The L.A. Complex – “Help Wanted”

September 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

This show is going so many great places, and I’m terribly sad for it to end (for the season or forever? Who knows at this point). Tonight we got something that I felt the show had been lacking this second season – certain characters have been too far off in their own worlds and not connecting, and finally, we see Kal meet up with Abby and Raquel with Beth (boy is that character irrelevant). I loved both of these scenes.

Kal’s deal with Abby went way too slowly, but the payoff at the end was worth it – Abby naturally freaks out over knowing the truth about Tariq. I’m really, really hoping this leads to Tariq’s return. I don’t necessarily think that Kal and Tariq should be together again (anymore than I would for any abusive relationship), but I think that the way things ended were horrible for both characters and they deserve some resolution. Also, I enjoyed Tariq as a character – not near as much as Kaldrick, but Tariq was an interesting guy that was actually starting to become successful in a unique business.

That’s another deal we faced in this episode – that everyone, and I mean everyone, who succeeds on this show ultimately screws things up or has things screwed up for them. Entourage, this is not. I loved Nick in the writers room (yet another unique part of Hollywood that we don’t see on TV very often), and the appearance by Paul F. Tompkins was hilarious and added some legitimacy to the show (my roommate, forced to sit through this episode with me, actually perked up and paid attention after Tompkins showed up and brought the coke and the jokes). I should have seen it coming that Nick would be fired for taking the blame for his bosses’ coke problem, but I thought that maybe some twist would set it right. It didn’t, Nick was fired, and so I guess we will be forced to sit through more of his awful stand up once again. Which I love, don’t get me wrong.

Raquel was just an amazeballs waitress. That’s really all I have to say about her. More service industry for Raquel, please.

Finally, we come to Conner, who has not been the most interesting character this season, but now you better believe he has my full attention. I loved the plot with his sister and I was really, genuinely excited for him when he got the DNA test results at the end. That is, until the plot thickened!!! She’s into Scientology “Scienetics”!!! And then, suddenly, everything I found charming about their blossoming family relationship was suddenly called into question in my mind, including the test results themselves. I FREAKING LOVE THIS SHOW.

 

The LA Complex on The CW

Tonight’s Quotant Quotable: “This is not the ‘70s. It’s not the mid-‘80s. It’s not various portions of the ‘90s. You are not day traders. This is not a high school or a discotheque in Monaco. You are pale, miserable, uncool writers who should not be able to afford this much cocaine. You’re lucky you get a writers’ bathroom!” – Paul F. Tompkins

Filed Under Recaps, Recommendations, The CW Tagged With Andra Fuller, Cassie Steele, Drama, Firefly, good shows, Jewel Staite, The CW, The L.A. Complex

Clear Your Schedules! Fall TV is Upon Us

August 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

So “30 Rock” and “The Office” are leaving the airwaves. A lot of your favorite cable shows are signing off, too (sorry, “Breaking Bad” fans!) You want to check out some new shows this year, but you don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, Kate’s done (some of) the work for you! Here’s my comprehensive list for 5 new shows you should check out. Come on! Give them a shot.

NASHVILLE (ABC, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., premieres Oct. 10)

Nashville

You Better Watch.

Okay, I’m not just saying this because I’m a proud Nashville native and I’m basically pissing my pants because they film this in my hometown. I’m saying you should watch it because it looks awesome. The plot seems very similar to another Nashville-set country music drama, the 2010 film “Country Strong,” only with more believable actors playing the lead two roles – Connie Britton as the aging superstar and Hayden Panettierre as the young, Swiftian ingénue. (Can you believe anyone tried to pass Gwyneth Paltrow and Leighton Meester off as country singers? Blech.) It’s got drama, it’s got songs, it’s got Hayden Panettierre in the superbitch role she was born to play.

Watch it if you liked: Friday Night Lights, The Good Wife, Smash

GO ON (NBC, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., premieres Sept. 11)

Go On

I think this show won't suck. Almost sure.

Yes, I liked the pilot for “Go On.” Sue me. I, Kate, with a heart of stone, found it to be quite touching. And pretty funny, too. I liked Matthew Perry (Chandler always was my favorite Friend), I really liked Tyler James Williams, and I just loved that old lady taking home her donut box crown and the whole crew chasing the Google cameras at the end. It was a surprisingly sweet show with characters I took to immediately, with the exception of the therapist/group leader lady. The “kooky, diverse misfits” ensemble reminds me somewhat of “Community,” which is a very good thing. I think this show needs to work out some kinks, but it has great potential, and could also bring in some big ratings if NBC times its inevitable sports star guest spots correctly. I mean, the biggest program on television is NBC’s Football Night in America… they’re going to milk that for all it’s worth on a show with a sports motif, right? Also, if you blinked you might have missed him, but John Cho’s in the cast!

