The problem being that I have standing plans every Wednesday night and can only tape one channel. One would think in 2006 my cable company would have the wherewithal to allow me to tape shows on different channels (since they did in 1996 although they deny it) but no. Of course they’d be more than happy to hook me up with a DVR for an exorbitant fee along with the jolly surrender of my TV viewing habits for them to sell to marketers; no thanks.
I caught the repeat of Kidnapped and liked it, a lot. It looks great, and the actors aren’t bringing their other characters to their roles here. Nice seeing Ricky Jay again. Can they work his card tricks in somehow?
I liked that they established that Leopold can hold his breath for a long time, because when he has to use that ability, it won’t be out of the blue. Oooh, a pun!
Leopold’s mom was worried about him getting his meds, and the kidnapper said that was covered. So what’s the med and why isn’t he taking it? An anti-depressant? Ritalin?
I like Smith. I don’t get the complaint that the characters aren’t ‘likeable’. Uh, Sopranos anyone? This is clearly the model they’re going after. It’s a dark show. Nothing wrong with that, so long as it is well executed. And this one was well executed.
I loved that bit with the girl being the distraction, running into her old college friend at the wrong time, and…dealing with it. And having it almost blow back in her face. That was cool.
There were a handful of implausibilities of the sort you often see on network TV.
For example, If you’re going to just blow up your getaway vehicle, why in hell would you use a multi-hundred thousand dollar super speedboat, when your purposes would be served just as well with a used $5,000 ski boat? And for a guy who is ultra-careful about high lifestyles not giving away their thieving ways, Ray Liotta didn’t seem to mind that his ‘crew’ all drive hyper-flashy and expensive vehicles…
But overall, I thought it was good. Good story, good acting.
I really liked Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Unlike others, the fact that it was an Aaron Sorkin show was a net negative for me - I never liked the West Wing. But this show grabbed me from the opening scene and left me wanting more. So I’ll definitely be watching. Here’s hoping it doesn’t go off the rails.
Did anyone see the new commercial for ‘30 Rock’? The one where Alec Baldwin discovers he’s not on the Aaron Sorkin show like he thought, and has a panic attack? Hilarious.
Studio 60 - ditto. Highest potential of any new series.
The Class - surprisingly entertaining. I thought the casting was perfect in a way you almost never see. Each person was an individual rather than a type, and immediately identifiable with. Could be a winner if they don’t hoke it up.
Smith - My wife liked it more than I did. The implausibilities were staggering. These were professionals? They could have pasted “I am a crook” signs on their backs. I don’t care about the Sopranos, which I’ve never seen. I didn’t want to spend an hour with any of them.
Then after the job [spoiler]they all:
get on the same plane to go home? And two have sex in the bathroom? These days I’d bet you can get arrested by a security marshal for that.
And the husband has a wife with a record, attends NA, and is on parole and he’s hiding that he’s one of the biggest criminal masterminds in the country knowing that she will go to jail if one word of his life gets out? My head exploded.[/spoiler]
The Class - I like it so far. Different vibe, but still funny. The second it turns into Friends II I’m gone.
Jericho - The premise has always been a favorite of mine, so I’m going to like comparing what I’d do in that situation with what plays out on screen. Anybody have any idea on how long real-time-wise the season is supposed to take? Either the rest of the country is toast (doubtful) or we just got a couple of nukes in key cities. The latter will make for boring TV, IMO. I wonder who the Designated Cabinet Secretary was?