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Showing posts with label The Finder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Finder. Show all posts

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Top Five: Shows of Last Pilot Season...Sorta

Well we are in the thick of pilot season now, which accounts for my lack of updates, sorry guys.

As I wade through scripts for countless doctor/lawyer shows and the inevitable copycat shows, already looks like there is a "new" American Horror Story and a "new" Homeland, I am reminded of what the last pilot season had to offer. So I've decided to do a Top Five of my favorite shows to come out of last pilot season. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Revenge - Ok, I admit it, when I first heard about the show I really didn't understand how they were going to make this premise work as a weekly show. As a movie or mini series sure, but I couldn't see how they could continue out this story week after week without it going stale. I am beyond pleased to say how wrong I was. Revenge has become one of my favorite shows, you know one of those shows you just devour. The cast is amazing, I don't even have words to describe how amazingly talented I find Madeline Stowe. It's a show that I look forward to week after week.


2) American Horror Story - I have mixed feelings about this show, but for reasons that will soon be explained, feel it had to be included in the Top Five. The show wasn't as terrifying as I had initially been lead to believe it would be. The first episode I unnecessarily forced The Boy's Brother, who is our other roommate and 6'5 to watch with me in case I freaked. Was the show creepy? Yes. Disturbing? Often. Terrifying? Not really, well except for the underutilized "infantada". That thing was the stuff of nightmares. But I digress, despite being littered with plot bunnies, often time confusing/frustrating, American Horror Story did do one thing I loved. It got people talking, discussing, theorizing. I'm a big fan of shows that get you thinking. While it was airing, Thursdays, and Fridays too for those of us who would DVR it, meant that the office was a buzz with conversation about that week's episode.

3) Hart of Dixie - I grew up in what I like to reffer to as the "Glory Days of the WB". It was the station to watch, they had Buffy, Angel, 7th Heaven (when it was still good), Dawson's Creek, the short lived Young Americans (which had Ian Somerhalder) and Dead Last (which had Tyler Labine). Side bar if anyone remembers those last two shows we need to be friends. Anyway Hart of Dixie brings the CW back to the WB hay day, with it's cute, feel good vibe and really, it's hard not to love a show that has Scott Porter and a very often shirtless Wilson Bethel.


4) The Finder - So I know we have just recently gotten a taste of this new show but as a fan of Bones since the beginning I felt it had to be given a spot. The show, although still finding it's legs,  has made some positive changes since the backdoor pilot during an episode of Bones last year. Saffron Burrows Ike is no more, replaced, without any mention, with Mercedes Masohn's Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada and Maddie Hasson's Willa Monday. Throw in the riddiculously awesome guest stars, Brett Davern (Awkward), John Francis Daley (Bones), Wilson Cruz (My So Called Life), my random adoration Ian Reed Kesler (guest star on EVERYTHING), with Geoff Stults and Michal Clarke Duncan and you got some serious gold.


Okay, okay so after mulling this over for two days I have only come up with four. Sure, there were other shows I like that came out of last years pilot season, The New Girl, Once Upon a Time,  2 Broke Girls, Person of Interest, but they haven't made it to my MUST view lists. Then of course there is Alcatraz, and Touch, which haven't been on long enough for me to officially proclaim them, and factor in the scores of shows I am still DYING to see, Awake (can we just please get that on the air ASAP), Apt 23, The River top that list, by the way. So there you have it my Top Four pilots of last year.



Monday, January 16, 2012

The Finder "An Orphan Walks Into A Bar": AKA: My First Crack at the Midseaon Show


This past Thursday marked the first official episode of FOX's new series The Finder. Having been a Bones fan since the beginning, ever since I heard they were doing a spin off of Bones was doing a spin off I was excited to see what Hart Hanson had in store. I'm not going to lie and say that the fact that the pilot was guest starring, Brett Davern, Awkward's Jake, didn't make me even more excited to see it.

The show had what is called a backdoor pilot, that ran last year as an episode of Bones, it wasn't perfect, but it definitely had potential.The show has been tweaked since that first episode, getting rid of Saffron Burrow's character of Ike Latulipp, who didn't get a great response from fans. Instead she was replaced with the characters of  Willa Monday, epic name by the way, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada.

Isabel seems to have been added to give Walter, played by the gorgeous Geoff Stults, a verbal sparring partner/love interest, to sort of fill the gap that would be created by removing Ike. Making her a Deputy U.S. Marshal gives Walter an inside with proper authorities.

 The addition of Willa adds a whole other dimension to the show, a younger perspective. Having her being from a home of thieves and sent to Walter and Leo, played by the ever amazing Michael Clarke Duncan, against her will in an attempt to reform her is a really interesting twist, sort of a will she won't she type thing. While I would say her reforming is more than likely, you never know I definitely didn't see Vincent's death coming on Bones, by the way, I am still not over that. Willa's questionable state also lead to my favorite quote of the show:

"She's redeemable" 
"Like a coupon!"

Brett Daven did an amazing job as Cooper Allison, a future military man searching for his father, who's plane had gone down. It was pretty awesome watching him kick ass as opposed to his usual nice guy demeanor. Sure, Cooper was still a nice guy, but a nice guy who could take you down if need be. I can't wait to see how his character returns.


All and all The Finder's first official episode was a pretty good effort, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.