CRIT-O-MATIC.HACK - One and one half stars Logline: A crime-fighting cabbie cab·by or cab·bie n. pl. cab·bies A cabdriver. [cab1 + -y3. . Seriously. Mike Olshansky (David Morse David Morse is a name that can refer to:
n. One who drives a taxicab for hire. cab driver n → taxista m/f cab driver n → , see, and when his fares have problems - and they always have problems - he takes care of them. And he speaks perfect English, too. Noteworthy performances: Morse and Andre Braugher, as his former partner on the Philadelphia police force, are fine actors, but what were they thinking when they signed on for this? Originality: One and one half stars Credibility index: One star Let us repeat: He drives a cab, and he solves crimes. Sheesh sheesh interj. Used to express mild annoyance, surprise, or disgust. [Alteration of Jesus1.] . Effectively dramatic moments in pilot: If you buy the premise - but why should you? - there might be a couple. Inadvertent laughs: If you've read the premise, you don't need to ask. Who should lose their job: Morse imbues his character with an appropriately tortured spirit, but the actor demanded the series be moved from New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. - where it might have made a modicum mod·i·cum n. pl. mod·i·cums or mod·i·ca A small, moderate, or token amount: "England still expects a modicum of eccentricity in its artists" Ian Jack. of sense - to Philadelphia, where it simply doesn't. By the way, not that this is likely to change things much, Robert Singer (''Falcone'') replaced series executive producers Thomas Carter and David Shore earlier this week. In a nutshell: Series creator and action-flick screenwriter David Koepp really sticks his chin way out with the title; after reviews are in, he may need to have his jaw rewired. Where: CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. (Channel 2). When: 9 tonight. THAT WAS THEN - One and one half stars Logline: The WB's ``Do Over'' done over, poorly. Travis Glass (James Bulliard) is a loser turning 30 whose love of his life, Claudia (Kiele Sanchez), is married to his louse louse, common name for members of either of two distinct orders of wingless, parasitic, disease-carrying insects. Lice of both groups are small and flattened with short legs adapted for clinging to the host. of a brother, Gregg (Brad Raider). Thanks to the requisite freak contrivance, he's jettisoned back to his high-school days and given a chance to remake his life and win the girl of his dreams - wait. Scratch that. That would mean his beloved nephew would never be born. So he goes back in time for the express purpose of not winning the object of his unrequited infatuation. This'll be fun. Noteworthy performances: Not since ``Grease'' has such an aged group of actors played high-schoolers - and not terribly convincingly, either. Bess Armstrong brings a bit of depth to Travis' mom, but heck, in this series she could just as easily be playing his sister. Originality: Two stars Credibility: One star Effectively dramatic moments: Probably the most dramatic moment came when 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. and the WB both realized they were airing essentially the same show, because there's not much happening on screen. Inadvertent laughs: Sorry, lost count. Travis' dad (Jeffrey Tambor), allegedly a big baseball fan, amateurishly am·a·teur·ish adj. Characteristic of an amateur; not professional. am  a·teur refers to the World
Series as ``the playoffs'' - he's also schizophrenic, a
geek A technically oriented person. It has typically implied a "nerdy" or "weird" personality, someone with limited social skills who likes to tinker with scientific or high-tech projects. The origin of the term dates back to the late 1800s. in the first episode and a tough guy in the second. The
actors' aging makeup is Cheese City (like Kurt Vonnegut's
Billy Pilgrim, Travis is unstuck in time and veers back and forth
between the past and a gimmicky, ever-changing present). The way Travis
repeatedly blows it with Claudia, even when she's serving herself
up to him on a platter, and his icky bonding scenes with his obnoxious
best pal, Donnie (Tyler Labine), eventually become train wrecks worse
than the literal one in tonight's premiere.
Who should lose their job: Me - I wish I could return to high school and prevent my becoming a TV critic, simply so I could have avoided sitting through this. (Well, this and a bunch of other lame shows, but you get the idea.) Where: ABC (Channel 7). When: 9 tonight. In a nutshell: Watching this can only make one appreciate ``Do Over'' that much more. Travis' present only seems to get worse, which may mirror ``That Was Then's'' fate. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) David Morse, left, and Andre Braugher star in ABC's ``Hack.'' (2) James Bulliard as Travis Glass travels back in time in ``That Was Then.'' |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion