Glee- Mr. Finn, What Grade Are You In?

Glee has been a huge pop hit in its first season on FOX. Whereas some recent musical shows have failed miserably (see Viva Laughlin) because of the singing, Glee seems to be succeeding because of it. The acting isn't very good, the writing is nothing special and the overall feel of the show has been inconsistent as it gets. But the musical numbers have been sweet for the most part, hence I've stuck around even though I'd like to slap almost every character on the show.

Last night's season one finale was good. It had a lot of good performances, my favorite being Vocal Adrenaline's Bohemian Rhapsody, and it featured the right people. Whenever Sue Sylvester gets to showcase both her unadulterated cruelty towards Mr. Shue as well as her sincerity towards the kids of Glee, it's a win-win. Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie took a back seat, while Rachel, Finn, Puck and especially Quinn were the students of focus in this finale. We should keep it that way from this point forward. No more eps featuring Artie or Kurt please.

Speaking of Jesse's Bohemian Rhapsody, every Lost fan should have loved it that much more because of how much it resembled the final scene of the series with the screen flashing between Jack in the church and on the Island. In this case we were seeing sideways flashes of Quinn getting rushed to the hospital and then having her baby.

So where do they go from here? The students have the summer off so this is obviously the end of a school year. What grade are most of these kids in? If they're going to do a year per season they will quickly run into the problem Friday Night Lights did where they had to start changing characters grades ridiculously. You know how Tim Riggins was best friends with Jason Street and was obviously in the same grade as him in season one? Well he was still in high school come season three, so that means he was a sophomore during the first season? The same grade as Matt Saracen, who was an outcast because he was a young gun? Lot of plot holes in the continuity of that show.

Haven't they already been given a third season? Are they going to say that all these kids are sophomores? How likely is that? Will they get rid of some of these actors to make room for new students? I doubt it. It should be interesting to say the least.

As long as Sue Sylvester is the coach of the Cheerios I'm on board for another season, even though I get angry at the screen any time Mr. Shue, Artie, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Emma or even Finn says anything. How bout focusing more on Santana? She seems pretty awesome.

Persons Unknown- Where Are We?

Persons Unknown premiered last night on NBC and after one episode I would recommend it as a quality summer show. It seems to be a one season phenomenon a la Harper's Island of last year. Although it's lacking in the soapy quality of last season's island thriller, it has all the suspense.

Sure Harper's Island had some mysterious elements, but in the end we knew there was a serial killer on the loose. With Persons Unknown, I have no idea what is going on after one episode. Seven people have been kidnapped and brought to a made-up looking town in the middle of nowhere. They have all been injected with a tranquilizer that goes off as soon as they try to leave the enclosed center of town.

Sure that part is self-explanatory, but who is doing this? And for what reason? Later on in the episode a group of Chinese cooks greet the seven persons and invite them into their restaurant for a dinner. Are these people also being held against their will? They said that they were only here "to cook." There's also a hotel manager that doesn't seem to know what the heck is going on while acting a bit zombie-esque.

Are any of the seven Persons one of the people responsible for this? Could be a possibility. I'm curious to find out what the heck is going on and I'm ready to watch more.

Like any show, this only works if the characters seem interesting from the jump. With Jason Wiles and Alan Ruck as first billed I was hooked. Wiles is of course Colin, Kelly's druggy boyfriend from Beverly Hills, 90210, and Ruck is Ferris Bueller's best buddy that just finished a great appearance on Justified. The main girl also seems pretty good after one ep.

I don't see this being as good as Harper's Island, which I still say was highly underrated, but I can see this being terrific for a summer fling. Check it out.

Breaking Bad- Going Half Way

I can definitely see why some people think that Breaking Bad is the best series currently on tv. I completely disagree with them, but it makes sense. It is extremely well written, directed and acted. But there is something to be said for pure entertainment value, and sometimes Breaking Bad just doesn't have it. That was not the case this week during the penultimate episode of the third season, which was awesome.

Breaking Bad has become the king of leaving episodes with a bang. Earlier in the season it was the ridiculousness that was 'One Minute' and this week it was a fantastic finish for Walter White, Sr. There really is something to be said for this strategy. Even though a lot of Breaking Bad can be really slow, finishing eps with such energy makes people think the episode was better than it actually was. Even now I'm thinking that this entire 45 minutes was fantastic, when maybe it was just that the final three were so good.

When Walt finds out about the kid getting killed by Gus's trusted employees he leaves his family immediately so that he can go help out his buddy, Jesse. As we watch Jesse get out of his car and creep closer and closer to the two gangsters the tension was crazy high. I had no idea what was going to happen but I was not ruling out Jesse getting killed and him being off the show. What I was not expecting was for Walt to pull his best Hugo Reyes impression and drive in out of nowhere and run over the bad guys in his Aztec. One was straight up dead and Walt straight up shot the other in the head before telling Jesse to run.

