Wednesday, October 24, 2007

I love Life but I'm tired of memorizing lines

Sigh...for the past hour I'm been trying to memorize a monologue for my drama class and I've gotten tired of repeating the same thing over and over so for a quick break, I ventured online to my blog to talk about one of my favourite new shows--Life.

Life
is just about the most awesome new show of the season. Seriously. Damien Lewis is a fantastic actor who plays a fantastically-written character named Charlie Crews. It's one of the only shows this season that I've actually watched every episode of on the same day it aired (normally I DVR my shows and watch them periodically).

Life, for those of you who are as yet unaware, is about an L.A. cop named Charlie Crews (Damien lewis) who has just been let out of prison after 15 years locked in--it's been proven he didn't commit the triple murder he was convicted of. He's been given a wealthy multi-million-dollar settlement and instead of living the life of leisure and luxury, he's opted to rejoin the L.A.P.D. (Los Angeles Police Department), this time as a detective. The L.A.P.D. aren't so sure they want him back on the force, and Charlie's new partner, Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi) is ordered to keep a watchful eye on him so that they can gain a reason to kick him out. Dani, who was recently suspended after a drug addiction, is reluctant to rat her partner out, and with each episode, becomes more and more attached to Charlie, though she won't admit it.

The major thing that makes this show great, is the character of Charlie Crews himself. Charlie is full of quirks, attitudes and sensitivities, all caused by his fifteen years of being a former cop, stuck in a high-security prison with inmates who hated cops.

The show does have a murder-of-the-week subplot, but there are ongoing story threads as well, namely the one where Charlie digs deeper and deeper to uncover the conspiracy that put him in prison all those years ago. There are also the relationships he develops amongst the people around him, including Dani, his lawyer Constance Griffith (Brooke Langton), his financial manager and former white collar fellow convict Ted Earley (Adam Arkin), his ex-wife, who divorced him after he was convicted of murder, and his former partner, Robert Stark (Brent Sexton).

There is plenty in this show to keep viewers entertained, and if you haven't yet tuned in, do so. It's worth your time, trust me.

Now...back to memorizing my wonderful monologue.

Monday, October 22, 2007

My lack of short story ideas and the Viva-less Laughlin

This past week I've struggled with short story ideas. For my short fiction writing class tonight, I was supposed to hand in a short story written in the first person, five to ten pages long, but I failed to produce such a piece of work. I started about ten stories in the past week but I could finish not a one. That's what I'm supposed to be doing now, but the creative girl in me just refuses to surface. I keep drawing blanks...I almost handed in a story I wrote a few months ago but my conscience gave me a kick in the rear so I didn't...this happens to me sometimes. I can go months and months with ideas crawling inside my brain and then WHAM the ideas quit coming. Anyhow...

Viva Laughlin is viva-less. I watched the first episode on Thursday and I have the second one sitting in my DVR but I guess there's no use in watching it as it was cancelled today. Poor Viva Laughlin--it was doomed before it even started. While I admit to loving seeing characters break into song and dance numbers (seriously, I do), Viva Laughlin just didn't gel with me. None of the characters seemed likeable to me and having watched more than my share of 30s and 40s movies (where breaking into song and dance was the norm) I think I'll stick to those as the singing and dancing actually fit. In Viva Laughlin, it all just seemed way too tacky. Goodbye Viva--I won't miss you.

Now back to writing my short story...grrrr.....arghhh....

Friday, October 19, 2007

I hate geology but I like Life With Derek

I just got back from taking my geology midterm. Hours of studying and I thought I had it in the can. I didn't. I failed more than miserably. I'm taking this geology course as one of the science requirements for my Arts degree (damn liberal arts requirement!) and I suck at math and science A LOT. I knew it would be hard but...dangnammit, this is the second test I failed in the class so I guess I have to drop it. I can't afford to risk another F on my transcript. I have two previous failures, both from the cursed Introduction to Statistics class, which I took twice and failed twice (those were previous attempts to satisfy the science requirement). I''m required to complete six credit hours of math or science for my 4-year degree but after five years (I switched my major a few times so I've been at uni longer) I only have three credit hours, a physical geography course I worked my ass off in my second year to get a lowly D. I'd never been more proud to get a D...looks like next term I may have to try biology.

