Unlucky Louie

I wanted to like HBO's first sitcom "Lucky Louie." I really did. I saw star Louis C.K. interviewed on "The Daily Show" and was cracking up at his jokes about his kids. This guy had a twisted view on domestic life - like male Roseanne Barr.

Louie is a part-time auto-mechanic who is constantly struggling to make ends meet and to make amends with his family, nurse Kim and daughter Lucy. Louie's co-worker Mike and his wife Tina (Laura Kightlinger) never seem to face the same problems with money or sex. And Louie's attempts to befriend the African-American family that moved in across the hall, usually ends up with racist jokes and Louie offending them.

The concept of the show is great; film in front of a live studio audience and mercilessly mock every traditional sitcom convention. Instead the joke quickly runs thin. It's one thing to point out how unfunny sitcom humor can be; it's another not to bring new jokes to the genre.

The best part of the show is the underrated Pamela S. Adlon, who plays Louie's frustrated wife Kim. She was the best part of the horrible movie "Bed of Roses" with Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson and is best known for her voice-over work ("King of the Hill"). She is also the one person in "Lucky Louie" who can act. Some of the most unintentionally funny parts of the show comes from watching her act while her co-stars stumble over lines.

As is the case with most sitcoms these days, Louis C.K. is using his show as a way to showcase his stand-up and the routines of his nightclub friends. Jim Norton, Rick Shapiro - all funny at Caroline's after the 2 drink minimum, look and sound awkward in front of multiple cameras when they can't pace around a stage with a mic. And the rants about drugs and sex that cause drunk college kids to explode with laughter don't translate to a sitcom format.

Delivering few laughs, "Lucky Louie" is missing an opportunity to rip into traditional sitcoms that hasn't been done since "Roseanne." And with an average of 1-3 laughs per episode, I'm better off watching a re-run of "Roseanne" on Lifetime.

Excuses, excuses

I have plenty of excuses for why I stopped posting to my blog in March. I was sick after our spring break trip to Ireland. I had finals to take and to grade. I had my thesis to write and rewrite and rewrite again. I had to find an apartment in NYC. I had to pack my fabulous South Campus apartment. I graduated. I moved. I needed to find a job. Oh and of course I needed to plan my wedding - I GOT ENGAGED to my long long long term boyfriend Connor!!! But now that is all behind me (aside from actually getting married). Thesis is done and yahoooooo - I got an A! Grad school is all done, I'm back in NYC, gainfully employed and the wedding plans are coming along so easily it makes me wonder why all those crazy girls are on "Bridezilla." So I am going to do my best to start blogging again but instead of just posting articles, it will be more like this, train of thought musings on TV, movies, and plays.

I am so thrilled to be back in New York with this amazing arts scene. Of course the summer is a weak time for TV (aside from "Rescue me," but that's a separate entry). Instead we've been keeping busy watching movies taped to the DVR (we got two this time - one for each room - I think it may be the key to a happy marriage). This past week we went to see "Spring Awakening" down at the Altantic Theater is Chelsea. In a few weeks is "7 Guitars." Every week I read the New Yorker and circle all the exhibits, plays, movies etc. that I want to see. We're even trying to work in some dance performances for me.

Anyway, I'm going to watch the first season of "Rescue Me" so I have all the background before I criticize it (and there is plenty to criticize). It's about 100 degrees out and I don't intend to move from the couch except to get italian ices from the freezer.

ABC show bombs with overdramatic relationships

"What About Brian" tries to be a male version of "Grey's Anatomy," but fails because it focuses on a male character as the lead role. The other characters are unsympathetic, the dialogue is forced and the dramatic scenes are predictable.

The reason everyone is asking about Brian (Barry Watson) is because he's single. At 34. Heaven forbid. Brian decides he's in love with his best friend Adam's (Matt Davis) fiancée Marjorie (Sarah Lancaster). Brian's sister Nic (Rosanna Arquette) is trying to have a baby with her Italian hubby. And Brian's business partner Dave (Rick Gomez) is married with kids to Deena, a stay-at-home mom. Everyone wants Brian to get married so he is no longer the seventh wheel, even though all of these couples are unhappy.

