Trying To Rescue Myself

The current TV landscape is mediocre at best and that's being nice. I could give my two cents about Lost as the series' final season winds down, but everyone and their mother has their theories so why bother adding to that mess. While ABC's Modern Family has been a great surprise; NBC's Thursday night line-up has been hit or miss all season long, I can't stand all the formulaic crime dramas that CBS spits out and Fox is in the middle of yet another unexplainable American Idol craze (gasp!)

That's why I was excited to find out that Netflix has recently added Rescue Me to their ever expanding list of instant viewing content available on-line. I've heard great things about the FX dramedy which stars Denis Leary as a New York City firefighter so I thought I'd chronicle my viewing experience all the while hopefully providing as few spoilers as possible.

Each of the first four seasons (13 episodes each) are currently available on Netflix. I will submit an entry after episodes 4, 8 and the season finale for each season. I'm currently only 2 episodes in to season 1, but like what I see so far. I'm most impressed by the acting range of Denis Leary who I've always associated with cigarettes and vulgar comedy routines. Leary, also a co-creator of the show, shines as the protagonist in a relatively unknown cast.

Look for my first review sometime next week and if you have Netflix, join me and see if my critique and comments are on par.

How To Make a Legit TV Show

On Sunday night, HBO debuted one of it's newest original series entitled How To Make It In America.  The show is a modern day tale of a couple of 20 somethings looking to make it rich in New York City.  The protagonist Ben (Bryan Greenburg) works part-time at Barney's while trying to make it, though unsuccessfully, as a graphic artist.  Throughout the first episode we see Ben has a large assortment of friends from all different scenes within New York City including the club scene, the art world and a high school classmate who's a hedge fund manager.  His main accomplice in trying to make "it" is Cam (Victor Rasuk) who seems like a loyal friend, but one prone to make the wrong decisions.  Cam is also saddled by the fact his intimidating cousin Rene (Luis Guzmán) has just got out of prison and tends to meddle with Ben & Cam's plans for success. 

The first episode gave a quick introduction into the world of these young guys trying to make good.  Additionally, the show provides a look into the life of the big city, something not everyone in America has had an opportunity to experience.  The main reason I'm immediately a fan of the show is the believability of the characters and the plot points.  Being around the same age, I can relate to the struggles the main characters are facing.  The desire to achieve self-prominence is a daily task and I'm excited to be able to follow Ben & Cam as they try to "become the man" in New York City.

One Day Away...

...from the beginning of the end.

If you don't know what I'm referring to, you obviously haven't checked out this amazing list. But on February 2nd, 2010 the final season of Lost will begin and hopefully set in motion the answers any fan has been craving since season 1.

I've made it widely known that I believe Lost is not only an amazingly original show, but in my mind, the best show in the past decade. I won't go into great detail about my thoughts, as thousands and thousands have already done so. I will only say this: Lost completely engrossed me like no other show has done. I will fondly remember the journey of the passengers of Oceanic 815 and the countless questions the writer's created through the six seasons of the show. Undoubtedly, some will be disappointed with the ending of the show simply because you can never please everyone, but I'm more grateful for all the shows up until this point. I truly believe I will not see another television show so detailed and multi-layered in my lifetime. I've never been so consumed by a program and as I get older I believe the reality of life will only shrink my ability to invest this much. So without further ado, let's see the final act play out...

image courtesy of abc.com

We're Just Sayin' discusses the Real World DC

On my side project over at We're Just Sayin radio, this week we had an in-depth discussion with local blogger Elizabethany about the Real World DC and she explains her interactions with the cast during their stay in the nation's capital.  Check it out and let us know what you think!

My Problem with Big Love

Here we are at the beginning of the fourth season of Big Love, just two episodes in, and I'm already growing tired of the shenanigans of the Hendrickson clan.  I've been a big fan of the show since it debuted in 2006, but at this point I can't help but feel that no family can deal with all the various commitments and troubles that plague them.  In other words, the show has reached a point where I can no longer believe what's going on. 

The protagonist, Bill Hendrickson, is already the proprietor and CEO of a Costco type super-store and just opened a casino this year, yes a casino.  He's also expressed a desire to run for state Senate.  This is in addition to his responsibilities as the husband to three women and father to nine children.  Wait, I almost forgot his weekly ordeals with the citizens of Juniper Creek, the Mormon compound he was raised in, that constantly threaten his secret life of polygamy.  No man can handle all of these pressures without some sort of blow back, but each week Bill seems to take care of everything.  I think the writers has been watching too much of Michael Keaton's hilarious comedy Multiplicity because no one man can handle all these burdens.  Going hand in hand with this unbelievability, is the lack of a dominate antagonist.  I'd like to see Alby, the son of recently deceased Juniper Creek leader Roman Grant, take more of a villainous role this season.  When he wants to, he can be an extremely intimidating figure that borders on insane.

This show is supposed to enter the viewer into the lives of Mormons that practice the "principle" of polygamy.  I think the writers have gotten off track.  Hopefully they can fix it up before it's too late.

The Demise of Late Night TV

It has recently been announced that NBC is in discussions with both Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno in efforts to right the sinking ship that is the network's late night programming.  The New York Times has described the story in detail and says the deal to move Leno back to 11:35 PM with a half hour show and bump Conan's hour long shift until 12:05 AM is essentially in agreement.

This is a desperate move from the network as they have seen their golden child unable to maintain the ratings that Leno had on the Tonight Show.  I can't say I'm too surprised though.  Leno provided an easy to digest, cookie cutter form of comedy that the average Joe American ate up.  Conan is not that guy.  If anyone watched Late Night with Conan O'Brien you knew he had off the wall sketches and irreverent characters such as "The Masturbating Bear" or "Coked-up Werewolf."  Could NBC really see the average middle-aged American identifying with Conan's sophomoric, but very intelligent humor?  I'm not sure that was their thought process.  They didn't want to lose Conan to a rival network and here we are, less than 7 months since Conan took over and NBC is calling it a disaster.

Is there anyway both Leno and Conan can win from this lineup change?  I say no.  The sad part is that Conan didn't get the time he deserved to build up a new audience at his dream job and has been a company man since day one.  The network and Jay Leno disrespected Conan by introducing Leno's primetime show in September which basically doubled as a Tonight Show substitute.  Either way, NBC has failed to understand that they had to pick between Conan or Leno.  Squeezing both into a increasingly populated late night market only saturated the brand and made things worse.  I see this new experiment lasting until the summer and at that point Leno returns to the Tonight Show and Conan flees to another network.

NBC is the ultimate loser here because they have alienated their late night host of the future.  How much longer do they think Leno will perform?  Johnny Carson was 67 when he finally retired, and Leno is already 59.  Conan, at 46, could be the man for next twenty years, but sadly I don't think he'll get past two.  I'm holding out hope that Conan prevails, but at this point you have to seriously worry.

My Favorite Basketball Team's TV Schedule

The 2009-10 George Mason men's basketball team will be featured on local and national television a combined 19 times this season.  The first chance to check the Patriots in action will be on November 19th, 2009 when they take on the Villanova Wildcats, ranked #6 in the coaches' pre-season rankings.  The game is part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and will be aired live on ESPNU at 2:00PM EST.  The television exposure for the Patriots is impressive and even compares to some of the biggest programs in the nation.  Our friends over at GMU Hoops have a detailed breakdown available.  So set your DVRs and let's go Mason!  The complete schedule is listed below:

• Nov. 19 vs. Villanova - ESPNU
• Nov. 20 vs. Dayton or Georgia Tech - ESPNU
• Nov. 22 vs. TBD - ESPN2 or ESPNU
• Dec. 2 @ George Washington - MASN
• Dec. 5 @ UNC-Wilmington - MASN
• Dec. 12 vs. Creighton - KMTV
• Dec. 30 @ Radford - MASN
• Jan. 2 vs. Old Dominion - CSN
• Jan. 4 vs. Hofstra - Fios1
• Jan. 7 @ Northeastern - TCN
• Jan. 9 vs. UNC-Wilmington - MASN
• Jan. 16 @ James Madison - CSN
• Jan. 19 @ Hofstra - ESPNU
• Jan. 23 @ Towson - MASN
• Jan. 30 vs. James Madison - CSN
• Feb. 9 vs. Virginia Commonwealth - ESPNU
• Feb. 13 @ Old Dominion - CSN
• Feb. 16 vs. William & Mary - MASN
• Feb. 20 vs. TBD - ESPN Bracket Busters
• Feb. 27 vs. Northeastern - ESPN2/CSN