The Final Dance!

Dancing with the Stars begins its final season this fall with another 13 pseudolebrities prancing around awkwardly for an uptight Englishman.  Sorry, I should point out that the upcoming season is not officially the last, but read the writing on the wall folks.  The lights are going out and the stage is closing up.  Unless you missed it, which I would believe without question, the cast has been announced and among the “dancers” is none other than show killer Ted McGinley.

It’s bad juju when McGinley shows his mug on the set of your favorite show.  What should the star of a hit show do when learning that Ted is joining the cast?  Call his agent, that’s what, because it will soon be time to find another gig.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike McGinley, I just know he is a harbinger of doom.  Ted has heralded the demise of such shows as Happy Days, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Married with Children and Sports Night. I make no claims regarding the quality of those shows, merely point out the McGinley presence in the latter seasons of each.  Not that much could have been done to make Hope and Faith a good sitcom, but it must be addressed that Mr. McG started out in episode 1 of that dog.

If this is the first you have read of the McGinley curse, I wish I could claim discovery of the phenomenon but, unfortunately, I cannot.  Lost somewhere in the fog of internet memes is the name of the one to first point out the voodoo that does do so well.  Don’t believe me?  Google it and see one of the 29,200 hits.  It’s true!  You can also follow this little link:  The McGinley Curse

So enjoy it reality show lovers but hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make way on the schedule for a new ABC show since Dancing with the Stars is in its death throes.

As an aside, I have never watched a single episode of Dancing with the Stars and I regard it as bad TV. I remain intractable regarding this point, freely and proudly admitting a bias against reality TV (call it a game show if it helps you sleep).  That said, why Cloris Leachman, why?

The Best Show You Aren’t Watching

Set for DVD release Tuesday, September 2 is Life starring Damian Lewis (Major Winters, Band of Brothers).  This under appreciated show debuted last September on NBC to decent ratings, but nothing mind blowing.  Luckily the suits at the peacock network saw the potential and kept the show alive in spite of the writers’ strike (Life only managed to squeeze in 11 episodes).  If only they had seen Journeyman’s potential.

Life centers on LAPD officer Charlie Crews, a cop who served 12 years for a crime he did not commit.  Once exonerated Crews promptly sues the city, winning a huge cash settlement along with reinstatement to the police force as a detective.  Teamed up with Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi), a cop with her own troubled past, Crews does his job while subjected to the suspicious glares and questions of his fellow officers.  Tying the series together is Crews’ search for the corrupt cops who set him up to take the fall in a bank robbery conspiracy 12 years earlier.

Far from the melodrama that has become Law and Order: SVU, Life manages to deal with serious issues and have a bit of fun as well.  For example, Charlie’s zen-like attitude toward the world is countered with  frequent harassing traffic stops of his ex-wife’s new husband; or his home life in a  mansion that he has not bothered to furnish.  It’s a challenging show dealing with issues of revenge and redemption without ever forgetting that it is entertainment.  Life provides a blend of cop drama and humor reminiscent of Hill Street Blues with top notch writing and acting all the way.  I would be remiss not to mention Adam Arkin’s fantastic turn as Charlie’s prison pal and accountant.

Life is definitely superior television and without a doubt my favorite new show from this past season.  I take it upon myself to spread the word to all who will read and take my advice.  Go buy or rent the DVD and then tune in Monday, September 29 at 10/9c to NBC.  You will not regret it.  Great stuff!

Life on Mars USA

Coming to ABC on October 9 at 10/9c is an American remake of the stellar BBC drama Life on Mars and I feel equal parts dread and optimism.  The British version stars John Simm as Sam Tyler, a modern day cop who is run down by a car and upon waking finds himself trapped in 1973.  Sam, along with his 70s boss Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) solves cases in the past while trying to find out how to return to the present.  “Am I mad, in a coma or back in time?” Sam asks in the opening credits of each episode.

The short run of BBC shows (just 16 total episodes in the case of LoM) allows for the development of neat and tidy little story arcs that do not get bogged down by network executives wishing to stretch out a successful TV program’s run.  Which brings me to concern number one.  The mystery central to LoM works great in the shortened BBC series format, but I wonder if it has the legs to carry an American show over 4-5 seasons.  Will we all get sick of hearing Sam’s weekly question about his mental state?  Certainly the writers will throw us for some loops, but I have my doubts on this issue.

Another worry is the horrible pilot episode that leaked to the internet and had a brief lifespan on ABC.com.  The episode was just a clone of the BBC pilot with one major exception: the running time.  The BBC receives funding from license fees rather than ad revenue which means an hour long program is exactly that, not 47 minutes.  The US pilot cut a full 13 minutes of story from the British version and, wow, did it ever show.  The characters were poorly realized, the story wrapped too quickly, the pacing was all wrong, and it just didn’t work.  Thankfully all of the characters have been recast (except for Jason O’Mara as Sam) because chemistry was definitely absent.  Colm Meaney, as much as I like him, just failed to convince me that he could knock Jason O’Mara’s block off with a right cross.

That being said, the new cast brings me hope for the Americanized version of Life on Mars.  Things started looking up with the addition of the underrated Gretchen Mol as Annie and Michael Imperioli as Ray, a role seemingly tailor made for him.  The end all, however, came with the announcement that Harvey Keitel would play Gene Hunt…yes, Harvey Keitel in his first ever recurring TV role.  He looks like a guy who could knock anyone’s lights out with a single punch.

The proof is in the pudding, so I’ll give the new version of Life on Mars a fair chance to win me over, but if it falters I can always rewatch the BBC original.