Anyways, let's forget about my insidious geology midterm failure and get to talking about a show I came across a few weeks ago on Family Channel. Yes, you heard me right--I'm actually watching a show that's made on Family Channel. As a rule the shows that come on that channel are corny and bubblegummish but Life With Derek is different. I began watching it at two in the morning at work (I work the night shift). There isn't much on at that time and with only thirty channels I often can't find much to watch. However, I recently discovered reruns of Boy Meets World, an old fave of mine on Family Channel at that time, and after Boy Meets World, Life With Derek came on. I gotta say, I really like it.

The premise of the show is that a single mom with two daughters and a single dad with two sons and one daughter, get married. The mom and daughters move into the dad's house. The mom's oldest daughter, overacheiver Casey (played by the up and coming Ashley Leggat) is about fifteen years old and is none too thrilled about moving to a new home and having to go to a new school. She immediately begins a feud with her new stepbrother Derek (Michael Seater) who is the same age and much more popular than she is (he has a rock band and is the captain of his hockey team). I find the constant battling that ensues between both Casey and Derek extremely entertaining. I also like seeing all the mayhem that develops in Casey and
Derek's new blended family as everyone learns to get along. This show is great, and it's Canadian to boot. What's more, it comes on Family Channel a lot so it's easy to catch up on episodes.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

The top 10 new shows of the fall (in my humble opinion)

Of all the show's that have premiered this fall, these are the ten that I like the most:

  1. Heartland (It's a rural drama set on a horse ranch, taking place in the Canadian prairies with a good cast and good storylines so I love it.)
  2. Life (Damian Lewis who plays the lead in this show is phenomenal and so is the character he plays, excellant supporting cast and storylines as well)
  3. Cane (I love this show because of the ongoing storylines and family dynamics, it's becoming more and more of an addictive show for me. The complex characters and the cast who play them are awesome.)
  4. Waterloo Road (This British drama is pheomenal. It's such high quality with moving storylines and characters. I urge people who get the chance to watch it to do so.)
  5. Dirty Sexy Money (A really entertaining show. Donald Sutherland and Peter Krause are awesome in this.)
  6. Blood Ties (While it doesn't have a big American budget for expensive sets, I find the characters in this show about a private eye and a 400-year-old vampire intriging. I was surprised how much I liked it because before I watched it I thought it would be cliche but it isn't.)
  7. Samantha Who? (It only debuted a couple days ago, but it started off really strongly. Christina Applegate sure proved herself as a talented actress.)
  8. Kyle XY (Even though it debuted in the States a couple years ago, it only began airing in Canada this year, and I really like it so far.)
  9. Bionic Woman (While I think there are plenty of flaws with this show, I have become a regular watcher)
  10. K-Ville (While it started off great, it's fading. I was hoping for more in the way of ongoing storylines but the show is seeming to go in more of a procedural direction.)

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Burnt soup & my thoughts on Cane

Yesterday I tuned in happily to see Cane, a show that's quickly becoming a fave of mine this year. I typically gravitate to shows with storylines involving family dynamics and what I really like about Cane is that three generations of the main family on the show--the Ducque family, to be specific--all have major storylines, giving the show a multigenerational appeal. The family dynamic angle is not enough for me to watch a series though, as my detest for Brothers and Sisters and 7th Heaven will prove. A series needs riveting ongoing stories, appealing and well-developed characters and worthwhile settings to make me like it and Cane has all that in full force.

The show revolves (as previously mentioned) around the Cuban-American Ducque family who own a rum and sugar-cane empire near Miami, Florida. The head of the family is Pancho Ducque. His wife is Amalia. They have three natural children named Francisco, Isabel and Henry. Pancho also has an honorary son, Alex Vega, who was taken in by the family as a boy. Alex is married to Isabel and they have three children together named Jaime, Katie and Artie.
The show has an excellent cast playing all these complex characters but because I don't feel like clicking back and forth to read the names on the imdb website to name them here, you can go there yourself.

The show's name comes from the sugar-cane empire that the Ducques own, and is also perhaps a reference to the Cane/Abel story from the Bible in which one brother hates the brother that he thinks his parents love more. In the show's case, middle brother Frank (short for Francisco) is resentful of his father Pancho's decision to make oldest brother Alex the new CEO of the family company, despite the fact that Frank is the natural-born son (Alex is honorarily adopted). Frank is also secretly having an affair with Ellis Samuels, the daughter of the rival enemy sugar-cane family, and she's manipulating him into giving up precious Ducque secrets. The Samuels cause a fair amount of problems for the Ducques, so much so that Alex is forced to hire a hitman to get rid of a man they sent after him. I won't get into the plot because it might give alot away but I urge you to check it out. The show needs better ratings desperately as it's not doing so well in the States. It seems every year the shows I like most get cancelled early. I'm hoping this won't be the case with Cane.

I like Cane so much, that yesterday when I was watching it on my TV, I was so into it that I forgot all about the tomato macaroni soup I had cooking on the stove. It burnt BADLY. The pot it was in is beyond washing. It's in the garbage bin beside my apartment building now. My apartment smells horribly of burnt tomatoes. But watching Cane was worth it. Honestly.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Show Review - Life Is Wild

So far, I've seen two episodes of Life Is Wild, a new show which debuted on the CW network in the States last Sunday. I found the show good and bad on several levels. I had high expectations but maybe I shouldn't have. It really wasn't that good.

The show is about a New York blended family who move to South Africa so the dad can start a vetrinary practice there. This is actually an American version of the British drama Wild At Heart, which, from what I can gather of the small amount of clips I've seen of it, is much better in quality then Life Is Wild. I just wish Wild At Heart would air on BBC Canada so I can watch that instead...

I loved the South African setting, and love the fact that the show is trying to explore issues unique to South Africa. I also loved a few of the storylines BUT there are a few major annoyances which I can't ignore. The biggest one is the lead actress in the show, Leah Pipes, who I find completely and utterly wrong for the role she's portraying--that of 16-year-old teenager Katie Clarke. I find Pipes extremely annoying and though I like enough about the show itself, with Katie as the main character, it is incredibly hard to ignore her. Now normally I don't like to criticize an actor so harshly, but sheesh, the girl needs to quiet down in her acting. She speaks too loudly and emphasizes her words too much. Perhaps it's only a result of nervousness or the awkwardness that occurs in the first few episodes of a new series, but I really am finding it hard to enjoy it with her in it.

Another thing that annoys me is something that I guess comes as a result of not being American. The American characters in the show come across as ethnocentric and naieve to other cultures. They unabashedly insult South African people by insulting their culture, without realizing they are doing so. They appear so uneducated about the outside world that it amazes me. I don't think that was the intention of the writers at all but I can clearly see it with non-American eyes. The stupidity of some of the characters frustrates me. The teenage boy goes skateboarding in the bush while there's an injured lioness on the the loose nearby. Another character takes a lion cub for a walk. Katie accepts a ride from complete strangers at a gas station. Watching some of the actions of these characters makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Yet I will stay watching. As I said earlier, the unique setting and storylines are enough for me to keep watching--for now.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Show Review - Heartland

[aired Oct. 14, 2007 on CBC]

Well, this show just went down as my favourite new show of the year. I love almost everything about it. The sibling dynamics, the horses, the drama and the prairies all work to together to make Heartland the best show CBC has had in years.

Not all shows have to be dark and edgy to be good. Nor do they have to have gratuitous violence and sex to be entertaining. I miss good wholesome family dramas. Give me the early 90s with shows like Dr. Quinn and Road to Avonlea any day.

The characters are well-written and the actors who play them are incredibly well-cast. Sure, there were a few awkward scenes, but that's to be expected with a new series (I've watched enough pilot episodes in my time to know that).

Heartland takes place on a ranch at the edge of the prairies, right near the Alberta foothills and revolves around two sisters, Lou (Michelle Morgan) and Amy (Amber Marshall) and their grandpa Jack (Shaun Johnston), after the death of the girls' mother and Jack's daughter. Lou is in her 20s and has lived in the big city for years, but she returns home for her mother's funeral. Amy, only 16, still lives on Heartland and is left badly injured in the same accident that killed her mother. Both girls don't get along at all and Jack is left to act as the peacemaker. Lou eventually decides to stay after realizing the ranch needs her in order to bring it out of debt. Also starring in the show are Nathaniel Arcand, Graham Wardle, Aedan Tomney, Jessica Amlee, Chris Potter, Wanda Cannon and Cindy Busby. This large ensemble cast gives the show plenty of complexly intriguing characters well worth tuning into the show for.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Show Review - Whistler

[aired Sep. 29 on CTV]