Watch it if you liked: Sports Night, Community, How I Met Your Mother

LAST RESORT (ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m., premieres Sept. 27)

You know the show is serious business when everyone's doing the power-pose.

In a somewhat appropriate slip-up, I first typed “Lost Resort” as the show’s title – clearly, ABC is trying to fill the void left by “Lost” with a suspenseful, tropical-set drama, only without the sci-fi elements (I assume?). The story is as follows: a U.S. submarine crew goes rogue after they decide to disobey orders to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age. They are then attacked by their own countrymen, leading the crew to declare their own nation on a remote island. I am interested in this drama (which as readers know would not be my usual cup of tea) for a few reasons: 1.) The plot involves turning against the U.S. government, which is pretty daring for primetime. (IT IS OF COURSE SOMETHING THAT I DO NOT CONDONE, SECRET FBI INTERNET-WATCHERS.)  2.) I’m a little impressed that they cast a black dude, Andre Braugher, in their lead role as the Captain. Of course, they put a white dude on all of the posters… but progress is progress, right? 3.) Dichen Lachman, former “Dollhouse” hottie and thief of my heart, is also in cast. Possibly in a role that would require her to wear a bikini. Hey-oh!

Watch it if you liked: Lost, Dollhouse, Terra Nova

THE MINDY PROJECT (Fox, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., premieres Sept.25)

I truly believe that Mindy Kaling is the spiritual successor to Tina Fey. She has a lot of the same sensibilities, the same ability to be a writer, producer and actor all at the same time, and, like Fey, she’s fucking hilarious. Both women are truly funny, not just “funny, for a girl.” However, those who aren’t familiar with Kaling should not expect her to be anything like Fey in style. Kaling’s strength comes from playing off an essential girlishness that she embraces about herself, a girlishness that Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and others rarely exhibit. In “The Mindy Project,” the Mindy Lahiri character is obsessed with romantic comedies and finding her true love (“I’m Sandy Bullock!” she drunkenly yells in the pilot episode), but she is more than just unlucky in love – there is an inherent loneliness and desperation to her that Kaling is okay with exploring. Mindy, the character, should be a powerful, self-possessed woman – she’s a successful OB/GYN – but because she’s been fooled by society into believing in the lie of movie romance, she feels incomplete. I’m really excited to see where the show takes her character.

Watch it if you liked: New Girl, The Office, 30 Rock

THE NEW NORMAL (NBC, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., premieres Sept. 11)

The New Normal

They've already banned this show in Utah. SO IT MUST BE GOOD.

I’m recommending this show hesitantly. The premise, in my opinion, is delightful – a woman agrees to be a surrogate for a gay couple, and her daughter and wacky mother tag along for the ride. The cast is brilliant – Ellen Barkin is a powerhouse, and I must admit to a huge crush on Andrew Rannells, who shot to fame staring in the Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” but who was known before that as a voice actor for cartoon series like “Pokemon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh” (thereby sealing his place in my heart forever). However, this show is produced by Ryan Murphy, creator of some of the weirdest shows ever – “Popular,” “Nip/Tuck,” “American Horror Story” – and one of the greatest burnouts of all time, “Glee.” That means this show could be amazing, or it could be so laughably terrible and preachy that we’ll all want to stab our TVs, and our brains. He also cast a former Real Housewife in the show, in a role I have yet to understand the purpose for. So there’s that. But I’m really holding out hope that this show takes off, because as Georgia King’s character so adorably puts it in the pilot episode, love is love – and who doesn’t want to watch a show about love?

Watch it if you liked: Modern Family, Glee, Arrested Development (Barkin gives me a Lucille Bluth vibe)

 

1600 Penn

Bill Pullman should always be the President, right?

Wait For It: 1600 PENN, another NBC comedy starring a “Book of Morman” headliner, Josh Gadd, doesn’t premiere until midseason, but the dysfunctional-Presidential family story has me interested already. Also, I’m not sure what CULT, a CW midseason drama, is about – is it about a cult, or about a TV show about a cult? I dunno, but it sounds kind of unique, so I’ll give it a shot.

What shows are you looking forward to? What did I miss?

Filed Under ABC, Featured, FOX, Lady Power, NBC, Recommendations Tagged With 1600 penn, abc, Arrested Development, cult, dollhouse, fox, glee, go on, last resort, lost, modern family, Nashville, NBC, New Girl, The CW, the good wife, the mindy project, the new normal, the office

Whoa!!! Did that REALLY just happen?? The CW’s L.A. Complex goes there.

May 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

Last night I watched the second episode of The L.A. Complex on The CW, and it was RIDICULOUS. Oh god, it was totally cray-cray, and from Canada, fine purveyors of one of the craziest dramas ever to air, Degrassi. Wait, what is that you say? The same people who made Degrassi made The L.A. Complex? The show stars MANNY MOTHERFUCKING SANTOS? I’m there!

