Trust Me (1.1)

Monday, January 26, 2008 @ 10 PM
TNT
Trust Me - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot












http://www.tnt.tv/series/trustme/

Marmot: Much more engaging than the barely watchable Ocean's 11-lite Leverage, Trust Me doesn't seem to know what it's about. It's less a friendship drama set in the exciting world of advertising than it is a procedural for getting "the big account". It's somewhat ironic that the show about advertising seems to be based on advertiser's versions of the working world that are sold to us every year in Super Bowl commercials. It's yet another regurgitation of the Office Space formula, except not funny. However, the leads (Tom Cavanaugh and Eric McCormack) are very likeable, and I can't help that feel that the show would be much better if they were given more interesting things to say. Instead, the dialogue is mired in ad-world lingo that only serves to alienate the viewer. I don't know what the hierarchy is in an ad agency, I don't want to know. Just make me laugh.

Manatee: Trust Me did not keep my attention. I was more interested in my knitting project than this show. I was unable to separate Eric McCormack from his character on Will & Grace (Kind of annoying as you can imagine). When a competing cable station has the highly acclaimed television series, Mad Men, which revolves around ad agencies in the 60s, I'm not sure you should go up against it. TNT was probably hoping that while Mad Men was on break, their audience would tune into Trust Me. Skip it (coming from a Mad Men fan). I'd rather wait till Mad Men season 3 comes back to get my ad fill. Trust Me is not funny, the characters are rather obnoxious, and it does not look very good (looks low budget to me). I have no interest in tuning in for episode two unless someone promises me it gets a million times better.

Gossip Girl (2.16)

Monday, January 19th, 2009 @ 8 PM
CW
Gossip Girl - Season 2 - Episode #16 - "You've Got Yale!"




















http://cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl/episodes


Hey Gossip Girl fans!

Marmot and Manatee Here.

Marmot: HEARD: Line of the year - Lost Josh Hartnett asks Jon Mayer if he's going to the opera. Jon Mayer says he is. Lost Josh Hartnett: "Yeah, I might go too." Not a pep rally, or someone's house party. The opera. Hilarious.

Manatee: CALLING IT NOW: Jon Mayer (aka Dan) is going to hook up with that thirteen year old English teacher. You could tell the second she appeared on the scene.
Maybe they could go to the opera together.

Marmot: GUESSING: The actress that plays the new English teacher is younger than the actors who play her students

Manatee: OMG, we need to research that stat. I think you are right. Research is in: We're wrong - Serena - 8/25/87; Blair - 4/9/86; Dan - 11/1/86; Nate - 7/18/85; Little J - 7/26/93 (Do you feel old yet?)

Marmot: Yes. Very

Manatee: Chuck - 6/27/87; Teacher - 8/22/83

Marmot: So she's 3 years older than the students she's pretending to be the teacher of so if they're all 22 playing 17, that would mean she's 25 playing...20? A 20 year old high school teacher?

Manatee: Yup. OMG! You know what we are forgetting to discuss here? WORST IDEA EVER BY A STUDIO EXECUTIVE: Lily and Rufus: Flashback to the 80s.

Marmot: I can't believe they're giving Lily a flashback spinoff.

Manatee: Tell me about it. They must be desperate.

Marmot: Let's do the math here...how old are 29 Year Old Dad and the Hot Mom? 40?

Manatee: I think I guessed about 39 per the show math with the 19 year old adopted (fake dead) son.

Marmot: So the spinoff is going to be Lily as a teenager out on the Sunset Strip, so about 22 years ago, or 1987. This is going to be awesome.

Manatee: Why?! Who will want to watch this? If we were teenagers now watching GG, would we want to tune in to see the 80s Bret Easton Ellis style?

Marmot: That is true. But as, um, animals in our, uh...mid? 20s? Sure, mid 20s - I want to see Lily sleep her way through Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, Poison, Whitesnake, Def Leppard...you get the point.

Manatee: When will our TV viewing eyes be blessed with this little spinoff?

Marmot: Hopefully the fall...but there's a rumor going around that we're going to see a flashback episode this season.

Manatee: I can't wait.

Marmot: What I was really hoping for was a flashback with Rufus to his salad days of the early 90s. How awesome would a Buffalo Tom cameo be on GG? (ED Note - Buffalo Tom guest starred on My So-Called Life almost 15 years ago and it was amazing)

Manatee: My So Called Life was 15 years ago?

