New Girl
Published December 28, 2011 | 
For a TV show that premiered only three months ago, the New Girl has already accomplished quite a number of things. For starters, it was among the honorees of the First Critics’ Choice Television Awards for most exciting new series. The premiere telecast, meanwhile, was seen by more than 10 million people, with a demo rating of 18-49, considered by Fox, the producer of the show, as the highest rating pilot episode of any of its homegrown programs.
The New Girl features Zooey Deschanel who plays the lead character, Jessica ‘Jess’ Day, a bubbly and amiable woman mending a broken heart who moves in to a new apartment occupied by three guys. How this happened is something that you need to find out for yourself, but definitely, the unique set-up is not entirely original.
Back in the 70’s, a defunct TV sitcom, ‘Three’s Company’, had a more or less similar premise, although the person who moved in was a guy. In both series, however, a number of hilarious scenes were inevitable as the differences in personalities of the three main characters often resulted in clashes and disputes, but delivered in a comedic setting.
With the New Girl, confrontations are expected to be more explosive as more personalities are involved, each one of them having complex personalities. It would not be surprising if the lead character, Jess, can sometimes get overshadowed by her three room mates as they appear to have been given clearer characterizations when it comes to their roles.
The program appears to have developed quite a following, perhaps because it was initially released online in such services as iTunes, TiVo, and Hulu Plus. Fox apparently saw its potential and immediately produced a TV version but opted to make it only a one-season run. When public acceptance proved to be high, Fox jumped on the opprtunity and added 11 more episodes to the original 13. With this, you can expect to see the New Girl for more than just a single season.
Raising Hope
Published December 28, 2011 | A one-night stand is not entirely uncommon, but what if that single night of passion produces a child? This is the premise of the TV comedy series Raising Hope where the lead character, James ‘Jimmy’ Chance, played by Lucas Neff, tries to cope with the responsibilities of being a single father. The concept is refreshingly different given that the more common set-up is a woman acting as a single mom.
The plot is given even more twists when the supposed mother of the child was meted the death sentence after being found guilty of killing a number of her former boyfriends. Obviously,the father of the child, Jimmy, is the only one who was spared from the killing spree, so he ended up having custody of the baby who has been named Hope.
If you adore babies and could hardly get tired watching them utter various unfathomable words or innocently play around, Hope will steal your heart and funny bones away. Played by two different babies surnamed Cregut, Hope is one bundle of joy and wonder in front of the TV camera. Still, there is more to Raising Hope than just Jimmy and his baby daughter.
A few other characters, mostly coming from the immediate family of Jimmy, make the series a case for psychologists. For instance, the mother, Virginia Chance, portrayed by Martha Plimpton, gave birth to Jimmy at the tender age of 15, and was abandoned by her mother two years after she was born. This left Virginia in the care of her grandmother who told her lies as to where her real mother is.
Despite having a flawed family, Jimmy is determined to raise Hope as normally as possible. Unfortunately, having no idea on how to raise a baby, Jimmy inevitably encounters a number of funny and not-so funny experiences along the way, but nevertheless gets the needed help from his family. In this regard, when watching the series, keep in mind that in spite of the fact that the theme is rather serious, Raising Hope is a comedy program, so it is best to enjoy its run.
Last Man Standing
Published December 28, 2011 | If you were to look at its title alone, you would probably assume that Last Man Standing was a TV action series or perhaps some sort of endurance contest where the physical strength of a man is put to the ultimate test. Unfortunately, both are incorrect since Last Man Standing is a TV sitcom currently being aired over ABC.
The show stars comedy actor Tim Allen who plays Mike Baxter, a seemingly ordinary guy working as a marketing director for a Colorado-based sporting goods outlet. Despite the illustrious position and being involved mainly in the male-oriented world of sports, Mike is strangely living in a female-dominated set-up at home. Other than his wife, Mike also has to deal with three daughters which include a young single mother.
