TV Shows To MAYBE Watch: "Pan Am"

I don't quite get it.

Maybe I'm missing something, but Pan Am is a gorgeous show, excellent art design, talented actors and actresses, yet there rarely seems to be much of a plot.  All the movement comes from behind, nothing leads the story forward.  There is no mystery established that keeps the viewer hooked, waiting on pins and needles for the next episode.

Don't get me wrong, the show is anything but sub-par.  Again, the attention to detail, the color and look of the wardrobe, sets, makeup, and environments seems to recreate the 1960s.  Not that I would know personally.  It just fits in my perception of what things must have been like.  Also, there was a line in episode two where a man remarks about paying $300 for a ticket to Paris.  If only.

The look of the show is shiny and flashy.  The colors are bold and full of light tones.  The actresses playing the Pan Am model-stewardess hybrid are attractive.  The pilots are dashing gentlemen.  While perhaps such a cosmetically discriminatory and shallow approach to running an airline would probably be harassed today, one gets a sense of the high-style that accompanied air travel in decades past.

The premise of the show seems to be that there is a crew of Pan Am stewardesses and pilots and they are just going about their past with flashbacks to explain smaller details of the story.  It's kind of LOST without the mystery.  Everything is explained.  I find that frustrating.  I have nothing to discuss with my peers and I honestly have no idea where the show is headed--there has not been an arcing storyline established beyond *SPOILER* Kate Cameron (Kelli Garner, Lars and the Real Girl) being recruited by the CIA in the first episode.  So far that has not gotten her in any real peril or intrigue yet.



Yet, as I mentioned, the cast performs well.  The central characters of the show are Kate Cameron and her younger sister, Laura, played by relative newcomer Margot Robbie (Neighbors).  The love-hate sister relationship comes off well, and there is definite chemistry for viewers to eat up.  Maggie Ryan (Christina Ricci, Black Snake Moan) is a maverick-ess who loves her job but hates the institution's bureaucracy and chauvinism.  In contrast, Colette Vanois (Karine Vanasse, Set Me Free) is the exotic French stewardess that loves her job and manages to get into trouble with men.  Her character's counterpart is Ted Vanderway (Michael Mosley, The Proposal).  Ted is a smooth-talking, ladies' man copilot.  The whole crew is led by the earnest, chivalrous Captain Dean Lowry (Mike Vogel, Cloverfield), searching for his beloved fiancee Bridgette (Annabelle Wallis, X-Men: First Class).  As an ensemble, there is great interplay between the roles and the dialogue is for the most part very well-written.


I find this show falling short of the groundbreaking drama it could be, and I am saddened.  I predict that unless this show really pulls out the stops in their storylines that it will not make it past its first, maybe second season, if it's lucky.  It comes off as an airline copycat of Mad Men that needs to figure out why it deserves to be compelling.

Channel: ABC
Genre: Period Drama
Rating: TV-14
Recommendation: RECOMMEND SEEING


**Cine-Phil's two cents: "PAN AM: Did anyone else see the pilot episode of Pan Am on Sunday nights?  What a terrific beginning to what appears to be a very promising new show.  THe attention to period detail is right up there with Mad Men but overall this show looks to be many times better than that one.  For starters, I actually like the characters and that goes a long way with me.  I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this one."


**Cine-Phil's two cents the following week (Episode Two): Pan Am: Sunday night's episode was surprisingly dull.  I found myself saying the dreaded "So what..." when it ended.  A lot of plot strains that don't connect and not single one of them were very compelling.  Is this show going to be a lot of style with little substance?  I hope not.  There are too many projects that have fallen prey to that sad little distinction of late."

TV Shows To Watch: Suits

SNAP!

This morning I started watching the 1 hour 21 minute pilot for Suits expecting the show to be average legal procedural fare--the underdog associate who was top of his class and now has to learn to play in the big leagues.  I was sorely--or rather pleasantly--disappointed.

Suits is one of this summer season's shows that I will watch religiously, albeit with the help of Hulu.com.  It is fresh.  I don't know why, as the premise is not entirely original.  Perhaps it is the razor sharp dialogue--think Gillette Mach 3 sharp.  Or perhaps it is the likable protagonist, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who is a Will Hunting-type savant who must constantly use his brilliance to pick up the nuances of legal profession.  His struggles are compounded by the fact that he never actually went to law school.  Or even finished college.  He is the exceptionally-talented slacker who is given a shot at legitimacy, and , unlike Will Hunting, really does want to succeed.

The heart of the story comes from Mike's inability to breeze through it all.  He comes up short, faces serious disaster, and loses confidence in himself.  But in the end, he is helped by his gifted, yet selfish, boss, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht).

One of this show's strengths is that its principals are predominantly played by relatively unknown actors (Gina Torres being one of the exceptions).  I think that there exists in this show a measure of humility and earnestness in that the entire cast wants this show to be successful.  And if the show continues as it has begun, it has great potential.

