06.30 Party Down
07.00 The Beast
08.00 The Cleaner
Party Down. Episode 1. "Willow Canyon Homeowner's Party" Henry Pollard returns to his old job.
Ken Marino is normally terrific, but I thought he was trying too hard to be Steve Carell/Michael Scott in this opening episode. I hope he tones that down in future episodes, cos the guy has a lot more to offer than that.
Adam Scott is a great leading man. I instantly warmed to his character and his cloud of thinly-disguised despair. This is a guy I could follow for a few weeks.
Ryan Hansen was the real revelation of this opening episode. He was much better, much funnier than I remembered.
Enrico Colantoni was only a guest star, I realise, but he totally stole the episode out from under the rest of them. His character was much like Adam Scott's. Full of despair. And, consequently, very interesting.
Jane Lynch got funnier and funnier as the episode wore on. As time passed I got more and more amused by her character constantly popping up in all the video footage. I hope this turns into a running gag.
The Beast. Episode 1. "Pilot" Undercover FBI agents target a weapons seller.
The first half was messy and annoying, but the second half was more coherent and more enjoyable. I enjoyed the twist at the very end and I'm tempted to watch more and see what happens next.
Some of the undercover stuff was really, really silly. The sort of scenes you'd never see on 24 or Burn Notice. But, I suppose, we can't expect every show to be as good as 24 or Burn Notice.
The Cleaner. Episode 1. "Pilot" Banks and his team try to help a boy who is addicted to drugs.
Awful. Truly awful. This is on a par with crap like Bionic Woman and Knight Rider.
And none of makes much sense. It's just a lot of random scenes designed to make us think Banks is a nice guy who helps lots of people. I'm not sure what his team does. Early on in the pilot we see them kidnapping a woman who has a gambling addiction. But, we never see her again, so it's not exactly clear what they have done with/to her and how they have helped her.
Later on, they stage an assault on the lair of a major bad guy in order to rescue a teenage boy. A teenage boy who, in the previous scene, was shown to be at home fighting with his mother and bother. So what was the purpose of the 'assault'? And how does it help the boy? Won't he still be addicted to drugs when the story is over.
Fuzzy thinking in the extreme.
Highlight? Party Down (thinly-disguised despair)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
Yet Another TV Review Book
Yet Another Film Review Blog
A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Fri, Apr 3, 09 - Party Down, The Beast, The Cleaner
