Awake, like a lot of this season’s hour long offerings, is a deeply ambitious show. In its pilot episode, it is also a thoroughly engrossing ride, and one that promises great potential from the serialized medium. Despite this incredibly strong premier (more on that later), I left the pilot with a sense of unease about […]
Last week the CBC premiered a new web series by previewing it on good ole fashioned television. The pilot of Ben’s City sets up a wacky world full of conventional characters who live at a wonderfully refreshing pace. The dialogue is lightning fast , a style that is more than uncommon in animation and notably […]
I’m always a fan of the plus-sized odd couple sitcom model- you know, the trope that throws more than 2 people together as roommates even though they have nothing in common. The Golden Girls, for example, or, more recently, New Girl; it’s a setup that often pays off with fun misadventures and heartfelt common-ground-achieving. So, […]
NBC is looking for a star. With one flop after another, we’ve hit midseason premieres. And I’ve had my eye on a certain bright-lights showstopper for months. SMASH has been NBC’s not-so-hidden gem for months with over $25 million in advertising. From billboards to playbills, the network is pulling out all of the stops for […]
Last night a new show hit Canadian airwaves about an eccentric teacher at a competitive private school. The titular “Mr. D” thinks he’s pretty damn awesome, in a sort of Phil Dunphy meets Michael Scott meets actual moron who can’t spell “renaissance” kind of way. The series is created by, written by and stars Gerry […]
Fox’s newest sitcom balances on a premise that has hilarious truthful potential. Almost all teenage daughters are monsters, but to former geeks who grow up to mother girls just like the ones who tortured them, the trauma is all the more potent. It’s a tricky concept, but such a universal and generally untouched one that […]
FOX’s newest animation offering is right up my alley. The Jonah Hill-headed Allen Gregory is a quick-witted and sarcastic satire of pretension, a wonderfully clever addition to a Sunday night lineup largely headed by dodo patriarchs. Hill’s deadpan voice performance in the title role is as close to perfect as animation has gotten since Ellen […]
Of the many promising new shows premiering in this well-above-average fall season, ABC’s Once Upon a Time was one of the ones I was looking forward to the most. The fairy tale twist stars Ginnifer Goodwin, one of my favourite actresses whom I’m shocked is returning to TV so soon after the finale of the […]