And this episode ended with a DOOZY of a surprise that is going to guarantee my return next week (will discuss more later). L.A. Complex, don’t let me down in subsequent episodes like I’m thinking GCB has done.

So I have not yet had the time to sit down and watch the pilot, but after watching the second episode, I’ve gathered that it’s something like a dirtier Melrose Place – a group of young, struggling wannabes live in a filthy apartment building together, and sex, drama and catfighting ensue (well, they did bring Manny Motherfucking Santos in to star, so of course there’s catfighting). Speaking of the HBIC, Cassie Steele is here playing basically a version of her old character, only this time her name’s “Abby Vargas” ….Sure, okay. We’ll go with that. She’s an illegal Canadian immigrant and a struggling actress.

Cassie Steele and Jewel Staite in The L.A. Complex

And the producers have wasted no time finding an excuse to get her in a hooker costume.

You might notice that Manny’s hooker compatriot in the photo about is none other than Jewel Staite, another Canuck gal famous for a beloved character she played – Kaylee Frye from Firefly and Serenity. Jewel plays a bitchy, brazen woman whose career (not personality, of course) might mirror her own – Raquel Westbrook had a hit TV show, but now she’s older, jobs have dried up and everyone only remembers her for that one part. In the episode, they both audition for the same guest part on a TV series – Hooker #1, apparently – and in the end, Manny MF’in Santos wins the role. Raquel is pissed… and little does she know that Manny has already hooked up with her favorite boytoy, too!! I sense a little All About Eve going on here, but Raquel should watch out – Manny’s a hair puller.

So, blah blah, there’s some other stuff involving two people working on a doctor drama show (including Radio Free Roscoe‘s Kate Todd, for all you fans of other classic The N shows), and somethin about this other dude that looks like the dopey version of James Franco from the first Spiderman wearing Peter Parker’s glasses (think this guy has a crush on Manny, but then again, we all do).

And we finally arrive at the storyline that made me go WHOA. This omgsupercute young guy from the complex named Tariq, who’s a little bit French Canadian and from Montreal (which should have given me a hint, honestly), finally gets his first big break as a producer – he’ll be making beats for this gangster rapper dude who a Wikipedia search tells me is named Kaldrick King. But we’ll just call him Gangsta Gangsta. They have this whole Training Day thing going, where they are driving around LA together and occasionally Gangsta Gangsta hollers at Montreal for no reason. And then, (and dear god if only this was the real ending to Training Day), Gangsta Gangsta puts on a smooth soul record and the two of them look like they are going to punch each other, but instead the just start DOING IT.

It's a Cinderella story - boy meets boy, only one's on the downlow and is really angry about it.

So far this is a show that has only made waves for breaking the record of the lowest-ever premiere for a network show. But my suggestion is that anyone who’s a sucker for Canada, DRAMAAAAH, or The N network alumni, to give this show a chance. Oh yeah! And they said “tits” on this show. It was edited out by CW. What’s not to love?

Filed Under Recaps, Recommendations, Television Tagged With degrassi, Firefly, new shows, Shows That Will Probably Get Canceled, The CW, The L.A. Complex

An American in Downton

January 23, 2012 2 Comments

True to my word, I have begun my TV resolutions for the new year and I have completed the ITV/PBS drama Downton Abbey. I thought this would take longer.

I watched both seasons in marathon form in the most American way possible. If only the Dowager Countess could have seen me, she would have been aghast.

For season one, I plopped down on my couch with a bottle of bourbon and finished it all in one sitting, save for the final episode – by episode seven I had gotten far too drunk to continue and I called my sister, a Downton fan, to slurrily discuss which characters I liked. She told me that she preferred the troubled Lady Mary best, while I think that I told her something like this:

“I love SYBIL, and I want to TELL her… you know, the REAL version of her, BACK IN TIME… I want to TELL her, THANK YOUUUUU for helping me VOTE. I want to tell my feminnnst foremothers GOOD JOB. So in the future I can live by myself now and do whatever I want and take birth controoool!”

Needless to say, Little Sis found this very amusing.

The second season I watched yesterday, in its entirety PLUS the Christmas special, while hunkered on my couch eating. Yes, eating, non-stop, because every time those damn Crawleys get served what looks like a delicious dish, I want one myself.

Later, I developed a splitting headache and a stomach ache, probably because I ate too much and stared at a screen all day, but I continued right through the Christmas special because I was not about to be sidelined again during the best part, like what happened with the bourbon incident.

Now, I’m sure you want to know why a classy gal like me would put herself through so much pain and humiliation just for a show like Downton. I mean, this isn’t The Clone Wars or Parks and Rec – Masterpiece Theatre isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. And I’m no Liz Lemon – I can’t do disgusting marathon TV watching the way I did in high school because my body craves activity, healthy food and human interaction.

