Suits

Suits is a legal drama from USA Network starring Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht. Suits follows college drop-out Mike Ross, who accidentally lands a job with one of New York’s best legal closers, Harvey Specter. They soon become a winning team with Mike’s raw talent and photographic memory, and Mike soon reminds Harvey of why he went into the field of law in the first place. (taken from here)

Oh another series that will probably fail. But this one is fun to watch. I’ve waited long for a new show and quite frankly I got a little annoyed by the cooking shows, real life tv shows etc. I mean is it so hard to produce a decent show with an interesting plot that doesn’t include a government agency, desperate housewives or another friends clone?  Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I like to watch that but there are just no alternatives anymore.  Just junk food TV. I’m sick of it … I want a show to have at least a new twist on old topics. Then the constant product placement for the latest thing, like iPhones or the especially annoying type “Suits”. Since Marlboro has found a way to do product placement in series like Mad Man (or does anyone else wonder why we have this trend to film in the History (Midnight in Paris) ) nothing shocks me anymore. But “Suits”, really?

And as you would suspect the plot of “suits” is a lawyer company. A smartass (photographic memory) gets hired and his mentor tells him to buy a better suit. That joke never gets old in the series. But if you cut the bs, the show is at least a little bit fun to watch. I was surprised that no animals or vampires appear, because apparently that are the key success factors for the latest movies.

So here it is, a glimpse on what to expect:

By the way, I understand the need of attention, but why do all those series announcer scream at me?

And sorry for the post, but that had to come out.

CHAOS

CBS presents this new comedy drama procedural. Rogue CIA operatives succeed in their special operations around the globe despite incompetence and political infighting at the home office. (taken from here)

 

 

 

It’s the Pentagons answer to Wikileaks one could think. The last CIA Team that can do what they want. And of course they only do good things. One episode is about a CIA operative who got fed up with the low salary and sold unimportant secrets to others. (reminds you of something?)

With that in mind it is a classic spy story. Young “new guy” gets punked and is after that a team member. There are quite some similarities  to Burn Notice and I promise we will see some “burned” action.

I could not help but noticing that all the actors are tiny and the tough guy is kind of a joke.

But despite it’s flaws it is still worthy of watching … and I forgot something … it is with  James Murray.

Mr. Sunshine

Matthew Perry stars as Ben Donovan, the self-involved manager of a second-rate San Diego sports arena who begins to re-evaluate his life on his 40th birthday. Working alongside him is his boss and arena owner, Crystal-attractive, powerful and highly erratic; Alice-the cute, tomboyish marketingdirector and Ben’s friend with benefits; Alonzo-a former basketball player, handsome and unbelievably happy; Ben’s assistant, Heather-pretty, sweet, but terrifying because she once lit a boyfriend on fire; Crystal’s son, Roman-sweet-faced, clueless and Ben’s newest employee; and a hapless operations crew whom Ben refers to collectively as the “Steves.” (taken from here)

There is another comeback this season for one of the “Friends”. After Joey on Episodes now Chandler in Mr. Sunshine.

The plot is simple and to be honest I thought it’s a little dull. Ben Donovan (Mathew Perry) is the top manager of a arena. That’s it. Sounds dull but in fact is isn’t. If you think about it you could imagine nearly every story taking place. So the ground for a long running show is set. It all comes down to the actors. To sum it up: Methew is very funny but there are some anoying character as well. For example the owner of the arena. She is a crossover between Lady Gaga and Cher. Dosen’t work at all. Gladly she isn’t that important 😉

I watched the first episodes and kind  of liked it. Mattew Perry is great and thats what fans want! So try it and judge for yourself.

Here a little impression:

Hawaii 5-0

CBS brings back a classic police drama. Alex O’Loughlin stars as Steve McGarrett. After his father is murdered, Steve decides to return home to Oahu in order to catch the killer. The governor offers him the opportunity to run a new task force where he is able to call the shots. Detective SteveMcGarrett brings together his own team, beginning with Chin Ho Kelly (Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim); an ex-Honolulu Police Detective and former protégé of McGarrett’s father. Kelly has been assigned to a federal security patrol after being suspected of corruption. Detective Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan) is a New Jersey cop who recently moved to the island and is raising his 8-year-old daughter. Kono Kalakaua (Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park) is Kelly’s cousin and a rookie officer, fresh from the academy. McGarrett’s team is given full backing from the governor (24’s Jean Smart) and plays by their own rules. (taken from here)

It’s back and guess what, it’s nice. If you don’t mind the product placement, a thing one should get used to, it works. All in all it took me some time to get into this one but as the characters evolve things work out nice.

In addition to that the cast is just great. Sit back and relax while some of the great series stars appear (a member of the team has been a lead character in Heroes). I think this could be a new long time hit.  Think of it as CSI:Miami meets Burn Notice. A lot of action but also a refreshing sarcastic view on it.

But wait, there is more. Finaly a show where the interaction between detectives has some chemistry again.

And for the product placement there is a solution. Make a game out of it if you can spot any 😉

One thing left to mention. The nwe soundtrack has been modernized quite nicely.

