Another week of TV in the books. Not as many shows premiered as last week, but with The CW starting to roll out it’s lineup, DVR schedules are starting to get interesting. Mine may wind up going on strike soon. These boys are confused or upset about it. I can’t tell.
Here’s a look at some of the things that stood out for me this week…
666 PARK AVENUE
Wanted to take a look at this one because it is new and I enjoy the cast. Terry O’Quinn is always creepy, sometimes even when he isn’t trying to be, and Vanessa Williams plays Uptown Bitch like no other. (I still miss Ugly Betty) I’m also, oddly, a fan of horror shows. This is weird because I don’t really enjoy horror movies. At all. 666 was… okay. It had the eerie feel I’m sure it was aiming for – creepy looks from O’Quinn, knowing smiles from Erik Palladino’s doorman, elevators that try to kill people, old hidden mosaics – yet a lot of it felt a bit forced to me.
The whole time I felt like the show was screaming at me, “You should be scared!!!” but I was never even a little creeped out by it. Unfortunately for the show (but hurray for my DVR) it did miserably in the ratings, not even managing to beat Pan Am’s awful showing in the same time slot from last year. While I’ll tune in next week to see if it finds it’s footing (and some viewers) beyond the pilot, I’m not exactly hopeful it will make it too far this season.
SWITCHED AT BIRTH
Yes, I realize this show isn’t exactly within the general demographic of this site. But I can talk about whatever I want and this week I was inspired to write about this show. ABC Family isn’t exactly known for it’s hard-hitting dramas. Pretty Little Liars is actually a decent thriller that has been able to find the Hitchcockian tone that can be hard to hit without seeming cheesy. But a lot of the other shows are cheesy and/or preachy dramas. And, I suppose, Switched at Birth is that as well. The story of a rich white family and a poor Hispanic family discovering that their teenage daughters were switched at birth is bound to have the cheesy/preachy moments.
But that’s not why I wanted to point it out. This show is one of the best I’ve seen when it comes to showing the power of communication. One of the switched girls, played by Katie Leclerc, is deaf. Her best friend, Emmett, is also deaf, as his is mother (played by the incomparable Marlee Matlin). Everyone around them is hearing. The way this show explores the difficulties of those relationships as the new people in their lives try to learn ASL, or more recently, when Leclerc’s character’s mother, played by Constance Marie, injures her wrist and can no longer sign (a way to work in Marie’s real life injury), has been remarkable. The scenes that are between two deaf characters are silent, save for a few bits of ambient noise like cars or birds. Those conversations, especially when they are arguments, give me goosebumps. I get this show will not be everyone’s cup of tea, nor is the phrase “cup of tea,” but I recommend just watching a bit. You will learn just how lucky you are to be able to speak to someone, and to know they can hear you.
PARENTHOOD
And while I’m on my soap box for well handled issues on my TV shows, I just wanted to give Parenthood a shout out. While some of the issues the show deals with are on-going story arcs, such as a teen with fairly severe autism, and now a mom in her 40s with breast cancer, often there is an “issue of the week.” Rarely have I seen a show handle these with such finesse that you never feel like you are being lectured. Another example would be, not so surprisingly, Friday Night Lights, which was also created by Jason Katims.
This week, Crosby (Dax Shephard) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant) had to deal with explaining the “n-word” to their son. First of all, I love that the subject came up in a non-threatening way. It was overheard while a rap artist was recording in Crosby’s studio leading Jabar to ask the obvious question of what that word means. As the three sit at the table to discuss it, after Crosby kind of messed up the first attempt in his Crosby-esque way (There was mention of Voldemort. Twice.) I held my breath anxious for how this would be handled. I should’ve known better than to question it. The simplicity and care with which the writers, and in turn the characters, handled this discussion was something to marvel. There should be a pamphlet made for parents based on this conversation. While they acknowledged it was never okay for someone to call Jabar that word, they also made sure he realized that there was a good chance he’d hear it one day. It was the best after school specials I’ve ever seen, and just another in the long list of reasons why I believe this is one of the best shows on TV.
