Starz Search

I have to say, so far this fall season has really underwhelmed me. Out of the gate, I was sort of into "Two Broke Girls", but 2 episodes in, it just can't seem to shake the 80's format dust off. And by 80's, I don't mean in a cool, retro Ray-Ban hipster way. It just feels...tired, like Ted McGinley might show up or something.

I'm still on the fence about "Up All Night", and I haven't even managed to make myself hit play on the "Pan Am" premiere episode still clogging up my VCR, er, DVR. See? The tv time warp is confusing me.

So, here we are, and I am desperate to love a new show. Enter...Kelsey Grammer? (Insert inappropriate Camille Grammer/Real Housewives of Beverly Hills joke here.)

He's got a brand new drama. Is it good? I don't know. It's premiering on Starz in a few weeks, but the good folks at Starz have already renewed it for a second season. This means one of 2 things: A) this show is the next BIG THING, and we should all subscribe to Starz immediately or B) the marketing folks at Starz want you to THINK it's the next BIG THING, so you subscribe to Starz immediately.

You can watch the Boss trailer and decide if Starz is worth adding to your lineup, or at least worth scamming your cable company to give you a free trial (oh, like you haven't done that?).

Because I am dying for a new show to be hooked on and, let's face it, because I just happen to have a free Starz trial, I'll at least give this political drama a shot, but the jury is out for me. When I watch this trailer, I can't seem to quite get on board because I'm distracted by of all of the following:

A) Kelsey Grammer is trying so desperately to convince us he is a super baddy and not Frasier that it seems like he studied lots of Cruella DeVille cartoons to get into character to prove he is a SERIOUS DRAMATIC ACTOR.

B) A show about a slimy politician hiding a secret? That's never been done before!

C) Is it just me, or does that-girl-from-90210 sport like 5 different pairs of nifty glasses in this trailer? Is Lens Crafters a sponsor? I haven't seen an optical co-star this prominent since the Sally Jesse Raphael show.

Oh well. I've got at least a month left on the Starz free trial, so I'll check it out.

Besides, I must admit, I really want to find out about where to get those cute glasses.

Old Dogs, New Tricks

If you are not too busy trying to figure out what the heck Facebook has done to your status updates, or trying to Google what Google + is, there's lots to watch around the dial tonight. Buckle up.

The X Factor
Now's your chance to see Simon and Paula reunite, and maybe see the next Susan Boyle, if that's your bag. It's different from American Idol in that...um...well the judges advertise sell their soul to drink Pepsi, not Coke.

Up All Night
This actually premiered last week, and the laffer about 2 new parents is pretty spot on. Throw in Maya Rudolph as an Oprah-ish boss, and you tv peeps especially will get a kick out of it. But fear not, Christina Applegate fans. If this tanks, Applegate seems to get a new sitcom every few years (Ok, I just IMDB'd her to verify this fact and she is also credited on...a pregnant pole dancing dvd. Research AND range, folks!).

Free Agents
Also premiered last week. Not gonna lie, this wasn't Hank Azaria's best work, but he sat next to me and my friends at dinner once and was very nice to us. Actually, my issue with the first episode was that gal he is supposed to be chasing on the show. Maybe they should've brought in someone...more out of his league? Not quite buying what she's selling. Still, I am on TEAM HANK and sticking with this show. But, if you don't want to watch, don't feel bad...those Simpsons residuals will probably pay his mortgage for awhile.

Revenge
I won't be watching this one, mostly because that girl that stars in it was annoying as all get out when I used to watch her on Brothers and Sisters. However, ABC obviously thinks it's got a shot since they are advertising it every other second. You'll have to judge for yourself.

Last but not least....

Modern Family
It's back! This for me is mostly a sure thing, though I'm a little worried they are busting out the one hour big family vaca AGAIN.

If it turns into A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE, I'm outta here.