Marmot: (ED Note 2 - Buffalo Tom was a Boston-based alternative rock band that was around in the 90s. They had a moderate hit with "Sodajerk". Check it out, it's well worth it) August of 1994. Nearly 15 yea - OMG FIFTEEN YEARS?!?!?!

Manatee: I think M & M need to have a little party this August to celebrate the anniversary.

Stick with us here. Until next Monday!

XOXO,

Marmot & Manatee

Flight of the Conchords (2.1)

Sunday, January 18th, 2009 @ 10 PM
HBO
Flight of the Conchords - Season 2 - Episode # 1 - "A Good Opportunity"
http://www.hbo.com/conchords/

Manatee: I think FotC Season 2 is off to a bad start.

Marmot: Really? Why is that?

Manatee: I didn't like the first episode as a season kick off. Plus, there weren't really any catchy tunes, and as much as I LOVE Murray, I wish the first episode wasn't so focused on him. He even had the first song of the new season.

Marmot: I thought his song was hilarious. I have to agree with you, song-wise, the episode was pretty weak. But they did have all of the Season 1 songs for years, and now they've had to write a bunch of new ones over a few months. I thought the episode was pretty funny, though.

Manatee: They had plenty of time to write new songs. There was a strike which delayed most HBO shows. Plus I know for a fact that Bret likes to spend his days lolly gagging around a certain coffee shop in LA. He could have been writing with his partner, instead he was gulping down espressos.

Marmot: He can't write and drink coffee at the same time?

Manatee: Not when Jemaine isn't there!!! Anyhow, I have hopes that it will get better, but I'm just saying, I was disappointed. I was glad to see Mel and Doug make an appearance.

Marmot: I think the music will get better. One major thing I noticed from Season 1 was the increased budget, most noticeably, the move to HD.

Manatee: Yes, I noticed it did appear to have a bigger budget as well. Let's hope that doesn't diminish the charm.

The Beast (1.1)

Thursday, January 15th, 2009 @ 10 PM
A & E
The Beast– Season 1 – Episode #1 – Pilot

http://www.aetv.com/the-beast/index.jsp












I ask you, "Dirty Dancing or The Beast?"

Marmot: Kinda “meh” about The Beast. I feel like all the best stuff was going to be in the pilot

Manatee: I hated the ending! Why does everyone think they need some sort of twist these days? What happened to good old-fashioned storytelling

Marmot: It became stale and boring, so then the twist became something shiny and new, and ultimately, cliche. At least for horror movies. This is a rare example of a twist in a pilot . I feel like it could have been better executed, though. Perhaps if we had seen the FBI folks in an earlier scene? It just kind of felt tacked on otherwise.

Manatee: I just felt like I had seen it before and it was a very weak ending.

Marmot: Its straight out of the movie Breach.

Manatee: They whole premise and storytelling was pretty weak and tired. The only good thing about the pilot was the way it looked, other than that, I'm not really looking forward to the season.

Marmot: Yes. The cinematography was amazing. I also liked that Patrick Swayze shot a missile launcher. I'm pretty sure he never did that in Dirty Dancing.

Manatee: Is Patrick Swayze marketable anymore? Who is tuning in to see him? And did CBS ask themselves a similar question when Caruso thought about signing on for CSI Miami?

Marmot: EVERYONE is watching Caruso on CSI Miami. It's unbelievable. Maybe that was their thinking with Swayze. Or maybe A&E figured people would watch the first episode out of shear curiosity and get hooked.

Manatee: Are you hooked?

Marmot: Not so much hooked as mildly interested. I'm mostly interested in why Patrick Swayze made his brother-in-law shoot himself. Also something that never happened in Dirty Dancing.

Manatee: That personal story felt unnecessary. It seems like that scene and the later one with his sister set up the FBI agents trying to convince the young partner that his older, harder partner is dirty. Each week we should compare and contrast The Beast and Dirty Dancing

Marmot: Similarities to Dirty Dancing? Nobody put baby in a corner.

The United States of Tara (1.1)

Sunday, January 18th, 2009 @ 10 PM
Showtime Network
The United States of Tara - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot
Available now at: sho.com















Welcome Back to Manatee & Marmot Destroy TV: The Blog. It's a New Year with new shows out there on the waves. For our 2009 resolutions we promise to be more consistent with our posting on the latest but not always greatest TV series. Oh yeah, we also promise to cut back on the booze. So enjoy!

Marmot: I think I liked The United States of Tara.