Having a male character as the focus of a show about relationships doesn't work, and there is no appeal in watching a 34-year-old man acting like a neurotic teenage boy. No wonder he's single when he can't even break up with the girl he only started dating two weeks earlier. If the audience had a reason to accept Brian's reluctance to mature, he might be more likeable, but two episodes in, he merely seems pathetic.

Brian's friends aren't much better. Brian and Adam make a juvenile pact to break up with their girlfriends. Instead, Adam decides to propose the day after he dumped Marjorie because "she was stellar. She was like a guy. She was stoic." Sounds like a good reason to get married, especially since Marjorie kisses Brian while Adam is away. Deena suggests an open marriage to Dave, who is the best character on the show. He is devastated by the idea and spirals downward into self-doubt and jealousy. Why exactly he doesn't tell his wife of 13 years he doesn't like the idea isn't made clear.

The dialogue is overdramatic and unrealistic. After kissing Marjorie, Brian dramatically asks Dave, "Do you ever have a day where you question every decision you've ever made in your life?" Just as gravely, Dave answers him, "Yeah. Every day."

Deena justifies her desire to sleep with a yoga instructor by telling Dave, "It's about us giving each other a gift. Gift of an adventure. Without lying. Without losing each other."

Brian is always put into predictable situations that are boring to watch. While showering at a girl's apartment, her roommate walks in, thinking he is her roommate. Rather than tell her he's in the shower, he awkwardly fumbles when she asks for her razor. In another scene, he drives to Las Vegas to tell Marjorie he has feelings for her. When he comes to his senses, which apparently didn't happen during the five-hour drive, she sees him.

With all the self-created drama, it is no wonder these characters are so miserable. Aside from the character of Dave, the problems facing the rest of the characters are ones they brought on themselves. This doesn't create sympathy, it's annoying and whiny.

Crime drama guilty of seedy soap opera focus

From DO: 4/7/06

The biggest problem with "Conviction" is that it isn't "Law & Order."

Dick Wolf brings a large and loyal fan base, who will be sorely disappointed in the show if they want to play detective, follow cases from beginning to end and hear the famous transitional music. Without the law and order, "Conviction" is just a soap opera about young assistant district attorneys. Call it "Desperate ADAs."

Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges), a rich prep with family connections, leaves behind the cushy corporate law for the life of a public servant. He shares an office with Jessica Rossi (Milena Govich). She is having a no-strings sexual fling with her supervisor, Deputy District Attorney Jim Steele (Anson Mount), but he still has feelings for Bureau Chief Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), who reprises her role from "Law & Order: SVU." Brian Peluso (Eric Balfour) is a hard-drinking gambler with a soft spot for Christina Finn (Julianne Nicholson), the fragile, sensitive mid-Westerner, and Billy Desmond (J. August Richards) is the most competitive assistant district attorney with a perfect record that he is determined to keep.

The show deals primarily with the personal lives of these characters. Who they are prosecuting takes a backseat to who they are sleeping with. Glimpses of the trials are given, but with so many lawyers, there are about four cases an episode. By the time it's clear who is trying which case, the judge has ruled. It's hard to develop sympathy for lawyers who are more concerned with boosting their win records than caring about the victims.

Any fan of "SVU" knows that Cabot entered the witness protection program after a drug dealer tried to have her killed. No explanation for her return has been offered, and the show presents her character as if she never left. She is also overly concerned with pleasing her bosses on the dreaded "eighth floor," instead of what is right, making a formerly favorite character unlikable.

But even if "Conviction" is looked at separately from the "Law & Order" legacy, it fails to stand up as a good show. The characters are preachy and arrogant, and the dialogue is pretty dismal. When Peluso is threatened by his bookie because he can't get a gun charge against his brother dropped, he confronts him the men's room of a seedy bar."Do you see this?" Peluso asks while shoving his ADA badge in his face.

"It says DA. That's what I am, bitch. I can bury you, your brother, your mother, whenever I want. Whenever I get bored. Don't you ever forget that."

