Coupling Unhinged

NBC can't be happy with what's happening with their Thursday 9:30pm show Coupling, which got its worst numbers so far last night. It's losing a lot of audience out of Will & Grace, thus helping to shoot CSI up even further and solidifying ABC's Extreme Makeover as a viable contender. I've written several times about how much I like the original, and after watching both versions last night, I was probably too kind in the review on my main website, as presented below:

"Review 10/3/03: With two airings now under its belt, Coupling is looking like it's going to be NBC's biggest disappointment this year, considering all the hopes going in. Unable to hold onto its Will & Grace lead-in, but of course still getting pretty good numbers because of Thursday night momentum, the series isn't helping NBC fight back against CBS' growing Thursday night presence. Creatively, any fan of the British Coupling will find watching this U.S. version to be like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses -- identical images, but set slightly askew, rendering the whole thing nearly unwatchable. What makes the British show appealing and this version hollow and forced?

Lightning doesn't usually strike twice in the same place or for the same concept, and that's certainly true here. It's not for lack of trying, and it doesn't seem fair to lay the blame on an inadequate cast -- they're pretty much okay -- or any other tangible reason. That certain something, namely charisma, doesn't infuse this show the way it does in the original. It's not that Colin Ferguson is a bad Steve, it's just that when you watch Brit Coupling's Jack Davenport...well, he's positively inspired and hilarious. And while Christopher Moynihan tries his darndest to make his Jeff a creature of whimsy, one look at the one and only Richard Coyle shows how far off this American version is from the Coupling across the pond.

It's not out of the question to get lucky if you play Dr. Frankenstein with a partially pre-assembled concept; many years ago NBC managed to cobble together a synthetic rock band for TV and it became The Monkees, so, hey hey, it's possible. It's actually kind of intriguing and sweet to think of them wanting so much to take this kooky British trifle and bestow the Friends legacy on it, and you can't blame NBC for trying, what with that imminent loss on the horizon. No doubt folks at the network fell in love with the British Coupling as viewers, and if the take-away on this probably ultimately unhappy series experiment is that somebody's enthusiasm overruled their TV cynicism, I think that's a victory in itself. They loved not too wisely, but too well, when they brought Coupling over here. I just hope our version doesn't put people off the show on BBC America." 


And over on ABC at 8pm last night, Threat Matrix continued to founder against insanely strong competition from Friends, Survivor and baseball, but I like the show. There may not be many more chances to catch an episode, but in case you're on the fence, here's my take on it:

"Review 10/3/03: Other than the obvious TV timeslot situation that has doomed this show, the current political climate isn't helping viewers swallow the dour proceedings in Threat Matrix. With proof of WMDs slow in coming in Iraq, is it too much to expect viewers to respond to a show where such an assumption is key to the drama? Perhaps Threat Matrix has shown just where the boundary really is in terms of what can pass as mass entertainment for most Americans. Autopsies -- at least staged ones -- are on the okay list, along with bloody crime scenes, an explicit lexicon where semen traces and vaginal scrapings are constant companions, and arcane investigational procedures played out in infinitesimal detail.

What's obviously not made the grade yet are grim depictions of scary real world worst case scenarios where the bad guys are really, really, REALLY bad. If incipient germ warfare or incoming terrorists aren't quite appealing enough to generate tune-in, it's easy to blame Joey and Rachel and those desert island dodos, but perhaps it's actually Americans' fear of instant annihilation that puts the ultimate kibosh on Threat Matrix. The show is well-done and chilling, and while the first attribute is a must, the second is a killer, at least in these United States."

Last night's episode -- a jeep-load of young unfortunates infected with the Ebola speeds towards Las Vegas -- was pretty good, and everything I said in my review is true. I guess the show just isn't "fun" enough. As Shannon Dougherty says in the promos for her Scare Tactics show on Sci Fi (which incidentally has its season finale this evening at 10pm), "Laugh it up...you could be next." That's the way I feel about the stories on Threat Matrix.

 
A Programmer with a Purpose

Congratulations to Spike TV senior VP of Programming Barbera Zaneri on her decision to leave her position to follow her heart. To quote Daily Variety:

"At the top of my to-do list," Zaneri said, "is something I'm passionate about: a production company that would tape programs with the message that there's more to life than ego, money and material things."

Indeed! In her years in the industry, including lots of time with USA at the broadcasting and studio level, Barbara has always been a smart and solid straight-up player (we had dealings when I was at TNT), and she will do well in her new endeavor. I'm sure she's seen more than her share of folks who could use the kind of programming she'll be producing.

Good luck to Barbara!

