CRIT-O-MATIC.Byline: - David Kronke ``Invasion'' (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. Channel 7; 10 tonight) Logline: Strange lights emanate from the eye of a hurricane striking a small Florida town. Inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. - park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) and his TV-reporter wife, Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan); his petulant pet·u·lant adj. 1. Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish. 2. Contemptuous in speech or behavior. [Latin petul ex-wife, medico med·i·co n. 1. A physician. 2. A medical student. Mariel (Kari Matchett), and her new husband, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner); and paranoid-conspiracy-spouting comic-relief Dave (Tyler Labine) - dig out from under and try to make sense of the aftermath. Mariel goes distressingly missing and is found under curious conditions after the storm, during which her and Russell's daughter Rose (Ariel Gade) witnessed something - but what? Pros: Creator Shaun Cassidy has assembled a solid cast, and though he swears he hasn't seen either film version of ``Invasion of the Body Snatchers,'' he's set up a series that keenly echoes their characters' paranoia toward one another. ``Everyone will be distracted from what's really going on - the truth,'' one character observes with ominous good cheer. Its primo slot following ``Lost'' (albeit opposite hits ``Law & Order'' and ``CSI CSI Crime Scene Investigator CSI CompuServe, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) CSI Crime Scene Investigation (CBS TV show) CSI Christian Schools International : New York'') suggests ABC has faith in its ongoing, mythology-heavy story line. Cons: Viewers may not be ready to embrace a show grooving on a wicked hurricane in the wake of our own recent tragedy in the Gulf Coast. And what TV reporter would abandon her camera crew and head for home during a hurricane, as Larkin does here? In a nutshell: Only tonight's episode - which deals more with the hurricane than the show's ongoing concern of its aftermath - was made available for review, making it hard to gauge how Cassidy will follow through. As Tom tells Mariel at episode's end, ``Baby steps'' - hinting as to how information will trickle out as the show progresses. Our rating: Two and one half stars ``E-Ring'' NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. Channel 4; 9 tonight) Logline: ``Law & Order''-style narration explains, ``Before any military action can be taken, approval must come from the outer - and most important - ring (of the Pentagon), the E-Ring.'' Dennis Hopper stars as Col. McNulty (``Some people think he's crazy, but when you need a clandestine operation put together, he's the best in the business,'' it's explained), who constantly plays classic rock in his office and says things like, ``We are America - we can do anything we want.'' Benjamin Bratt co-stars as brash/charismatic U.S. Army Maj. Tisnewski, who's told, ``You're a warrior - that's why you're here.'' Pros: The show marshals all the forces and equipment and manpower of one of the greatest superpowers known to man: Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. Cons: Drama feels phony and schematic: Crises erupt; McNulty and Tisnewski try to convince their superiors to react; their superiors balk balk the action of a horse when it refuses to obey a command to which it usually responds. See also jibbing. ; the two press their case until the superiors cry uncle; they witness the results in a Situation Room. Watching Pentagon officials dither dith·er n. A state of indecisive agitation. intr.v. dith·ered, dith·er·ing, dith·ers To be nervously irresolute in acting or doing. over these apparent no-brainers - count on Tisnewski to convince them to do the right thing every time - has the unfortunate effect of reminding viewers of the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. And does anyone really want to watch a show where the heroes just sit on their hands while the climactic action takes place elsewhere, wringing their hands while watching it via satellite heat censors? There's also a pretty sophomoric soph·o·mor·ic adj. 1. Of or characteristic of a sophomore. 2. Exhibiting great immaturity and lack of judgment: sophomoric behavior. attitude toward sexuality going on, which is mildly amusing given the purportedly high stakes in which the show otherwise engages. In a nutshell: Tonight, they dither over whether to rescue a spy in Shanghai; next week, over whether to take down a terrorist with nuclear capabilities. Logic is spotty - Bratt bicycles to work after being told to respond to a major crisis; a character is sent scurrying scur·ry intr.v. scur·ried, scur·ry·ing, scur·ries 1. To go with light running steps; scamper. 2. To flurry or swirl about. n. pl. scur·ries 1. The act of scurrying. around the mile-wide Pentagon in search of a superior when a simple cell-phone call would seem to flag him down more efficiently. But tonight we do get to hear wizened wiz·ened adj. Withered; wizen. wizened Adjective shrivelled, wrinkled, or dried up with age Adj. 1. military man McNulty deliver the line, ``You gotta go poopy?'' Will anyone abandon ``Lost'' for that? Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo |
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