Downton, it turns out, is not what I expected at all. When I first heard about a British costume drama getting a load of press and awards, I thought it was the West Coast poseurs with their heads up their asses, trying to look smarter than they are, that created popularity for the series. Much like an HBO miniseries that sweeps the Emmys – say, Mildred Pierce – I naturally assumed Downton to be about VSB – “very serious business” – and of course, I guessed there would be some talk about manners and arranged marriages and the like.

But, as you see from my TV resolutions post, I learned that not only does Professor McGonagall star in it, offering an endless supply of catty one-liners, but it’s also quite trashy. Just trashy enough, you might say.

So I decided to give it a whirl, and I sure am glad I did. There is some romance stuff in it, but I find myself more invested in the characters themselves than who they’re currently longing for. They are real people in so many ways, they just have interesting problems because they are A) So rich and useless that it depresses them or B) So weak and trapped that they develop a Stockholm syndrome for their jobs and employers.

If you are still holding out, like I was until last week, I recommend you sit down and watch it. Just do it. The first season is all on Netflix and you will know by the end of episode two whether you want to continue or not. I think you will.

Filed Under Recommendations Tagged With awards bait, British crap, downton, downton abbey, good shows, ITV, Maggie Smith, masterpiece theatre, miniseries, netflix, PBS

Holiday dead air

December 28, 2011 Leave a Comment

The holidays are BORING.

This is the one time of year that absolutely nothing comes on.

Television has become a more year-round experience in the past ten years, thanks to the advent of reality shows and the rise of quality cable programming during the summer. Since I haven’t known much else in my lifetime, I am totally spoiled by always having something to watch.

But, even talk shows rerun during the week after Christmas, because no one wants to work during that week. I have to, but that’s because I’m a normal American pleb. I’m not Jon fucking Stewart.

So, if I could make some suggestions, here’s what you can do to ease the dead air:

  • Watch “How I Met Your Mother” on Netflix streaming. The CBS sitcom was added to the Netflix line up last month, and if you’ve only casually seen the show in syndication or haven’t watched an episode in years, this would be a great time to catch up on this fluffy but funny series. Even the dumbest episodes of the show (which always seem to center around one of Barney’s formulaic schemes or theories) are still funny to watch, and when “HIMYM” hits the mark, it really hits. Last season was considered kind of a dud, but it still delivered one of the series’ high points when Marshall’s father died. It was touching, sad, funny and realistic, and got the show back on track. Additionally, last season saw the second biggest mystery of the show’s lore – the identity of Barney’s father – was solved in an equally poignant manner.

  • Check out a foreign series for the first time. In other countries, TV shows have endings. They don’t run forever until they suck, and there’s something to be said for that.  Hulu.com hosts British shows like “Misfits,” a favorite of my sister’s, as well as “Whites” and the original “Skins.” The site streams Korean dramas, too, which I guess are a “thing” now. I can recommend “My Lovely Sam-Soon,” “The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry” and “Personal Taste.”

  • Host a hula-themed marathon viewing of your favorite summer movies. Because I’m a masochist, and because in Tennessee, we have three seasons: Christmas, Summer and the Muck Inbetween. During Christmas (Oct. 1 – Dec. 25), all we want is snow, snow, snow – it’s all we think about and we never get it, like a sophomore cruising for sweet poontang in high school. When Christmas is over (literally at midnight on Dec. 26), we decided we are sick of cold weather and demand it become warm again so we can play sports and drink beer outside and and go to music festivals (this is only slightly an exaggeration). So there’s no better way to kick off the Muck Season than to watch The Sandlot, Wet Hot American Summer, Indiana Jones and the Some Ancient Relic, Independence Day, Point Break, Caddyshack… you get the idea. Watch these flicks and wish you were somewhere else. Somewhere warm.

  • READ A FUCKING BOOK.**

  • Cut together a YouTube video of all of your favorite clips from this year’s episodes of “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” or whatever nightly talk show you prefer (unless your favorite talk show host is Jay Leno… then just fucking kill yourself). This will take hours of viewing footage, which would be a good way to look back on a shitty year like 2011 and laugh. Man did 2011 suck or what?

  •  Go ahead and start making your Darth Maul costume for the 3D re-release of The Phantom Menace. February is only just around the corner, people.

If none of these appeal to you, then I guess you could just watch reruns of “Community,” because pretty soon that’s all we’ll have left. Just another reason that 2011 blows.

(**Might I suggest George R. R. Martin’s A Clash of Kings? That way you’ll be spoiled come April when “Game of Thrones” returns on HBO.)

Filed Under Rants, Recommendations Tagged With boring, cable programming, cbs sitcom, Game of Thrones, holidays, How I Met Your Mother, korean dramas, late night with jimmy fallon, netflix, star wars 3d, the colbert report, the daily show with jon stewart