FALL TV EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

 

WHITNEY

*1/2 (out of ****)

I know Whitney Cummings from a couple of stand-up specials, and some of the Comedy Central Roasts, but apparently most people know her from being on Chelsea Lately. I can’t imagine her being very good on that show, it being the place where comedy goes to die, but her specials are pretty good. She ever-so-slightly puts a subversive, and R-rated, spin on your typical “I’m in a relationship/I’m a crazy woman/I’m getting older” schtick. The plan at some point may have been to bring that same zany, alternative attitude to the old-fashioned sitcom, but that plan fell apart in every single way. There is not a single thing that is fresh or new or funny about this. I’m not even sure what the creators think they’re bringing to the table here. All they have to offer us is Whitney, and thereis no way to unhinge her in prime time on NBC. At least watch one episode though, to see the most absurdly awful supporting cast in the history of television.

 

CHARLIE’S ANGELS

 

*1/2 (out of ****)

No one expected this to be good, but holy shitballs, was this a stinker. The re-make no one was clamoring for, except for maybe a few girls who think this is based on a Drew Barrymore movie, Charlie’s Angels immediately tackles the fucked out trope of introducing us to our main characters, and then killing one or more of them off in the first five minutes. The closest thing to a star this show features is Friday Night Lights’ Minka Kelly, and since she’s not one of the original three, we already know something is going to happen. If that wasn’t enough, the scene where the Angel dies is shot in such a way that she is so clearly going to be blown up in her car trying to start it, I can’t believe the rest of the Angels didn’t also see it coming. And this scene serves as a microcosm for the show; it’s nothing but cliches and terribleness from then on out. If this isn’t the first casualty of the new season, it’s only because of name recognition, but don’t expect it to last any longer than this first season. Pure awfulness.

-Ryan Haley