Ugly Betty & Life on Mars (Oh, and Survivor too)
Thursday night viewing ... I already wrote my mammoth Secret Diary of a Call Girl post. Here are a few of the other shows I managed to watch tonight too.
THIS is the show I fell in love with season one. I said last week that I was okay on the first episode, but that last week's was like season one UB, this one totally continued that. Everything was just so, so right. (Okay, one minor exception, more on that later). The interplay, interaction, the comedy, the drama, the Daniel/Betty moments, the shocks and spills. Awesome!!!
And that ender!?!? SO AWESOME!! I was just first relieved when she said that Daniel Jr. wasn't Daniel's son because I (like, I think, everyone else) am SO not feeling that storyline, but then she added "I am," my mouth literally fell open. And then I laughed and declared "YES! My show is back!" THIS is my Ugly Betty.
However, I am hating the Hilda story. Hilda is having an affair with a married man. Period. And I HATE how they are making Betty and Ignacio basically whitewash and say it's alright because Hilda is a good person. I don't care. He's married. Period. It's adultery; it's wrong. Stop white-washing it and acting like it's not that big of a deal. Maybe not on the Manhattan side it wouldn't be, but in the Bronx-Saurez side it definitely is.
Ahem, but other than that, I am LOVING the rest of the show.
Skipping past Grey's Anatomy as I no longer watch that and moving onto ...
Life on Mars -- Okay, so I'm going to confess something here. I DID try and watch the original, BBC version of this show. And I barely got through the first episode and couldn't finish the second. I don't know what it was because obviously I like BBC dramas, and I thought John Simm was fabulous, but it just didn't connect with me at all. (I do remember I REALLY didn't like the actress who played Annie, though, so maybe that had something to do with it?) But I loved the premise and so I was actually anxious to see if I would like the show any better done US-style.
I did. First of all, I LOVE Jason O'Mara. I've seen a bunch of stuff he's been in and aside from being quite dreamy and charismatic, he's quite the good actor. So, as great as John Simm is, I thought that they did a great job casting Sam Tyler for the US version. And this premiere episode proved that I was right in thinking so. I felt for him from moment one and the scene when he was facing the TV and hearing the "doctor" and then had the tears in his eyes, so devastated? Man, I felt so for him.
Also, there's Annie. I actually really love the actress who was originally supposed to play Annie in this version (Rachel LeFevre), but they of course, recast and reshot the Pilot with Gretchen Mol in the role. I don't dislike Mol, but I've always been quite unimpressed with anything I've seen her in. I was quite surprised that I liked her in this, and I thought that she did a delightful job. (Loved the whole "poof, I'm going to disappear." Sam opens the door and, of course, she's standing there. "It's magic." scene.) Furthermore, I thought that she and O'Mara had some fine, fine chemistry. ALWAYS A PLUS!!!
The rest of the casting -- Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperoli, etc. -- really well-done. I'm meh on Lisa Bonet, but I'll get over it because as of yet, she's not a huge part of it. I don't know spoilers, and again, only watched the first episode and a half of the BBC version, so I don't know how big her role may or may not eventually become (and I don't want to know). One thing I also really wanted to note was the direction and camera work. I thought it was marvelous. The lighting, the quick camera cuts when necessary, the almost identical Sam chasing bad guy in 2008 to Sam chasing bad guy in 1973 was fabulous.
Finally, obviously, they couldn't hit with this in the BBC version, but man!, when Sam looked up in 1973 and saw the Twin Towers, it was a powerful moment and really struck home the OHMYGOD factor for me. I don't know, some may see that as using the tragedy for a gotcha!shot, but I didn't feel that way. To me, it was a way of symbolizing the monumental shift that happened to him without a word. I don't even remember how it was telegraphed in the BBC version, but I can't imagine it held the same punch, because that one was a sucker punch here.
Overall, I give it two thumbs up. Really well-done.
ETA: Oh, yeah, I watched Survivor too. It was good, typical Survivor. I still like the same people: Sugar, Bob and Matty, and I still dislike the same people: GC. Knowing they'd still have a four-three advantage and seeing how useless Kelly was in the challenge, I'm not sure they made the right decision in voting Jackie off, but we'll see I guess.
