Southland Premier

So I was out the other night and I happened to bump into a fan of TV Guys and he gave me some fantastic and constructive criticism for the blog; apparently I've been a bit negative as of late and the people would like to hear about a show I enjoy and that they may not have heard of. So today I write about a show that premiers tonight that I have loved since the beginning. "Southland's" 4th season premiers tonight on TNT at 10 pm and here's why you need to tune in if you aren't already planning on doing so.

"Southland" premiered in the spring of 2009 to large viewership on NBC and made it through its entire first season successfully developing a large fan base. NBC execs decided to pick up "Southland" for a second 13 episode season to premier in the fall of 2010. After they began production of the first few episodes (6 in fact), NBC previewed them and decided that they were far too "gritty" for the 9pm Thursday time slot and that"Southland" no longer had a place in the NBC family. This was in my humble opinion a horrible move. Long story short soon after the NBC cancellation TNT began negotiations to grab this show and that's where it airs now and it's great.

"Southland" is the story of a group of Los Angeles police officers on the job and it plays out almost like the "reality" show "COPS". A lot of hand-held camera, bleeped out profanity, and tons and tons of action. I give "Southland" two thumbs up.

It has an interesting cast made up of the likes of Ryan from "The O.C." (ugh) aka Ben McKenzie who is actually one of the best characters, C. Thomas Howell (my personal favorite), Regina King, and Shawn Hatosy (who seems to be getting all kinds of work).

The show is fast paced, action packed, and thrilling, and you find yourself lost in each episode invested in what actually happens to the characters, not just in the line of duty but in their personal lives as well. One character has a serious drug problem, one has issues with his marriage, and the list goes on and on.

If you're a fan don't forget to tune in to "Southland" tonight at 10 pm on TNT, if you're not set your DVR and give this show a chance because it's awesome.

Here are a couple reasons why "Southland" beats the shit out of SVU/CSI procedural type cop shows.

1. Every episode is completely different without formula.

2. The characters aren't douche bags.

3. The dialogue is realistic.

4. There are always multiple intertwining plot lines and not just an entire police force unrealistically trudging the path of the same boring case looking for semen.

ANK

Are you there, Chelsea? It's me cancelled.

What a fucking abomination this show is. I took in the pilot episode Thursday night and if this show doesn't get cancelled mid season I will shave my eyebrows off and eat nothing but Burger King for a decade.

Chelsea Handler's schtick has run its course. We get it, you're quirky and opinionated and a bit crass, that doesn't translate to a funny sitcom. I must say this is the worst piece of shit I have seen on television this year. But like I said to Scott the other day I'm going down with the ship, I plan on taking in every single episode.

The show stars Laura Prepon from "That 70's Show" as Chelsea and Chelsea plays Laura's sister Sloan. The premise is absurd, the characters are awful, and the jokes are all completely mailed in. I'd love to be a fly on a wall during a table read for this show. I bet it's just a group of smarmy assholes chuckling at their own cynicism.

Here's a list of my main complaints about "Are you there, Chelsea?"

1. Lenny Clark: (who I have seen live and love as a standup) plays Laura Prepon's father. Thought Lenny was phenomenal on "Rescue Me", he was funnier when he was fat, but he's great even without the weight. My complaint is that his ridiculously thick accent makes him unbelievable as Laura's father. Lenny Clark is Boston, his accent makes it hard to really take him seriously on the show and it's all I can think about whenever he's in any scene.

2. NBC: feeling the need to shove Laura Prepon into the show to make it more marketable. I'm 28 years old, I am right in the meat of the key demographic for this show and I get that seeing a person my age as the main cast member might make this show more relatable to me. I however do not believe that it's necessary. Chelsea Handler has her moments she's clever enough, not my favorite but she is hardly (as of the pilot) the focus of the show at all. I don't think Laura Prepon is funny and in my opinion she hasn't really found anything that was a great fit for her beyond "Slackers" and "That 70's Show".

3. The token little person: I feel like this guy is going to be a big part of the show and I find it upsetting. The guy's name is Mark Povinelli, he gets work all over Hollywood from "Modern Family" to "Boardwalk Empire" and now he's part of the NBC family. Already in the pilot episode "Are you there, Chelsea?" has managed to make a mockery of the fact that he is vertically challenged and not even in a clever way. I foresee Mark's character being awful and all the jokes based around him being equally awful. Cheap short jokes aren't funny.

4. The quirky Whitney Cummings/Chelsea Handler NBC promos that are all over the place: I love Whitney Cummings I think she's funny, sexy, and a smart business woman when it comes to making the right career moves in Hollywood, but I look forward to these promos going away. I think both of their shows stink and have lousy casts and for some reason "Whitney" is succeeding (I credit Chris D'Elia). Perhaps it's because schmucks like me watch the show even though they don't enjoy it.