SUPERNATURAL
The Winchester Brothers are back together and on our TV screens! I couldn’t be happier. The premiere set up quite a premise for the season – the possibility of permanently closing the gates of hell so no demon could escape again. Crazy! But what would happen to the show? It shows no signs of dying, so I’m curious if this plan will work for them. But since we have 20+ more episodes to figure out that nonsense I guess I’m not going to worry about it. I know all our favorite guys, plus my favorite girl, the Impala, are coming back to the show, so let’s just talk about a couple things that stuck out to me in the premiere of Season 8.
First, does Purgatory have a barber? Does hair not grow while you are there? Did Dean bring his own razor? Seriously, he comes back from a year in purgatory with his hair looking just as good as when he left? I call shenanigans! Meanwhile, Sam still looks like a Pantene commercial. That guy. Speaking of Sam, what the hell were the writers thinking with this girl they added as his love interest? I don’t actually question her existence in general. Unlike so much of the fandom, I think not liking a character because they are a possible love interest for a main guy on the show is idiotic. What I do question is given the fandom’s proclivity to automatically hate any female on this show that isn’t a four door muscle car from the late 60s, why make this one so awful? She is obnoxious, and not in the fun, “oh we have a witty banter” sort of way. Just annoying. I hope they fix it. Because otherwise there will be riots at the next SPN con.
The Office
Alright, let’s have a chat about this adorable couple. I’m nervous, y’all. Do I think Greg Daniels and the writing staff are mean enough to somehow break these two up in the final season? I’m about 90% sure that would never happen. But man, do people like messing with the status quo when they get to the end of a series, especially one that’s been on as long as this. My guess… Jim’s stupidity of epic proportions of taking that job offer without telling Pam is going to continue to throw a wrench in their relationship. But now that she knows (and thankfully the secret didn’t go on 17 episodes) eventually, Pam will realize that moving to Philly will allow her to fulfill her dreams just as much as it will Jim. And she’ll remember that the one thing the man has ever wanted in his life, besides marrying her, is to get the eff out of Dunder Mifflin. So they, along with their cute little babies, will live happily ever after. Honestly, anything else is unacceptable. Forming a prayer circle that this is the plan the writers have.
On the other end of the relationship spectrum – I hope Andy and Erin break up. Is that mean? Am I horrible to say that? I find Andy grating at best. Erin sometimes goes too far down the crazy spiral for me to deal with, but overall, she is sweet. I would be totally cool if they let them implode, Andy end up with Nellie (hatred = sexual tension, am I right?!) and Erin can be with NewJim. But really, I don’t even care. I really ,really don’t. As long as they don’t mess up Jim and Pam, I’m good. Because any couple that can pull of the prank they did in the cold open with the Asian guy (my favorite, by far, in a long time) deserves a happy ending.
PARKS & RECREATION
For those of you who do not know me, you should realize I adore this show. Ben and Leslie are one of my favorite couples on TV (I once wrote an entire article about my love for them) and while I’m not a religious person, if I was going to worship someone, it would be Ron Swanson. I. Love. This. Show. Now, being that Ben and Leslie are my favorite couple and Andy and April amuse me greatly, I was incredibly nervous when I realized a good portion of this season would have the two couples separated as Ben took a job in DC with April as his assistant. I shouldn’t have worried.
They are all just as strong as ever, and the new combinations it forces the writers to explore make the show feel fresh and new. April and Ben decide to road trip to Pawnee this week to see their loves, but end up stuck in a parking garage thanks to a Presidential motorcade blocking the exit. Sitting in the car they discover Ben loves movie soundtracks (“It’s like the director is making a mix tape just for me.”) and writing Star Trek FanFic. Yikes. The brother/sister dynamic of these two weird-os is perfection. Andy, meanwhile, gets to continue to explore his father/son dynamic with Ron, when he helps the burly guy discover a new love in a single mom, Diane, played by Lucy Lawless. The above picture pretty much sums up how special that moment is. But my favorite part is this line from Andy:
“Ron and Diane, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i. …. Look a bird!”
Never change you manchild, you.
Those were the highlights this week for me! Next week there are a few more premieres I’ll be discussing, such as Arrow, Nashville and a certain musical airing on TV for the first time that is about a guy with a PhD in horribleness. (Shhhh… I know I’ve already seen 39754987 times on DVD. But now it’s on TV!)
Follow me on Twitter @serrae and read my reviews over at Small Screen Scoop.