic movie, but then you can see the sequel next week, and another the week after that. I can only hope they can keep up the quality on this show, but even a few weeks would be incredible. This is the story of a Cuban family in Florida, running a rum business, facing outside pressure over the cane fields they own and operate. Kids would probably find this show incredibly dull, which is good, because it gets pretty brutal. What they’d find dull is the very authentic portrayal of human failings, a father who won’t pass his company on to his son, knowing he’d milk it for whatever quick cash he could get, and the adopted son who’s been through some of the darkest events in the family’s past. The adopted son is played by Jimmy Smits, who really portrays the pressure of taking over for his adopted father, putting out a strong face for his family while he makes arrangements to protect them from the darker side of the company business. Like all pilots, it had a great cast, including Hector Elizondo, who gives a deep, honest performance as the patriarch, and Rita Moreno as his wife. Given the networks’ proclivity for impatience, I hope that, in this case, they are trying to attract a Hispanic audience, and because of this they’ll give it a bit more time to draw in viewers. Definitely try to catch the first couple episodes.

We generally don’t talk about reality TV, but the fact is, we all watch an awful lot of it. They only shared an extended trailer, but I must say, Kid Nation caught my attention. In this show, kids aged 8 to 15 are put completely in charge of their own city, a Western ghost town. It’s not quite Lord of the Flies (though there seemed to be Pig on a Stick potential, for sure). There was a whole lot of crying, as you’d expect, but there were also kids speaking eloquently and taking charge. It’s produced by Tom Forman (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), who excels at tugging at the heartstrings. So, watch at your own risk.

All in all, looks like there are plenty of good shows to watch. Since I live in London, I guess I’ll get to see them in the summer of 2008. Ah, well. At least I have three channels of CSI. They seem to love their American cop shows over here. That, and Friends. But, that’s another story.