I guess Mike the Cleaner's speech to Walter earlier in the episode paid off. He definitely didn't use a half measure when he mirked those two dudes. Going halfway, in putting Jesse in jail, would have been a mistake by Walter. But so was the halfway move by Gus in just telling his employees to stop using kids to sell their drugs. All that accomplished was the employees capping the 11 year old kid in the middle of the street. And kudos to Jesse for sticking up for both the kid and his own opinion when he went toe to toe with big Gus Chiggins.

Only one more episode in the season and I heard it got extended by some minutes. Always an exciting factor.

The CW Upfronts- Gut Reactions

Not much to see here as The CW doesn't have that much programming.

Canceled: A couple of reality shows I never heard of and the new Melrose Place. This was never really any worse than the rest of The CW's dramas, but it got a terrible wrap early. It didn't help that it's actors weren't nearly as good looking as those on 90210, Gossip Girl and the like.

Returning: You got the three sci-fi joints in Smallville, Supernatural and Vampire Diaries. And then there are the four soap dramas. 90210 and Gossip Girl got renewed early but veteran One Tree Hill and newcomer Life Unexpected had to wait til the last minute to get word that they were back for another year. Life Unex had both good ratings (for CW) and good critical reviews, so I'm not sure why it took so long to make that decision.

New Shows

Nothing much here. Another reality show called Plain Jane? Then there is the fourth or fifth remake of Le Femme Nikita, titled Nikita. And finally we have another teen drama, this time about cheerleaders, called Hellcats. None of these sound good.

CBS Upfronts- Gut Reactions

If you've ever read this blog you know that I'm not a fan of CBS scripted shows. Their dramas are all of the CSI procedural model and I could care less about them. The comedies, for the most part, aren't funny. CBS reality, on the other hand, is still at the top. Between Survivor, Big Brother and The Amazing Race, they are at the top of the field. Let's see if next season looks any different.

Canceled: The only one that matters to me (and albeit very little) is the loss of Gary Unmarried. Not only because I liked to make T-time think I liked it more than I really did, but because it actually was entertaining from time to time. Even if it was big and obvious most of the time, the son Tommy and Rob Riggle as brother Mitch did more than their share to keep it funny. Also out are comedies Old Christine and Accidentally on Purpose, long time dramas Numb3rs, Ghost Whisperer and Cold Case, and brand new mistake of a drama Miami Medical. Ho hum. Getting rid of garbage procedurals.

Returning: Four sitcoms, including the only CBS comedy I will be watching Rules of Engagement, are back for the network. The three big gun reality shows are still kicking around, as are a boatload of procedural dramas that I could care less about. That is, except for The Mentalist which is one of the best of its kind due to its stellar cast.

New Shows

With most of their garbage returning because of such high ratings, CBS doesn't have much new programming on its slate. Having said that, there are two that I will give a try. Hawaii Five-O has a bunch of things working in its favor. It has both Scott Caan and Daniel Dae Kim as its leads. It is set in Hawaii. And they used the "Book 'em Dann-o" line in the trailer. CBS is trying Alex O'Laughlin as a tv star for the third time in four years, but it's obvious the other two lead guys will outshine him.

After realizing that The Defenders also intrigues me, it came to my attention that location sways my preference a good deal. It is set in Las Vegas which almost immediately gets me on board. Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell star as an almost Odd Couple pair of lawyers. It seems very much like a dramedy-action hybrid and I'll give it a try.

The only other that looks remotely interesting is Blue Bloods starring Tom Selleck. The Criminal Minds spin-off, and comedies Mike and Molly and Sh*t My Dad Says don't look good.

ABC Upfronts- Gut Reactions

ABC came into the year knowing that they were losing one of their most beloved shows, as Lost was in its sixth and final season. There was a good amount of hype around two new serialized science fiction series and neither of them really panned out the way the network wanted. In 2010-11 it seems they are going in different directions. Let's see what is going down.

Canceled: Of course there's Lost, although not canceled is still out of our lives. And then one of the two Lost replacements, Flash Forward also got the axe to the dismay of a few readers of this blog. Long running comedy Scrubs also came to an end as did the short-lived, but critically acclaimed, Better Off Ted. Romantically Challenged, The Deep End, Happy Town and The Forgotten basically were done before they started.


Returning: Well there is the quartet of ladies shows in Grey's, DH, Bros and Sis, and Private Practice that are all back. God help us all. The three sitcoms return, with Modern Family being the only one I consistently watch, but the other two seem to be on the decent side. And to round things out Castle and V are back. Castle seems to be airing this summer though so that's not a good sign, and V isn't on the fall schedule so who knows if it makes it back on the air.

New Shows

I never saw The Shield but have heard good things about Michael Chiklis in it. Him as the head of a superhero family definitely has potential here in No Ordinary Family. Add Rita from Dexter in a role that doesn't seem as annoying and I think we might have something.

