'BIG SHOTS' CHEMISTRY FIZZLES IN ITS FIRST EPISODE.Byline: DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. KRONKE >TV CRITIC At July's TV Press Tour, critics were largely unimpressed with "Big Shots," a show that could easily have been titled "Desperate Husbands." But its press conference underscored its cast's winning chemistry -- particularly the comic give-and-take between Christopher Titus and Joshua Malina -- and TV writers therefore were willing to give the show a second chance. So, if you're ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , you ply reviewers with as many episodes as possible in order to win them over, right? Not only did the network not do that, it didn't even offer up a revised screener of the pilot so we could see how tweaks improved it. This is either abject incompetence or a vote of no confidence. "Big Shots" is an ostensibly droll droll adj. droll·er, droll·est Amusingly odd or whimsically comical. n. Archaic A buffoon. [French drôle, buffoon, droll, from Old French drolle soap about four men who are all incredibly successful in their careers, pretty inept in their personal lives and monumentally whiny. Duncan (Dylan McDermott) is a cosmetics-company CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. whose relationship with his wife is better now that they're divorced. Karl (Malina) heads a pharmaceutical company and receives text messages from his mistress while he's in couple's therapy with his wife. Brody (Titus) can manage any crisis but his marriage. And James (Michael Vartan) is a stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. guy trapped in a world hellbent on dragging him down. Their travails unravel with a forced quirkiness (one is involved with a trannie trannie or tranny Noun pl -nies Informal, chiefly Brit a transistor radio hooker, the second trannie-hooker-threatening-reputation-and-career subplot this week on ABC), and they kvetch kvetch Slang intr.v. kvetched, kvetch·ing, kvetch·es To complain persistently and whiningly. n. 1. A chronic, whining complainer. 2. endlessly about just how bad it is to be a handsomely paid white man in America. Which might be forgiven were every line as epigrammatic ep·i·gram·mat·ic also ep·i·gram·mat·i·cal adj. 1. Of or having the nature of an epigram. 2. Containing or given to the use of epigrams. as "Men. We're the new women." But they're not. Too bad. The cast does work well together, and the show has promise that has yet to be realized. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com www.insidesocal.com/tv/ BIG SHOTS - Two and one half stars >What: Upscale male angst. >Where: ABC (Channel 7). >When: 10 tonight. >In a nutshell: There's room for improvement; alas, evidence of such was not offered. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Michael Vartan stars in ABC's new drama, "Big Shots," about four enormously successful career men who have trouble dealing with personal problems. |
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