Monday Night Madness

Yes, yes, I watched the much-hyped premiere of Two and a Half Men. Sure, they did a good job with the stunt casting (*spoiler alert*) but mostly, I thought this Sheen-less Two and a Half Men was, well, kind of dull.

First, bringing back every noteworthy floozy Charlie had ever dated was a little fun...but I couldn't help but think this 'greatest hits' of casting stunt was just stolen from Seinfeld's finale.

Next, bringing in John Stamos was probably the highlight of the 1/2 hour (and really? 1/2 hour? With all the bloated 3-4 hour competition shows out there, Chuck Lorre decided to bang this out in 22 minutes after commercials while the tired How I Met Your Mother premiere was a full hour? I digress...). Anyway, with Stamos at the door, I got excited! Who would show up next???

...And then, Dharma and Greg? Really? While I realize they may hearken back to an old Chuck Lorre era, the 10 year old sitcom was hardly iconic enough to warrant a cameo. Stick to the Uncle Jesse appearances, thank you very much.

Finally, Ashton Kutcher was sort of FINE as the man-child he always plays. He's the anti-Charlie, which was actually the easy way to go, and the path of least resistance. Why not make everyone nuts and pull a Bewitched - just re-cast Charlie and pretend it's all the same? Or bring back Charlie later in a Newhart "What a weird dream" scenario - I'd head in that direction for sweeps, if I ruled the tv world.

Oh well.

Moving on, I won't bore you with the How I Met Your Mother? recap if you haven't seen it. But...no, they didn't meet the Mother, and yes, they are still dragging it out.

The surprise of the night for me was "Two Broke Girls". The laugh-tracky old school feeling sitcom was surprisingly good. Though I couldn't help but wonder if they dreamed up the premise while watching old Facts of Life re-runs late one night (I swear these two girls are modern day Blair and Jo retreads), the writing was sharp in the hands of Sex and the City's Michael Patrick King.

Why is it, by the way, that the wise-cracking tough girl is always brunette, and the richie rich gal is always blonde? The aforementioned Blair and Jo, Cheers' Diane and Rebecca (or for that matter, Diane and Carla)... I'm sure there are more.

Either way, so far, this brunette/blonde combo is having the most fun.

It's How You Play the Game

I guess it takes the Emmy's/the promise of a new TV season/and a little time off to dust off the blog and say "what up" to you, my old Is-It-Just-Me?-TV-ers.

Did you watch the Emmy's last night? I did, and if I was grading it by my elementary school report card standards, I would give it somewhere between a "Satisfactory" and "Needs Improvement" (though even the "Talks too much in class" note that I often received seems fitting here).

But, I like to be Pollyanna Positive when I can, so we'll start out with the good...working our way down to the bad, lest you worry no snark will appear here.

The (Pretty) Good  I must confess, I have never seen Glee.  Well, I mean, I've SEEN it, like clips and such, but no, sorry, I have not jumped on the sing-a-long bandwagon.  However, I thought Jane Lynch kept it all moving along and she had the right amount of wink-wink sarcasm for me.

"I'll have what she's having" award goes to Sofia Vergara.  I could not feel more genetically inferior. And of course they paired her with Rob Lowe, just to remind us all that we are mere mortals. No amount of Spanx/push ups/botox/80 hours on the Stairmaster could ever make us worthy of their company.

The Bad I love a good water cooler moment, really, I do.  So, whatever my feelings for Charlie Sheen's Insanity tour, I was thinking something really fun was going to happen - maybe a dream sequence for 2 and 1/2 Men that revealed all this crazy was imagined? Ashton Kutcher doing a mock Punk'd segment?  Nope, Charlie just came on out and apologized, the audience's nervous light applause underscoring that we were all waiting for the punchline.

Still waiting.

The Ugly I am a huge Modern Family fan, but dear God Julie Bowen, what was with that Ally McBeal look?  Get that gal a sandwich, with a side of extra carbs, stat!