Manatee: I did like it. I'd like to see where it is going. Though it's a half hour, I didn't feel like it was a traditional sitcom. And I like the idea of multiple personalities... it's a different take on the typical dysfunctional family

Marmot: This is a family with a real dysfunction and a real situation, unlike most shows where they just make fun of each other. But I wonder how interesting it will be 5 episodes from now. Why are we being introduced to this family and their world at this point? They've lived with this long enough to all be comfortable with it, except for the kids. Who even are okay with it. It's just ruining their social lives, but they're kids, so who cares? Kids are idiots.

Manatee: I felt like that was a question still to be answered. It may tie into my first thought about the episode, why was Tara talking to a video camera in the first scene? Is that part of her therapy? I'm not partial to tricks like that just to get some narration or background going. I wonder if that style will ever be seen again in the series.

Marmot: I had completely forgotten about it by the end of the episode.

Manatee: I thought it was a stupid way to intro the character, unless it has something to do with her therapy but it wasn't addressed again last night. Is it a way for her to 'communicate' with her alters? That was a technique that was used in My Own Worst Enemy.

Marmot: They don't seem to communicate based on this first episode.

Manatee: Well, T did know that Tara had found the morning after pill.

Marmot: I wonder if the "alters" share common knowledge. Does "T" know the same things Tara does? Buck did know how to bowl left handed, which was odd. Odd that it was referenced by the characters. It didn't seem that important.

Manatee: After I watched the show, it did prompt me to Wiki DID (Dissociative identity disorder) - it was a lot to go through. I was under the impression that your alters did not know things about your life, you don't share memories. But I don't know what the left handed importance is. I think what is interesting about DID is not just dealing with it, but what causes it in the first place. And we, the viewers, are being introduced like you said mid stream here.

Marmot: There was an offhand reference to stress inducing an "attack". One of the first questions I had that wasn't addressed was wouldn't she be on medication? I know there are drugs that combat this.

Manatee: Yes, I did catch that too. But the daughter did mention something about being happy her mom was off the meds.

Marmot: Oh, nevermind. I guess I missed that.

Manatee: Even after reading the Wiki, I'm not sure what causes the attacks, but what causes DID is interesting. It's really only common in the US and it's usually a condition started after major trauma or abuse. There is a lot of controversy over whether it's really a medical condition. Enter Tara's sister.

Marmot: It looks like the writer read the Wikipedia page, too. Which brings us to my biggest gripe...

Manatee: I know. I was waiting for this

Marmot: F Diablo Cody. She sucks. Sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks.

Manatee: Tell me how you really feel

Marmot: Nobody talks like she writes. It's so infuriating.

Marmot: Especially in this show. Every character was played fairly straight, as if there were normal people, and then here comes these oh-so-clever witticisms...I hate it. I think that's how I really feel.

Manatee: I didn't think this show was as bad as Juno with that 'clever,' wacky dialogue.

Marmot: That is true. I'm sure Showtime or someone made her tone it down. Maybe it was Spielbergo.

Manatee: Talk about an unlikely duo. Do you think Spielberg will ask Cody to write the 5th Indiana Jones?

Marmot: Oh god. I don't know what's worse, a Diablo Cody scripted Indiana Jones or the idea of another Indiana Jones movie.

Manatee: How involved is Cody with the series?

Marmot: She's already put her name on it. In my opinion - too much.

Manatee: I'm just wondering if someone else is showrunning, maybe the series won't be as wacky as she is.

Marmot: Alexa Junge is ths showrunner.

Marmot: She was a producer on The West Wing, Big Love, Sex & The City and Friends. Quite a pedigree.

Manatee: I don't get Showtime, so I probably won't have the pleasure of seeing this series through, but I must say Showtime is stepping it up. It is almost better than HBO at this point.

Marmot: I have to admit, this does make me slightly more interested in getting Showtime. Still not enough to pay for it, though. I'll probably NetFlix this show once it's on DVD.

Manatee: I may have to join you when you get the NetFlix in. If the show were on ABC I'd definitely watch it. Actually, why isn't it on ABC or NBC? There wasn't much nudity or bad language.

Marmot: It was also edited down, according to the disclaimer right before it started. I wonder what we missed out on.

Manatee: We may never know.

CW Sunday Night

Sunday Night 8-10 PM
CW
Valentine & Easy Money














Manatee here! The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Media Rights Capital's Sunday night CW programming has come to a halt. That means Valentine and Easy Money have been 'shut down' so that writers can 'catch up' on scripts.