Here is the old Theme Song. One of the best ever:

Here the new Intro:

And here a little impression:

The Cape

In fictional Palm City former cop Vince Faraday is framed for murder. Believed to be dead, he takes on the persona of his son’s favorite comic book superhero ‘The Cape’ to clear his name and reunite with his family. Together with a group of former carnies, he fights against the corrupt police, politicians, and ARK Corporation. Unlike the comics, costumed heroes and villains, such as Chess and Scales, do not have superpowers. Fearless investigative blogger Orwell joins in the fight not just with words, as she tends to get violent. The Cape comes from Universal Media Studios and the producing team of Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. (taken from here)

Too much you might ask given the picture in this article. The Answer is:  a definitive maybe! The concept is simple: Man gets convicted for a crime he did not do … Man decides it’s payback time … Man finds a cape … Man has some kind of a  gay superhero fantasy … Man trains for 2 days … Man IS a superhero.

That being said it is really hard to tell if the show is going to continue because of the many cancellations on NBC lately. I guess you should give it a shot because the interesting part is the whole … I am a superhero but I do need a psychiatrist thing.  That could be interesting. David Lyons plays the hero.

The bad boy played by James Frain comes of a little to unrealistic when considering the effort that was taken to create a hero you can relate to. I guess the money ran out 😉

I’ll watch how it evolves and hope that Orwell gets a lot of  screen time  ;D

Tell me what you think.

Episodes

Friends favorite Matt LeBlanc teams up with David Crane of the Friends fame and Jeffrey Klarik of Mad About You to serve up a single-camera comedy about a the television business. The Showtime project will focus on the funny process of reworking a hit British show for American audiences. (taken from here)

After a long time with little or nearly no interesting new shows to watch I finally found one that’s worth being promoted.
The show is called Episodes and is an attempt to integrate Matt LeBlanc into a show other than Friends. And what can I say …. it is great!!
We’ll have to wait for the story to unfold but what I saw so far looks promising.
Matt doesn’t try to make the Friends history forgotten and that is quite an achievement these days. Everybody thinks of him as Joey and to ignore that would be catastrophic. Nobody would buy a different character. That being said, Matt certainly needs to shift the publics view of himself to something else in order to be interesting and maybe usable for other things like movies or different shows.
This format is perfect for that. The viewer gets Joey and the “real” Matt (which is obviously the publics view of him and not himself).
The concept of the show is also not to dry and that will make it a big hit in the future. I’m curious how Matt will unfold that challenge.

I love it.

Check out the RETURNING DATES of the nicer shows around!!

As a treat I got the returning dates of some of the more interesting shows.

It would be great if you could tell me your favorite returning show in the comments.

American Chopper	16.01.2011
Two and a Half Men	16.01.2011
Chuck	16.01.2011
House	16.01.2011
How I met your mother	16.01.2011
Hawaii Five-0 (2010)	16.01.2011
White Collar	17.01.2011
30 Rock	19.01.2011
Big Bang Theory, The	19.01.2011
Bones	19.01.2011
Outsourced	19.01.2011
Mentalist, The	19.01.2011
Office, The	19.01.2011
Spartacus: Blood and Sand	20.01.2011
Fringe	20.01.2011
Kitchen Nightmares	20.01.2011
Event, The	27.02.2011
Apprentice, The	05.03.2011

Dexter

Based on Jeff Lindsay’s novels Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter this crime thriller follows Dexter Morgan. Dexter is a forensic blood spatter expert for the Miami Dade Police Department. He is the main support for his sister. He has a steady girlfriend, with two kids who adore him. He also has an active “night life”. Based on a code instilled in him by his foster father, Harry, he hunts down people who have escaped justice and makes sure they don’t get away with a crime again. (taken from here)

Ok for some time now I didn’t discover new series. The new Hype series Spartacus – Blood and Sand is pretty nice in the fighting scenes but you feel like you are watching a porno. I don’t like it but if you were into 300 you probably will.

I used to watch a lot of series but right now I feel that not much new and authentic is comming around. Therefore I gave Dexter a try. I watched one episode some time ago and decided it’s not my kind of show. But I was mistaken. My flaw was that I didn’t start from the beginning but just zapped into 2nd season. Now I think it’s a decent show that can be watched if you run out of series and don’t like to watch TV.

Please send my new and interesting new series if you find them … I’m drying out 🙂

happy carnival

Leverage

Meet Nathan Ford, a former insurance investigator who spent his professional career dedicated to the company that he recovered millions in stolen goods for. This same insurance company would refuse a medical claim for his son that would take the life of the innocent child.

Unemployed and teetering on the edge, Nate is approached about a Robin Hood-like scheme. He enlists the help of the best thieves and grifters in the business, and with their help he steals from the rich and gives to the poor, to help balance the crooks in high power positions. He and his team help provide…leverage. (taken from here)

I like this series because it somehow reminds me of my childhood when I was watching Robin Hood. A nice little piece I’d recommend

Two and a Half Men

Charlie is a well-to-do bachelor with a house at the beach, a Jaguar in the front, and an easy way with women. His casual Malibu lifestyle is interrupted when his tightly wound brother Alan, who’s facing a divorce, and his son Jake, come to live with him. Together, these two and a half men confront the challenges of growing up; finally. Complicating matters are the brothers’ self-obsessed, controlling mother, Evelyn, Alan’s estranged wife, Judith and Charlie’s crazy neighbor Rose, who wants to be a part of his life and is willing to do anything to be around.
Known in Germany as Mein cooler Onkel Charlie (My Cool Uncle Charlie). (taken from here)

Charly Sheen at it’s best. Yes it is cheesy, yes it uses stereotypes and yes the played in laughs are annoying but that makes it nice. It’s a quote generator and watching doesn’t hurt.

 

@All: It’s really hard to come up with new great series because there are so little. If you think you found one  that is not that known, please send me a quick mail and I’ll have a look.