In many of his TV and film appearances, Tim Allen has repeatedly portrayed the role of a man trying to project a macho image but is actually a helpless soul inside. In Last Man Standing, there is not much of a difference, although you can still easily relate to the character as only Tim Allen can portray such a role with much gusto.
Interestingly, the current title of the show is not the original one. When the series was still in the commitment stage, it carried the title Man Up. By the time the pilot episode was being shot, it has been renamed Last Days of Man. It was only in mid-May when the 2011-2012 season was signed by ABC did the program adopt its present title.
Additionally, Last Man Standing is not the first TV program that Tim has made for ABC. In the early 90’s, Tim starred in the ABC hit sitcom Home Improvement which lasted for 8 years. Last Man Standing is showing signs of success so it should not come as a surprise to find Tim staying with ABC for quite some time. Presently, the show is scheduled to run for one whole season, with 22 episodes already in the can.
The Exes
Published December 28, 2011 | There appears to be a growing trend in TV program concepts about a person moving into an apartment already being occupied by others. The Fox TV sitcom, New Girl, is a good example, and hot on its heels is The Exes which is currently airing on TV Land after debuting a few weeks back. Despite being relatively new, the program is quickly gaining a following among TV viewers.
The series takes a look at the lives of three men who live under one apartment. Two things bind these men together ; one, they are all divorced from their wives, and two, they share an apartment owned by their divorce lawyer, a female litigator named Holly Brooks and played onscreen by Kristen Johnston. Initially, only two of the three guys live together, namely, Phil Chase (Donald Faison) and Haskell Lutz (Wayne Knight), but in the pilot episode, Holly is seen introducing Stuart Gardner, played by David Alan Basche, as her new client and the new room mate of Phil and Haskell.
The premise is a little flawed as it is hard to accept the idea of a divorce lawyer taking three of her clients and asking them to live together under one roof. At best, the men should strive to get an apartment of their own even as their divorce cases are underway. Still, The Exes is a comedy program, so improbable scenarios are generally acceptable.
Additionally, given this rather unusual concept, it would be interesting to find out what kind of jokes can be developed that focus on the travails that divorced men go through. Apparently, this is one aspect that The Exes seeks to experiment on; thus, the show should be worth watching if only to find out if the attempt is successful.
Finally, very few comedy shows deal with the lives of lawyers especially since most other TV series inolving the legal arena are set under serious and dramatic backdrops. The Exes offers a refreshing change as it seeks to prove that lawyers can also deliver a joke or two.
I Hate My Teenage Daughter
Published December 28, 2011 | Initially, you might come to think that the TV sitcom I Hate My Teenage Daughter centers on the problems that come when trying to raise a daughter in her teenage years. To a certain extent, this is correct, but the show offers more than that since its focus is not really on the daughters but on the mothers of these teenagers.
Specifically, I Hate My Teenage Daughter tells the story of two mothers starting to feel that their teenage daughters are gradually becoming thevery same girls who made their high school lives miserable. Mothers Annie Watson, played by Jaime Pressly and Nikki Miller, essayed by Katie Finneran, are the best of friends who have contrasting ways of bringing up their children, but are now deeply regretting this given the kind of daughters that they are presently dealing with.
The concept is not exactly new as the problems involving teenagers is a common experience. Still, the series was able to give this a slight twist with its decision to center on the sad experience that the mothers had in their teenage years, and how this is now haunting them as their own daughters enter the same awkward stage in life.
Of course, it does not really help that the main characters also happen to be separated from their respetive spouses, making the process of teenage-rearing even more difficult for them. This aspect of parenthood where the partners are divorced was obviously made in order to be updated with the current set-up where only one parent, normally the mother, is actively involved in looking after the child.
For these reasons, it comes as no surprise that I Hate My Teenage Daughter is one Fox TV series enjoying a good following despite being a newcomer in the primetime slot. Of course, it helps that the program is aired just after the highly-popular X Factor. The fact that the show is a TV sitcom likewise serves as a rating booster as teenage issues are handled in a comedic fashion.
