Comments | fivebyfive: TV ROUND-UP: NBC & CBS

fivebyfive

TV ROUND-UP: NBC & CBS

Sep 22, 2006 12:29

*

Jericho (CBS Wednesday, 8PM)

Maybe HBO has spoiled me, but sometimes Jericho is hard to watch. If it were the down-home family drama it seems, Jericho would require little more than we get here...but once the atomic bombs drop, the CBSness of this show starts to hurt. The explosions themselves look great--few sights are more terrifying than ( Read more... )

Comments 22

jj79 September 22 2006, 20:11:42 UTC

I am desperate for Jericho to move from "hum drum" to appointment TV real quick. Wednesday's are a horrible night (with Lost debuting at 9 in a couple of weeks and 30 Rock also bowing in the same 8 pm slot as Jericho. So much promise, entirely...WAY...COMPLETELY too much "we all love each other" bullcrap. I was looking forward to seeing these little kids walking in the middle of the night by themselves with their hands out in front of them. But nnnnooo...the bus has to have enough gas to make it back to town just in time for all the previously brain-dead people to suddenly change their looting and complaining ways.

And a Major Dad speech to boot! Oy, I've got other timeline problems with the show too, which I talked about on Thursday. Shape up, or ship out, I say.

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 00:22:28 UTC

Yeah it was weird how they introduced that whole "the kids have to get help!" plot and then the bus just rolled right up. Did they just have two extra minutes to kill or what?

It always pisses me off when I know I could have done much better with a good idea that doesn't come out so well.

bottlroktt September 22 2006, 20:52:51 UTC

i'm a big fan of both offices, and my g/f hasn't seen the newer series until this weekend, when we plan to have a marathon (woot!). i just wish they'd give "michael" a bit more of a spine when it comes to caring for his coworkers, or else he'll get too despicable too quick. :S

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 00:20:31 UTC

Yeah my manager and I were discussing the show today, and he made a good point: Ricky Gervais & co. were so believable in their roles, you felt like you were watching a documentary. In the American version, it's filmed the same way but you always know you're watching a scripted show. That is what stops the new version from being great to me. (The Comeback is a good version of a documentary-style show that feels like it's real. I love it.)

I've only seen a few episodes of the new series, some better than others.

bottlroktt September 26 2006, 23:33:07 UTC

well, since it's nearly unavoidable to forget it's a remake for those who've seen even one episode of the UK version, there's no way around that. maybe that's why they don't try to go out of their way to be aggressive about obscuring that point. (?)

fivebyfive September 27 2006, 08:11:11 UTC

Maybe but I also think it's just a big difference in British humor versus American humor. In this particular case, I think the realism of the British humor goes a long way toward selling it and making it feel real, and thus, all the more awkward and uncomfortable that the boss is such an ass.

sarcasticsiren September 22 2006, 21:33:29 UTC

Um. You were totally leaning into the TV during DOND. Don't fucking LIE, Chris. You were into it, into the suspense, into the glamour, into Howie's bald, bald head.
You can't fool me. You loved it.
Dur.

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 00:24:38 UTC

Okay, I loved me some bald Howie. And yes, I admitted to a little purely kitschy enjoyment, but when they cut it off before she won/lost all of that went away and was replaced by anger. I know they cut it off so that you tune in next time, but all they have done is ensure that I will never ever watch it again.

So there.

Dur.

amnewsboy September 23 2006, 01:36:17 UTC

I'm a game show fanatic... but can't tolerate DonD.

It's not necessarily the game play (although it is rather intriguing in its simplicity)... it's because of the contestants who make horribly stupid choices. I don't care how much money is in the freakin' case -- when you get offered six figures and turn it down...... you're an idiot.

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 06:03:55 UTC

I don't know, it doesn't bother me that they go for the gold, but when they act like idiots with too much cheering and stuff it gets on my nerves. They're just killing air time.

ravenmccoy September 23 2006, 01:58:19 UTC

B+ for The Office??? WTF?? It should at least be in the A's. We laughed nonstop for a half hour! in fact after you left, i watched the SAME episode again and laughed just as hard. That says a LOT about its quality.

despite there being less than stellar programming on, TV is STILL getting better. I can barely take a crack at TV's expense anymore when i think of shows like Lost and The Office and Studio 60 actually on the air and actually popular.

sarcasticsiren September 23 2006, 04:43:51 UTC

Booohooo ohhh Jim, I miss him so much boooowaahhhh waahhh.
False. I do not miss him.

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 06:06:12 UTC

Dur..no joy.

fivebyfive September 23 2006, 06:02:33 UTC

Yeah, it's funny. It's almost an A-, but this episode anyway felt more like a B+. I still can't help but compare it to the British version which I still think is better because it feels real; in comparison this one feels so staged.

And yeah, agreed, TV is actually pretty good on average. The same average of movies is probably lower these days.