Then there are a trio of what some may call comedies that look...interesting. Matthew Perry's Mr. Sunshine may have the most potential, if only for Matthew Perry. Better Together has Joanna Garcia in a starring role, and after her stint on Priviliged I don't think I can say no to that. Then there is Happy Endings with Elisha Cuthbert and the guy I couldn't care less about in Flash Forward. From the trailer I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a comedy or not, but again, it has Elisha Cuthbert.

My Generation looks like a valiant attempt at something quasi-different, but I believe it is a fail. Then there is the garbage that is Detroit 1-8-7, The Whole Truth, Body of Proof and Off the Map. No thanks.

NBC Upfronts- Gut Reactions

Oh NBC, how you are the current laughing stock of John Q. Public. Because of the Jay Leno Show disaster that was the 2009-10 season, the Peacock has a ton of new shows set for next year. Let's take a look at how it all shapes up.

Canceled: Heroes, after a terrific first season, has failed to churn out anything of quality since and has finally gotten the axe. Thank God, because I was too invested to stop watching, and it was killing me to watch such garbage. The original Law and Order is finally off the air, while Mercy and Trauma didn't make it past one season.

Returning: Despite all the trash talk, NBC has a lot of quality programming returning to its lineup. All four Thursday comedies are back for the first time in a while, but Parks and Rec has been sent off to mid-season to leave room for a terrible-looking new sitcom. Chuck is back for what I bet is its last season, while Parenthood will get a second year and Friday Night Lights' final season will get run off some time in the spring.

New Shows

With the multitude of newbies on NBC's plate, there are four that I will give a shot at early on. The Event seems to be the only one that they are showcasing at this point that could be good. It stars Simon Elder from Dirty Sexy Money as the President and is pretty confusing as to what it is actually about. There's an assassination plot, a kidnapping and a CIA cover-up in the trailer so it seems pretty exciting.

I also really like the looks of The Cape. Anything that eerily resembles Batman Begins is worth a look in my book. The main character is framed for murder, fakes his own death and then trains to fight crime as a vigilante in a crime-filled city. Awesome.

And on the comedy side of things, The Paul Reiser Show looks good. I never watched Mad About You, but this Curb Your Enthusiasm-type show shows promise with its trailer. I will also give Perfect Couples a try.  The only notable is Janice from Flash Forward, but the character that likes to leave rooms with his own depressing music seems golden.

Then there are a couple that are in limbo for me. Outlaw is airing on Fridays, but it stars Jimmy Smits as a retired supreme court justice turned renegade so it could be decent. Friends with Benefits seems to be a sort of sitcom starring Kyle from Party Down and Daneel Harris so it could be decent, but the trailer doesn't make it seem that funny.  The Undercovers is a spy show from JJ Abrams.  It is about a married couple a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

And then there are a bunch of new shows that don't look good. Love Bites seems to be a mess of a romance show at this point. Another Law and Order, this time in LA. The Chase and Harry's Law are standard cop and law shows, respectively. And then there is Outsourced, which is taking Parks and Rec's spot in the fall and looks absolutely terrible.

FOX Upfronts- Gut Reactions

The network upfronts were a while back, but now that the true tv season is over I have some time to look over what got canceled, what's coming back and what's new at FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS and The CW.

First up is FOX.


Canceled: 24 is the only cancellation of note. After some up and downs the past few seasons, they finally pulled the plug on Jack Bauer and company after eight seasons. Dramas Dollhouse and Past Life also got the axe, while another sitcom attempt by FOX ended terribly. Brothers and Sons of Tucson were both theoretically gone before they got through five episodes. Also the way too long running comedy 'Til Death is out of there.

Returning: The four animated shows are back on Sundays. Other FOX staples American Idol and House, MD are also still kicking around as they digress in quality year after year. Fringe will be in its third season, while Glee and Human Target return for sophomore seasons. Human Target likely won't make it further than that as it is set to air on Fridays this fall.

New Shows

I already reviewed The Good Guys when it aired a preview event this spring, but it still looks promising if for Bradley Whitford alone. Two others that could be good for FOX are Lonestar and Running Wilde. Lonestar seems to be a family drama of the Dallas/Dynasty ilk. The lead guy is somewhat of an unknown, but it has Jon Voight and Adrianne Palicki from Friday Night Lights so it doesn't lack in star power. Running Wilde comes from the creator of Arrested Development and stars Will Arnett as a similar character as he played in the earlier FOX hit.

Others that I might give a try include Mixed Signals and Terra Nova. Nova has no trailer out so I'm not quite sure what it's about, but heard it was from Steven Spielberg so that has to be a plus. Mixed Signals is another sitcom, this one starring Roy from The Office.

Bob's Burgers, Raising Hope and Ride-Along all get the pass-aroo vote from me.