"Bionic Woman" Pilot on NBC: No Thanks...

SERIES PREMIERE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH @ 9PM ON NBC

Just as with my review of "Chuck" and "Journeyman" I'm not going to review every detail of the pilot episode since it hasn't aired just yet and I don't want to spoil it for those of you who intend to watch it. Not that it would really matter with "Bionic Woman."

I'm sure you know the basic premise - girl gets hurt, girls boyfriend turns out to be a government surgeon who can change real body parts with bionic parts for ridiculous sums of money, girl fights a lot. The episode tracks Jaime Sommers a normal, everyday girl who is raising her deaf, younger sister all on her own when one day she's in a horrific car accident. From there its pretty simple; without giving away anything other than the obvious, she's given bionic parts and becomes the Bionic Woman. Now up until this point I bought the premise and I was alright with it. But the show never really establishes itself after that. I kept feeling like something was missing.

I actually had high expectation going into this one. You would figure that a combination of a successful show from the 70's, stories about superior technology, and action sequences would result in a watchable show. Sorry to burst your bubble but "Bionic Woman" just plain sucked! At points I felt like the dialogue was written by 8 year old's and the acting just wasn't where it needed to be. The action sequences were decent but nothing that would bring me back each week (Although I didn't really mind watching two women beating the crap out of each other). The show just doesn't offer anything other than the typical storyline with the typical ending and the unfortunately typical bad dialogue.

If you don't expect too much going in you may like this show but I highly doubt it. Stick to "Journeyman" and you'll be much happier...

"Journeyman" Pilot - NBC: Best New Show I've Seen This Year

SERIES PREMIERE, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 @ 10PM ON NBC

I had the opportunity to view another new show coming to NBC this fall, "Journeyman." Just like "Chuck" I started watching this show without knowing anything about its premise or characters. Overall, I have to say this was a great show.

At first I was a bit confused as to what was going on given that I knew absolutely nothing about its premise. But after about 10 minutes it all started to become obvious. Essentially, the show follows the life of Dan who one day starts waking up in random places. Before he wakes up though he has extremely vivid dreams about going back in time 20 years. At first he believes these are just dreams but eventually realizes his dreams are real. It turns out he's going back in time to change it; to fix something that went wrong. The catch is that in the present he actually disappears for days at a time when this happens. Needless to say his wife, Kate, his son, his brother, Jack, and his friends don't exactly believe him when he says he isn't cheating on his wife or using drugs again.

As the show goes on there are many more twists that don't reveal themselves right away. It's very similar to "Lost" and "24" that way; you keep asking yourself how and why this is happening or how a particular character shows up. AND ITS GREAT!! Too many shows these days treat us like idiots who can't think for ourselves and it's great when a show comes along that makes us ask for more and at the same time keeps us thinking once the show is over. Every week I eagerly anticipate the next episode of "Lost" and "24" while day dreaming during class or blindly walking down the street in Manhattan wondering what's coming next on these shows. Take my word for it, this show will do the same thing to you too!

It's suspenseful, interesting, intriguing, exciting, and above all the producers know their music. The end of the pilot episode has "One" by U2 playing while Dan in one last romantic attempt to prove to his wife what's actually happening digs up their backyard (I'm trying not to leave any spoilers in here for you; trust me its romantic).

On a side note, it was great when Dan asks his son what he should think when he's nervous about his piano recital the next day and his son replies "practice plus confidence equals success."

If my opinion means anything to you watch the pilot episode!! Hopefully the rest of the season will be just as good...

Army Wives First Season Finale

ORIGINAL EPISODES, SUNDAY'S @ 10PM ON LIFETIME

Now I know not everyone who reads this has seen Army Wives or else the show wouldn't be averaging only 4 million viewers a week. And if you haven't seen the show yet you better start. Don't let the fact that it's on Lifetime deter you either (it almost kept me from watching it). This is one of the better shows on television and easily the best show of the summer (next to Damages on FX).

With my little plug over with, the season finale was incredible! I admit that at times during the season the episodes felt a little long in spots but this episode was action packed and the ending a huge surprise. They actually kept the ending hidden pretty well for most of the episode which I was very impressed with. Usually I can spot the secret's pretty quickly.

