Grading 2010′s New Shows, Part 1

“Louie” – FX, Tuesday 11 PM

Synopsis: Part autobiographical, documentary style show about the life of Louis CK, a misanthropic middle aged divorced comedian, part surreal weirdness… interspersed with bits of real stand-up footage.
Our take: “Louie” is by far our favorite new show of the season. The stand-up alone makes it funnier than almost anything else on TV. Early on, the show struggled to mash together all of the elements, but as the season went on, it really started to come together. It seamlessly transitions from the profound and meaningful to purely absurd filth like nothing else we’ve ever seen.
Grade: A

“The Event” – NBC, Monday 9 PM

Synopsis: The first episode is not the event. The second episode is not the event.
Our take: They should have called this show The Lost V-Files. They’ve blended a lot of elements of “Lost”, “V“, and “The X-Files“, to create a sort of mediocre science fiction soup.  (Which, coincidentally, is one of Emeril’s least popular recipes.) There’s a lot of jumping back and forth in time, and most of the dramatic interest is derived from the writers not telling you exactly what’s going on. Their hope being that you’ll be curious to find out what’s going on. Despite its hamfisted effort, I was a little curious. “The Event” fails, however, at creating even one character worth rooting for, so I doubt I’ll be back for episode 3.
Grade: C

“No Ordinary Family” – ABC, Tuesday 8 PM

 

Synopsis: When a vacation to Brazil goes awry, and by “awry” I mean their plane crashes into a glowing river, one ordinary family develops super powers.
Our take: “No Ordinary Family” is not at all something I’d watch, but for what it’s going for – sort of a watered down “Modern Family” crossed with “Heroes” – I think it does a decent job. I’ll even admit to chuckling a few times. My only complaint is that Michael Chiklis was laying the cheesy kid’s movie dad stuff on a little thick. In the comedy scenes it worked well, but in the dramatic family scenes, it didn’t seem to fit.
Grade: B-

“Rubicon” – AMC, Sunday 9 PM

Synopsis: Will Travers cracks codes and analyzes government intelligence for a living. When his boss/father-in-law is killed, he’s sucked into a whirlwind of conspiracy and intrigue.
Our take: In fairness, the bar for AMC shows is extremely high. “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” are arguably two of the best shows on TV now and ever. But for me, the “Rubicon” intrigue is wearing a little thin with the turtle speed pace the show has set for its mystery. To illustrate the slowness, it was ten episodes before the two leads (Will and Katherine Rhumor) finally met up, so everything from episodes 2-9 was at best a baby step and at worst, irrelevant. The two most amusing characters, Miles, the nutty analyst and Kale Ingram, the dour boss, are almost distractions from the main plot. It’s good enough that I’ll keep watching, but the pace is frustrating.
Grade: B+

“Hawaii Five-O” – CBS, Monday 10 PM

Synopsis: Two cops with enormous capped teeth fight terror on the front lines… in the tropical paradise of Hawaii. Also Jin from “Lost” and Boomer from “Battlestar Galactica” are there.
Our take: I made it about ten or fifteen minutes before I had my fill of Alex O’Loughlin’s faux badassness. He’s still the guy from that J-Lo movie to me. For a network show, the action scenes were pretty impressive.
Grade: D

Unnecessary Censorship and Hanso Training Video for the Lost Finale

Lost: The Final Countdown

One week from today Lost will be over for good. Crazy. So now is a time to ponder the remaining mysteries as well as look back over the good times. We start on the pondering side of things:

What’s with the gooey black stuff coming off of Locke here?

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have apparently quit doing interviews between now and the finale, but they did a good one with Alan Sepinwall a few days ago that is worth reading. Here is a little taste:

Damon Lindelof: In terms of what Jacob allowed, what he didn’t allow, what The Others did of their own volition, with Ben basically saying “This came down from Jacob” is all in the area that is subject to interpretation purposely. What our intention was is that there is a repeating vicious cycle that seems to happen on this island, where people come to the island, they try to figure out what makes the island work, and the closer they came leads them to their own inevitable demise.

Check out the rest here.

To move on to remembering some of the fonder moments, we start with a sweet Hurley montage. His epitaph will read “Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes. He said ‘dude.’ A lot.”

And last but not least, my favorite moment in Lost history. I suppose this gem could work pretty well on a gravestone, too.

Handmade Awesomeness: Lost Edition

6 years of my life
I dreamed of the damn island.
Can’t believe it’s done

We here at TVCasualties celebrate the approaching series finale of Lost with a haiku and this edition of handmade awesomeness!

 

Spoilers ahead if you’re not caught up this season… don’t say I didn’t warn you.

With this necklace, you’ll never forget which numbers to push.

Namaste necklace by gibberish2

 

The Dharma people will never suspect you’re an imposter from the future with these official Dharma logo goods!

LOST Brooch.. Dharma Initiative Logo by ChocolateMintCrafts

Lost Dharma Initiative – Apple Macbook Vinyl Decal by TheDarkMonkey

 

LOST keychain / keyring DHARMA INITIATIVE by StraitjacketFun

 

Invent your own Lost spoilers with this tee.

Medium Lost Spoilarz Hurley Kills a Dinosaur Mens Shirt Sand by tinaseamonster

 

Nice smoke monster. Pretty smoke monster.

The Smoke Monster Lost Inspired Necklace with Swarovski Crystals and Natural Crystal Spikes by LongLivetheQueenBee

 

With these magnets, you’ll never run out of silly nicknames for Hurley.

Get Lost In Nicknames – Hurley by LittleMommaErin

Two players, two sides. One is light and one is dark.

LOST Inspired Good Evil Black White Bracelet by 2smooches

 

You better give him his kidney back.

Man in Black by theSKIDish

 

A handy tool for any castaway.

Haiti Releif NEVER LOST COMPASS Necklace by madebymoe

 

Twinsies!

Jacob and the Man in Black Bot by boltsandbots

More Kimmel and Lost fun: Jacob and the Man in Black’s game

And the Emmy should go to…

The big list of potential Emmy nominees is out for the acting categories, and though the ceremony is still a few months away here are our nominees and winners.  Thanks to Alan Sepinwall for the idea.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Ken Marino* – Party Down
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Adrian Grenier – Entourage
Lee Pace – Pushing Daisies
Danny McBride – Eastbound & Down

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Bryan Cranston* – Breaking Bad
Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment
Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Jon Hamm – Mad Men
Edward James Olmos – Battlestar Galactica

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Tina Fey* – 30 Rock
Toni Collette – United States of Tara
Sarah Silverman – The Sarah Silverman Program
Cheryl Hines – In Motherhood
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

January Jones* – Mad Men
Emily Deschanel – Bones
Molly Parker – Swingtown
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men
Mary McDonnell – Battlestar Galactica

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Kevin Dillon* – Entourage
Ryan Hansen – Party Down
NPH – How I Met Your Mother
Ed Helms – The Office
Rainn Wilson – The Office

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

John Noble* – Fringe
Walton Goggins – The Shield
Michael Hogan – Battlestar Galactica
James Callis – Battlestar Galactica
Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Jane Lynch* – Party Down
Rosemarie Dewitt – United States of Tara
Alyson Hannigan – How I Met Your Mother
Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock
Mindy Kaling – The Office

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Anna Gunn* – Breaking Bad
Elizabeth Mitchell – Lost
Tricia Helfer – Battlestar Galactica
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men
Dichen Lachman – Dollhouse

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

Dean Winters* – 30 Rock
Ed Begley, Jr. – Party Down
Peter Dinklage – 30 Rock
Chris Parnell – 30 Rock
Nate Corddry – United States of Tara

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Jimmy Smits* – Dexter
Dean Stockwell – Battlestar Galactica
Alan Dale – Lost
Charles Durning – Rescue Me
Stephen Root – True Blood

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Kristen Bell* – Party Down
Amy Ryan – The Office
Jessica St. Clair – United States of Tara
Salma Hayek – 30 Rock
Phoebe Strole – 30 Rock

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Kate Vernon* – Battlestar Galactica
Frances Fisher – The Shield
Rekha Sharma – Battlestar Galactica
Kristen Bell – Heroes
Lizzy Caplan – True Blood