Valentine looked cheesy and came across as a mediocre version of the show Charmed. Don't use visual effects if you don't have the proper budget. If MRC was trying to make smaller budgeted shows for the CW, then stick with simple stories and good drama. If hip effects and explosions are what the audience wants, then come up with the cash. But based on the success of CW's Gossip Girl, a great costume designer and some hot 20 somethings a show does make.

I can't comment on Easy Money too much since I deleted the recording after 6 minutes. There was nothing compelling about this series at all. It looked cheap and the actors are terrible. Don't even bother wasting your time on these shows. Production is stopping and though MRC claims they will finish the 13 episodes of each show, you can bet there will not be Season #2's in either's future.

MRC would have done better to produce another teen soap opera or better yet - have picked up MOONLIGHT! Yeah, that's right, you should have picked up CBS's vampire series and you would have hit it big on Sunday nights.

Kath & Kim (1.1)

Thursday, October 9th @ 8:30 PM

NBC
Kath & Kim - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot

Recap: http://www.nbc.com/Kath_and_Kim/



















Manatee: So Kath and Kim, lamest comedy of the season!

Marmot: You think so? What about Gary Unmarried and Worst Week? And, um...uh...what happened to comedy?

Marmot: There used to be tons of them on.

Manatee: Let's put it this way, I got through2 episodes of Gary Unmarried before I canceled the DVR and 1 episode of Worst Week. I deleted Kath & Kim after 10 minutes. I didn't laugh once.

Marmot: You should have kept watching. The guy from the David Blaine Street Magic You Tube Edition is her husband.

Manatee: I saw him. He was probably the hightlight. But that's exactly the problem with this show. What actor gets a network comedy off a YouTube project? Granted the Blaine series is hilarious, it's much funnier than Kath & Kim. Molly Shannon and Selma Blair had NO chemistry as mother and daughter. Putting aside that they are actually 8 years apart, I felt they were pretty boring and lame on screen.

Marmot: That was a big problem I had as well, the age difference. I don't buy them as mother and daughter, it just looked like them trying to play younger and older. Honestly, I think I wanted to like this show more than I actually did. I'm going to give it another episode, but not much after that.

Manatee: I also did not like the comedic style. Was it going for an arrested development feel, an office feel, a sitcom feel? I'm not sure what it wanted to be.

Marmot: It was kind of a mess. There was a running joke - serious and combative dialogue between the two that is suddenly interrupted by observation of something completely unrelated - ie, "oh look at this shirt". It was funny once. By the third time, not charming anymore. I can only hope this was a pilot-only thing.

Marmot: But what I'm really wondering is where is this show going to go? Kath gets married, Kim gets back with her husband, then what? That's maybe a season's worth of storyline. How long did the original run?

Manatee: I often wonder about the story line of most comedies. One could ask where are you going when you spend all 1/2 hour in an office? But at least you're laughing! I can't see myself watching this show ever again, I hope it gets canceled tomorrow.

Life on Mars (1.1)

Thursday, October 9th, 2008 @ 10 PM

ABC

"Life on Mars" - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot

Recap: http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars/index?pn=recaps#t=120560&d=126808

"Can you find Michael Imperioli in this photo? We can't."

Marmot: As David Bowie once sang, "Is there life on Maaaaaaaaaaars?" That being said, I kind of like Life on Mars. And kind of don't.

Manatee: I enjoyed it as well to a certain extent. At the end of the day I have a few issues, one being that is is just 'another cop' show... and two if the series ends with him waking up out of a coma, then come on ABC. You need a better development team, because there has got to be something more creative than a coma!

Marmot: I'm resisting temptation to see how the original ended. All in all, this show is just The Singing Detective, but there were some really enjoyable parts, namely the conflict with Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli's mustache. Even if Harvey is phoning it in.

Manatee: I loved the mustache! I totally forgot it was / is a BBC series. If we watch that version, that would open up our Thursday night viewing...

Marmot: To watch the final season of ER? No thanks. I've never seen an episode and I'm not about to start now. How will I ever catch up to find out how Dr. Clooney's hair became Dr. Stamos' hair?"

Manatee: Good point. No need to start watching that show now. Did you have any thoughts on Life on Mars compared to CBS's Swingtown? Seeing that they were both set in the 70s.

Marmot: I would have liked Swingtown a lot better if Bruce had been hit by a car and magically transported to 2008. But both series use too much music.