Sure, it still is a bit of a familiar set up, but the dialogue and characters are so well-written that it gives the show personality and energy that seems to be increasingly hard to come by.

Channel: USA Network
Genre: Legal Drama
Rating: TV-14
Recommendation: MUST SEE

TV Shows NOT To Watch: Perfect Couples

This show will die horribly--imagine the gruesome, drawn-out demise of Sam Quint (Robert Shaw) in the original 1975 Jaws and you are not to far off, metaphorically speaking.

I find very few redemptive qualities in this show.  Maybe only one.  I watched the pilot episode last night and found it to be a waste of twenty minutes of my life.  Perhaps it's suppressed rage, or something else, but I find this show a great excuse to rant about crappy television.

The premise is non-sequitor.  We never really find out what the relationships between the characters in the couples are.  I think the three guys were college roommates, and two of them are brothers...or really close friends.  I honestly don't know.  Everything was vaguely alluded to in the show, in a failed attempt to avoid unnecessary exposition, so you never understand why these people are involved in each others' lives.

For two producers whose credits for writing and producing include 30 Rock, Community, Friends, and Home Improvement, this show is a far cry from audience-pleasing quality.  A quick check on the imdb.com page shows the audience disapproval for it.

The actors, for the most part, are talented in their own right.  Christine Woods, fresh off of 2010's unfortunately-cancelled FlashForward, and looking a lot less haggard, I might add, is an excellent actress stuck in soon-to-be-euthanized "comedy" (I use the term loosely, and my the euthanasia comment is merely a wish and not an official announcement--but I'll keep you updated).

The premise:  three couples, vaguely connected, struggling to make their relationships work.  But apparently the message didn't get through to the writing staff, as the jokes are forced, the laughs non-existent, and the interactions unrealistic, particularly Amy and Vance's, which almost always end in an irrational argument.  I don't get it.  Nor do I buy Dave's absolute appeasement of Vance's dependence.  If it is meant to be charicactured, it is not enough.  If it is meant to be subtle, well, it's a failed attempt.

Bottom line:  Avoid this show like the plague.  It's a waste of time that relies on 90s humor (from which the human race has moved beyond).  You will not laugh, and afterwards you will want the minutes wasted watching it back.

Maybe it's bad because the producers were also executives on Joey.  Yeah, that's probably why.

Channel: NBC
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-PG
Recommendation: DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

TV Shows To Watch: "CAPRICA"

Why is viewership down? According to my friend's feedback on the advertising strategy for the show, they are not hyping the true selling points of the show.

Anyone who ever watched Battlestar Galactica, to which "Caprica" is a prequel, knows that the show is more than just a simple "stranded in space hunted by destructive robots" show. When Ronald D. Moore stepped in to help revamp the concept, the show became an intelligent look into various socio-political issues that the world currently faces. Themes of government and religion, their interaction and place in society, became the undercurrents for the show's plot lines. The milieu of the show was also intelligent and realistic, not the glamor-rock sci-fi of the 80s and 90s.

"Caprica" continues in a similar suit. It is intelligent, engaging, innovative, and just plain excellent. This show is the prequel to "Battlestar Galactica," taking places several decades before. The show's main character is Daniel Greystone, a tech-industry tycoon.

Unbeknownst to him, his daughter develops a program to create a duplicate of herself that exists permanently in the virtual world, an Internet-type universe that is accessed through holobands, a device developed by her father's company.

When she becomes the victim of a terrorist attack, bringing back in the religious conflict themes Battlestar fans will recognize, Daniel discovers her program and become obsessed with bringing her back, as well as finding methods of utilizing her software for military applications in order to win a national defense contract for mechanized soldiers, later dubbed, "Cylons."

However, the show's main plots are not limited to Daniel's story. Those he crosses paths with begin to play a part in his story and subsequently, complications begin to arise. Daniel's company begins to suffer, his wife is struggling to come to terms with her daughter's death, and he continues to be consumed with cracking his daughter's software.

The world crafted by the writers and art directors is superb, including fashion motifs from the 40s and the 50s, including the fedora, used to unexpected effect, suspenders, and many other smaller details.

Indeed, "Caprica" fails to disappoint fans and newcomers alike. No review can truly do it justice. My only advice: watch it. You will be enchanted, captured, and held hostage to its roller coaster of plot lines, a situation which, in my opinion, is hardly undesirable.

Channel: SyFy Channel
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: TV-14
Recommendation: MUST SEE

TV Shows To Watch: "THE GOOD GUYS"

Matt Nix, the creator of "Burn Notice," scores with another light-hearted foray into the crime series. What could be considered the freshest crime shows on TV, "The Good Guys" is a perfect combination of contemporary crime dramas with "Starsky and Hutch" adventure.

Det. Jack Bailey (Collin Hanks) is partnered in the Dallas Police Department's Small Property Crimes with Dan Stark (Bradley Whitford), a past-his-prime old-school cop out to "bust some punks" who still has a job only because of a single act of heroism years before. With an ex-girlfriend as the Assistant District Attorney and a knack for getting himself in sticky situations, the sky is the limit for what Bailey can get himself caught up in.

