Entertainment Shakedown: AKA: I'm Back Baby!

First of all I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently, between Upfronts, family commitments, weddings and playoff hockey, let's go Devils, the month of May has been completely kicking my ass. But enough excuses, there is much to discuss. May brings all sorts of excitement to the entertainment world filled with renewals, cancellations and the announcements of the new shows to come.

I'm starting the news off with cancellations. Time to see how the "promising" shows of last year turned out.

ABC

The River - Ok, so it was pretty much a given that the little show brought to you by the guy who "brought us Paranormal Activity" was probably not getting a pick up. Which is sad because I really enjoyed it, and will even go so far as to say it may have been my favorite show of last season. While having a short season, only eight episodes, the show was a creepy, crazy ride that I am sad to see end. Although the show had a decent ending which could work as a season or series finale, I still wish that ABC had stuck with it. There was a rumor circulating a few months back that NETFLIX was interested in possibly picking the show up and producing new episodes, and since the first season was released on DVD, and available on Amazon, I am still holding out hope.

Pan Am - The show was cute, and had some really awesome guests, but it was mostly forgettable. I wouldn't have been upset if it was renewed but I can understand why it wasn't.

CBS

 
A Gifted Man - Let's be honest CBS rarely cancels shows, especially after only a season, but in order to make room for new shows something's got to go. It wasn't a terrible show, but it definitely wasn't helped by having a Friday night time slot.

CW

The Ringer - It's sad that a show with such an awesome cast, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nestor Carbonell would only last a season, but even I have to admit the show got a little too soapy/predictable for my taste.

The Secret Circle - Honestly, this show was pretty much presented on a silver platter, based on a book series by the same author and with the same creative team as its ridiculously successful lead in The Vampire Diaries, it looked like this show was almost a shoe in for success. But alas, it lacked whatever magic, no pun intended, that has kept The Vampire Diaries audience captivated.

FOX

The Finder - It was pretty much a given when FOX decided to move their Bones spinoff to Friday nights that it wasn't going to get a second season. The show itself was fine, awesome guest stars, but as seems to be the current trend in tv land lately of you're not a "hit" right off the bat, you get the axe.

Alcatraz - It seems with JJ Abrams, his shows either do ridiculously well, or the crash and burn. Alcatraz fell into the later category. The concept itself was pretty awesome, and having Hurley in it definitely added to the appeal, however the show itself sort of fell flat. While I watched the shoe, and enjoyed it, I didn't LOVE it. If I missed an episode I wasn't feening to watch it as soon as possible.

Terra Nova - I sometimes feel like Jason O'Mara on a show is like having a show written/directed by Joss Whedon. Both are quite talented and yet most of their shows barely last a season. Let's face it though, with the mega huge budget required to keep this show going, if it wasn't an automatic television phenomenon, it was destined to be canceled.

NBC 

Awake - I will state again for the umpteenth time, I am still devastated to know that I live in a world where Awake was canceled and Whitney was renewed. The show itself was great, my only complaint was that it required A LOT of brain capacity for 10pm on a Thursday.

The Playboy Club - I know, I know it was canceled FOREVER ago, it only had three episodes air, but I still feel it is worth mentioning. Here we have another classic example of an NBC screw up. Instead of taking the controversy caused by the fact that the were airing a show called The Playboy Club to their advantage, they decided to stop airing the show after only three episodes despite having several more already filmed. Um, that just seems like a waste of money to me. Why not air the remaining episodes, in the hopes of picking up some new viewership? If it doesn't pick up then don't renew, but the money has already been spent to not air the remaining episodes and replace it with reruns of another failing show is just a waste. News flash NBC you are already in last place, the only place to go is up, take some risks. 

Other cancellations include:
ABC
Charlie's Angels
Missing
GCB
Work It

CBS
How to be a Gentleman
NYC 22
Rob
Unforgettable

 CW
H8R

FOX
Allen Gregory
I Hate My Teenage Daughter
Napoleon Dynamite

NBC
Are You There, Chelsea?
Best Friends Forever
Free agents
The Firm
Prime Suspect  
  
Next up...What's new for the fall/midseason line up.

Week Four: AKA: Making Decisions

So we're into week four of the fall tv season, and decisions are being made. I've gone through several weeks of new shows and am starting to make my decisions onto which shows I am going to make the commitment to. So far here are my updated verdicts:

Sundays

Homeland (10pm Showtime)
Ok, so I've only gotten my hands on the pilot, but as I've said before I ADORE Mandy Patinkin and as I think the concept an amazing new take on a familiar fear. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.

Pan Am (10pm ABC)
I wasn't sure I was going to continue watching this show after the pilot, but three episodes later and I find myself looking forward to each new episode. I adore Captain Dean (AKA: Mike Vogal, who will always be Dean from Grounded For Life to me), and Kate Jennings Grant has a recurring as role as Judith Cameron, Laura and Kate's mother. She just flat out rocks, and she is way prettier then they make her up to be.

Mondays

Terra Nova (8pm Fox)
I am well aware I need to be watching this show, and fully admit to it being my fault that I have yet to catch up. However due to my due to my commute anything airing before 10pm is a gamble on whether or not I make it home to watch.

Hart of Dixie (9pm CW)
It's a cute show, and three weeks in and I am still entertained. Is it a thought provoking master piece? Hardly, but it's sweet and a good way to the hour before Castle.

Playboy Club (10pm NBC)
Well the decision was made FOR me here. It wasn't the best show I had ever seen, but it was interesting enough. I was really looking forward to seeing where the storyline between Sean and Bunny Alice was headed. Homosexuality in the 1960's is not something we, the viewers, have been readily exposed to, I was really interested to see how they handled it. Unfortunately we may never know.

Tuesdays

Ringer (9pm CW)
This is one of the saddest hings I've typed. I was psyched for the premiere and raced home for the second episode, I was beyond excited to have Buffy Summers and Richard Alpert once again gracing my screen. Yet now after three episodes, I've realized I don't really care about the story. It's not a bad show, it just seems to be moving fairly slowly, and I don't really care about the characters themselves.I'm going to stick with it or awhile but sad to say when the mid season replacements start up, I'll probably end up watching something else instead.

Wednesday

Revenge (10pm ABC)
This show was honestly a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how they were going to sustain this as a tv show, as opposed to a movie, but, at least for now, it seems to be working quite nicely. More importantly, I actually "care" about the characters. I want to befriend Nolan, console Jack about his father, and while I'm not 100% sure how I feel about Victoria, I know that I want to know more about her.

American Horror Story (10pm FX)
We're only one episode in and honestly I am still in WTF mode. I'm not giving up on it just yet, but honestly the jury is still out on whether or not it's being added to my regular schedule. 

Thursday

Person of Interest (9pm CBS)
I still need to catch up but I'm gonna stick with it, because let's face it Ben Linus always has a plan.

NBC Cancel's Playboy Club: AKA: Bye-Bye Bunnies

So yesterday the first official new show to get the axe was NBC's Playboy Club. They also announced a full season order for both Whitney and Up All Night.

The decision was made after three low rated episodes, to cancel the nostalgic series and not show any further episodes. Ironically I was watching this week's episode when the news of it's demise broke.

I admit to waiting till Tuesday mornings to watch the show, also the fact that I was mostly watching for Sean Maher, but axing it after only three episodes seems way too premature. I will never understand how a network can cancel a show after only three episodes. Personally it takes me a minimum of three episodes to decide whether or not I'm gonna fully commit to a show. Playboy Club was given a tough time slot to begin with, going up against already established shows,  like CBS' Hawaii 5-0, and ABC's Castle. Perhaps the network should have tried to move the show before giving up.

It is especially sad news as just last week actor Sean Maher, who plays a closeted homosexual character, also named Sean, who is married the also closeted, Bunny Alice, came out to EW.  After fourteen years in the business, afraid that his sexuality would limit the roles he would be offered, he admitted that this role aided in his decision to finally come out. “I was working on other stuff, and then this role came up, which was like a light bulb going off,” Maher remembers. “I was like, This is perfect. I want to do this, and I want to use it as a platform to come out.”  The full article can be found here.

Furthermore since they shot more than three episodes, why not show them? It isn't as though they are losing anymore money in showing them. NBC is planning to fill the Monday night slot with repeats of their new police drama Prime Suspect, which also isn't doing to well in the ratings.

So unfortunately we say Bye-Bye to the Bunnies and hope NBC has more faith in it's mid season shows.

The Playboy Club: AKA: I Wanted to See What All the Fuss was About

I'll admit to the fact that I really didn't have an interest in NBC's The Playboy Club when I was first introduced to it during pilot season, despite an admitted fascination with Heff and the Playboy brand. I mean love it or hate it, you gotta admire a man who built up that large an empire. I mean it's not the life for everyone, but hey it's not so the life of a bunny is not such a bad existence, and let's face it, my theory is that everyone woman, whether she would actually do it or not, wants to be asked to pose for Playboy. Side bar Laura Bennanti definitely scored big with this show, she gets the cover and a spread in the month's Playboy, while clothed.

Anyway I didn't have any strong opinions on the show either way, until I found our Sean Maher was going to be on it. The thought of seeing Simon Tam on my tv screen was enough to make me check it out, even though I knew his role, at least in the pilot, was a small on.

So the show is set in the 1960's in Chicago, centered around The Playboy Club. Hugh Heffner does a voice over appearance for the episode which and coupled with the gorgeous sets and costumes, brings a sweet nostalgia for a "simpler time". Though as the show very quickly bring to reality there is no such thing as a "simpler time". There's sex, murder, the mob and even semi closeted homosexuality. Yes, The Playboy Club pacts a whole lot of "Look at me" in it's first episode.  Where it is gonna go from that, remains to be seen.

There were a few seller moments, most specifically when Nick is talking to Bunny Maureen in the alley and tells her he should kiss her to keep up their cover story. She reminds him that the new rule is that Bunnies can't date keyholders and his responds with "I don't recall asking you on a date," before laying one on her. I'm not entirely sure why that moment, of all the moments in the pilot, hooked me so much but it did. It was just so BAMF, with a little swoon worthy peppered in for good measure. I'm all for strong women, but sometimes a girl just wants the man to take them.

 Speaking of strong women, the show seemed to be lacking them, which is funny considering the amount of women featured on the show. The strongest female character seems to come in the form of Bunny Mummy Carolynn, who mostly just comes off as a bitch, who is constantly reminding people she is getting too old to be a Bunny, and it is just a bit sad. Almost like seeing a gymnast who has entered her early 20's lamenting she's too old, because her competition are younger.

There are plenty of secrets, Bunny Alice and her husband's double life, Bunny Maureen and Nick Dalton's cover up, whatever reason Bunny Jainie has for turning down her bar tender boyfriend, Max's proposal. All of which I assume will be further explored in future episodes but in all honesty, the pilot as a whole left me feeling lukewarm. Maybe I'll give the show another try, see how Sean's character flushes out if at all, but I highly doubt it's gonna be something I eagerly await to see the next episode.