Monday, October 11, 2004

TV: A Keeper, A Sleeper and A Sweeper

The videotapes presented three more new shows for first viewing and the results are mixed. One, Boston Legal, is a keeper. CIS New York is a sleeper with a chance to match the success it's going to get no matter what I write here. And the third? Complete Savages. Complete Review? Yuck.

Boston Legal, is of course, the phoenix that has arisen from the ashes of David Kelley's The Practice. It actually debuted last year as the final few weeks of The Practice. But a change or two amongst the carryover characters and the addition of a couple of new ones gives this show the chance to proclaim newness.

There's lots to like including carryover James Spader's Alan Shore, a lawyer with a self-aware lack of ethics and more than a hint of a heart of gold. You WANT to cheer for him, but he's just a little too smirky to get completely behind. Rhona Mitra and Lake Bell are associate lawyers drawn like moths to his flame and that is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Monica Potter has jumped over from the sadly-missing (but still undead) Tru Calling to replace Rebecca DeMornay as the witch of the law firm. I like looking at Potter more, but DeMornay was VERY, VERY good in the part last year. Truly hateable. The other returnee from last year is William Shatner as the over-the-top Denny Crane. He's losing it, knows it, and has decided to enjoy the ride. Denny Crane, too.

The most welcome addition to the crew playing all new is Mark Valley's lawyer take on his Keen Eddie character, Detective Eddie Arlette. He and Spader bump heads immediately. Good Stuff.

Kelley normally gets two good years out of each show. This looks like a something to savour for at least that long.

CIS New York is the third in the icky innards franchise and there's a distinct lack of humour in the show thus far, even when the B Plot centres on a rat-opsy. And that's what worries me. Bill Peterson's humour is what drove CIS, the original, to its position atop the ratings. It was drier that the Las Vegas air, but it was there. Death requires humour to be palatable.

When the Miami branch of the show debuted, you'd get more than the odd shot of its lead David Caruso, smiling at least. And given the presence of Emily Procter and Sofia Milos, that was enough to buy the time to watch the show. Which brings up the coast to New York and the supposed coup of casting Gary Sinise. His character, Mack Taylor, is supposed to have the depth of Peterson's Gil Grissom and Caruso's Horatio Caine, but other than a religious fervosity, he just seems grim. As do the rest, spear-headed by Melina Kanakaredes, NY's doppleganger of Milos' Yelena Salas, hair and all.

If NY can lighten up, then it's worth watching, regardless of the lemming race to watch anything with CSI in it's title. If not, it will prove their IS a finite limite to just how much tissue damage a human brain can take (watching).

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