Premiere week rolls on. Or, I should say, lumbers on, because there wasn't any new stuff tonight that excited me.J.J. Abrams needs to be a little more selective about whoring his name out to dramas he's not deeply involved with. The cachet he built up with Felicity, Alias, and Lost took a little bit of a hit with What About Brian last spring (a show that critics generally didn't like, but that nevertheless is returning for a second season in a few weeks). I think it's taking an even bigger one with Six Degrees.
Six Degrees is a pure character-driven drama. As such, it needs to have characters capable of driving the viewer somewhere. Anywhere. But instead, I found them all completely uninteresting. I sat through about half the pilot, waiting for something to hook me, and I couldn't even finish the hour. Oh well, I guess J.J. Abrams is transitioning into movies now anyway.
In the same time slot over on CBS, James Woods was enjoying a healthy diet of scenery (as in, chewing it) in Shark, the 97th lawyer show on television right now. Like FOX's Justice, this is a show centered around a cranky-but-brilliant jerk-genius, in the mold of House. In both cases, the roles are being handled by deft actors (Victor Garber, in the other show's case).
...and in both cases, the shows surrounding them are merely average at best. Shark's plotting was predictable, and the courtroom theatrics were ridiculous (and not in a good, Boston Legal kind of way). Like Justice, I could see giving it one or two more episodes just from a desire to watch a good actor have fun with a flamboyant role. But, just like Justice, I imagine the one-note "symphony," even in the hands of even a gifted "musician," is just going to become monotonous. I've given up Justice already, and I think I'm not picking up Shark either.
The highlight of the night was instead a returning show from last season, as has been the case for me most of the week. Tonight's episode of The Office was just great. Laugh out loud funny, cringe-at-how-terrible-it-is awkward for the characters, cutting edge. This show has come so far since its rather lackluster first season, it's almost unbelievable.
3 comments:
Re: The Office.
How great are the acting and writing for this show? The writers and actors put more effort into each episode that many other sitcoms put into an entire season.
One small plot point I really liked was Roy's tumble after Pam got cold feet and his quest to win her back. This is meaty, hard writing. It was easy to make Lee (the UK Roy) a complete jerk because the UK series lasted 13 episodes. With at least five seasons in store for this version, the writers need to complicate things a little bit.
James Woods is no Denny Crane
I actually found Six Degrees to be one of the more interesting new shows. I really wanted to see how these characters grew and developed and how their lives intersected. That said, even in the first episode, I worry about where it is going to go. Most J. J. Abrams shows take 1.5-2.5 seasons before they are grasping for new ideas. I'd be surprised if this one lasts the season before that happens
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