Instead of showing the young lawyers at clubs, at parties and in yoga class, they should be spending more time interviewing witnesses, working with detectives and preparing their prosecution. Every tidbit of personal info given on "L&O" seems like a treat because they are given out so sparingly. "Conviction" is a case of too much information.

College grads clash with the real world on predictable Fox sitcoms

From the DO: 3/31/06

Two mid-season replacement sitcoms on Fox address the biggest fears faced by new college graduates. On "Free Ride," the recent grad has no plan for his future so he moves back home with his parents, and "The Loop" deals with trying to balance job responsibility while still partying like a bleary-eyed senior. Both shows are full of clichéd characters and predictable scenarios, but lack any laughs.

In "Free Ride," Nate (Josh Dean) has no idea what he wants to do after getting his degree, so he moves back to Missouri to live with his parents. He begrudgingly befriends David Lee Roth clone Mark Dove (Dave Sheridan) and develops a fast crush on Amber (Erin Cahill), a bank teller he knew in high school who is now engaged.

There is plenty of predictable motivation for Nate to pull together a plan to move out of Missouri. His parents, who changed the lock on the front door, argue all the time when they aren't having the sex night their marriage therapist recommends. Nate's room has been converted into a home gym, so he needs to sleep on an air mattress in the garage. His only friend in town is known as "the guy who chugged motor oil." Yet Nate is drawn to Amber and wants to stay in town until she gets married. His father, angry that Nate turned down a job offer, tries to convince him that "a crappy job is the foundation of a good life."

"That job was a part of my major, and I'm not that majorly into it anymore," Nate says. "The good news is that I know what I don't want to do."

Sam (Bret Harrison), the hero on "The Loop," has the opposite problem. Hired as an airline executive right out of college based on his thesis, he is passionate about his job. But he also wants to go out drinking with his three roommates: his stoner brother Sully, ditzy bartender Lizzy and long-time crush Piper. His nighttime antics with his friends often threaten his daytime responsibilities at the airline.

The characters are one-dimensional. Sully plays almost the same irritating role that Dove does on "Free Ride." He is immature, lazy and constantly plays pranks on his younger brother. Piper is clueless about Sam's feelings for her and continues to date her blind spot, as an unnecessary graphic tells the audience while the word "douche" is sung. At work, Sam faces a sexually harassing female executive, Meryl (Mimi Rogers), and a boss who constantly threatens to fire him. When Sam must decide between a work obligation and meeting the girl he's dating at the airport, he tells his roommates he has decided to go for the girl.

"I'm gonna risk getting fired because I don't want to be 24, buried in work and putting my job above everything else in my life," he says.

Job security should actually be a concern, because a quick cancellation is as predictable as the two programs.

Perfectly planned storylines break suspense of Fox drama

From 3/24/06 Daily Orange

The creators of the Fox drama "Prison Break" have meticulously woven an intriguing plot involving government conspiracy, murder and one really amazing tattoo. Yet the story always seems to fit together too perfectly, which ends up cutting the tension and suspense the show tries to create.

Engineer Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) purposely lands himself in Fox River State Penitentiary one month before his half-brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) will be executed. Intending to bust them both out, Scofield has the blueprints of the prison and other helpful clues tattooed on his body in an elaborate design. Once inside he assembles a group of fellow prisoners to assist him in breaking out and staying out. Meanwhile, Lincoln's ex-girlfriend Veronica (Robin Tunney) is working to free him through legal channels, but faces plenty of life threatening obstacles through the show.

The first season ended in November, a mere 13 episodes in. The final episode occurred the night before Lincoln's execution and Scofield's escape plan hit a snag - or pipe to be exact - preventing the group from breaking out.

Monday night's premiere picked up right where last season left off. The escape plan foiled, leaving Scofield unable to stop the execution. Veronica has exhausted all legal options. Even the governor has refused clemency because he is under the thumb of the show's villain, the vice president (Patricia Wettig). As Lincoln walks towards the chair, it looks like the end. But of course it isn't, otherwise why have a second season?