 
NBC Moves Miss Match

Seeing their Friday night line-up going down in flames, NBC is making several changes including moving the Alicia Silverstone Miss Match out of 8pm into the 9pm timeslot. Miss Match has been getting kicked around by CBS' solid starter Joan of Arcadia; they're hoping that young women who've gotten hooked on Joan and thus missed Miss Match might be tempted to watch both now that they're not against each other. Not that 9pm is a cakewalk, with CBS' veteran Jag and a growing ABC TGIF 9pm hour doing well, but Miss Match is a cute show and should be very compatible with Joan's audience, should they take a look.

Also caught in the revolving door is NBC's 10pm show Boomtown, the fave of the critical cognoscenti but not yet held in quite such esteem by the viewing public at large. It's been dying at 10pm, and to revive the hour NBC's moving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit back into its last season slot. That'll plug the hole but good, and it only remains to be seem what will happen to the 8pm hour which will be filled in the short term by replays of Queer Eye and new editions of Dateline NBC. Both would seem to be okay foils for Joan of Arcadia, but it's really 9pm where NBC is looking to start the night-saving process.

I like Joan of Arcadia but Miss Match is an entertaining show with a darling star, so this schedule revision is, I think, a good one.

Give Jake a Chance

This evening, I beg you to take a look at UPN's 9pm show Jake 2.0, a super series that's just not finding the viewers it deserves. With competition of established dramas The West Wing and Angel, and (post-baseball) Fox's summer hit The O.C., plus CBS' decently strong sitcoms and ABC's The Bachelor, there's just doesn't seem to be anybody left to watch this clever, quick-witted and vastly entertaining series. UPN just can't get a grip on Wednesdays, and that's probably going to take Jake 2.0 down in defeat. Don't let anybody ever say there's nothing on TV to watch -- it's just the opposite, with a schedule so stuffed there seem to be few viewers left for a wonderful show like Jake 2.0.

Mo' Mullets Please

And while I'm on UPN, I thought The Mullets was hilarious last night. Michael Weaver and David Hornsby as Dwayne and Denny Mullet give a couple of the most original and charming performances I've ever seen, and Loni Anderson is extremely appealing and funny as their mom. This series puts me in mind of one of the most unique offbeat comedies ever, Get a Life!, and if you've been looking for another show that makes you laugh out loud from sheer silliness, The Mullets is it. I realize there are no babies or cute kiddies on the show to appeal to those demographically attractive 18 - 49 year-old-women out there, but anybody with a funnybone that hasn't been dulled into submission by the standard domestic sitcoms will find The Mullets a refreshing change. I think it's the most genuine feel-good show out there, too, and boy, will I be sad to see it go, which looks like may happen.

It was also great to see Roddy Piper, one of the best actor/personalities ever to come out of professional wrestling, as a guest. The producers of The Mullets have done a wonderful job in finding the perfect sensibility for their show; the next time somebody says there's nothing original on TV, they're obviously just not looking at the right network.

 
Tuesday Choices

If you're a sentimentalist, you might want to watch ABC at 8pm tonight to catch the last of the John Ritter 8 Simple Rules episodes. It's anybody's guess what happens after tonight; have enough new viewers fallen for the show to hang in through reruns from last season and the rejiggered version that will premiere in the near future? Or was the recent ratings spike just a combination of curiosity and respect for a fallen TV favorite, never to be repeated? If it was, then lead-out show I'm With Her will have to rely on its own devices to make the grade.

As of this moment, the comedy competion on NBC is pretty well squashed, with both Whoopi and Happy Family underperforming something fierce. The default winner after the comedy wars have finished may be Navy N.C.I.S., CBS' already solid offshoot of their long-running hit JAG. Mark Harmon may have the last laugh, after all.

If you haven't decided whether to check out Whoopi before it (probably) bites the dust, here's my take on it, from my main website:

"Whoopi is dying a quick death at the hands of ABC's unusually strong comedy block, but this could change when the alphabet net runs out of the new 8 Simple Rules episodes with the late John Ritter, thus ending the whole weird viewing wake that's been happening so far this season. By then it'll probably be too late to revive Whoopi, but even without the Ritter-effect competition, prospects weren't a sure thing. Goldberg is fine, but you've really got to adore her cranky side to get off on this series. The supporting cast is good, too, with special props to Elizabeth Regen who plays Whoopi's brother's girlfriend, a white gal way more up with black culture than he is, and she's cute. I like Omid Djalili; he and Whoopi work well together and he has a sweetness and brio that's gotta be good for international relations. Whoopi has been a big disappointment for NBC this season, but it wouldn't be fair to blame the show. Circumstances have been unkind to Ms. Goldberg."

We don't want to forget about UPN here; while their 9pm Rock Me Baby and The Mullets (which I think is funny in a completely guileless way) block is withering, their 8p - 9p has some hope, especially the 8:30pm All of Us from Will Smith and his wife. Naturally the ABC situation isn't helping them out, either.

