Pilot review: Cupid

So, Cupid. I know this is a remake of a show Rob Thomas tried to make in the late 90s with Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall. I have only the vaguest memory of that version. But I tried not to think about that fact at all as I was watching this. I was basically thinking "Come on, Rob Thomas. Make me a new Veronica Mars." I'm pretty sure he didn't really do that, but I'll probably watch a few more episodes of this. I only have a couple of real points to make about it:

1) Bobby Cannavale is just a little too guido for my taste. I know it was unreasonable to expect the same type of SoCali-goodness that Veronica Mars provided, but did it have to be so New York-ish? Eh.

2) Sarah Paulson looks much, much better as a brunette. Why does she have to be blonde? Why does every show always have to have a blonde? (Okay, after writing this I did a Google image search to come up with a picture of her with brown hair and I couldn't find a single good one. Obviously she's blonde a lot more often than I realized. But does it have to be such an aggressive blonde?)

That was pretty much my whole impression of the show. It had a few cute moments, a few good one liners, and the Irish guy was really charming (and completely made up for the presence of Marguerite Moreau), but overall it wasn't the overwhelming clever brilliance I was hoping for. Like I said, though, I'll at least watch a few more episodes...if it lasts that long.

I'm letting TWoP do the Pilot season research for me

I'm not paying any attention at all to pilot season this year. I don't really have time. Plus, it's always just easier to wait for the upfronts to see what gets picked up. That way I don't have to get excited about stuff that's never going to make it to air.

Anyway, TWoP posted this list of 10 pilots that at least spark their interest for whatever reason. That's good enough for me. I'm posting it so hopefully I'll remember to go back and reference it come September when new stuff is actually premiering. Of the list, I think I'm most interested in No Heroics and Lost & Found, but that one only because of Katee Sackhoff. No Heroics seems like it could be funny. Vaguely reminiscent of Boldly Going Nowhere, which reminds me, is that show ever going to air? I've been wainting for that one since, like, last May.

This guy loves Battlestar Galactica. So say we all.

In lieu of posting about the series finale (well...maybe I'll get to that eventually), I'm posting this:



Thanks, io9, for ensuring that this song will be stuck in my head for the rest of time.

Schröedinger's Ben Linus

5.10 "He's Our You"

I was kind of so-so on this episode. It may just be because it was a Sayid episode, and even though he kicks ass, I find him a little on the boring side. Even the torture scene wasn't very exciting. I can't believe I'm going to say this...I miss Locke.

Anyway, basically the whole episode just led up to Sayid shooting Kid Ben. I don't really have any other thoughts on this until it plays out. So, until next week's episode, Ben is both alive and dead.

This is Jack's mind being blown.

5.09 "Namaste"

The "Thirty Years Ago" title card really does give a good sense of how bizarre the time situation is, and yet for some reason it cleared stuff up for me. It helps to have the understanding that Sawyer, Miles, Faraday, Jin, Juliet, Jack, Kate, and Hurley are all in 1977 and that Frank, Sun, Locke, and Ben are in the "present". Presumably those people who are stuck in the future (um...present) at some point go back and tell someone to start that runway construction. I guess.

I'm already tired of Kate and Sawyer mooning at each other. And it already pains me how much the return of Jack and Kate is going to screw up the relationship between Sawyer and Juliet.

Hurley's "Um...What?" in response to finding out it's 1977 of course makes me want to go back and watch What?. I hope someone eventually adds on to that to include every "What?" in the whole series. This episode was very "What?" heavy.

God, Jin and Sun are awesome. I am so in love with them. They manage to be awesome separately and awesome together. I can't wait until they find each other again.

Suddenly all the shit I complained about that Roger Workman flashback episode seems to be uncalled for. I'm sorry I ever questioned the writers' plans. Because now that we get to see all of the Losties go through that same situation, it's amusing to already know what it's like. Particularly Dr. Chang saying "Based on your aptitude test you'll be doing janitorial work." to Jack! Ha! And the funniest part is that Juliet was responsible for that!