Because Scofield planned his imprisonment at Fox River, he researched every person at the prison so he could use them in his escape. The anti-death penalty hospital doctor is the governor's daughter, so Scofield fakes diabetes to get close to her. Warden Pope believes in rehabilitation and asks Scofield, who is an engineer, to help him build a model Taj Mahal for his wife. He befriends an elderly prisoner believed to have robbed a bank in hopes that he will fund them once they escape.

The neatly planned storyline fails to sustain tension because it is stressed how imperative each piece is to the escape. When Scofield's toes are cut off with gardening shears, there is no real danger felt because without him, the show is over. If he was transferred from the prison or the psych patient remained his cell mate, he never would have been able to work on the escape. When a guard almost catches the men digging the escape tunnel, of course they have it covered up when he opens the door.

Clearly the men are going to succeed in their escape, probably around sweeps time. Season two is shaping up to continue their drawn out escape from jail and then to follow them as they evade the police and track down who framed Lincoln. It's all a little too easy and going too well. Life in a maximum security prison should be more difficult for an inmate, even if he planned his own imprisonment.

Underrated, offbeat comedy scrubs into 5th season

DO column from 3/3/06. Just wanna say, that weak ending is NOT mine.


Despite critical praise and several Emmy nominations, "Scrubs" has never been able to find an audience. Now in its fifth season, this offbeat comedy full of quirky characters, self-awareness and great musical references deserves another look.

J.D. Dorian (Zach Braff) is now an attending doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital, putting his intern days behind him. His best friend Turk (Donald Faison), a surgical resident, is trying to have a baby with his new wife, the bossy Nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes). Fellow attending doctor Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke) is J.D.'s insecure ex-girlfriend and roommate, and their mentor Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) constantly delights in finding new ways to insult J.D.

Just as in animated programs, the characters' thoughts are acted out, though in "Scrubs" they are done as daydreams. Turk, afraid he isn't ready for fatherhood, fantasizes that he picks up the newborn baby in the hospital nursery and somehow knocks down all the other bassinets like dominoes. Carla encourages J.D. to booty call an intern by telling him it's been done since the beginning of time, and J.D. pictures himself as a caveman giving a cavewoman excuses for why he can't stick around in the morning.

The characters on the show are likeable because they are all flawed in honest, believable ways, such as J.D.'s incapability to hold onto a relationship. Elliot encourages him to not say every thought that pops into his head, because that's what ruined their relationship. The scene flashes back to the two of them in bed.

"Are you getting thicker?" J.D. asks Elliot. "You feel thicker."

The show also pokes fun at itself. Carla calls "Webster" a stupid sitcom, causing J.D. and Turk to gasp in horror.

"I mean, that's a sitcom," she says.

Elliott asks J.D. if they can just go home from the hospital, put on their pajamas and watch "Grey's Anatomy."

"Oh I do love that show," he says. "It's like they've been watching our lives and then just put it on TV."

In addition to the indie rock that made Braff's "Garden State" so popular, the show also weaves older music into episodes. The janitor decides to start an air band to compete for water park tickets at a local bar competition, and as tryouts are held, Turk blows the other members of the band away with his dead-on dancing and lip-syncing to "Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe.

All in all, the show is definitely worth a second glance, even if it has taken five years to open your eyes.

Beauty and the Geek

Thanks to constant screw-ups at the D.O. this article never ran.


If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the geeks on The WB's “Beauty and the Geek,” are some of the most beautiful men on television.

The geeks are painfully nervous and self-deprecating. Wanting to see them gain confidence outweighs the fun of mocking idiotic comments made by the party-girl beauties.
Ashton Kutcher's “social experiment,” now in its second season, partners up eight socially awkward yet brilliant guys with eight beautiful but dim-witted women. The goal, aside from ultimately winning a prize of $250,000, is for each contestant to transform into a well-rounded person.

The geeks undergo a more obvious transformation than the beauties. Although most of these guys are scientists, they lack any chemistry with the ladies. The lovable Tyson holds the world's record for solving the Rubix's Cube blindfolded. Quirky museum critic Josh, who is on medication for an anxiety disorder, is described by his partner as looking “like Carrot Top but he acts like Woody Allen.”

