BLUE MAG

“Well you see, ah, well hmm,
yess, hmm, I uh, he he!! well, I
ah,…see um, dead people, yessir.”

Let’s get it out of the way right up front: Raines sees dead people. Specifically, he is a homicide detective who speaks to the ghosts of the victims of the murders he investigates.

Creator Graham Yost was also responsible for Boomtown and Band of Brothers, the former being a quality show that failed to catch on, and the latter being one of the best war miniseries ever. Raines, like Boomtown, takes place in L.A., and has the same visual touch for showing the hills and streets of the Southland. Raines pilot episode has a few beautiful shots early on — for example the opening shot from a hillside mansion, and the shot looking up at a historic Hollywood apartment building perched on a hill.

Continue reading Raines: Pilot

“Seriously, they’re making
a show about you? Seriously?“

The lowest point for “October Road” last night was the highest point for my wife’s and my snarky running commentary:

Main character: I wish I could go back in time 3 years and never write that book!
Me: I wish I could go back in time 30 minutes and not watch this fucking terrible show!

Continue reading Lost to October Road: I want my song back!

USA Today broke the story Monday that Michael Eisner feels that the internet is somehow cutting edge and the future of entertainment. His new company is producing a series of daily episodic shows for the interent. Daily!

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner built his career trying to identify and shape hit movies and TV shows. Now he’s at it again, this time on the Internet.
His investment firm, The Tornante Co., will announce Monday the formation of a studio, Vuguru, that will acquire and develop slickly written, produced and acted Web video.

Vuguru also today will unveil its first show: a serialized mystery called Prom Queen that will roll out over 80 days beginning April 2 with daily installments lasting 90 seconds. It’s co-produced with production company Big Fantastic, in a deal brokered by United Talent Agency.

Read more about it here.

I’m reading from various sources right now that Andy Richter’s new NBC show, Andy Barker, P.I., is already being moved to allow a sweeter spot in the rotation for Tina Fey’s 30 Rock. Aaron Barhart reports on TV Barn that one of the 6 online episodes is an “online exclusive” meaning even with only 6 half-hours in the can they are not going to show everything.

Full disclosure: Though Andy Richter will always occupy a prime spot in my TV watching heart for his years on Conan, I have a hard time watching him as a star. After a few episodes I stopped watching his Fox comedy and though I like the premise of Barker more, I’m not even sure I’ll watch it…

The best thing that can be said about Fox’s new sitcom “The Winner,” the Seth MacFarlane created comedy starring Rob Corddry of “The Daily Show” fame, is that Rob Corddry is a very funny human being. As much as I wanted “The Winner” to work, it simply does not.

Continue reading A “Winner” it’s not

Unless you are. In which case, go on about your business. I’ll just share two for now; there will be more down the road.

Continue reading The best shows you’re not watching

from Lost-Media.com

If you’re a Lost fan, Andrew Dignan over at The House Next Door has the goods you need. His insightful, well-constructed episode deconstructions offer exactly the kind of intellectual fuel you need to keep you watching this show just when you think you’ve got much more intelligenter things to do. Continue reading Lost: “Enter 77″ (3×11)

Variety, that glorious entertainment industry daily reported the following the other day:

CBS:
Pickup — “Babylon Fields,” an hourlong zombie-themed hour described by CBS as a “sardonic, apocalyptic American comedy-drama where the dead are rising and as a result, lives are regained, families restored and old wounds reopened.” Gerald Cuesta and Michael Atkinson wrote the pilot and will serve as supervising producers. Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot for “Dexter,” will exec produce and helm via 20th Century Fox Television.

Pickup — “Twilight,” a drama about a vampire/private eye who’s dealing with the fallout from being immortal, his foes in the vampire world and a budding love for a mortal. Joel Silver is exec producing via Warner Bros. TV. Trevor Munson (”Lone Star State of Mind”) and Ron Koslow (”Beauty and the Beast”) wrote the script and will exec produce.

Continue reading New Shows

About five minutes into the premiere of “The Black Donnellys” on NBC last night, I could tell it wasn’t going to work. When the titular Donnelly brothers — Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean — were introduced by the weasely Joe “Ice Cream” (worst. nickname. ever), I thought I’d never be able to figure out which one was which. You got your nice one (Tommy), your gambler (Kevin), your pretty boy (Sean) and your cripple (Jimmy). I wanted a freeze on each boy’s face with the name, so I could rememberize it better. But in the end I think the show did a great job of making that work. Even the next day I can remember which one is the skinny brooding one who gambles and which is the skinny brooding one who is an art student!

What they can’t make work, however, is that the whole concept seems implausible. Continue reading The Black Donnellys: Pilot

This pairing did not disappoint. The only thing better than Arcade Fire really nailing “Intervention” was Win Butler methoically smashing his guitar after. Best nonet ever? I wasn’t sure if they’d bother pulling of an “Office” spoof, so opening with that worked great for me. Jason Sudeikis’ “Jim smirk” was hilarious. The one thing I would have liked to have seen was some sort of bit involving the visual similarity between Will Forte

and Arcade Fire’s Win Butler

A guy can dream, can’t he?