THIS is the show I fell in love with season one. I said last week that I was okay on the first episode, but that last week's was like season one UB, this one totally continued that. Everything was just so, so right. (Okay, one minor exception, more on that later). The interplay, interaction, the comedy, the drama, the Daniel/Betty moments, the shocks and spills. Awesome!!!
And that ender!?!? SO AWESOME!! I was just first relieved when she said that Daniel Jr. wasn't Daniel's son because I (like, I think, everyone else) am SO not feeling that storyline, but then she added "I am," my mouth literally fell open. And then I laughed and declared "YES! My show is back!" THIS is my Ugly Betty.
However, I am hating the Hilda story. Hilda is having an affair with a married man. Period. And I HATE how they are making Betty and Ignacio basically whitewash and say it's alright because Hilda is a good person. I don't care. He's married. Period. It's adultery; it's wrong. Stop white-washing it and acting like it's not that big of a deal. Maybe not on the Manhattan side it wouldn't be, but in the Bronx-Saurez side it definitely is.
Ahem, but other than that, I am LOVING the rest of the show.
Skipping past Grey's Anatomy as I no longer watch that and moving onto ...
Life on Mars -- Okay, so I'm going to confess something here. I DID try and watch the original, BBC version of this show. And I barely got through the first episode and couldn't finish the second. I don't know what it was because obviously I like BBC dramas, and I thought John Simm was fabulous, but it just didn't connect with me at all. (I do remember I REALLY didn't like the actress who played Annie, though, so maybe that had something to do with it?) But I loved the premise and so I was actually anxious to see if I would like the show any better done US-style.
I did. First of all, I LOVE Jason O'Mara. I've seen a bunch of stuff he's been in and aside from being quite dreamy and charismatic, he's quite the good actor. So, as great as John Simm is, I thought that they did a great job casting Sam Tyler for the US version. And this premiere episode proved that I was right in thinking so. I felt for him from moment one and the scene when he was facing the TV and hearing the "doctor" and then had the tears in his eyes, so devastated? Man, I felt so for him.
Also, there's Annie. I actually really love the actress who was originally supposed to play Annie in this version (Rachel LeFevre), but they of course, recast and reshot the Pilot with Gretchen Mol in the role. I don't dislike Mol, but I've always been quite unimpressed with anything I've seen her in. I was quite surprised that I liked her in this, and I thought that she did a delightful job. (Loved the whole "poof, I'm going to disappear." Sam opens the door and, of course, she's standing there. "It's magic." scene.) Furthermore, I thought that she and O'Mara had some fine, fine chemistry. ALWAYS A PLUS!!!
The rest of the casting -- Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperoli, etc. -- really well-done. I'm meh on Lisa Bonet, but I'll get over it because as of yet, she's not a huge part of it. I don't know spoilers, and again, only watched the first episode and a half of the BBC version, so I don't know how big her role may or may not eventually become (and I don't want to know). One thing I also really wanted to note was the direction and camera work. I thought it was marvelous. The lighting, the quick camera cuts when necessary, the almost identical Sam chasing bad guy in 2008 to Sam chasing bad guy in 1973 was fabulous.
Finally, obviously, they couldn't hit with this in the BBC version, but man!, when Sam looked up in 1973 and saw the Twin Towers, it was a powerful moment and really struck home the OHMYGOD factor for me. I don't know, some may see that as using the tragedy for a gotcha!shot, but I didn't feel that way. To me, it was a way of symbolizing the monumental shift that happened to him without a word. I don't even remember how it was telegraphed in the BBC version, but I can't imagine it held the same punch, because that one was a sucker punch here.
Overall, I give it two thumbs up. Really well-done.
ETA: Oh, yeah, I watched Survivor too. It was good, typical Survivor. I still like the same people: Sugar, Bob and Matty, and I still dislike the same people: GC. Knowing they'd still have a four-three advantage and seeing how useless Kelly was in the challenge, I'm not sure they made the right decision in voting Jackie off, but we'll see I guess.