Their confidence is boosted immediately after they receive makeovers. Josh tells the camera “I look so good, I'd hook up with myself.” That’s a big difference from the first day when he described meeting the women in the house as “facing a sexual firing squad.”

MIT graduate Ankur was resistant to the makeover, particularly to having his unibrow waxed.
“There is no other purpose other than to look like what everyone says you should look like,” he said.

After the makeover, however, he joyfully dances around the room to show off his new look to the women. He even comes in second during a speed dating competition.

One geek, Chris, who was recently booted from the show, had false confidence because of his academic achievements. He made enemies quickly with his patronizing and threatening attitude towards both the beauties and the other geeks. He told Josh, who majored in psychology and film at University of Michigan that he had a “cake” major.

“I think Chris is putting the strategy of the game over building friendships and learning from the girls in the house,” said Tyson. “It really takes away from the primary purpose of our experience here in the house.”

For the beauties, who have “dedicated their lives to social pursuits,” the show uses the competitions to gently poke fun at their lack of awareness of the world around them.
“It's not really any geeky information. This is like, common knowledge. This fits into pop culture. This fits into current events. This fits into everything anybody should know,” Ankur says.

In a speech competition, Ankur’s partner Jennipher is asked how she would prevent pollution.
“Maybe not eating a lot of gaseous foods,” she answers. “Not be farting a lot. That's a form of air pollution.”

The contestants on “Beauty and the Geek” that are there for the right reasons have an opportunity for a Pygmalion experience. Sometimes, with the help of a beautiful woman, the nice guy can finish first.

Characters sweeten stereotypical romantic comedy

This is from the 2/3/06 Daily Orange. Cool news ... a publicist from 20th Century Fox, which makes "How I Met Your Mother" e-mailed me to say she liked the article. Thanks to my darling sister for bearing with me and playing the show with me on speaker so I could transcribe quotes.

Never judge a book by its cover or a television show by its title. Despite being terribly named, "How I Met Your Mother" is a sweet romantic comedy that endearingly portrays the years between college and settling down.

Architect Ted (Josh Radnor) is desperate to fall in love after his best friend Marshall (Jason Segal) gets engaged to his longtime girlfriend, schoolteacher Lily (Alyson Hannigan). When he meets local cable news reporter Robin (Cobie Smulders), he thinks he's met "the one." Instead, Robin becomes part of his tight-knit circle of friends, a group rounded out by the obnoxious womanizer Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). The show is narrated via flashbacks from a grown-up Ted (voiced by Bob Saget), who is telling his teenaged children how he met their mother.

"How I Met Your Mother" is like watching "When Harry Met Sally" in weekly half-hour increments. It is romantic without being overly sappy. It is imbued with hopeful optimism about love, without forgetting how ridiculous the search can be.

When Ted meets a mysterious girl at a friend's wedding, they agree not to exchange information, so they will have one perfect night together (just like in the romantic comedy "Serendipity"). When he ultimately tracks the girl down, he launches into a sappy soliloquy about love to his friends, only to be shut down by them for thinking too much.

"How I Met Your Mother" also has a surprising amount of depth for a traditional sitcom when dealing with issues faced by people in their 20s. Although Lily practically lives at the guys' apartment, she is reluctant to give up her own place because it's important for her to maintain her independence.

"It's like fat pants," Lily tells Robin. "You hope you never have to use them, but you're glad to know they're there."

Meanwhile, Ted fears he will lose the apartment to Marshall and Lily, so he begins fighting with them. Marshall and Ted wind up in a silly sword fight scene, but what Ted says expresses the loneliness he really feels.

"You and Lily get to be married," said Ted. "What do I get? I get to be unmarried, alone, minus two roommates and on top of that, I get to be homeless. Does that seem fair?"

