Okay, it's cold and raining outside... Perfect day to stay at home. So I checked out the pilots for two new shows. Funnily enough they can be said to be the break-offs, the offsprings, of one my favorite shows ever, The West Wing:
Smith - Pilot
- First, I gotta say that my FAVORITE type of movies is heist/caper movies, so I immediately liked the idea of this show.
- Second, the actors are all great. I like Amy Smart, Johnny Lee Miller is very cool, Simon Baker is great looking, Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Frankie G... Big names in the cast.
- I thought the pilot was pretty good. Very action-packed and interesting. However, I also thought the heist could be clearer. What I really love about caper movies is the planning. I love seeing the creativity and cleverness that go into a heist. That's why I thought this shouldn't have used the flashback technique.
- Next, the characters are interesting, yes, but I think they need more warmth. The fact that Jeff shot dead two guys while whistling nonchalantly doesn't make me warm up to the character, you know? I'm curious as to why and how they got into this line of work. I think more humor and cheerfulness would help (see Ocean's Eleven). I mean Amy Smart's usually pretty good with the funny :).
- But speaking of characters, YESSS, I pegged the Tom/Annie relationship right! Johnny Lee Miller is too hot with his British accent. And, yeah, being Mr. Angelina Jolie once doesn't hurt ;). Tom's relationship with Jeff (Simon Baker) is also intriguing. Now, I'm not much of a slasher (in fact, the only slash I really see is between [brothers!] Dean/Sam from Supernatural), but I definitely picked up something between Tom/Jeff (
sheryden will be pleased ;) ). I mean, what's with the wrestle? I'm curious to see the relationship between Annie-Tom-Jeff before Tom got pinched.
- The keeping-secrets-from-each-other that's going on between Bobby & Hope, and the unrequited love between Joe & Marcy (Original Cindy from Dark Angel btw) don't interest me as much.
- I hope this show picks up the flash and the cheerfulness a la Ocean's... so that it doesn't get cancelled. I for one will still be watching though.
Studio 60 - Pilot
- Oh man, this is just stockful of Sorkiness! The talking while walking, the dry/cheeky humor, the fast exchanges of lines, the way many characters keep on bringing up the same issues in their dialogues like all of them are privvy to the same inside joke ("did you stand by the sketch?" "was it the star-spangled banner thing?"), the social commentary, even the way the show cuts to the credits!
- I am even reminded by The West Wing Pilot in that the first episode subtlely revolves around "crazy christians" (POTUS ran into a tree because of rabid christians threatening his granddaughter; Executive Producer Wes went ballistic because the great sketch on crazy christians was cut).
- I quite like the characters. Sorkin is usually brilliant in creating interesting characters. I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing Matt Perry and Brad Whitford together. They just got great chemistry as a duo. Amanda Peet and the other chick are likeable too. It's also good to see Timothy Busfield (Danny Concannon!). It's just a shame that Joshua Malina's not here. I hope he comes in for a guest in the future.
I'll be watching this too.
Any other shows anyone can recommend me? I heard about Jericho, Heroes, and Six Degrees (or something like that...). Any worth checking out? What are they about though, first of all? I pretty much have dropped CSI:NY, Veronica Mars, and Prison Break, so I got space, heh :).
This afternoon, I'm just going to settle in with a book and then maybe watch MotoGP later on. I finished Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was BRILLIANT (read it!), and so just got Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Apparently his style is similar to Marquez's. I've only done 20 or so pages, but it's quite interesting so far.