Fall's Not Looking Too Good...

I was pretty disappointed with the three season premieres I watched this week - you know it's bad when the season finale of The Pickup Artist is the best thing you've seen in a while! Dirty Sexy Money, Big Shots and The Office were all less than stellar, and I'm realizing that perhaps I will not be spending as much time in front of the TV this fall as I have in years past. That's good news for the towering stack of magazines I have sitting in my front room, though!

(If you haven't watched these shows yet and intend to, then don't read this, there are spoilers below.)

Dirty Sexy Money



DSM was a little sillier than I had hoped it was going to be. Peter Krause (new lawyer for the Darling family) and Donald Sutherland (Darling family patriarch) were by far the best things about this show, and Samaire Armstrong (Paris Hilton-wannabe daughter) was the worst. Actually, the "aspiring Senator (Billy Baldwin) hooking up with a transvestite" storyline was pretty tired, too. I am assuming that the reason the show seemed to cut so quickly between scenes and story lines was because it was the pilot and they were trying to establish all of the main characters. But the result was that all of the family members seemed extremely one-dimensional and cliché. The show also doesn't seem to know what it wants to be... is it a drama, a comedy, a soap opera, a murder-mystery?


I just came across an article that mentioned a fairly well-known (and good) actor joining the cast, so perhaps things will get better as the episodes unfurl. Reading this interview with Donald Sutherland also gives me hope that the plot will become a little bit more steady.




Big Shots

I can't decide which show annoyed me more, DSM or Big Shots. I think it was Big Shots. I'm realizing that all of the shows I've really enjoyed over the years - Lost, The X-Files, Seinfeld, The Amazing Race, and even Survivor and The Apprentice back in the day - didn't revolve around characters jumping in and out of bed with each other. In fact, there was/is hardly any of that on any of those shows. Call me a prude, but that's just not what I find entertaining. So I knew it wasn't a good sign when Big Shots opened with my beloved Bobby Donnell getting it on with his ex-wife in a wine cellar. Or when a major plot line involved another character having an affair. Or yet another story line about Michael Vartan's character's wife having an affair. Or... back to Bobby Donnell... a plot line involving - YET AGAIN - a transvestite hooker. What is going on with transvestite hookers being in both DSM and Big Shots?!? As my husband remarked, "It's like they're just trying to think up what could be the most shocking." Except that if all show writers are doing the same thing, then it gets really old really fast - especially when the ideas weren't even interesting in the first place.

But, as I stated a few posts ago, I will watch at least 3 more episodes before I make my final decision, especially since I know they're bringing some well-respected consultants in to help with the dialogue on Big Shots. And there were some decent aspects of the show... I can now see why everyone who watched Alias loved them some Michael Vartan! I think I like him more than Dylan McDermott now - Dylan's just not looking as good as he did when he played a lawyer, what can I say? Maybe I will just forward through the show and only watch the Michael Vartan parts? Three cheers for Tivo!


The Office

Let me state upfront that I will always stick with The Office, so it doesn't really matter how much it starts tanking - it has already made the "Will Watch Until It's Over" list. But that could mean there's a painful season in store for me and the rest of its audience, because I was not digging the premiere episode at all. Like I complained last season, they are making Michael Scott (the boss - Steve Carell) WAY too over-the-top! I know that the show is a comedy and that much of it is supposed to be not completely realistic, but it's really starting to reach now. Michael hits Meredith with his car, she winds up in the hospital with a broken pelvis and he lays himself on top of her in her hospital bed to try to get her to give him a hug of forgiveness as she shrieks in pain? That's just stupid. I also didn't like the turn they took with Dwight, who apparently tried to kill Angelina's ailing cat out of sympathy because "that's what farmers do." And don't even get me started on how they're handling Jim and Pam's new relationship. It's been one episode and they already seem totally annoying - this ain't gonna be pretty, folks! That's why the British version was brilliant in ending the series before you knew what happened to Tim and Dawn (the original Jim and Pam).

However, there's always good news, right? The good news is that Creed continues to rock (his discussion of the cults he is both a leader and follower in was my favorite part of the premiere) - and - guess what? He's now been upgraded to a series regular. YESSSSSS! If you worship the Creedster like I do, then you must must must check out Creed Thoughts - his supposed blog (I guess before Ryan left for Corporate he hooked Creed up with more than just a Word document on which to record his ramblings). Here are a few of his random thoughts, to give you a taste:

"Fall is in the air and that means seven things: Political elections, Lyle Lovett’s birthday, the holiday where ghosts make candy, April Fool’s Day, it’s too cold to play tennis, look out for skunks, and most of all, baseball. I like winners. That’s why I only watch baseball for the last month of the season."

What? And how did April Fool's Day get in there???

Here's part of another entry:

"Sad week for the Creedster. My girlfriend decided to call it quits on me. She’s been locked up over in Muncy for the past seven years on a bogus B and E with intent to commit a felony. I can tell you with absolute certainty that LaDonna didn’t intend anything. She never does. Maybe that was the problem. With only a month left on her sentence, she told me she got cold feet. Wanted her options open when she got sprung, I guess."

Creed is rapidly becoming one of the best characters on TV. But here's the crazy thing I just found out - the guy who plays Creed, actually IS Creed! I know this is confusing, but there is a real man named Creed Bratton who plays the character Creed Bratton on The Office. The character is supposedly based on the real guy, who has definitely had quite a wild life (including being in the band The Grass Roots). That makes Creed all the more awesome! How did I not know this before!?!?

The next three weeks of The Office will feature hour-long episodes, so I hope they get back on track over the course of October. If not, then maybe Creed will get his own spin-off? I'll start the petition, who's with me?

- e