Breakout Kings
Published December 8, 2011 | Prison Break may have found its big break before, but Breakout Kings will definitely share that limelight starting to this point. Breakout Kings is an American drama television series created by Nick Santora and Matt Olmstead, which started airing last March 2011 and later picked up by network for another season.
The premise goes on a with a squad of U.S Marshalls that team up with ex-cons to work together and track down prison escapees. From the beginning of the show, you will be introduced to a prisoner counting as he hangs onto the underside of the bunk in his cell. The inmate finishes at 230, write something down and the scene changes, the opening sequence give us a peak on a particular inmate collecting numbers and later made a clever escape.
Then, we see Ray Zancanelli (Domenick Lombardozzi), arresting officer for the escaped criminal. Agent Charlie Duchamp, the officer from a department of Criminal Program Analysis, later joined him. Both are in charge of the new task force assigned to them, using selected fugitives to help find escaped and dangerous fugitives. The incentive, all participants are moved to a minimum-security prison and for every convict they catch; the justice department will shave time off their sentence, one month per criminal caught.
Joining them are Shea Daniels, aka the entrepreneur, Dr. Lloyd Lower, a former child prodigy and behaviorist, and Philly, literally the beauty queen of con artists. WE know we got your attention there! And so are we. The casts is already a solid proof of what good does this show comes with. At the premier of the Breakout Kings, we know that there is more to come and a lot of potential to expect since it’s just started.
Harry’s Law
Published December 8, 2011 | From the creators of “The Practice” and “Boston Legal”, Emmy Award winning creator David E. Kelley brings his unique forte in storytelling to this new television series “Harry’s Law”. A series about how fate brings people together, starring Academy Award winner Kathy Bates (from “Misery,” “About Schmidt”).
Harriet (Bates), Matthew (Ben Chaplin, “Me and Orson Welles”) and Malcolm (Aml Ameen, “Kidulthood”) could not be any more different. Harriet is an ex-patent lawyer who, having just been fired from her undemanding job is completely disillusioned with her success and looking for a fresh start. Her world unexpectedly collides with Malcolm’s — a young man trying to figure out life.
When he finds out Harriet is a lawyer, he begs her to represent him in an upcoming criminal case. Matthew, a dreamer at heart and also recently fired from his job as a high school teacher, is introduced to Harriet through Malcolm, a previous student of his.
All three have realized that they are all looking for a fresh start by the time these three have crossed paths. Now, the most unlikely of people are starting a law practice in the most unlikely of places — a rundown shoe store.
We have to acknowledge how Katy Bates stays stronger and how she remains to be a great actress with a very good performance as a patent lawyer who eventually ends up supporting the less well off members of society in the criminal court.
Harry’s Law is not your usual law show, where people get to scold one another and goes after each opposing team for their own benefit, the show is totally a different story. The TV series is well written, and it’s so hard to let it pass by. Proof of it that despite the mixed reaction from critics, the series is one of NBC’s highest scripted drama and already been renewed for a second season.
Outsourced
Published December 8, 2011 | For someone who has worked in any call center or outsourcing business, Outsourced is definitely a television series you can relate to. The show has a lot of touch on reality and it reveals the cultural difference in a certain office premise without making it look racist or offensive.
Usually the scenarios are based on the culture clash between mid-stream, Midwestern America and the Indian call center employees, which could have been ugly or boring. This is neither. There’s a light relationship banter, reminiscent of “Better off Ted,” that keeps the characters interesting, and sets the stage to await further developments.
Outsourced is an American television sitcom set in a call center or outsourcing type of office in an Indian environment. Based on the Outsourced movie by John Jeffcoat film, the television spin off was picked up by Universal Media Studios for NBC.
