The Playboy Club - Pilot, S01E01

As a huge fan of period pieces, The Playboy Club appeals to me for many of the same reasons Mad Men does - the costuming, the sets, the reminiscing of a much classier time. And this show is not nearly so depressing as the AMC hit, which is definitely a bonus.

The local is sexy. Our two main locations are the Playboy Club and the Playboy Mansion, where all the bunnies are dressed in sweet little costumes that cover so much that for a 2011 audience, they really aren't revealing. I want some of those outfits. I'm glad, however, that I don't have those names. Why did they pick Maureen for the name of the main character? We still need a few more years to go by before that will get revitalized.

As for the story, while we do have a little bit of house drama between our newest bunny, Maureen (Amber Heard), and the most senior bunny-now-bunny mother, Carol-Lynne (Laura Benanti), it seems that the crux of the plot is going to centre around the mob and the disappearance of the leader of one family after his visit to the Playboy club. Perhaps that is the corporation forcing the tv show to keep itself from getting inappropriate? Hard to say. I'm not displeased at the idea of a 1960s mob show, but find it interesting that its title is Playboy.

I do like it and I want to keep watching. Again, more for the glam than anything else at this moment. The characters are fun and interesting enough, the plot does have places to take us. I do have to ask why exactly Don Draper was cast as the lead. I mean, it's not surprising that Eddie Cibrian's Nick Dalton dresses the same as the ad man, or has the same hair style - these were very popular for your 60s ladykiller, but somehow Cibrian has the exact same voice, the same pitch, same intonations, same everything? Really. I could record them both saying the same line and not be able to differentiate between the two. That might get annoying, though the similarities to Jon Hamm aren't really a bad thing.

So I'm going to keep watching and keep enjoying, but I'm not 100% sold and do worry that this show might not be the success that its bold title deserves.

Unforgettable - Pilot, S01E01

While Unforgettable is certainly a much better title than The Rememberer, that will not stop this show from ending up cancelled by the end of season 1.

I say this not because it is a bad show. Certainly the premise - pairing up a person with a gift with a cop - is one that tends to be popular, and a woman with perfect memory could contribute in very interesting ways. Plus, it was decently acted. I quite enjoyed Poppy Montgomery's portrayal of Carrie Wells.

But solid acting and an interesting premise will not be enough. We've already learnt that Carrie has a complicated past involving her sister's murder - a day which was unlike any other in that the details of it do in fact elude her. It's very dark. And there was little humour lightening that darkness, both in the characters and in the stories.

Which means that audiences like me, fans of shows like The Mentalist and Castle, are not likely to want to add it to our watch list when our other Cop+Special Helper dramas are equally dark and already have us nice and hooked.

So while I might be interested in watching another episode of the show, if only to see how Carrie's superb memory helps when she isn't actually the witness of the murder, I'm not hooked.

Unless something truly unforgettable happens within the next couple episodes, I predict that the show will have a mediocre audience rating which will slowly decline into cancellation. Unfortunate, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.

Castle - Rise, S04E01

It's more than good enough.

Castle's season 4 premiere may have been darker than previous seasons...a lot darker - even Ryan (Seamus Diver) and Esposito (Jon Huertas)'s usual banter was sharp and cut short - but I'm pretty happy about that.

Sure, I'm going to miss watching Castle as a feel-good, will they/won't they drama (if that isn't where it returns within a few episodes, with the serious stuff framing the humour, but remaining separate as it is all supposed to be secret), but how else could the show advance?

That ending was incredible. Kate (Stana Katic)'s reveal that she remembers the entire incident (although we cannot say if she does actually remember what Castle (Nathan Fillion) said to her, or if she simply means being shot and tackled) was not as impressive as her return to therapy. Gotta give the woman props for getting the help she needs. What I really loved, though, was Castle's murder board. The computerization was intense, but his own decent into that dark place Kate used to dwell in, done to spare her, is so twisted and chivalric all at the same time.

Can they and we live with this new darkness? I can't wait to see where it takes us. But if you think that all light is gone, than ye have little faith in the universe that is Castle. We'll get our funny. And, we will continue to be reminded to strive for perfection, even if we have to live for a little while with something that is enough.

What are your thoughts?

The Secret Circle - Pilot, S01E10

Televising another book series by Vampire Diaries writer L.J. Smith, and having executive producer Kevin Williamson on board, is pretty sure to make another huge hit. After all, those who like vampires are probably also into witches, and the quality of thought in terms of plot and detail is likely to be as good. And while The Secret Circle seems far more directed at teenagers than the Vampire Diaries, it still has enough elements that a fantasy-loving adult could well take to it too.

The pilot started well. Excellently in fact. When a mysterious man shows up out of nowhere and uses magic to create an inferno and kill a woman we were clearly supposed to like in the first five minutes of a show, you really get the sense that the punches will not be pulled. People will die, and in rather extreme ways, which is great! I don't always like having characters I like die, but it certainly raises the stakes. I hope that the risk and danger incited by this act continue.

On the other hand, I wasn't quite so into the first meetings of our lead cast. I like Cassie (Britt Robertson), and I think she was wonderfully cast. Robertson has a depth of personality that allows her to be complex enough to be interesting. Adam (Thomas Dekker), on the other hand, leaves me quite cold. I don't know what his feelings about Cassie's arrival are, and I can't tell whether that's because the Director is trying to misdirect us, or because Dekker simply isn't consistent. Plus the whole romantic line between him and Cassie seems really forced, and pisses me off because he has a girlfriend. Granted, there really doesn't seem to be anything going on in that relationship anyway, but inconstant is not a term I want to use to label the lead male.