Be sure to check out my main website for the entire 2003 Fall Schedule plus reviews and updates. As for me, I think I'm going to finally check out Navy N.C.I.S (which I've managed to miss so far), not because of Mark Harmon, but because my favorite man from U.N.C.L.E., David McCallum, is one of the co-stars. Childhood idols never leave you, ya know....

 
Best News I've Heard All Day -- And It's Still Early Yet!

Bravo to Bravo for picking up the terrific but under-watched series Keen Eddie, which briefly aired on Fox early this summer. In a deal that will start in January, Bravo will have rights to the 13 episodes of KE, including the seven never-aired that those of us who adored the show just can't wait to finally see. Keen Eddie, though folks seemed either to love it or hate it, is a jazzy, smart, fast-paced and ultra-stylish seriocomic hour centering on the exploits of an American police detective who's relegated to special duty in London. The show both lampooned and celebrated the curious differences between and Yanks and Brits, and offered a couple of TV's breeziest performances by lead actor Mark Valley and Julian Rhind-Tutt, who played his English detective partner Monty Pippin (love that name!).

Keen Eddie was just a delight, and let's hope that Bravo's current heightened profile might be able to turn more viewers onto this vastly entertaining series. I'm not naive about the realistic chances that a show as eccentric as Keen Eddie can, will, or even should appeal to audiences at large, but it was dismaying to see something so clever and charming get smothered under this past summer's reality show glut. Bravo!

 
A Little Help in Choosing Your Sunday 8pm Television

In the 10-8 vs. Cold Case dilemma, here are my takes on both series:

ABC's 8pm entry 10-8 got kicked in the premiere week ratings by CBS' new Cold Case -- primarily due to lead-in, I'd say -- but it was a very pleasant surprise to me. Produced by Aaron Spelling and definitely more from the the old school of TV drama, that is, heavy on entertainment and charm, 10-8 and it's alley-runnin', fence-jumpin', tire-squealin' action antics made for a fast-paced and appealing hour. Trading a lot on Danny Nucci's streetwise charm as a new sheriff's recruit, the show creates a far-from-new-for-TV personality contest between his sweet strength and Ernie Hudson's demanding yet engaging intensity, but the dynamic between these two characters is something you'll want to see again. This show's definitely a personality piece in a recognizable genre, and that's what producer Spelling does best. There's nobody else in TV who has such a great track record for celebrating the power of a charismatic actor, and you can see his keen eye for a super charmer at work here with Nucci.

Now, the only question is, has America fallen so much in love with taciturn leads and the grim, grisly and gruesome on so many current crime shows that it doesn't remember what it's like to actually *enjoy* watching a show? 10-8 is decidedly more Starsky and Hutch than CSI, and I find the distinction a welcome change. Gosh, I hope this one lasts. One of these days viewers are going to decide they've gone to enough autopsies; I can't think of a better alternative than a ride-along with these captivating cops. And to explain the police code title, ABC has started calling the show 10-8 Officers on Duty, in promos at least.


And as for Cold Case:

As expected, CBS' Cold Case performed well in its premiere week, thanks to a great lead-in but primarily by delivering on its crime-solving promise. Despite qualms (after Critics Tour reports of cast ennui during the show session there; check out the interviews on the CBS website you can see that Ms. Morris' strength doesn't seem to be PR babbling), Kathryn Morris brought some nice wry touches to her role as a detective who's reluctantly thrown into cold case territory. You could almost watch her get her sea legs during the pilot, easing out of a tough gal cop cliche interpretation to showing signs that she might indeed have what it takes to turn this woman into something special. Bringing the old crimes to life through flashbacks works well, and especially so when the detectives meet the suspects for the first time; in that very brief instant the contemporary faces meld with their historical file images, and the effect is intriguing. There's the requisite police workplace full of assorted grumblers, hot dogs and a father figure -- you know, the kind where the lead character can go up and take the coffee cup right out of his hand, drink, and hand it back to him, without asking (do people really do that?).

Of course you've seen it all before, but thanks to the Philadelphia setting and a slighty weary wash over the whole thing, Cold Case turns it all into something watchable. Producers Bruckheimer et al are still new enough at this crime show franchise-creating game that their shows don't yet seem to be completely created by cookie cutter, as do Dick Wolf's, and I'd put Cold Case's pilot down as evidence that maybe they're going to let this series develop its own rhythm. I could watch this again. Once in a while a show actually deserves the ratings it inherits from a lead-in; Cold Case is a great example.

My solution:
I suggest watching one and recording the other. If you like hour-long TV drama they're both pretty good bets. Nobody said choosing was going to be easy....