Manatee: I do like the way that Life on Mars was shot. I think it almost has that 70s grainy look as opposed to the bright and cheery Swingtown look.

Marmot: Swingtown, in terms of photography, was terrible. This pilot looked fantastic.

Manatee: I liked the design more too. Though I was not alive in the 70s, I thought LoM looked more natural. Help Manatee out here Marmot.

Marmot: I was only alive for 7 months in the 70s, Manatee. I wasn't paying much attention to the decor.

Manatee: Anyhow, what do you think of the cast? Sort of unusual for a series huh?

Marmot: Yeah, it's pretty high end. I dig it, even though I think Gretchen Mol is a terrible actress.

Manatee: She sort of does suck.

Marmot: Never been a fan of hers. My biggest problem with the pilot is that it sort of glossed over the more interesting aspects, like trying to reconcile life in this era and focused more on the cop stuff, which was pretty standard.

Manatee: Well, what else are you going to do as a cop stuck in the 70s? Work stuff. I think Mol has the potential to be more that a coworker. Maybe they will go on a date to the disco, and then become swingers

Marmot: I just want to see him trying to order Chicken BBQ pizza and trying to watch Sportscenter.

Gary Unmarried (1.1)

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 @ 8:30 PM
CBS
Gary Unmarried - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot


Recap: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/project_gary/recaps/

Manatee: Gary Unmarried

Marmot: Is terrible.

Manatee: I was going to say harmless.

Marmot: That's true. It was halfway tolerable through most of it...but then Ed Begley, Jr. showed up.

Manatee: But it's Jay Mohr, how bad can it be?

Marmot: Did you see Jerry Maguire? It can be bad. Of course, Action! makes up for that.

Manatee: Did you not like the marriage therapist turned fiance story line, or you didn't like Ed Begley Jr. ie: you hate the environment?

Marmot: I just don't like Ed Begley, Jr. If not liking him makes me a hater of the environment, then so be it. I just thought the impromptu therapy session was so ridiculous. Especially after watching weeks and weeks of the brilliance that is In Treatment.

Manatee: Agreed on the therapy session. I'm not sure it's the best way to spend 30 minutes of my life, but I don't see it causing too much harm either. This is probably a show my mom watches.

Marmot: My mom likes Two and a Half Men, so I'm sure she'll like this. I actually kind of fell asleep during this. Why was the girl hiding under the boy's bed?

Manatee: I guess because they were probably kissing and the mom knocked on the locked door

Marmot: I don't like the mom. She's mean.

Manatee: True, but what about that daughter? Pretty realistic teenager huh?

Marmot: Don't all 12 year olds worship Al Gore?

Manatee: No.

Marmot: I did when I was that age.

Manatee: I liked NKotB.

Marmot: They're like Al Gore.

Knight Rider (1.1)

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 @ 8 PM
NBC
Knight Rider - Season 1, Episode #1 - "A Knight in Shining Armor"


Recap:http://www.nbc.com/Knight_Rider/recaps/#cat=1&mea=101&ima=51190

From the Live Feed: "KITT ran a sluggish first lap in the ratings race as NBC's series premiere of "Knight Rider" had starter problems Wednesday night. Despite having the highest level of viewer awareness of NBC's new fall shows, "Rider" (7.3 million viewers, 2.4 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and a 7 share) opened in third place in the 8 p.m. hour, slightly less than how game show "Deal or No Deal" performed in the slot last year. Its rating is also less than half what the "Rider" movie (5.0) pulled last February." http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/09/knight-rider-ra.html

Manatee here.

Did you see Knight Rider last night? I'm one of the guilty 7.3 million viewers. Let me tell you, watching this show was purely for M & M research, not entertainment. If entertainment was what I was looking for, I would have stared at a blank wall. The show lacks any and all production value, story development, and acting talent - three very integral parts of a television series. Fast car chases, poorly shot and edited, a series does not make. GivingKITT and Knight Industries lab a make over isn't fooling anyone. The cast is an ensemble of fairly unrecognizable names and faces, and with good reason. The story jumps all over the place, is lacks all intrigue and thrill.

I cannot believe that NBC puts product such as this on the air. That's why I barely watch any of their shows. They have been a struggling network for many years now after having been top dog. With the departure of shows like Friends and Will & Grace, NBC went down the tubes. BenSilverman , current co-chairman, seems very committed to NBC and to reviving NBC glory day series, but I'm not sure that method is going to work. Fox's is hitting the ratings big with Fringe, a new (though slightly recycled theme) show from solid performing producers who are hot. ABC has hits from a solid production company,Berlanti TV, in Eli Stone, Brothers and Sisters, and Dirty Sexy Money. CW is trying to resuscitate the old zip code but with similar results: terrible production value, dull cast, and lame story lines. I'm not sure NBC is on the right track following last winter'sWGA strike.

