new tv (prison break, k-ville, gossip girl reviews)
Spoilers follow. It's here. I'm excited. I've seen a number of pilots that haven't aired yet, although I'll hold off my thoughts on those until other people have seen them. I will say that Journeyman was my favorite.
Monday brought us the third season premiere of Prison Break and the series premiere of the new show K-Ville. I've been a fan of Prison Break since the beginning, when FOX aired it early enough in the fall season (mid-August) to keep people hooked to it once other new shows started. It's spectacularly paced and plotted first season ended wonderfully, and I think the writers were left scratching their heads when it came to story ideas for season two. The second season of the show was a bit slow, a trait that normally comes around for the third seasons of programs of this nature. There is a midway point through season two where things got going, and the season ended on what is probably one of my favorite cliffhangers of all time.
Season three opens in this entire new world for these characters. Lincoln has been exonerated while Michael is stuck in the worst prison you can imagine, a Panamanian prison called Sona where the guards have abandoned their posts and the military keeps a perimeter. Not only is Michael stuck in there with no idea of how to escape, he's in there with the man who mad it his obsessive mission to find him, Mahone, the worst prison guard you can imagine, Bellick, and the best one-handed bad guy ever, T-Bag. All of these characters are welcomed in this new environment, especially Mahone, who is completely out of his element. Robert Wisdom (The Wire) joins the cast as Lechero, a man who has made Sona his own in the absence of authority. He points out that while there are 27 different nationalities in the prison, there is not one gang, something he wants to rectify. His scenes with Michael and Mahone are wonderful to watch.
Sucre is missed, although the actor's name still appears in the opening credits, which means he'll turn up later. Sara's absence is not really noticed, although it is one of the driving forces behind the plot of this season, it seems. I think that the writers realized their faults at the beginning of season two, and have taken the time to establish a season-long story similar to what we had in the first season.
K-Ville was a show that I was not necessarily looking forward to. I was not wowed by any of the creators or stars. The premise seemed mildly interesting, a cop show set in a post Katrina New Orleans. But that's all it is. Everything is pretty straightforward. None of the characters seem particularly interesting and all come off as one dimensional. The acting is not bad but not outstanding. The same goes for the writing. The "twist" at the end, that the main character's new partner is actually an ex-convict whose record was lost after the hurricane, is something that might have been better left until the end of the season. Instead the whole thing is unloaded in a quick bit of dialogue at the end of the episode. With so many shows out the season, this does not earn a series recording on my DVR.
Gossip Girl was a decent premiere. It comes from Josh Schwartz, the creator of The O.C. and another new show, Chuck. His name is really the only reason I was interested, although sometimes I am the 14-year-old girl who likes teen dramas. The pilot was better than I expected. It's not the best thing ever, but some annoying lines and delivery aside, it has it's share of relatable characters and
others you can't stand, like any show in it's genre. It definitely has the Josh Schwartz feel to it, although I don't know how much he's going to have to do with the show as it goes on. It has potential to it, and seems to the the child of the natural evolution of shows of this genre. It has two or three more episodes to really hook me and have me sing its praises (ala Gilmore Girls), or it could just become become another guilty pleasure (ala Grey's Anatomy).
Next week is the big premiere week. I'd like to write reviews for everything, but I don't know if I'll have the time. If nothing else, I'll talk about them on the podcast.
Monday brought us the third season premiere of Prison Break and the series premiere of the new show K-Ville. I've been a fan of Prison Break since the beginning, when FOX aired it early enough in the fall season (mid-August) to keep people hooked to it once other new shows started. It's spectacularly paced and plotted first season ended wonderfully, and I think the writers were left scratching their heads when it came to story ideas for season two. The second season of the show was a bit slow, a trait that normally comes around for the third seasons of programs of this nature. There is a midway point through season two where things got going, and the season ended on what is probably one of my favorite cliffhangers of all time.
Season three opens in this entire new world for these characters. Lincoln has been exonerated while Michael is stuck in the worst prison you can imagine, a Panamanian prison called Sona where the guards have abandoned their posts and the military keeps a perimeter. Not only is Michael stuck in there with no idea of how to escape, he's in there with the man who mad it his obsessive mission to find him, Mahone, the worst prison guard you can imagine, Bellick, and the best one-handed bad guy ever, T-Bag. All of these characters are welcomed in this new environment, especially Mahone, who is completely out of his element. Robert Wisdom (The Wire) joins the cast as Lechero, a man who has made Sona his own in the absence of authority. He points out that while there are 27 different nationalities in the prison, there is not one gang, something he wants to rectify. His scenes with Michael and Mahone are wonderful to watch.
Sucre is missed, although the actor's name still appears in the opening credits, which means he'll turn up later. Sara's absence is not really noticed, although it is one of the driving forces behind the plot of this season, it seems. I think that the writers realized their faults at the beginning of season two, and have taken the time to establish a season-long story similar to what we had in the first season.
K-Ville was a show that I was not necessarily looking forward to. I was not wowed by any of the creators or stars. The premise seemed mildly interesting, a cop show set in a post Katrina New Orleans. But that's all it is. Everything is pretty straightforward. None of the characters seem particularly interesting and all come off as one dimensional. The acting is not bad but not outstanding. The same goes for the writing. The "twist" at the end, that the main character's new partner is actually an ex-convict whose record was lost after the hurricane, is something that might have been better left until the end of the season. Instead the whole thing is unloaded in a quick bit of dialogue at the end of the episode. With so many shows out the season, this does not earn a series recording on my DVR.
Gossip Girl was a decent premiere. It comes from Josh Schwartz, the creator of The O.C. and another new show, Chuck. His name is really the only reason I was interested, although sometimes I am the 14-year-old girl who likes teen dramas. The pilot was better than I expected. It's not the best thing ever, but some annoying lines and delivery aside, it has it's share of relatable characters and
others you can't stand, like any show in it's genre. It definitely has the Josh Schwartz feel to it, although I don't know how much he's going to have to do with the show as it goes on. It has potential to it, and seems to the the child of the natural evolution of shows of this genre. It has two or three more episodes to really hook me and have me sing its praises (ala Gilmore Girls), or it could just become become another guilty pleasure (ala Grey's Anatomy).
Next week is the big premiere week. I'd like to write reviews for everything, but I don't know if I'll have the time. If nothing else, I'll talk about them on the podcast.