Set in Mumbai, India, where an American Novelties company has recently chosen to outsourced its order processing. Todd Dempsey, portrayed by Ben Rappaport is a Kansas City native who is transferred to India to run the call center for Mid America Novelties. He then, flies to India to train his team of customer reps about the American popular culture to his employees at the same time understands Indian culture.
On his stay in India, he learned many things Indian. The utter charm of this show is in the storytelling from Todd’s point of view; Rappaport’s simple, untraveled Todd embraces the vast cultural differences he encounters in his new home with delight.
The bad news of NBC’s decision to cancel the show was a bit disappointing. Hopefully another network will pick it up and do another production as a continued plot of story to this and the film. The show does not only give us an insight on the kind of workplace people deal with in a call center or off shoring business but also educate us on other people’s culture and personality away from the stereotypical racism and clouded judgment.
CSI Miami
Published December 8, 2011 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation stormed in television in year 2000.
As a spin off from the original CSI; CSI: Miami brings in a completely new team of forensic investigators with action-packed moves just like in CSI Las Vegas.
The tropical climate of Miami or what is also called as Cuba North prepares the viewers hotter and irresistible episodes you cannot miss. But the trivia here is that the indoor scenes were usually shot at Manhattan Beach, California, while the outdoor scenes are filmed in Long Beach, California and other portions of Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach.
With the original premise of the show CSI, the new CSI Miami follows a South Florida forensic team who uses combination of cutting-edge scientific methods and old-fashioned police work to solve crimes.
Seasoned television actor David Caruso heads the team of the forensic experts as Lieutenant Horation Caine. A former homicide police officer and detective at NYPD, a forensic analyst, and a bomb squad officer. Joining him are: Detective Calleigh Duquesne (Emily Procter), ballistics specialist, Detective Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo), and many more.
The show normally starts off with the opening sequence of showing the victim’s body being discovered. There is no particular connection of the victim to any of the characters, except when the show’s story is connected to the one member of CSI team.
Followed by layered investigation, resulting to conclusion and discovery of clues to identify who the victim was and who killed or who is the possible perpetrator. What sets this spin off apart is that, there is less of a twist in the show. Making it easier to identify and interpret all the evidences unlike the original series.
CSI Miami premiered May 9, 2002 and now on its 10th season. Have you watched any of the seasons yet?
Greek
Published December 8, 2011 | Greek was a show in transition taking two big leaps from the last season’s finale, as we wait for the post-grad life of seniors Casey (Spencer Grammer) and Evan (Jake McDorman); while Ashleigh (Amber Stevens) and Rusty and his friends are the ones left in the university.
Let us take a minute to recall what happened when the Greek show started, we remember the freshman dude arriving at his sister’s college (which is much to her dismay), Rusty Cartwright, arrives on the campus of Cyprus –Rhodes University. Rusty finds out that his sister has neglected to mention to her friends that she has a brother.
Rusty, is a nerd who wants to join a frat house so he can fit in and make friends. He meets Dale (Clark Duke), his roommate who is a Christian Addict and who is completely against fraternities and sororities. On his quest for fraternity, Rusty meets Calvin (Paul James) and Ashleigh.
Eventually, Rusty ends up joining the Kappa Tau Gamma house, which is the most trouble frat house on campus, and lead by Casey’s ex boyfriend, and Calvin goes to Omega Chi Delta, which is lead by Evan, Casey’s current Boyfriend in the pilot and is Cappie’s enemy.
Casey’s boyfriend Evan offered Rusty a spot in the Omega Chi Delta Fraternity, so long as he does not mention anything about him sleeping with Rebecca Logan ( Senator daughter) played by Dilshad Vadsaria, and the rest was history.
If you ever watched the premier episode of the show from season 1 to the last then you could have relate to something on this show. So, the question is, is it gonna go ahead on another season or is it really the last? Are we going to catch a glimpse of what happens to Casey and Evan? And how will Rusty move on being a senior of his own? Watch out for more, and we definitely recommend that you watch this show.