What else do we have to look forward to from NBC? Crusoe, based on the novel, Robinson Crusoe. My Own Worst Enemy, Christian Slater? Hello! Kings, an inspiring exploration of the timeless David vs. Goliath struggle. Kath and Kim, maybe will be funny, but considering how many directors andreshoots they've gone through... Heroes, personally I don't watch this show, but I hear the third season is boring. Life, where insiders say the writers and stories are struggling. ER is on it's last season. But there is always the Law & Orderfranchise. NBC seems to be adhering to a "blow things up" kind of fall season. If they don't watch out, they might explode themselves.

Marmot did not watch this show, but predicts that NBC will cancel the show after episode #6 (which should be roughly end of October or beginning of November). What do you think? Post below!

90210 (1.5)

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 @ 8 PM

CW
90210 - Season 1, Episode #5 - "Wide Awake & Dreaming"



Recap: http://cwtv.com/shows/90210/episodes/105

Marmot: Dunnun nun nun nun nun nun nun CLAP CLAP

Manatee: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll

Marmot: And nebisshy parents. WHERE IS BRANDON WALSH?!?! This show is unbearable...I don't know who anyone is except for Kelly and Brenda and they're not doing anything except running a play.

Manatee: They are boring. No one wants to see 2 old farts (aka people their teachers' age) dating. Kids these days want fresh faces.

Marmot: I want Steve Sanders, not Ethan...whatever his name is.

Manatee: I like Ty. I wish he was a cast regular.

Marmot: This is definitely not the 90210 of old. Remember towards the end of senior year when Dylan's dad was blown up in a car explosion by the mafia?

Manatee: Yeah, that rocked.

Marmot: I don't see anything like that happening on this show.

Manatee: No, this version is not as dark. But if the upcoming episodes are more like last nights, it might not be that bad. I think the back stabbing picked up last night. That's a good start

Marmot: I just don't know if I have the patience to wait for Ethan's dad to get blown up. That's a lot of show to get through. And when is Brenda going to talk about her family? Where are Jim and Cindy Walsh?

Manatee: China.

Marmot: Really? Why did they go there?

Manatee: Business.

Marmot: I forget what business they were in. The problem with this 90210 is the characters. I really couldn't care less about any of them, save for Annie and Dixon. Maybe Silver. But that's only IF they did something interesting.

Manatee: The show might get better if they move back to Kansas.

Marmot: What if that whole class moved to Kansas? The rich kids, too. That would be worth watching.

Manatee: It would be like 'Zip Code Swap.' - Fox's lately reality series!

Marmot: I know how to improve 90210. It came to me during last night's episode when Kelly said something to Brenda about remembering everything from high school. Get this - what if Kelly and Brenda were transported to an alternate dimension (ie, like they're in now), but in this dimension, they didn't exist as people, but characters on a TV show. And then you could have a scene with them watching the DVD's and remembering high school. How amazing would that be?

Manatee: I'm not sure I follow you.

Marmot: Like this show, 90210 takes place in an alternate reality, OUR reality. Where Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh were characters on a TV show, not real people. But Kelly and Brenda are magically transported to this reality from theirs, which exists are reality to them. Follow?

Manatee: Is this dimension scripted or reality? I have an idea. What if 90210 and Saved By the Bell merged?

Marmot: Are you kidding? I had this idea in 1991!

Manatee: I wish you had made it happen.

Marmot: I want there to be a Gossip Girl/90210 crossover event.

Manatee: They should consider that.

Marmot: It doesn't have to be the whole cast. Just send Chuck

Manatee: Stir up some trouble.

Marmot: Chuck should have his own show. Or better yet, just visit different shows. Like what if Chuck was behind everything on Fringe?

Manatee: That would be great. I also think he might be the son of "The Mentalist."

Worst Week (1.1)

Monday, September 22nd, 2008 @ 9:30 PM
CBS
Worst Week - Season 1, Episode #1 - Pilot


Recap: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/worst_week/recaps/

Manatee here...