As a show, this series is top-notch. Nix's style keeps things fresh and, most importantly, the show does not take itself too seriously. The bad guys are not so detestable and insidious as bumbling and accident-prone, though never to slap-stick extremes.

Each episode opens with a small property crimes case that manages to connect and evolve into a major case, providing surprising twists and turns and memorable moments, not to mention quotes ("Yeah, boxes filled with crime!"). I often find myself laughing out loud at Stark's quirky, gung-ho attitude and commiserating with Bailey's failure to get back together with A.D.A. Liz Traynor.

I highly recommend this series to anyone wanting a fun-filled evening with two memorable characters.

Channel: USA Network
Genre: Crime- Action/Adventure/Comedy
TV Rating: TV-14
Recommendation: MUST SEE

TV Shows To Watch: "ROOKIE BLUE"

Bursting onto ABC this season, is "Rookie Blue," a show that follows a group of Canadian rookie cops. A fan of TNT's "Southland," I was hesitant to check out "Rookie Blue" because experience has taught me that cop show rarely put the cops first, preferring instead to involve intricate plots that end up becoming formulaic. "Rookie Blue" was refreshing. The episodes are not about the crimes, they are about the rookies.

Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym), is a rookie whose father was a cop that left the force under difficult circumstances. Her character is, and I use the word again, refreshingly real. She is accident-prone, occasionally awkward, lacks flawless courage, and is someone that most people can relate to. Her fellow rookies are no different. No one is perfect. They all have flaws that are suggested, and, I expect, will be dealt with in greater detail as the show moves forward.

We follow these rookies through their police career's School of Hard Knocks. They come out bruised and sore, but also wiser. I rarely find a crime drama where I can connect that well to the characters.


Despite being based on Hollywood police ensemble archetypes, these characters manage to come off human, rather than players in a game. The actors fit their roles remarkably well and as this show is set in Canada, there are different customs and procedures than audiences are used to seeing, resulting in occasional surprise as they act differently than anticipated.

While "Southland" is documentary-style, "Rookie Blue" is more contemporary, but does not feel staged. The show takes place in the world more than it does in the inner sanctum of the police station.

"Rookie Blue" breathes new life into the dramatic crime show and has the potential to become a successful show, particularly among character-drama audiences.

Channel: ABC
Genre: Crime- Drama
TV-Rating: TV-14
Recommendation: HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Why Prison Break Broke

Prison Break, a show where Michael Schofield gets himself thrown in prison in order to help his older brother, Lincoln escape. Lincoln faces the death penalty for killing the vice president's brother. Both Lincoln and Michael feel otherwise about his conviction. With flashbacks to explain motivations, Michael uses his full-body tattoos, with blueprints and information for their escape embedded in the art, to escape with Lincoln.

The fatal flaw in this show's premise is that the entire objective is to escape from prison and expose a government conspiracy. Once they accomplished that, where was the show to go? The creators and writers decided to follow their continued flight, additional capture and imprisonment in an inmate-run Panama prison, and from there the show suffered. We could only watch so much of their narrow-escapes and weakening plotlines. The show ended after four seasons. Despite the popularity gained in the first season, it was probably three seasons too long.

With a title like "Prison Break," the creators created themselves into a corner from the start. Once the heroes escape, that is technically the end of the story. In fact, I would watch a story with the same premise, sans the superfluous conspiracy angle, because it sounds intriguing. How would you pull it off? And with the clock ticking on your brother's execution!

The characters in the show are strong. You love some, you hate some. Our moral hero is forced to make tough decisions that threaten to compromise his personal preferences in order to achieve his higher goal.
But then to throw in the pot a government conspiracy? It seems like a typical episode of Pitch Meetings Gone Wild! I can imagine the discussion:

"Picture this: a guy commits a crime to go to prison to free his brother! But he has blueprints of the prison and clues hidden in a full-torso tattoo!"

"Yeah! Why is he freeing his brother, though?"

"... Because his brother is wrongfully convicted of killing the vice president's brother."

"Is he actually guilty?"

"No! It is part of a cover-up by the..."
I'll stop there to prevent spoilers.

But instead of listening to the little voice in their heads that said, "This is probably enough" at the end of the first season, the writers and producers decided that they could continue the story.

What ensued was a set of seasons that began retreading the original material. Here's a quick logline for the next two seasons:

Season Two: We're still running, but we get caught again.

Season Three: We're still trying to get free... but this time in PANAMA!

I actually haven't watched season four yet, nor the final movie, "The Final Break," so I withhold judgement (as a good reviewer should), but rest assured, as soon as I have seen it, I will offer my official feedback.

But do not think that "Prison Break" is not worth watching. Indeed, the show provides twists in every episode. The characters are rock-solid. The locations and atmosphere perfect for the story. I just think the overall concept ran on too long and the original excitement left coughing in the dust.