TV Roundup - Life On Mars, Kath & Kim, Crash, and The Starter Wife

Yes, I will mostly write about movies, but here and there I will try and write some tv (which I have done already).

Life On Mars

Wow, what a great pilot episode! Jason O'Mara will be big one day! I was blown away by this pilot! This pilot has been one of the strongest pilots I've seen in a while (drama wise...). This might just be the best new drama series since Mad Men, and it definetly has that nostalgic tone like Mad Men.

And also, what a great supporting cast. Harvey Keitel was a knock-out in his role as the boss of the precinct in 1973. I would not be surprised if he wins the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series next year. This is a perfect tape for him (unless he has a better tape soon that will top this one...) that could give him the gold. Plus, it doesn't hurt to be a familiar name as well... (It recently worked for Dianne Wiest...).

Gretchen Mol was delightful as the lone female dectective in the department. She adds a very nice flavor to the show. And Michael Imperoli was solid in this episode. I think the writers will give him better material to work with later on in the series.

And of course Jason O'Mara, who will be one helluva breakout star in the next couple of years (James Bond anybody?). This guy is a phenomenal actor. I remember him from Men In Trees (when it was a fairly good show at one time...) and The Closer, and I am so glad that he finally has a lead role. I would like to call him the Jon Hamm of the year!

The scene when Sam (O'Mara) first saw the twin towers was very powerful. And then I had a few laughs when Sam was wondering where his cell was, the the guy responds "you want to sell what?" And of course, the writing for this show was so top-notch. I can't wait until next week's episode!

And also, it was nice to see Phyllis Somerville in a nice short role! I hope she will come back later on in the show! Also, did anyone think that that one detective in the 2008 scenes looked and seemed like Morgan Freeman? I literally had to do a double-take! But overall, what an amazing show! ABC has me coming back craving for more! ABC has another hot show on their hands! I really hope that this show doesn't get screwed up down the long road because this show is amazing. Now I am really curious to see the original pilot with the different cast as well as the British version!

Kath & Kim

I gotta say, I had higher expectations for this show. The commercials looked funny, but it was really only those scenes in the commercials that were funny in the entire episode, and after seeing it like a million times on tv, they weren't that funny anymore. I love Molly Shannon and Selma Blair had her moments, but the writing wasn't that great. It was subpar. Kath & Kim really needs to step it up writing wise if they want to stay on that NBC Thursday Night Comedy Block, because if K&K continues to be "kinda" funny week after week, then it's not going to make it, but I do see potential, and right now the only thing keeping this show on its feet are its stars, Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. They are great as their characters, but they unfortunately have to work with not so great writing. I really hope it gets better because I would love to see Molly Shannon get recognized for this, but the writing has to be there, and its not right now... I will watch again next week, or should I say I will tivo it next week and watch whenever I have any free time at all, and maybe I am making too quick of an assumption, but maybe the second episode will be better. Who knows?

Crash

I kinda wish this was better, but really, this is an ensemble show, so it really to be expected... The true standout in this show though was Dennis Hopper, as he plays Ben Cenders, the freaky, "off-the-wall" jerk of a music producer who has been around a while. You immediately want to hate Ben (Hopper), especially in his first scene. Ben is simply the biggest jerk anyone would ever meet, and some, no most of his decisions are very shocking (may I mention threatening someone while holding a knife to their throat). But still, Hopper makes his character Ben what he is, and this is why Dennis Hopper is such a great actor! Other than Hopper, there really isn't any big name actors in this show, but two other actors really stood out in this show, and they were Jocko Sims (who is great in his scenes with Hopper) and Moran Atias (who stood out in her scenes when her storyline wasn't that great). The first two episodes are online on Starz's website, which is how I viewed them, but I only got a chance to see the first episode. The show definetly has potential, but it is starting out low so far, and apparently the second episode is worse than the first. But nonetheless, there are some money shots in this show, and really the only interesting storyline to follow in this show is the storyline of Ben (Hopper) and Anthony (Sims). The second interesting storyline would be the interesting relationship between the irresponsible and immature police officer Kenny (Ross McCall) and the woman he irresponsibly crashed into and arrested, Inez (Atias), who is truly a standout in her role. Though the storyline is, well, dumb, and could be played out better, Moran Atias makes this storyline interesting and steals the spotlight from McCall, who really should be replaced by another actor, but too late now... All the other storylines in the show, like the former gang-member turned EMT who unwillingly gets dragged back into the gang life from which wants to get as far away as possible from to the high-class, trophy-wife who has to fake a smile to the public while her life is crumbling away, it's really not that interesting. Definetly watch the first episode to see if this show is your cup of tea, but really, the only reason to watch this show week after week would be for Dennis Hopper and Jocko Sims (and Moran Atias).

The Starter Wife

I have to say, the miniseries was better, but there is a ton of potential for this show. Debra Messing is great as always and Judy Davis is still a riot! The show really goes deep in to the high-class society of Hollywood, and the pressure to keep up appearances. Molly (Messing) is trying to find out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, and writing seems to be her answer so far, but after the flop of her children's book, it is her gossip-y journal that may be the one that makes her big, but it gets stolen, and instead a blogger posts some juicy secrets that Molly wrote down in her journal and are released on a Perez Hilton-like blog. Also, her ex-husband, which by the way I don't get why they completely recasted him for the series, is not doing so well, as he gambles on very stupid decisions, like investing all of his money on a terrible movie and selling his house, and he still thinks that he is a better parent than Molly, though he is clearly not. And then Judy Davis's character, Joan McAllister, is going through a rough time with her trying to stay sober and then her marriage, which isn't what it used to be. Judy Davis is such a wonderful actress, and she really takes this show to a whole other level. She won rightfully won the Emmy last year when The Starter Wife was a miniseries, and she deserves to be nominated again. The Starter Wife "The Series" wasn't terrible, but it could have been better, and I wish they kept most of the same elements in the show from the miniseries, like Molly's original ex-husband, or actually, this is really stupid, but Joan's house. I remember it being on the beach and it was actually a really cool house, but now they have her living in a more conventional, high-class house. Oh well... But also, I like those movie-recreation scenes. It is something different, but also it shows how Molly really was living in a fantasy world before and she is now getting a taste of reality while still living in the "dream world."