This show was some of the worst television I've seen in awhile. It was such a stupid 1/2 hour of TV, yet I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. I'm not a fan of comedy series: Old Christine makes me want to poke out my eyes; 'Til Death makes me want to puke; How I Met Your Mother puts me to sleep; Big Bang causes gas pains; and Worst Week falls into all of these categories. Yet I still found myself laughing. Is it that I have a predisposition to hate anything that comes in a 1/2 hour format? Do I hate to laugh?

Watching this show does not challenge my brain, nor does it garner an emotional response. It doesn't aim to ponder deep life questions or world issues. I suppose there are a lot of people out there who just want to laugh at mindless television antics, but I'm not one of them. Worst Week is just a TV rehash of the film Meet the Parents. Tough dad hates daughter's boyfriend. Boyfriend keeps messing up; he can't do anything right. You could predict everything that was going to happen in the scenes. I'm not sure where the rest of the season will go, but I don't feel invested enough to find out. I think the pilot was good for an initial viewing (and good for a few laughs), but I don't think I'm going to bother with offering precious DVR space to Worst Week. It's just not a show worth watching each week.

Gossip Girl (2.4)

Monday, September 22nd @ 8 PM
CW
Gossip Girl - Season 2, Episode #4 - "The Ex-Files"

Recap: http://cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl/episodes/204

"Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Clothes?"

Manatee: You know what I liked about last night's GG? It was a pretty stinky ep overall, but I like that S is back on top. We never saw her as Queen first season but you got the impression that S's departure opened the doors for B's reign. I like this potential role reversal, and I want to see S squash Dan.

Marmot: ...These people go to high school?!?!

Manatee: I'm not sure about that actually.

Marmot: I think that's what was implied last night. So is Serena the Mayor now? Is that what happened?

Manatee: Yes. She somehow took over ruling the school again. You see early in ep 1.01 S returns to school after having been away for some time and Blair is not happy that she is back. But overall S seems like a nice girl. Now the bitch is back. All season S struggled with being a good girl... but now we question what was S really is? Is she the nice girl Dan fell in love with? Or the bitch everyone knows she may be deep down inside? The bigger question is, why does Chuck care? I think he just wants to take B down so she is so depressed she can't say no to his advances anymore.

Marmot: Do you think the other people in that school besides the 7 or so main characters even care about what goes on in their world?

Manatee: Did you see the stack of files B had? I'd say so. How many high schoolers care about academics? Be honest, they are there because they have to be so why not focus on the social aspect? Get an A or be top dog? What matters more when you are 16?

Marmot: I couldn't even distinguish what being top dog means to them. Its not the ability to get into a club and buy alcohol, because the whole school was at that bar. It's not money, because they all have more than god.

Manatee: It's about being feared, bowed down to, and having an entourage. Having POWER!

Marmot: Like the power to convince 2 British royals to go back to there country? I think Blair might be the most powerful person in the world.

Manatee: You haven't seen Serena in action yet.

Marmot: Best line of the night was Serena's mom: "I'm just trying to be a good mother" when she was questioned about the big breakfast on the table. Since when is being a good mother telling the help to make breakfast?

Manatee: She's trying. Cut her some slack. She just got back from a long and tiresome honeymoon to a millionaire who spent most of his time out of town on business.

Marmot: And now she has no friends except for 29 Year Old Dad and his new girlfriend.

Manatee: I'm surprise, Marmot, you have not commented yet on Chuck's wardrobe yet.

Marmot: I'm saving the best for last. All I have to say is, does The Joker know that Chuck is wearing his suit?

Fringe (1.1)

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 @ 8 PM
FOX
Fringe - Season 1, Episode # 1 - Pilot
Recap: http://fox.com/fringe/recaps/s1_e1.htm

Manatee: So Marmot, do you have a favorite new show thus far this season?

Marmot: I do… It's 90210. Just kidding. It's Fringe.

Manatee: You gave me a heart attack for a sec there.

Marmot: What if the cast of Fringe and 90210 swapped places?

Manatee: In a weird way, I think it would work. I already have a hard time buying Pacy as the genius on Fringe.

Marmot: I like his dad, though. He's like the science fictional Kramer.

Manatee: I have to agree. The performance is great, and really convincing. I like the comedic play between him and Olivia's assistant.

Marmot: Do FBI agents typically have assistants?

Manatee: I'm not too clear on that. I suppose she's not a 'personal assistant' and is more of a 'junior agent' if you will.

Marmot: Do you think she still has to roll calls?

