NEW SHOW, NEW BODY; `NOW AND AGAIN' MIXES SCI-FI, ROMANCE AND A SECOND SKIN.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic One wouldn't dare review a movie after watching only the first 45 minutes, so it's a bit of a fool's game figuring out if a TV series is going to be any good after sampling a mere episode or two. Shows with lame pilots can step it up or slip into a groove; series with impressive debuts can flame out just as spectacularly. It's a real toss-up in particular in the case of ``Now and Again,'' since the whole pilot episode is given over to setting up the show's premise; there's no payoff in tonight's show - that's left up to the rest of the series. ``Now and Again'' is the dismally titled new entry from Glenn Gordon Caron Glenn Gordon Caron (born 1954) (sometimes credited as Glenn Caron) is an American television writer, director and producer. He lives in Oceanside, New York. Caron worked on the writing staff of Taxi. , creator of the fondly remembered ``Moonlighting'' and the scarcely remembered ``Wilder Napalm,'' a movie about - no fooling - pyrokinetic brothers squabbling over a woman and settling matters by blowing up half a town. We mention this because it, too, featured the sort of flights of fancy found in ``Now and Again.'' Certainly it's an ambitiously odd hybrid - a science-fiction romantic action dramedy, or thereabouts there·a·bouts also there·a·bout adv. 1. Near that place; about there: somewhere in Kansas or thereabouts. 2. About that number, amount, or time. . The series opens, because it has to open somewhere, in a Tokyo subway The Tokyo subway is an integral part of the world's most extensive rapid transit system in a single metropolitan area, Greater Tokyo. While the subway system itself is largely within the city center, the lines extend far out via extensive through services onto suburban railway . The Beatles' ``I Am the Walrus'' - specifically the lyric ``I am the eggman/they are the eggmen'' - plays as an elderly Asian man exits the train, leaving behind some eggs on his subway seat; moments later the train windows are awash with blood (they must not've been too fresh). Turns out, this is a hobby of his. He's referred to in press materials as, naturally, the Eggman, which seems a bit of a crib from Chris Carter's habit of creating enigmatic villains and giving them equally blank nicknames (e.g., Cigarette-Smoking Man or Well-Manicured Man The Well-Manicured Man (abbreviated to WMM) is a fictional character played by John Neville on the 1990s television series The X-Files. WMM was featured on the show between 1995-1998. from ``The X-Files,'' which used to air in this time slot Continuously repeating interval of time or a time period in which two devices are able to interconnect. on Fox). At any rate, we can't worry too much about him, because here in America, we have problems of our own: Our portly port·ly adj. port·li·er, port·li·est 1. Comfortably stout; corpulent. See Synonyms at fat. 2. Archaic Stately; majestic; imposing. [From port5. middle-aged insurance executives (embodied here, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. for this episode only although there's always a little thing called flashbacks, by John Goodman Not to be confused with Johnny Goodman (TV producer), Johnny Goodman, or John C. Goodman. John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning American actor, perhaps best known for his roles on the television series Roseanne ) are being treated poorly. Seems Michael Wiseman has been passed over for a promotion in favor of a younger, more cutthroat colleague. Wiseman celebrates by getting pasted by a subway train. When he wakes up, he's in the body of a much younger man (Eric Close) - this guy's always losing out to younger guys, even in the flesh department. He's also stranded in front of the brilliant Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert) who nearly buries the guy under an avalanche of exposition, spending most of the rest of the episode explaining just what the heck has happened and will happen. Wiseman's been turned into some sort of uber-human secret governmental agent who'll jet-set around the planet and battle what America decrees as evil. He's told he can't visit his family ever again (although since Margaret Colin Margaret Colin (born May 26, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York), is an American actress. Biography Born in Brooklyn the daughter of a New York City police officer, Colin was raised on Long Island and graduated from Baldwin High School, Baldwin, New York in 1976. and Heather Matarazzo are series regulars, it's safe to bet that he's going to ignore that edict A decree or law of major import promulgated by a king, queen, or other sovereign of a government. An edict can be distinguished from a public proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute into effect whereas a public proclamation is no more than a declaration of a law ). It's sort of ``The Prisoner'' or ``The Fugitive'' in reverse. This premise may well work when played out over the course of a series, but there's no way of telling from this first episode. It's stylishly produced but way too talky talk·y adj. talk·i·er, talk·i·est 1. Talkative; loquacious. 2. Containing or given to too much talk: a talky, boring play. to be really engaging. I'm not wild about it right now but feel I should return to it again in the future. Maybe that's what the title's all about. The facts The show: ``Now and Again.'' What: Science-fiction romantic drama about a governmental scientific experiment created to battle espionage. Who: John Goodman (tonight only), Dennis Haysbert, Eric Close, Margaret Colin, Heather Matarazzo. Where: CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. (Channel 2) When: 9 tonight. Our rating: Two and one half stars `Cold Feet' In terms of inspiring lame imitators, David E. Kelley is becoming the Quentin Tarantino Noun 1. Quentin Tarantino - United States filmmaker (born in 1963) Quentin Jerome Tarantino, Tarantino of TV. Just as, after ``Pulp Fiction,'' you couldn't wander past a multiplex for years without seeing some lousy, attitudinal, ultra-violent B flick on the marquee, so it