My prediction is that "Are you there Chelsea?" will not make it. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

ANK

Shameless Season Premiere Review

Shameless was definitely up there for me as pleasant surprises from last year (next to Game of Thrones of course).  I knew William H. Macy would be genius, but had my reservations about Jason Chatwin and Emmy Rossum, especially after sitting through the likes of Dragonball: Evolution.

But Season 1 was nothing short of amazing.  It was dark, it was downright hilarious, and absolutely unethical.  When it ended, I could not wait for the next season to come and finally, that day arrived.

Season 2 picks up in the summer, so a few months after the finale of Season 1.  Steve is gone (for now); Fiona is working with Veronica; Kevin and Lip are growing and selling weed; Ian is still trying to find himself; Debbie and Karl are maturing; lastly, Sheila is actually walking outside.  The characters we fell in love with are still themselves, except you can see the tiny changes in their characters from last season.  (I was a little sad to see Jane Levy permanently jump ship to ABC's Suburgatory, I figure the character of Mandy will be slowly written out using this new replacement, Emma Greenwell.)

Frank was getting into his usual drunken shit: stealing baby Liam to beg for change, then letting him get held for ransom by thugs that he lost a bet to in The Alibi.  One of my favorite things is seeing Frank go on rants at the bar to no one in particular, as Kevin just silently refills his pints without listening.  Macy nails the alcoholic father routine very well, the guy deserves an Emmy.  Speaking of Emmy's, Rossum is amazingly hot.  She's got the Plain Jane, girl-next-door-look down to a T and works it.  But, call me sappy, I want Steve back in her life.  The two of them together is both toxic and funny; they make each other happy and crazy at the same time.  I'm excited for whenever he comes back from Costa Rica to sweep her off her feet again.

And will someone please run Tony out of town?  His whole obsessive love for Fiona thing ran its course last season, and now it's just sad.  Check out Shameless on Showtime, Sundays at 9.  I'll be reviewing it all season, so stay tuned.

House of Lies = House of Fun

Last night was a great night for Showtime, with Shameless premiering for its sophomore season and the series premiere of House of Lies.  I will touch on Shameless later, but for now let's talk about House of Lies.

Starring Don Cheadle as managing consultant Marty Kaan, the show follows him and his team as they swindle big corporations into paying them ridiculous amount of money for work they "don't even need."  It brings to mind the idea of the 1% sticking it to the 1%, gleefully taking money and cutting throats along the way.

One thing I really like about the show is Kaan breaking the fourth wall; for those unfamiliar with the term, it means making direct contact with the audience.  At many points in the show, the frame would freeze while Kaan explained his motives or thoughts to viewers (think Dexter, but less overkill and stupidity).  Personally, I know next to nothing about business management and consulting, so it's nice to see the show take the time to explain the little things in order to simplify the dialogue and plot.  Sometimes, the cuts themselves were a little jarring, but I think we can chalk that up to it being a pilot episode.

The cast itself is great: Cheadle is masterful as the clever, funny and troubled Kaan.  I like Kristen Bell when she's full of confidence, which she has miles of playing Jeannie, the engagement manager.  The team is rounded out by two associates, played by Ben Schwartz and Josh Lawson, who provide excellent side commentary and compliment the intense personalities of Marty and Jeannie.

The premiere was hilarious and provided great insight to the show's potential.  I definitely look forward to more episodes.  It's very nice to have Sunday Shows back after the likes of Dexter, Homeland and Boardwalk Empire ended last month.  Look for House of Lies, airing Sundays at 10 on Showtime, as well as reviews by yours truly.

Californication is back

Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed "Californication" for the past four seasons. If that were truly the case why I'd be attempting to write a blog entry about it is beyond me.

I just watched the promo for the first time and from what I saw it appears that Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is back with a fucking vengeance. If you're a fan of the show you know all about how season 4 came to a close. I will spare the major details for those of you who have seen them and those who'd like to, but basically Hank got a probationary slap on the wrist after a statutory rape conviction. To explain that as quickly as possible; Hank is in a book store, he meets a girl played by Madeline Zima of "The Nanny" fame and sleeps with her as he so often does, turned out she was 17, yadda yadda yadda Hank got arrested, yadda yadda yadda there's a movie about it being made written by Hank with characters playing both Hank and Madeline (Mia on the show).

Season 5 episode 1 is entitled "JFK to LAX" and the promo conveys that Hank has spent his probation in New York and is returning to LA to resume being the coolest guy on the planet. There are a number of reasons that Hank Moody gives me a semi, he's an awesome writer who plays by his own rules, he smokes constantly, he's a babe magnet, and he rocks the shit out of black t-shirt in every episode.

Now a short list of things I don't like about "Califnorication" because being excessively positive makes my teeth sting:

1. Natascha McElhone the actress who plays Karen, Hank Moody's on again off again wife and mother to his daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin). I find her unsettling and I don't like the idea that Hank has a permanent place in his heart for her. Karen's portion of the story is rarely exciting and I feel this resonates throughout the entire show. Scenes she's in drag and her eyes are creepy and large like a Western Screech Owl. (I googled that)

2. Madeleine Martin the actress who plays Becca, Hank and Karen's daughter. In my opinion she was poorly cast, she never elevates any scenes, she's unnecessarily quirky, and everything she says and does feels forced. She's the type of person that would judge you based on your ipod play list while wearing a tattered Ramones t-shirt and pontificating about the days when music was good (before she was conceived).

3. Hank drives around for 3 seasons (I think its 3) with a broken headlight on his Porsche. I really don't understand why he wouldn't just get it fixed.

All in all "Californication" has solidified itself in my top 5 shows currently on television and it will stay there no matter what happens this season. I wish the show was 3 hours long and each season was 39 episodes. If you haven't checked it out you should certainly do so when it airs this Sunday night on Showtime at 10:30.

Here is my top five shows currently on television (to put it in order would stress me out)

1. Californication

2. Breaking Bad

3. Dexter

4. Curb Your Enthusiasm

5. Mad Men (very late to the party but already a huge fan, thanks Netflix)

ANK

The Increasingly Poor Viewing Decisions of Scott

Hello. I havent put up a new article in a bit but that doesnt mean I havent been hitting the television and hitting it hard. The past few weeks saw me storm through Life's Too Short (review coming) and Seasons 1&2 of The League. I always ignored The League because it is based around a fantasy football league and I'd rather be involved in a Fantasy R&B Vocalists League. But yes, the show is really funny and take a look at Ank's recent article for more reasons why.

Another show that just made its way to Netflix streaming is the IFC show 'The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret'. It is a show about a hapless underdog of a dude who is sent by his boss to sell a new energy drink in England and everything goes wrong. Doesn't sound amazing but alright, I'm on board. Its written and directed by/starring David Cross, who is normally hilarious in everything. On paper this is my favorite show ever. It's weird, set in England, doesn't have a laugh track and Will Arnett plays his boss. It was too good to be true. Since the first season was only 6 half-hour episodes I sat down and watched them all in a sitting the other night. The show fucking stinks. It has enjoyable moments here and there, but it gets worse as it goes instead of getting stronger and is really all over the place. I enjoyed the first two episodes, probably because his British sidecar is witty and both episodes ended with Todd Margaret pissing himself. I hoped thats how every episode would end. There is also a decent running gag about Todd pretending to have summered in Leeds as a child and thus has a slight Leeds accent. The show just kind of putters along and I found myself less and less invested and interested as it went. Every episode begins at the end, showing Todd Margaret in court facing a long list of charges for various serious crimes, and each time I saw this flash forward I more realized I didnt give a shit how he got in that scenario or what happened afterwards. Trust me, I love a good underdog but this just wasn't what I needed and by the end I was mostly doing other things and watching it in the background. I cant say watching it was a complete wash, but it was very forgettable and a huge letdown for me. The show returns for its second season on Jan 7 and I recommend you continue to be unaware of it.

Also in coming days I will post something about a show I enjoy because those exist too.Cliffhangers Until Next Time:-Am I an Archer guy?-Does Sliders hold up?

Should we do movie reviews?
This and more..

Louis Ck: Live at the Beacon

After watching Louis CK on Jimmy Fallon the other night I knew immediately I needed to stop procrastinating and download his new special "Live at the Beacon"

here's the clips from Jimmy Fallon

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Late-Night-With-Jimmy-Fallon-Video-Louis-C-K-Talks-Years-White-House-His-Comedy-Special-38005.html

I was in subdued hysterics throughout Louis' appearance. It was truly refreshing to see someone who wasn't a bump on a log, blindly promoting some phoned in Uwe Boll movie or ghost written autobiography about their son with dyslexia. Granted Louis was promoting something but the way in which he promotes is so nonchalant and sarcastic it's as if he doesn't care (he probably doesn't) Louis cracked jokes about the very serious charities he raised money for with his special which got big laughs.

The concept behind "Live at the Beacon" is simple. Louis filmed the special independently, designed a bare bones website, connected it to pay pal, and wrote a note encouraging fans not to pirate it and to spend $5 to view it. With Louis' immense following from both his four time Emmy nominated show "Louie" on FX and his comedy career, this was an immediate success. So far the special has earned well over a million dollars and I have little doubt this is just the beginning.

I paid for and downloaded "Live at the Beacon" the other day and have it saved on my desktop where it will stay for a long time. Louis' standup is fantastic as always, but for me the most intriguing part is the concept. I love the fact that Louis made this special on his own and didn't charge people an exorbitant amount for it. I feel like in this day and age with torrents (which I use) SOPA, the high cost of itunes, and people's frustration with it all, this special couldn't have been more timely. Louis is a brilliant comedian, a gifted writer, and apparently a phenomenal business man.

Buy the special today and watch it, you will not be disappointed. Here's the link!

https://buy.louisck.net/

ANK