TV Review: Scandal

Shonda Rhimes has done it again.

Thursday night, ABC debuted "Scandal" in its "Private Practice" slot following the Golden Child, otherwise known as "Grey's Anatomy."

The show "Scandal" steps away from the medical field, and introduces us instead to the world of crisis management. More specifically, the world of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a super-tough crisis manager who runs a tight ship filled with "strays" as one of Olivia's employees tells newbie Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) on her first day.

This cast of "strays" include; Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick), a cad lawyer that Olivia deems needs to have a "normal life." Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), the self-appointed regal "gladiator in a suit." Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), the no-nonsense private investigator, and Huck (Guillero Diaz), a computer genius who once worked for the CIA.

When introducing a large group of people to an audience, the first episode is generally a mish-mash of scenes that is short of plot substance and quick on trying to explain what---is what. This episode of "Scandal" was no exception.

In short order, we had a suspected murderer introduced and sentenced to spend the rest of the episode in a closed office. We had some kind of subplot with a kidnapped baby kept in a file box (???) that is ultimately rescued from the Russian Mob when a $3 million dollar ransom is paid, and perhaps more importantly, we learn that Olivia once had an affair with the President of the United States and appears to still have a thing for him despite the small fact that he is married.

It's often hard to judge a first episode when it is fast-paced. Since Rhimes is at the helm of this speed cruiser, we'll have to give the show some time to develop. Can it reach "Grey's Anatomy" success, or is it a watered-down version of Private Practice? If you're a fan of the other two, you couldn't help but see some similarities between Olivia and Addison. You might have wondered if Quinn is the new Meredith or is she just another Amelia Shepherd?

In other words, switching from Seattle Grace and the Oceanside Wellness Center to a lofty law office in Washington DC may take a bit of getting use to, but it should also be interesting to watch.

TV Review: Terriers

And the new fall season is off and running. I wasn't going to miss Master Chef, however, so Terriers went onto the DVR and I finally got around to watching it today.

The premise of the show is simple, but the title is a bit confusing. Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan play Hank and Britt two unlicensed private eyes who investigate cases while annoying the police and getting in and out of scraps - both professionally and personally.

Unfortunately, it took a good fifteen to twenty minutes to figure out that this was what the show was about. The episode started with the duo snatching a dog for the lady that does Britt's dry cleaning. Repo men or bounty hunters? I initially had trouble figuring out what they were suppose to be and the show description (that I brought up on screen courtesy of Directv) didn't help.

Once we were told and we were TOLD - one of the two actually tells someone that they are indeed private investigators, just unlicensed, well, then the story premise became a little more clear.

Through the whole show I kept thinking that these two reminded me of someone and finally as it was ending, I realized we were watching a version Sam and Dean Winchester (Supernatural) - if they were older and were looking for bad guys instead of demons and ghosts. I guess this is why the whole thing had a vaguely familiar feel to it, like we've been here and done that.

I will probably tape a few more episodes to see if this one goes anywhere. I started liking it towards the end, but with only 1.6 million viewers (according to the Los Angeles Times), it doesn't appear this one is going to be staying on my "must see - tv" list.

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.