is now with Kelley's creation. With the success of ``Ally McBeal For the character, see . Ally McBeal is an award-winning American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia. ,'' you can't go channel-surfing without finding an allegedly quirky, ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. sophisticated hourlong dramedy cluttered with young, dysfunctional characters who chatter about themselves way too much and have wacky little daydreams. Which brings us to ``Cold Feet,'' about the romantic travails of three different freshly scrubbed couples at various points in their relationships, based on a British series and too cute by half. Shelly (Jean Louisa Kelly Jean Louisa Kelly (born on March 9 1972 in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American actress and singer. Her father was a high school English teacher and her mother taught piano [1]. Kelly graduated in 1994 from Columbia University's Columbia College with a B. ) has just been dumped and fears commitment; when she encounters womanizer wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. Adam (David Sutcliffe) in a meet-cute scenario that should effectively inspire a moratorium on all future meet-cute scenarios - he hits her with his car - they fret over whether their footloose foot·loose adj. Having no attachments or ties; free to do as one pleases. footloose Adjective free to go or do as one wishes Adj. 1. and fancy-free days are over. Karen (Alicia Coppola) is becoming increasingly contemptuous of her husband, David (Anthony Starke), because he refuses to take any responsibility for their child. Meanwhile, Pete (William Keane) and Jenny (Dina Spybey) are imminently expecting their first baby, which has given Jenny a voracious sexual appetite and has utterly exhausted Pete. These are the jokes, folks. The purported highlight of tonight's pilot comes when Adam shows up at Shelly's apartment, strips down, sticks a rose where it won't be lacking for fertilizer and serenades her (since this takes place in Seattle, cold feet should be the least of his worries). Maybe it's just me, but any series that even remotely considers that a sweet gesture is probably only to get more desperate over time. The facts The show: ``Cold Feet.'' What: Hourlong comedy about the romantic travails of young professionals. Who: David Sutcliffe, Jean Louisa Kelly, William Keane, Dina Spybey, Alicia Coppola, Anthony Starke. Where: 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). When: 10 tonight. Our rating: Two stars `Odd Man Out' ``Odd Man Out' is basically the teen version of ``Ladies Man,'' dismissed here earlier in the week. Both concern the sole males in a family dominated by women, or as Andrew, the 15-year-old title character here (Erik Von Detten), so winsomely win·some adj. Charming, often in a childlike or naive way. [Middle English winsum, from Old English wynsum : from wynn, joy; see wen-1 puts it, an ``estrogen cult.'' This series comes with a seriously misleading resume - its creators are Ed Decter and John J. Strauss, credited with co-writing ``There's Something About Mary.'' Well, technically, yes, that's true, but pretty much all the wild and hilariously tasteless material in that film came courtesy of the other co-writers and directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly. As a sort of tacit admission that the pilot stinks (it, in fact, does), another episode will serve as the series debut tonight. It's scarcely better. Our hero gets caught between two potential girlfriends; things, naturally, don't work out. The most annoying aspect of the show is Andrew's pal, Keith, played by Trevor Fehrman as the culmination of every glib, pathetically lusty lust·y adj. lust·i·er, lust·i·est 1. Full of vigor or vitality; robust. 2. Powerful; strong: a lusty cry. 3. Lustful. 4. Merry; joyous. second banana in the history of failed comedy. He's imitating so many people he has become something unheard of - a stale teen-ager. The facts The show: ``Odd Man Out.'' What: Sitcom about a teen boy in a household of women. Who: Erik von Detten, Markie Post, Jessica Capshaw, Natalia Cigliuti, Agnes Bruckner, Marina Malota, Trevor Fehrman. Where: 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). When: 9:30 tonight. Our rating: One star `The Hughleys' But don't write off ABC for the entire evening. Tonight's episode of ``The Hughleys'' makes a solid case for combining comedy and social commentary. The cold opening mocks the ongoing network-TV diversity controversy, with Daryl (D.L. Hughley) discovering that his wife has been recast with ``The Drew Carey Show's'' Kathy Kinney. The rest of the episode tackles an issue that no other sitcom would likely dare to, and only ``Law & Order'' did this past week - gun control in the wake of the Columbine massacre. It opens with a parents' debate on putting metal-detectors in the schools and turns into a Second Amendment forum when it turns out that both Daryl and his neighbor, Dave (Eric Alan Kramer), have guns. Daryl explains, ``I have a gun, and as long as people are voting for Pat Buchanan, I'm gonna keep it.'' That Hughley and his writers manage to actually wring laughs out of this topic is a tribute to their abilities, that they do so tastefully is nothing short of miraculous, and if the show does get a smidgen heavy-handed by episode's end, they still deserve major kudos for the effort. The facts The show: ``The Hughleys.'' What: Season premiere of the sitcom about an African-American family in a white suburban neighborhood. Who: D.L. Hughley, Elise Neal, John Henton, Dee Jay Daniels, Ashley Monique Clark, Eric Alan Kramer, Marietta Deprima. Where: ABC (Channel 7). When: 8 tonight. Our rating: Three stars CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1) Margaret Colin, left, Eric Close and Dennis Haysbert star in CBS' sci-fi romantic drama, ``Now and Again.'' (2) Dysfunctional behavior is on the menu for NBC's ``Cold Feet,'' with William Keane, left, David Sutcliffe and Dina Spybey. (3) Vicki Davis, left, Markie Post, Erik Von Detten, Maria Malota, Jessica Capshaw and Natalia Cigliuti star in ABC's ``Odd Man Out.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion