Mike’s Fall TV New Series Reviews

For those not able to watch all 18 hours of primetime television that are on every night, I’m doing a public service, taking the bullet and watching as much as I can and letting you guys know what’s good and what’s crap. Some things I decided were crap and haven’t even bothered with, but what I’ve watched so far of new series, I’ll give you the scoop. (This may be several parts)

FOX

Reunion
(Thursday at 9 after The OC)

Reunion is about six close friends and their stories from 20 years in the past when they graduated high school up to the present where one of them is murdered and one of the others did it. Each episode is supposed to be a year, so it starts back in 1986 with a party. I basically got bored and annoyed by the predictable plot after 10 minutes and turned to something else.

C-

Kitchen Confidential
(Monday at 8:30 after Arrested Development which you should be watching anyways)

Jack Bourdain (Bradley Cooper; Will on Alias) was a hotshot chef who let women, drugs and booze ruin his career. We catch up with him when he’s working at an Olive-Garden-type restaurant. He then gets a call from the owner of an upscale restaurant that recently fired the head chef. He takes the job and has to assemble a stereotypically motley crew of assistants. There’s the Seafood Specialist (John Cho; Harold of Harold and Kumar), the Pastry Genius (Nicholas Brendon; Xander from BtVS), the wild Sous Chef (Owain Yeoman) and the incompetent newbie (John F. Daley of Freaks and Geeks). Then there’s the front of house staff, the girl that put the ho’ in hostess (Jaime King), and the house manager (Bonnie Somerville; lawyer Rachel from The OC). Despite the tension and disorder of the opening night, the crew manage to get a good review of the restaurant and it seems that Jack is back on his way up, at least as far as his career is concerned. The same cannot be said for his person life, as his reputation precedes him and causes many comic misunderstandings. That’s not to say the show is slapstick or stupid. Actually it’s well written, and very genuinely funny. The ensemble cast all fulfills their roles well, and Jack is very likable and sympathetic. I really enjoyed it and was almost immediately thinking that it was a really great show, as opposed to having to warm up to it.

Highly recommended.

A


Head Cases
(Wednesday at 9:00)

Jason Payne (Chris O’Donnell) is a high-priced lawyer, who ignores his family and when he gets kicked out of his house, the stress of his job and the pressures of family finally get to him and he has a breakdown, one where the TV talks to him. (My TV talks to me, but I don’t usually answer back) After spending 2 months in a “wellness center” he is declared ready to reenter society, but his doc makes him have a buddy, kind of like a sponsor in AA. Unfortunately his buddy Shultz is also a lawyer, and one with a “small anger management” problem (described as Explosive Disorder). Shultz also is the stereotypical bottom feeder type of lawyer whose typical clientele consist of prostitutes and anyone else that nobody would defend. Jason loses his job at the high-power firm, is still not able to be back with his family, and ends up having to work with Shultz. They help each other with their cases, in typical buddy-comedy fashion. Adam Goldberg keeps it just shy of annoying, and there is enough chemistry between him and Chris O’Donnell to make it interesting. I’m going to keep watching, but hopefully this doesn’t turn into an Ally-McBeal-parade of goofy clients.

B-

Bones
(Tuesday at 8:00)

Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist and not a people person. Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz of Angel) is an FBI agent and detractor of science. See, comedy gold of the "Odd Couple" variety. Grudgingly Brennan (a.k.a the titularily nicknamed "Bones") works with Booth to solve crimes when ever they find bodies that need explaining. To help discover the identities of victims Bones and her (once again) motley crew of scientists and computer geniuses use "sophisticated" computerized scanners and other science-y stuff to recreate in a C.S.I.-like holographic chamber the victims and methods of their demises. I seriously think the writers just wrote "science stuff" in the script wherever they needed explanations and let researchers fill it in. There was even a montage of Bones hard at work, reassembling the skull of a victim. ‘Cause science is hard. In the end, both Bones and Booth find that they need each others strengths to solve cases. The first episode was a bit cheesy, and the dialogue is kind of lame at times (no need to be so self-referential as to refer to yourselves as "Mulder and Scully") but I think the show can and should improve.

B