Monday, October 23, 2006

Great moments in scratch music

So this afternoon I watched a rough cut of the pilot for "3 lbs.," the CBS drama that's going to take over the "Smith" timeslot in a couple of weeks. It stars Stanely Tucci as a brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon and Showkiller Mark Feuerstein as his compassionate young sidekick, and if that description doesn't already remind you of "House," about two-thirds of the way through the pilot, the song that pops up on the temp soundtrack is "Teardrop," by Massive Attack -- better known as the theme from "House."

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not the showkiller! Anyone but him! NOOOOOOOO!

He must be great to work with, because I've never seen him give an interesting performance, and I've seen Michael Vartan give an interesting performance.

Once.

Anonymous said...

The promos that they are already running seem to give off that House vibe. That might not be such a bad idea...the title stinks, though.

Anonymous said...

I felt the same way when I heard that "Suddenly I see..." chick show anthem that was in "Prada" in the pilot for "Ugly Betty." If you're ripping off something, at least cover your tracks so it's not clear. I'm talking to you Gray's Anatomy and House. We all know you were watching Scrubs.

Tosy and Cosh said...

Fuerstein serves as one of my favorite examples of actors who need good material to be, well, good. I thought he was great in a recurring role on Once and Again, but on that dismal Good Morning Miami series he was horrible.

BF said...

You would have thought that after Prison Break used the extended dance remix of "Teardrop" for their penultimate episode last year that shows would give it a rest. At least for a while. Apparently not.

Adam said...

Don't diss my boy Feuerstein. He sure didn't kill West Wing.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Adam:
-"Fired Up"
-"Conrad Bloom"
-"Good Morning, Miami"

That's three kills, my friend. Not quite Paget Brewster territory, but up there. Recurring roles on successful shows don't count one way or the other. Take it from a man who's written about 29 different stories about showkillers over the years. (It's the column gift that keeps on giving.)

Matt said...

All showkillers lose to Paula Marshall. It's just automatic. It's a shame, because I've always liked her work. Maybe Sorkin and Schlamme should have cast her instead of Ayda Feld on Studio 60--lord knows it couldn't have hurt.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Paula actually trails Jason Gedrick, who has 8 kills to her 7. And that's just among active people. Jack Scalia has 10 kills, but the odds of him ever getting another series lead are pretty slim. Gedrick's still relatively young; he has a good shot of building the kind of lead that no actor in the future will hope to match.

Anonymous said...

Alan,

Besides the House comparison, what did you think of the show? Did you get multiple episodes or just the pilot?

Alan Sepinwall said...

Just the pilot, and it didn't do much for me. It's "House" without the sense of humor, and much as I love the darker elements of "House," that show's nothing without the funny.