TV
CHANALYZE
CHANALYZE CBS In which we dig in to each specific channel, seeing if there really is something to this whole “channel personality†thing After deciding that the personification of ABC is one of those weird, schizo bitches who is always causing drama or throwing a tantrum, we now look to CBS. The one thing…
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ABOUT A BOY **1/2(out of ****) I think I miss Hugh Grant. I know he had a specific schtick, but almost all leading men and women do. Maybe he relied on it more than he should have, but I always thought he could deliver a joke so effortlessly that it made up for his…
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KILLER WOMEN ** (out of ****) It’s hard to hate Killer Women as much as we’ve been told we should, or as much as it makes you want to at times. Just two weeks in, ABC essentially canceled it and replaced it with Mind Games, which is set to debut in a week or so.…
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CHANALYZE In which we dig in to each specific channel, seeing if there really is something to this whole “channel personality” thing We’re in a tiny dead zone for television, just before everything comes back for its final storm towards the end of the season. I thought this would be a good time to take…
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CHICAGO PD ** (out of ****) When you want to make a boring, garbage-ass cop show, how do you pitch it? What do you say? “We want to add nothing to the genre. We want to add nothing to the medium of television. It will seem like this new show has been on for…
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BROAD CITY *** (out of ****) If I was president of the world, I would force the 1% to watch Broad City. Most conservatives speak about the poor like my mom used to speak about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. They’re silly things they want nothing to do with, and hopefully this phase will be…
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RAKE **1/2 (out of ****) Rake cheated. Or it figured out how the world should work. Either way, it gets a boost for one, huge reason: its first episode isn’t its pilot. I’ve watched so many terrible pilots, terrible not because the show has a bad premise, or won’t eventually produce good episodes…
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THE SPOILS OF BABYLON **1/2 (out of ****) So much of the allure of Casa De Mi Padre is how close it resembled the material it parodied. Rarely did the movie follow modern comedy rules, instead getting most of its jokes by being only as ridiculous as other Mexican melodramas are. This created a…
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CHOZEN ** (out of ****) From the moment you hear the pitch for Chozen, FX’s new FX-like show, it’s impossible not to come up with preconceived notions and serious doubts. Chozen, voiced by the incredibly underrated Bobby Moynihan, is a white, gay rapper just released from prison. Yeesh. It’s not just that you can feel…
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INTELLIGENCE ** (out of ****) Did CBS anoint Intelligence the biggest hit series of the fall before they even premiered it? Not that it matters. They’re probably going to be right. CBS farts out procedural hits on the reg, and this one has enough of a high-concept premise to make it feel more special than…
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