New Shows Roundup – The Canceled

In the fight to find a following this season, two shows have already lost the battle. Sadly, this proves what I already suspected - networks just do not have the patience to allow shows to grow their audiences this day and age, not when they can easily fill their timeslots with reality dribble for cheaper make and likely bigger ratings. Unlike movies that may not light up the box office on opening weekend but still prove to be successful through other means, some new shows will never have the chance to become the television equivalent of sleeper hits, cult classics or dvd sales superstars … not when they are cancelled after 2 measly episodes. The first casualties of this season? The critically acclaimed “Lone Star” and the nostalgia-driven “My Generation.”

Lone Star – I hate to say “I told you so”, but I so called this being a “surefire flop” (see my fall preview post). The only thing surprising about this cancellation is the fact it came so early. As much as I could not bring myself to be interested in a con-man cheating on two women and wanting to “have it all” (as the promos had tooted), I must say it was a decently made show that could have perhaps drawn a sizable male audience.

I have a feeling most women can stomach what the main character is doing, even if he is well-intentioned (very different from Big Love, where the sister-wives are well-aware of each other’s presence). Perhaps if the marketing for this show had recognized how badly this aspect of the show’s premise might come across to some people, it would not have focused any all of the promos on actually celebrating his being able to swindle two women.  Had the promos highlighted instead the intrigue in running the cons and the affairs but left the relationship aspect ambiguous, I’d wager more people would have tuned-in in the first instance, and the show may still have a decently sized audience left at this point. Still, probably not a good sign when the character I felt for the most in the opening episode was the old cowboy man the father-son team tried to con …

Alternatively, I think the show may have also had a better chance if it did not try so hard to make the main character so sympathetic (I must say I did feel for him when he helped out the kid at the gas station). I realized this when I read someone’s suggestion that Josh Holloway should have been the main character in this show. Not sure if it’s my love for Sawyer (even though I am still mad he indirectly killed Jin, Sun and Sayid), but when I tried imagining Holloway in the role, the show suddenly seemed a gazillion times more interesting. Somehow, a show about a con-man with a heart of gold is just not as appealing as if the con-man were slick and unapologetic, but grows to be more human as the series progresses (though always retaining some of the unconventional side). Perhaps Lone Star would have been better off starting a few years before the current setting – so we can see why/how the main character came love his women and would risk everything to have it all.

My Generation – The second cancellation of the season - a documentary-style drama that trails a group of high school friends' lives 10 years after their graduation.  I am actually quite upset about this one.  The couple of episodes so far are a bit scatterbrained with a few blah characters, but there were some interesting reveals and plot points that had potential for development.  Ah well, perhaps the past should be left in the past …

All in all, Texas has turned out to be the biggest loser this new season, with Lone Star (set in Houston and Midland, filmed in Dallas) and this show (set in Austin) going 1-2 for the earliest cancellations.  Having grown up in Texas, Sofa Spud wishes it better luck next season : )

New Shows Roundup – The Event

So far, a hijacked plane flown by Luke from Gilmore Girls a pilot whose daughters are held hostage disappears in midair just as it is about to hit its presumed target, the President of the United States, on the day he was to make an announcement about a group of mysterious detainees who had been held by the government for 66 years and are possibly “not of terrestrial origin.” Turns out the plane was zapped to the desert in Arizona by members of the detainees’ group that had escaped capture and infiltrated our society (undoubtedly raising the question of who among those we have seen are not what they seem). The boyfriend of one of the pilot’s daughters, who had lost said girlfriend while they were on a cruise, tried to stop the hijacking but ended up being framed for a murder back on the cruise and in FBI custody (presumably still looking for ways to find his gf).

This is now the series I most want to do well and stay on the air, because, despite somewhat shoddy execution so far, (1) I am really intrigued as to what is going on; (2) I have yet to check out Fringe so [until V returns] this is my only dose of network scifi; (3) even though it is a blatant gimmicky attempt to capitalize on the Lost formula (a move which I think may be backfire in light of the backlash towards the Lost finale), I still think Lost was one of the best shows on television (i.e. lackluster lack-of-answers ending did not take away from my enjoyment of the process), so if this show can be even half as good, I will stay on-board; (4) I was also a fan of 24 and the 4400, and am not seeing the similarities to those shows as a bad thing (yet); (5) some characters have the potential to develop into real bad-asses (here’s hoping!); and (6) on a purely shallow note, Agent Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale) is one hottt alien.

That said, the random time jumps and flashbacks are becoming annoying. This approach worked for Lost because the Lost flashbacks were usually coherent stories that revealed characters’ backstories and tied into their actions, motivations and/or dilemmas in their present lives. The transitions from island to flashback in Lost were so seamless and, more importantly, made sense and proved important by the end of the episode (Jack in Thailand episode notwithstanding – still bitter about wtf that episode was about). So far, the Event’s flashbacks have been scattered, borderline-arbitrary and sometimes repetitive. They feel like flashbacks for the sake of flashbacks. They were especially distracting in episode 2 (I am thinking of the swimming flashback between Jason Ritter’s character and his girlfriend – was that REALLY necessary?) I did enjoy the flashbacks to the detainees crashing in Alaska and Agent Simon Lee’s backstory though (because *shocking* they actually related to the scenes prior to the flashback!). I still have high hopes for this show though – Sophia (Laura Innes) and her possee of “aliens” and Toepick from the Cutting Edge D.B. Sweeney and his murderous group, including Vicky the ditzy partygirl turned kidnapping vixen, are the most interesting characters for me so far. Admittedly, the show needs to work on its characterizations in general - I am in fact straining to remember Jason Ritter's character's name right now, and he's being pitched as the main character ... Sean, that's it ...

All in all, I have seen enough to make me continue to tune in, but I hope the non-linear storytelling won’t turn off others. Some networks have already proven this season they have no qualms about being trigger-happy with new shows.