Manatee: Probably. What did you like about the pilot? I enjoyed it, and I'm not that huge a fan of 'sci-fi.'

Marmot: Well first, I thought it was shot beautifully. Some of the shots were breathtaking. Overall, I really liked it. A little bit of X-Files, a little LOST and a great cast.

Manatee: I like that there is going to be a new case each week, but there is an overall larger scheme here. I'm interested to learn more about that company. Though I am a little sick of the thread in series about a large corporation taking over and controlling America. Not that I know that's the direction they are headed. But it feels that way.

Marmot: I'm a little confused on what this company does. I think they're supposed to be Microsoft, but bigger.

Manatee: Did you see their office? It's huge and white and spacious. And the woman had a fake crazy computerized hand. It's biazzro-land.

Marmot: That was one thing that bothered me. The show is somewhat based in psuedo-science, but a super-advanced robotic hand? That's pretty much fiction.

Manatee: That we know of... 'find the pattern.'

Marmot: Oh yeah, the pattern. I've heard that the answer to the whole show is in those things in all the promotional material. So the answer is Frog, Leaf,Apple.

Marmot: That was easy. What happens when you solve the pattern?

Marmot: I just did. It's frog, leaf, apple.

Manatee: Is the earth going to explode now?

Marmot: um.....yes. I think maybe they have to merge. Like the frog has to eat the apple?

Manatee: How long do you see a show like this lasting for? If it was purely procedural, like a Law & Order case each week, maybe it could last 19 years too. But this pattern thing seems to imply a natural end (at some point).

Marmot: How long do frogs live for?

Manatee: Roughly 14 years. But then again, some are only 2-3 years. Really it varies.

Marmot: I think that's going to decide how long the show continues. Well, consider the X-Files. It lasted 9 seasons on a mixed serial/episodic format.

Manatee: The series definitely is inviting a lot of discussion. I'm very curious about what is going on.

Marmot: Do you think that the guy from L O S T is in on it?

Manatee: Ben?

Marmot: No, Lance Reddick. He plays Matthew Abaddon on L O S T and the FBI agent that hates her on Fringe.

Manatee: Oh yeah, that guy. I knew he looked familiar. Well it's hard to say too much since you have not watched episode #2.

Marmot: Is it bad that I've watched more episodes of 90210 than Fringe?

Manatee: YES! What are you thinking?!

Privileged (1.1, 1.2)

Tuesday, September 9th & 16th, 2008 @ 9 PM
CW
"Privileged" - Season 1 - Pilot and Episode # 2 -"Pilot" & "All About Honesty"
http://cwtv.com/shows/privileged/episodes

Manatee here.

I thought I'd give you a few quick thoughts on CW's new series, 'Privileged.' This show was somewhat of a surprise to me... I wasn't even sure I was going to watch it. But if you are a 'Gossip Girl,' '90210,' or 'OC' fan, might I suggest a screening of this series. I saw some clips this summer that were pretty boring, but for the sake of this blog, I watched the first two hours. The show starts off in Manhattan following Megan and her terrible celebrity tabloid (TMZ-esque) job. Before the first commercial break, she is fired but simultaneously sent to McMansion, Florida for a nanny / tutor job. JoAnna Garcia as Megan is great. A real breath of fresh air, quirky yet charming. If you watch the episode, you'll find yourself really liking her character.

The show is not quite as entertaining as season one of 'Gossip Girl' which allowed viewers a great chance to escape reality and be immersed in the upper class socialites of Manhattan. You do get a peek at high society, Palm Beach style. Charity events, huge beach mansions, and ivy league aspiring
teens in a new zip code. It also gives us "20-somethings" a good look at a girl trying to make it in the wide world of 'entertainment.' Megan wants to write, but not trash - real hard hitting journalism for people that care. The drama she faces is keeping her wild and wacky charges in line, flirting with a cute and rich neighbor, finding time to write, dealing with family baggage, and standing up for herself to her strong-willed and successful (female) boss - some normal issues the working world faces.

Lucy Kate Hale (from 'Bionic Woman') and Ashley Newbrough are cute as Megan's students and aspiring heirs. Their mischief, so far, is fun, light and good natured. No cocaine snorting, 911 calling parties here, yet I still find myself very interested in their lives as well as Megan's. I was disappointed in Lily (played by Kristina Apgar). I found her annoying and out of place, acting wise. She was not as strong as the other actors. I'm geared up for next week. I hope episode #3 stays on par with the first two. If you checked it out, comment below and tell us your thoughts.