As for the rest of the teenagers, they are a little cookie-cutter at the moment. I can only hope that will develop as we go.

Naturally, I am more interested in the adults of the series, the parents of our teenage heroes, as well as in the secrets and mysteries that they are keeping. What happened 16 years ago? Clearly a whole lot of people died, but I do want to know how and why. What made these people the way they are? The questions that make me want to keep watching are all about the parents, and about how Cassie is going to manage in this new world she has been introduced to.

The show is likely to be a huge success. Pairing it with Vampire Diaries is going to give both shows terrific advantage in terms of keeping their teenage and young adult audiences. Whether the demographic past 25 remains tuned in will simply depend on how things develop. If the mysteries remain interesting and the younger actors flesh their characters out a bit more, it could be quite the enjoyable guilty pleasure.

Did you enjoy it?

Murdoch Mysteries - Murdoch in Wonderland, S04E13 - Season Finale

If you are a fan of Murdoch Mysteries, than most likely you watched the season finale of season 4 some months back when it actually aired. I, however, just watched it tonight. I am very glad that I have begun blogging again because all I can think is WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!!

The murder mystery of the episode I liked very much. William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) is accused of a bizarre murder which took place at an Alice-in-Wonderland party, and Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) and George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) do what they can to help prove him innocent. Of course, William is innocent, but the woman who did commit the murder turns out to be a victim that William had convinced to take the stand several years ago - with very bad results. And that's when things start getting tricky.

William's choice of standing by the law or trying to right the wrong he did this woman all those years ago, a wrong that led her to commit the murder she was now going to hang for, was tough. He elected to release her from prison and give her a chance. I respect him for this choice. Yes, he freed a murderer illegally. But by following the law so many years ago, he allowed a murderer to go free, one who then did unspeakable things to this poor woman. Strangely, had William not let her go, I would have agreed as well, but it is refreshing to see William make a choice of the heart. He does have the capability of doing so.

Except of course that to accomplish that choice of the heart, he had to abandon Julia (Helene Joy) forever.

Option 1. Stick by the law and stop the woman you love from marrying another.

Option 2. Break the law you cherish and stand down in love.

William chose honour. Not legality, but honour. What honour would there have been for him to burst in on Julia in the moments before her wedding and beg her to call it all off. It was too late. It had been too late for some time. Frankly, I am annoyed at Ruby (Sarah Gadon) for pressing the matter. I realize that she cares about her sister's happiness and that she is the type of girl who goes with her whims, but Julia is happy with Darcy (Jonathan Watton). She chose to end her relationship with William and she chose not only find love again, but get engaged. Certainly the feelings she has for William are not the same as those she has for Darcy, but it is possible to find love more than once. William was engaged to a woman he cared about very much before the series began. He cannot have loved her in the same manner as he loves Julia. Regardless, both affections are genuine and whole.

I am glad that Julia married Darcy and I expect that if they had, in fact, lived in 1899, they would have had a happy and fulfilling union. I do not know if that is what we will see in Season 5...indeed, with Murdoch having broken the law in such a way, I really have no idea what we will see in Season 5...but I have every hope that this show will continue being fabulous. I can only hope that we can all move on from William and Julia, as that really is the only thing to do.

What do you think will happen?

Ringer - Pilot, S01E01

First emotional response - frustration that I will have to wait a week to find out what happens next, and indeed that I will continue to only get 45 minute installments of the development every week. Ringer is certainly the kind of show one will devour like candy as soon as it is released on DVD.

The premise is terrific. What would you do if given the opportunity to escape the troubles of your life so perfectly? Starting over in seemingly much improved circumstances appeals to many, and the cautionary message that at least in our own lives we are aware of all the different complications reminds us that things might look greener on the other side of the fence, but perhaps that's because dangerous pesticides give it a certain luster.

I am pleased to see Sarah Michelle Gellar on TV again, having loved her since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She still portrays both strength and vulnerability with believability, but now gets to throw in cold calculation to the mix. Watching her play two characters, one of which is pretending to be the other, I cannot always be certain of whether we are encountering Bridget or Siobhan, but I would say that this is more of a directorial choice to leave the audience confused than a lack in ability on Gellar's part to make the two subtly but markedly different. Give that time.

As for the mystery and the trouble both women have got into in their lives, we easily side with Bridget. Oh sure, she was a stripper, a prostitute, and a drug addict, but somehow I find that far easier to forgive and ignore than Siobhan's adultery and manipulation. Bridget is trying to find herself, to fix her life, and she may not be going about it the best way, but the path is certainly commendable. Siobhan, on the other hand, clearly just wants things to go her way.

What do you think of the two sisters? And will you be watching again next week? I know I will be.

The Insights are BACK!

So, it has been a while.

I've been busy, and despite the fact that I did start watching TV again, and a fair amount of it at that, I did not resume blogging...until today.

Here's the plan. I cannot blog about every episode of every show in a timely-enough manner. I will not try to do so. Instead, I will blog about pilot episodes, premieres of the shows I am caught up on, season finales, and other exciting television moments which I cannot help but share my enthusiasm about with you.

And what perfect time to start again with Pilot season starting tonight with the launch of Ringer, the new Sarah Michelle Geller series.

Here are many of the new shows I plan to view and offer my opinion of. Please let me know if there is some pilot/premiere not mentioned which you are interested in, as well as any other show that I might not be watching but ought to be.

Pilots: Ringer, The Secret Circle, The Playboy Club, Unforgettable, Revenge, Charlie's Angels, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, PAN AM, Terra Nova, Grimm, Once Upon a Time.

I am looking forward to the new television season and hope that you will come along with me for the ride!