The fall TV season is in full swing and some of the shows have already been strung up in a hangman’s noose, but they haven’t left viewers twisting in the wind about their ability to hold us enraptured. It has truly been a case of survival of the fittest, and some series have been gone in the blink of an eye.
Some almost as fast as Kim Kardashian’s and Kris Humphries’ marriage. Hopefully, E! can stop rerunning its favorite four-hour time-killer special about Kim’s fairytale wedding. Well, she did marry a slow-on-the-draw giant, who will also be featured on the upcoming Kourtney and Kim Take New York that airs in November.
Which was also the case concerning the Charlie’s Angels reboot; it was just a big steaming pile of brown expletive and not something one would want to cop to watching … or to kick it old school and quote Blaine Edwards (Damon Wayans) and Antoine Merriweather (David Alan Grier) of the “Men On” sketches on In Living Color, “Hated it!” Hey wait, I am not too far off the mark with my usage of said saying, as Fox is planning on bringing the sketch comedy show back for two mid-season specials. So there, and you’re welcome!
Wow, this intro could serve as a The More You Know PSA. Speaking of being in the know, perhaps you’ll find a show that, ahem, makes the grade to claim as a newfound favorite, if it isn’t already.
Girls, girls, girls
2 Broke Girls has the gay street credibility of having Michael Patrick King as one of its creators on its side. You may be familiar with his name as being the executive producer and writer and director of Sex and the City in its small and big screen incarnations. So, if you aren’t still mad at him for the sequel, you can check out the under funded twosome on CBS.
The two leads (Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs) are trying to make ends meet by being waitresses and sharing an apartment together. So, it’s a pretty safe bet that our sapphic sisters are tuning in to see the old sitcom standby of, will they or won’t they. And, I’ll bet many a gay man has been certain that Behrs’ character is named Carol Channing, as opposed to Caroline Channing. We hear what we want to hear, apparently.
Grade: C, for Coolidge. No, that’s not the latest urban-type slang word meaning “great,” it is to be used in the context of actress Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, Legally Blonde and American Pie) … actually great would apply to this hilarious comedienne, which should translate well to her recurring role as Sophie, a neighbor of the broke ass ladies.
Fox’s New Girl stars Zooey Deschanel as the titular estrogen-based life form, who moves in with three guys she meets on craigslist after a bad breakup. Hmm, sounds like somebody may have been a gay man in a previous life.
As Jess, Deschanel puts the q in quirky and offers viewers a sort of modern day Mary Tyler Moore Show. Albeit she doesn’t have to make it on her own, as she has the aforementioned roomies played by Jake M. Johnson, Lamorne Morris and Max Greenfield – who has played gay in previous roles on Greek and Happy Endings, and is playing it straight here, often times shirtless. Also, she has a sassy best friend in Hannah Simone’s CeCe character. I’ll let them hash out as to who’s the Mary and who’s the Rhoda, much like Romy and Michele did for their High School Reunion.
Grade: A, as in A good time had by All. Get it? Because it’s receiving an A … yeah jokes aren’t funny when you have to explain them.
Wagon training
Three of my absolute new favorite shows, Ringer, Revenge and American Horror Story on The CW, ABC and FX respectively, make me wonder if they will get beyond their first season promises and avoid the pitfalls of this quote from 1986s Stand By Me: “Wagon Train’s a really cool show, but do you ever notice they don’t really get anywhere? They just keep wagon-training.” AHS has already been picked up for a second season.
I really hope that Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) and her quest to seek revenge on Madeline Stowe’s Victoria Grayson and her TV husband Conrad (aka Henry Czerny) and everyone in their Hamptons circle can make for an equally intriguing second season.
Grade B: B is for Boys, as this show has a lot of cute ones on it, including: Connor Paolo, Nick Weschler, Ashton Holmes and especially Joshua Bowman as Daniel Grayson. He’s hot with a capital H!
While Ringer doesn’t have the guy quotient going for it, the series does feature gay fave Sarah Michelle Gellar and a former cast mate from Lost (Nestor Carbonell) that has a penchant for guy liner. It also features Gellar as twins, and her Bridget Kelly character has taken on more than her fair share of covering the fact that her sister Siobhan has “committed suicide” during a “boat ride.” Those who have seen the pilot know what I mean.
Grade: A for its ability to temporarily make me suspend my belief.
No, I will not be applauding the creative efforts (and badly done execution) of ABC’s Once Upon A Time, or that other fairy tale show Grimm on NBC, as they would receive a D. Nope, that’s not for dandy, but for didn’t grab my interest enough.
However, there is a very well done, and very scary addition to my already jam packed viewing schedule in American Horror Story. And that would be Glee creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s latest foray into turning the TV set on their collective heads.
Albeit, it’s much more frightening than their musical comedy’s undying love for all things show tunes this season and it delivers on its MA content being rightfully deserved. It’s almost like a hybrid of The X-Files meets Twin Peaks, but stands on its own merit.
And good for Jessica Lange, who plays the very odd neighbor Constance, for not having plastic surgery and aging naturally. She’s no Jo-Jo-Joker Face, to paraphrase Lady Gaga.
Grade: D for Dylan McDermott’s nude scenes in the first episode, as was further illustrated during his special “alone time.”
Cut. Print. That’s a wrap!
Phew, those endless hours spent ruining my eyes have hopefully paid off in informing you of what shows you should be watching. How I suffer for my art. And, yes, I took some liberties in my grading curve, as I would term these shows as prime grade A television. Until next time, that’s all of the news that’s fit to print.