Watching Sawyer run interference on absolutely all of this and totally take control of the situation is really amusing. As is his revealing to Jack that he's actually a really smart and competent leader. This is a super entertaining episode.

Baby Ethan! and Kid Ben!

What the hell is Syence Fyction?

The SciFi Channel is rebranding itself SyFy in what seems to be some sort of effort to not seem so scifi-y...or something. Whatever, clearly NBC has been struggling as a network for a number of years now and it's becoming clear that it's management issues, and not just luck of the programming draw, that's causing their continual suck. And they own SciFi, so it's no surprise that the SciFi management machine blows as well and makes stupid decisions like dividing a perfectly good full season of BSG into two halves, greenlighting the bajillionth Stargate series, and changing their name to some bullshit random letters. I'm not really going anywhere with this.

io9 has some ideas for other name possibilities. As far as I'm concerned, after BSG is done I have no more need of the SciFi Channel and they can change their name to Fuck Geeks for all I care. (Actually I might be more inclined to watch if that's the name they picked.)

...Except that Jane Espenson is the showrunner on Caprica which is the only thing about that show that's intriguing me so far. Dammit Jane Espenson. Why couldn't you have stayed at Dollhouse? Also, why do you have to be so funny? Because I'm basically willing to watch a whole season of Caprica just for the possibility of an "Oh my gods, it's Ellen Tigh" moment.

Canceled Fox Shows

I know this Family Guy episode is over a week old, but I just watched it last night and this part made me laugh harder than I've laughed in weeks.

Frakkin' Frak!

So, a lot has happened in the last five episodes of BSG. Since I'm playing catch up my comments will be brief. Also, apparently since Razor counted as the first two episodes of season 4, I've been numbering the episodes wrong. I'll start with the correct numbers now.

4.15 "The Oath"

Mutiny! Nice! Starbuck and Apollo running around Galactica with guns! Super nice!

4.16 "Blood on the Scales"

Sorry to see Gaeta go, although he had become pretty annoying in his legless, depressed state. CIC is hurting for crew these days. Also, I had kind of always hoped that the death of Tom Zarek was going to be bloody and painful.

4.17 "No Exit"

Yay exposition! Boo Sam going braindead! Also, Ellen Tigh is way less annoying post-resurrection.

4.18 "Deadlock"

"Oh my gods, it's Ellen Tigh."! Thank you Jane Espenson and Mary McDonnell! However, giving heavy weaponry to Baltar and his cult of hippy ninja girls? Really?

4.19 "Someone to Watch Over Me"

Frak that was painful. For two different types of reasons:

1) They had already been dangling the carrot that Starbuck's dad was the destroyed Cylon model, Daniel, making her the first human-Cylon hybrid. They didn't need to spend this entire episode beating us over the head with it!

2) Seriously, how many hells is Athena going to be put through in this show? Every time things start to go well for her someone with her face comes along, beats the shit out of her, fucks her husband in front of her, and kidnaps her child. Metaphorically speaking, of course. And in a very similar vein, is Chief ever going to catch a break? He doesn't even get time to recover from one trauma before the next one is kicking him in the balls.

The Barry Gibb Talk Show

Um...I mean Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. So I just watched the first episode of Late Night in its new incarnation. And it was okay. I'm one of few people who has always really liked Jimmy Fallon, so I was definitely rooting for him. It seems like the show could get better, but he seemed pretty nervous, and the whole thing felt a little bland. Hopefully once he gets used to it and the writers get into more of a groove, the show will improve. I don't know that the show will ever be great, but I think Jimmy can be a competent host and produce a relatively entertaining show. I'm not positive I'll ever love the band. I don't really get them.

All of that being said, the very best part of the show was when he and Justin Timberlake sang the "Talkin' It Up".

I'm looking forward to watching Tina Fey as the guest tonight.