It was very touching seeing how those who fight for our country leave their homes and families. Each of the leading ladies had a chance to show off the different ways they say goodbye to their husbands (or at least most of the them). I felt the most touching was Roxy and Trevor's goodbye. I couldn't imagine saying goodbye to my wife at all and she had to say goodbye to Trevor only a couple months after meeting him and getting married. Having her stay in the wedding dress while she was saying goodbye was a great idea. Not only is Sally Pressman gorgeous (a.k.a. Roxy) but she has shown all season that her talents as an actress are going to take her very far.

Who else can't believe that Chase can be called off to duty without ever being able to tell his wife or kids? I'm sure it actually happens but I can't imagine what that's like. Could you imagine coming home and at any time your husband just isn't there and you know you can't ask questions or ever find out where he is? Life is hard enough without this being your life. But Pamela is very strong, far stronger than I think I would be.

The only bad thing about the way they ended the season was that we know all four of leading ladies and Roland can't possibly die. So it begs the question, can they come up with a plausible end to George coming into the bar strapped with a bomb without sacrificing the trust the writers have built with the viewers this season? Here's hoping they can...

"Chuck" on NBC - Pilot

SERIES PREMIERE, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 @ 8PM ON NBC

For my first review I want everyone to know that I'm going to keep it short and to the point. So many blogs are pages and pages and pages long and most of us really don't have the time to sit there reading 22 pages. So I'm going to start with shorter posts and if you would like more just let me know.

Through a friend I am generally able to get an opportunity to watch the new shows on NBC about 2 months before they air on tv. This year is no exception although I am a bit behind.

Last night I sat down and popped "Chuck" into my DVD player. Usually I know all about a show before I watch it but this time I heard absolutely nothing about this show. I went in blind, only knowing that it was a 1-hour drama I was about to watch.

As it turns out, the show was decent. Now I've watched enough shows over the years to know that it's never really possibly to peg exactly how a show will fare when everyone else watches it but I think NBC has a decent shot of a moderately rated show with this one.

Pilots are never perfect and this one certainly wasn't. It's basically a story about a geek who works at "Buy More" for the "Nerd Herd," a help desk that runs out of the store helping customers with electronics problems (Sound familiar to anyone? Possibly remind you of any store we all know and love?). Well, it turns out that our main character Chuck is an engineering genius who never got along with his college roommate. His college roommate was not only an engineering genius also (and smarter than Chuck) but had the looks and the physical traits that unfortunately every woman wants. Chuck has no idea but his college roommate is now a spy for the CIA. Just after stealing all the U.S. governments secrets he emails them to Chuck just before he's killed. Unknowingly, Chuck opens his former roommates email (Chuck hadn't heard from or spoken to him since college) and somehow downloads all the information into his brain. The governments goes after Chuck to find out where he has this information but in the end Chuck ends up working for the government when they find out he can access all the information in his head and find patterns that can be used to stop terrorists. And so we have our show...

The pilot suffers from many problems. First, it never ever addresses how in the world Chuck downloaded ALL of the U.S. governments secrets into his head just by looking at them and in only a matter of hours. Second, although the show does have comedic moments (which I think separates it from other cheesy drama's), it turns some of the dialogue into boring, pathetic, "I can't believe they actually wrote those words for the actors to say" statements. Now I don't know about you but when I hear characters talk like they're coming straight out of a cartoon for 3 year olds I can't stand it.

But in the end the show does have some redeeming qualities. The show actually has potential in the storyline if they can straighten out some of the dialogue and get rid of some of the ridiculous and cheesy, action shots they use here and there. Also, they cast Sarah Lancaster as Chuck's sister Ellie. I'm a big fan of Sarah's and any show with her in the cast will at least get a chance from me. Further, this isn't just a straight up drama; there actually a few funny moments. If this was just a plain-old drama I wouldn't even think about checking out episode #2. Lastly, Yvonne Strahovski as Chuck's possible love interest and CIA agent Sarah Walker, is gorgeous, very sexy, and brings some excitement to the show. Her chemistry with Zachary Levi (a.k.a. Chuck) is instantaneous and makes you want to see more.

For now, I say watch. Give it a chance and keep an open mind. The writing should come around as the episodes progress.

Welcome!

Without sounding too formal the idea here is to review television shows, their episodes, and once in a while to post my general take on the state of different television issues. While there are many views I have obviously they're not going to be the same as yours so feel free to post your comments.

I'll do my best to post the reviews of each new episode as soon as possible after it airs. To start I'll be reviewing just a few shows and adding more as time goes on.

If you think my views are dumb or I'm just a dumbass I want to hear it and maybe you'll end up in my next post. Also, if you have any suggestions on shows you'd like reviewed please let me know.