Adding to the comedy of the show is a very un-Doogie-like Harris, whose character sounds like he read a manual teaching him how to be a player. When Ted asks him to call a bridesmaid from the wedding to track down his mystery girl, Barney refuses. He reasons that he can't call the girl

"because we just hooked up last night. I can't call the girl the next day. I have to wait at least, like … forever. Oh snap. Never gonna call her," he says.

Likeable characters keep "How I Met Your Mother" from becoming just another sitcom about young professionals living in impossibly large Manhattan apartments while looking for love. Instead, it balances romance, comedy and a realistic look at the issues facing post-graduates.

Sick Day

Are you even allowed to take sick days in grad school? It feels weird, like you need to get a note from the health center to prove to your professors you weren't making it up. On the other hand, who, in the real adult world, goes to the doctor when they have a fever? You just drink the water, take the tylenol, nap and watch lots of TV stored up on your beloved DVR...or at least that's what I do. I'm feeling much better now btw...thanks.

Anyway, stomach in check and windows open to help cool me down, I caught up on all the shows I missed last night because I went to see Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing" at Syracuse Stage. Wednesday night's are getting tough....that 9pm slot has so many good shows and apparently Law & Order is moving there also? They're killing me.

I started off with "One Tree Hill." Do you think Bono dies a little inside every time he sees a piece of one of the greatest albums U2 every made being sold out to the teens? Do they even get the reference? Back to last night's episode. It was a dramatic episode with a dramatic storm. Cliche Hill? Dan took advantage of the black out to break into Keith's apartment. He had a brotherly flashback when he accidently smashed a picture of the pair as children. Behind the picture was a safe deposit box key, which Mayor Dan quickly took stole and then broke into the vault, only to find the ledger book Lucas stole last season. Keith got nothin' on him now...except the guy is a creep and clearly will get his in the end. I wish they would just do it already, it's such a repetitive storyline. Speaking of bad seeds, what is up with that cheerleader Rachel. Talk about mean girls and bad acting. Lucas and Brooke had a massive blowout because he used the same ending in a letter to her that he did in an unsent letter to Peyton. Peyton got a life lesson from her dying birth mother, who actually died finally ending that storyline. Haley and Nathan had a romantic evening talking about their relationship. Oh, and Karen and Keith did it in the cafe.

Yes, the storylines are weak, the characters predictable, the writing incredibly cheesy....but it is such a fun guilty pleasure. I can't help but hope "One Tree Hill" has a home on the new network The CW.

But then I needed some quality television so I cued up my favorite show "Veronica Mars." I find it hard to believe there are people who watch TV and aren't watching this show, but you can see my previous review for all the gushing about how amazing this show is. In last night's episode Wallace quickly learned that doing the right thing isn't always easy. His basketball phenom friend from Chicago who hit and ran from the wino, turned the blame on Wallace. Put Veronica Mars on the case. After a failed attempt to confront him because of his controlling uncle, V puts queen bitch Jackie to use. She steals the uncle's cell phone and Wallace's cop dad tracks down the bought off witnesses and proves his boy's innocence. That storyline moved shockingly quick. Moving at a slower pace in the Fightin Fitzpatricks. Weevil talks to Molly about her relationship with Felix and realizes St. Mary's Church, where her brother is a priest, is where the drug hand-offs have been happening. Where else do the PCH'ers and the 0'9ers mix? V agrees to videotape the confessional but even she has ethics because she refuses to bug it for audio. When Weevil confronts his motorcycle gang they turn on him, beat the crap out of him and drive his bike into the ocean. And Thumper even has some blackmail--a videophone tape of Weevil beating up Curly before he washed ashore. Lastly, a little attention was finally paid to the bus crash mystery. Daddy detective broke into the evidence room at the police station and stole the interview tapes and there seems to be a theme developing....all the rich kids dad's knew Curly and the newly elected Mayor even told his daughter not to get on the bus after the field trip. Hmmm....is Steve Guttenberg bad? I'd put money on it. We also found out that the dead journalism teacher knew jackie's dad, star baseball player with a gambling problem Terrence Cook. The episode ending with him being arrested in connection to the bus accident. Definitely a false lead Sheriff Lamb.