Some of the best viewing may happen on NBC this week, but what
about the season premiere of ABC’s
”
Lost?
”
(Continue e-mailing your thoughts on the season opener to
ga*****@******ly.com). Take note of this week’s highlights:
Some of the best viewing may happen on NBC this week, but what about the season premiere of ABC’s “Lost?” (Continue e-mailing your thoughts on the season opener to ga*****@******ly.com). Take note of this week’s highlights:
‘Rock’ Rocks
“Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update” may never be the same, but thanks to its former anchor and writer, Tina Fey, neither will Wednesday nights on NBC.
Behold one of the best new shows of the season: “30 Rock” (premieres 8pm Wednesday on NBC). This enjoyable and fully imagined new comedy revolves around all the behind-the-scenes workplace antics of a live variety show (yes, another one, but there’s nothing to complain about here). Told through the eyes of Fey’s head writer, Liz Lemon, we’re given a delicious mix of humorous scenarios that manage to balance “quirky” and “heartfelt” without turning viewers off.
The pilot sets the creative ball rolling for the rest of the series’ run. Fey’s Liz is thrown when a new network titan steps in and begins rearranging the creative elements of her show. Alec Baldwin wins points here as network exec Jack Donaghy, who insists on having celeb du jour Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan from “SNL” in a stellar role) join the cast. Jane Krawkoswki plays a pivotal – and funny – role as one of the prime players in “30 Rock.”
Initially, it may seem as if Fey appears clunkish here. Either we’re not used to seeing her without the “Weekend Update” desk in front of her, or she’s not used to having it there. Either way, I walk away with the sense that Fey may just be adjusting to longer durations of airtime or getting use to who Liz is. Regardless, there’s enough good going on at “30 Rock” to convince me that Fey – and Liz – will crystallize over time. In the meantime, “30 Rocks” rocks.
Three stars.
Looking for More ‘Good’
While watching the pilot of “20 Good Years” (premieres 8:30pm Wednesday on NBC), I couldn’t but be reminded of how well “The Odd Couple” worked when it aired in the ’70s. Unfortunately, “20 Good Years” isn’t “The Odd Couple,” and the series’ stars – Emmy-winner John Lithgow and the otherwise brilliant Jeffrey Tambor – aren’t Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. Beyond that, the arrow on the entertainment meter here doesn’t always stay pointed in the direction the show’s creators would have hoped – somewhere north of good.
Lithgow and Tambor play mismatched buddies John Mason and Jeffrey Payne. John is impulsive and self-absorbed – something Lithgow can play well with his eyes closed – and Jeffrey is a widowed judge with an over-active mind. Take out the “clean” and “messy,” and add in “self-absorbed” and “neurotic,” and you have “20 Good Years.”
The problem here is that, like most comedies out there that once showed promise only to fail – “Hope & Faith,” for example – “20 Good Years” wants to play most everything over the top when it doesn’t necessarily need to do so. Note to the writers: You have the amazing broad-ranged talents of Lithgow and Tambor – don’t send them on so many emotional roller coaster rides.
Lithgow seems to have just stepped off of the “Third Rock From the Sun” set and simply changed clothes. The character he plays acts curiously similar to as the one he initially handled so well on “Rock” in its earlier years. Tambor fairs better, although you get the sense that his whiny resolve is just a peppered version of Felix Unger.
I don’t hate “20 Good Years.” What I would love is for the writers of the show to bring in even more human elements and consider not having those situations played over the mark.
But that’s just me. Lithgow and Tambor have the capacity to enthrall. I’d love for them to do it in this venue for several good years rather than a few mediocre ones.
Two stars.
Dynamic ‘Dexter’
At first glance, it may seem hard to warm up to a series whose protagonist appears to be a heartless killer. But Showtime’s “Dexter” is undeniably alluring, entertaining and downright hypnotic (airs 10pm Sundays on Showtime).
Think of Dexter as an old Private Dick mystery novel – wonderfully narrated here I might add – with modern-day nuances tossed in for good measure.
Headlined by the “Six Feet Under” alum Michael C. Hall, the show revolves around a Miami forensics expert (Hall) who operates with his own moral codes – basically he only kills people who really can’t be brought to justice.
Yes, that’s right. Dexter Morgan, somehow channeling mostly the adorable nuances of a watered-down Hannibal Lecter, knocks off the most brutal among us – and with expert, eerily emotionally detached verve.
Last week’s debut episode will have either turned viewers on with its unique brand of storytelling and uninhibited polish for showing more than anything you’d ever see on any of the episodes of “CSI,” or it will have frightened them off for the same reasons. Still, what makes Dexter work is Hall’s head-turning performance.
Full of flaws and, for the most part, honest with himself about them, Hall creates a solid character in Dexter that, if anything else, can be considered one of the most original to hit the small screen in some time. Like Tony Soprano, Dexter Morgan is easy to embrace. We may not be particularly fond of his avenue toward justice, but you certainly walk away understanding it, something other series would not delve into with the sense of detail Dexter’s creators have.
Moody, brooding and surprisingly lighthearted at times – even Dexter would agree that one has to have a sense of humor when dealing with an onslaught of death – the show is worthy of placing into your viewing schedule.
Three stars.
Don’t Miss This
It’s not your father’s “Battlestar Galactica” – and thank goodness for that. Sci-Fi’s Peabody Award-winning series (airing 9pm Friday on Sci-Fi) about the fate of the human race has made viewers do the double-take ever since it came onto the scene several years ago as a mini-series. Playing up the well-written and finely acted drama, as well as the special effects, it was one of the most-watched cable events in the net’s history. It later morphed into a series and now is about to head into season three. Don’t worry if you’ve missed past episodes. You can get the DVD or see podcasts if you like. The gravitational pull of the series will capture you. Once you’re in this Battlestar universe, it’s hard to get out.
Greg Archer is an entertainment writer based on the Central Coast. He writes about television, film and being human. E-mail him at ga*****@**********rs.com or visit www.greg-archer.com.
