TV Review: CBS Elementary

As a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, I want to like Elementary. I really do. But...I just wasn't feeling the love last night.

Neither Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock) or Lucy Liu (a female Watson) seemed completely comfortable in their roles. It was almost as if both knew that the shoes they had to fill were just a little too big for the both of them.

Miller, didn't seem to know whether to play Holmes as manic or slightly crazy. When he attempted to do both manic and slightly crazy together and at the same time --- it didn't make for a very likable character, just an annoying one.

Lucy Liu, on the other hand, clearly wanted Joan Watson to be sympathetic and likable. Unfortunately, the charisma that the Watson character usually carries, just wasn't there.Instead, she seemed to go through most of the night as if she didn't know what her back-story was. It was as if she had never read a Sherlock Holmes story or seen someone else play the character of Watson.

And there....perhaps lies the problem. There are "rules" to be followed when it comes to Sherlock Holmes and Elementary broke them. The PBS version of Sherlock, however  follows them brilliantly. Even though that version of Sherlock Holmes is completely modern, Holmes still lives on Baker Street. He still has his housekeeper/landlord Ms. Hudson and he's too troubled to be in a sexual relationship unless perhaps it is with Irene Addler, whom many consider Sherlock's one true love (or some say Watson was --- but that's another story...).

Perhaps, as the show goes on --- they will adapt to and follow some of the rules. It would be fun to see a New York version of The Hounds of Baskerville or A Scandal in Bohemia. An appearance by MyCroft would be nice and (of course) Professor Moriarity.

As for the Pilot itself. The case was extremely ho-hum with a doctor overloading his patient on steroids so he could have him kill his wife. The case was hardly worthy of Sherlock Holmes attention and yet --- there we were. Hopefully, next week will be better as our characters settle more into their roles.

For now --- Sushiboofay gives this premiere episode 6 Sushi Rolls and will re-evaluate as it goes further into the season.

TV Review: NYC 22 is No Rookie Blues

I expected great things from NYC 22 when it debuted this past Sunday night.

For starters, Robert Di Nero is an executive producer. Then there is Adam Goldberg who plays Ray. Ray was once a veteran news reporter, but decides to become a cop after he is laid off from his job.

If you're like me, you recognized Goldberg's face, but couldn't place where you know him from. Come to find out - you know him from a lot of different places, as he has been on every television show from " Medium" and "DeJa Vu", to "My Name is Earl."

Unfortunately, the debut episode fell rather flat for me. As usual, when you have a large ensemble cast, there is the adjustment period of figuring out who is who and what is what and how each character fits into the order of things. I thought this was the problem, but it wasn't the case. Instead, I decided that there is no point of view (POV) here. And that's where NYC22 fails.

Unlike "Rookie Blues" which centers around Andy, this episode tossed together our 6 rookie cadets and then sent them off in pairings of two to allow them to misbehave. Where "Rookie Blues" started with the other characters pivoting off of Andy and then expanding into their own storylines, "NYC 22" just gives us a chapter of each.

So--- we see Ahmad (Tom Reed) get profiled by other officers because he is from Afghanastan, Tonya (Judy Marte) with a chip on her shoulder, and Jayson (Harold House Moore) the once-professional-basketball-player, who has to convince his friend to turn himself for extorting money from shop owners.

We also see Ray lament his life and give himself the nickname "Lazarus" and Jennifer (Leelee Sobieski), who is a wisp of a thing, but was an MP in the military. Oh, and finally Kenny (Stark Sands), the token "all of my family have been police officers and I have a thing to prove" rookie. (I swear Jamie from "Blue Bloods" once listed almost the same pedigree - perhaps he and Kenny are related?)

Anyway, as you expect each pair gets into trouble. Two try to break up a gang fight in Harlem, two end up in a domestic situation with a gun to their heads, and two get assigned to help an old lady unstop a toilet. Or... maybe those two broke up the gang fight?

In the end, it was really hard to care. The characters were cardboard. It made me miss Andy and Sam and I wondered why the "22" would pair up two rookies and make them walk a beat instead of having them trained and mentored by more experienced officers who could tell them whats what.

I may give this one another try, but only when the DVR isn't busy recording "Desperate Housewives" and "Mad Men," which are on at the same time. I also may be wrong, but I don't think that even Robert Di Nero's name is going to keep this one around too long. It will be interesting to see.

The 2012 Winter Season Cometh

I'm always excited when new television shows premiere and it looks like there are a ton of them headed our way.

Since New Years is often used as a time to make predictions for the upcoming year, I thought it might be kind of fun to predict which shows I think will survive for more than one season and which shows I think will crash and burn.

I don't know much about any of the following shows other than commercials I have seen or blurbs I have read on the Internet. These predictions are based on what my gut reaction was when about the show the first time I heard about it.

The Candidates:

The River: (February 7 - ABC) I WANT this show to survive. I love Paul Blackthorne. But.....every show he has ever been on has been canceled and my fish sense tells me that this one won't make it.

Smash: (February 26 - NBC) This show will make it. Will I watch it? Ehhh....we'll see. I wasn't a big fan of "Fame" and I kind of see this being that kind of show. With X Factor, American Idol and You Think You Can Dance being hot reality shows, this show has the same promise Glee (another show I don't watch) does.

Touch: (January 25 - Fox) Will I watch. Yes. Will the show make it. If it lands on Friday night where the audience embraces shows like "Numbers," then I think it has a good chance. Otherwise....doooommeed....

Lost Girl (January 16 SyFy) Undecided. Guys wanting to watch a hot chick succubus might embrace this kind of show. The fans of Being Human might also give it a go. I will probably watch, but I'm just not sure how much action and weekly series ideas you can get out of a succubus. Still, SyFy likes this kind of quirky stuff and will probably let it have a couple of seasons at least.

Alcatraz: (January 16 Fox) I'm a big Jose Garcia fan, so I hope this show does well. The plot seems little too Flash Forward, Heroes(ish) to me, however, and I'm not sure if it can build a fan base quickly enough to get more than a season. Those of us who have missed LOST though - will most likely watch until the bitter end.

The Finder: (January 12 Fox) Unless they totally revamped this show after they spun it off on a BONES episode - I predict this one will come and go in a flash. The characters were shallow in the original episode and bboooorrrringggg.


To be continued.....

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog!

A few months ago I started doing tv reviews on my other blog at Sushiboofay's. The response was so good that I decided to start a blog just for tv and movie reviews.

I didn't know if I could get this blog up and running today, but thought it was rather fitting to launch it on the night of the 2010 Emmy Awards.

I may be tinkering with it over the next few days, but please stay tuned...there's a new television season starting soon and I'll be posting regularly to give reviews of all the new shows and some of my returning favorites.