It's been forever since the first season of Whistler ended its run on CTV (actually, it was 12 months) and FINALLY the first episode of the second season aired on Saturday. There were some developments that I didn't like--I absolutely hated that they killed off Ethan (I understand that the actor Nick Lea left, but still--couldn't they have just said he'd left town?) and I hated that Carrie lost the baby (I would have loved it if Carrie had Beck's baby--would have left so many storylines, including a reason for Beck's ghost to stick around). However, that all being said, this episode was awesome. I am so thrilled that the show decided to take advantage of its Whistler setting alot more than it did in its first season. This season looks like it'll feature a ton of snowboarding-related storylines and there's many new characters who are part of Whistler's snowboarding world.

The main story in this episode has Quinn, the main character, returning home to Whistler after many months at university in the States for the commemoration of a training facility named in honour of his dead brother, and Olympic snowboarding champion, Beck Mackaye. He reunites with Carrie, his ex-girlfriend (and also Beck's ex as well) and after they share a passionate night together, he rethinks going back to school, deciding, after a snowboard run on the mountain, to stay in Whistler.

Twelve months of waiting anxiously for Whistler to return my TV screen was worth it.

Commentary - ratings for Rick Mercer Report and The Tudors

Well, I just saw an article which announced that Rick Mercer Report and The Tudors, two shows which premiered on CBC last evening, both got nearly one million viewers. That's fantastic news. I guess all of CBC's promotions paid off. I actually enjoyed The Tudors very much, history buff that I am (even though I realize some of the historical facts on the show are slightly skewed) and am happy that it got so many viewers, especially since it's a quasi-Canadian production (sort of). It brings more viewers to CBC, and that makes me happy because CBC, unlike CTV or Global, produces much more Canadian content (as they should) and more viewers for one show means more viewers who see the promos for other shows on the pubcaster. As for Rick Mercer Report, I really think the guy is a genius. One of my tiffs with other personalities on Canadian TV, is that they fail to truly grasp the regional identity of this country (ie. the east/west divide and diversity) but Rick Mercer appeals to the whole country, be it north, south, east or west. His is a truly national show in focus, and he is really good at diving into the grey areas of national politics and opinions. I've been a fan of him through his ventures in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made In Canada, Monday Night Report and now this, the Rick Mercer Report. I will admit to not having watched his show yesterday, but I had a good excuse--I had a class (Shakespeare) so wasn't home. I got home in time to watch The Tudors and Rick Mercer is sitting contentedly in my DVR. I will watch him after I get off my computer. For the article that I got the info on the ratings for the two above shows, visit Channel Canada at the following link:

http://www.channelcanada.com/Article2013.html

Monday, October 1, 2007

My take on last week's ratings

Well, last week's ratings, published today, basically outlined the state of Canadian television in a nutshell--American-dominated. Only five Canadian-produced shows made it into the top 30, and four of those were newscasts. Only one was a scripted series--the past hit Corner Gas, which, disappointedly, dipped below the million-viewer mark for the first time in it's history (that's counting first-run episodes only). That may be attributed to the fact that the show's timeslot was changed to Mondays at 9:30pm ET (8:30pm CT) where it is now up against big shows including Heroes and K-Ville (and soon, also, Samantha Who? and Intelligence). Plus it's later in the evening, so that may account for some loss in ratings too. I'm not too upset though--Corner Gas is a show that I can take or leave. I've never quite gotten into it. It'll be interesting to see, though, since most Canuck sitcoms and dramas begin airing in the next few weeks, how those shows will do. Maybe there'll be a few more Canadian shows which make the Top 30.

As I said, the shows that made the Top 30, were, with the exception of the aforementioned one sitcom and four newscasts, all American. I'm actually fairly disapointed in the ratings of the American shows as well. Out of all 25 of them, I actually only took the time to watch two of them--Prison Break and Back To You, the former which was awesome, the latter one which I actually hated and won't watch again. The cursed CSIs took four spots (#4, #11, #20 and #21) and the boring Law & Orders took four spots as well (#10, #12, #13 and #17) although I admit, I have the SVU premiere saved on my DVR for viewing as I want to check out Adam Beach in his new role. I also have the #26 show, Desperate Housewives, saved on my DVR to watch too, although I'm not so sure I care to see it. That leaves fourteen shows that made the charts that I haven't mentioned, none of which I care enough about to do so.