I'm not sure what the point of continuing to blog about the new "Cupid" is. The show is a misfire, and it's not going to come back next season, so it's not like commenting on some brilliant but doomed series, or suggesting ways that a bad show can improve itself next year. It's done, and it's done. But for blog historical purposes, I feel like I should make an entry for each episode, and here to note that "Shipping Out" recycled one of the best jokes from the original series, with Trevor and Claire's discussion of how people fast-dance like they make love. (Complete with some fine funny dance moves from Bobby Cannavale.)
Beyond that? Nothing much to see here, folks, but talk about it if you want.
I actually thought this episode was kind of charming, and that Sarah Paulson did a good job at playing Claire loosening up a bit.
ReplyDeleteFrom the interviews I've read, it seems like Rob Thomas just wasn't that into doing the remake. If that's true, it shows.
I liked this one. We got to see a bit of the singles group(which was one of my favorite things about the first one), but mainly because there were real obstacles and consequences to their love. When she realized that her love was sending him back, I bought into that, believed that moment.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see Aubrey Dollar spotlighted (I went to high school with her, so it's always nice to see her on TV), and this was one of the better episodes so far. That said, this show doesn't quite work, either in capturing the charm of the original or on its own terms. Glad they tried the experiment, but not crying a river about it not comign back.
ReplyDeleteSo all of the soldiers with PTSD just need a good woman to cure them!
ReplyDeleteAlan, any chance of you speaking to Rob Thomas about this show in the future? I'd be very curious to find out what changes were made that were network-demanded and which were the writing team's. I really like the original and would be fascinated to hear his take on what went wrong and why.
All I will say is that you'll want to read the interview I did with Rob about "Party Down," which I'll post sometime in the next week or two (before that show's season ends).
ReplyDeleteIts funny that a channel like the CW (or the one that Veronica Mars before) seemed to interfer rarely with Thomas when he made Veronica Mars (although i have of course no sure way of knowing).
ReplyDeleteI really, really enjoyed this particular episode and thought it was up to the standards of the original "Cupid." It's a shame it came too late for it to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI do think this was one of the better episodes of this iteration. The dance scene in particular stood out in my mind as one moment where Claire was actually enjoying herself, and there was the sliiiiiiightest bit of chemistry when she "cut the rope." I could picture a similar scene in Original Flavor in my mind.
ReplyDeleteStill, this show suffers too much from Romance-of-the-Week syndrome, and not enough from the singles group regulars, and there are some things I found preposterous (breaking into Claire's office? Really? Old Trevor could manage that kind of information extract with pure charisma, not wacky hijinks), and, and, and. I still want to believe that the main problem with this show was network meddling. Party Down remains the Rob Thomas show pick of the year.
I'm sorry but I think that this show is awful! I tried to watch last night and basically just lost interest. There is a good reason that this show is not coming back.........its bad.
ReplyDeleteThey could have cut it down to just first half-hour, ending with the joyous reunion, and it would have had as much value as the final version -- with the exception of the dance.
ReplyDeleteI have been watching this show out of loyalty for the original one. This episode was okay because I liked the couple. I even like Trevor when he is not with Claire. The problem is Claire. Sarah Paulson plays her so stridently that she is always a downer. The chemistry between her and Canavale is just not there, and had another actress been cast, this might have worked. Perhaps initially we could have said that the problem was that the episodes did not have enough of Claire - Trevor interactions in them, but there has been enough now to basically confirm that the chemistry is not there, thus the point of the entire show is missing. I think the true inheritor of the original Cupid is Castle. Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic have had chemistry from the first moment and the show may have pedestrian crimes to solve, but those two are fun to watch. I am not feeling the fun in this version of Cupid. I don't think there is anything Rob Thomas could do to fix this problem unless Claire was replaced.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that they put this episode after The Tommy Brown Affair. An episode that totally glamorizes "let's run away from Johnny Law and be in love", followed by an episode where the "happy ending" isn't the couple running off to Winnipeg (uh, Canadians aren't cool with taking Americans fleeing from the war any more, btw), but him doing his duty and going back to war. Didn't it occur to anyone how uh...odd the contrast to this is?
ReplyDeleteOther than that: generally liked the couple, still think Sarah Paulson stinks on ice. Yup.
Yes, Jennifer. When the Winnipeg twist[*] was introduced, I was worried they'd have two episodes in a row where the couple ended up leaving the country to avoid the law.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I'm surprised no one's mentioned how Peaches was depicted as a rude, southern conservative when she arrived in NY. I didn't know if I should expect that to go somewhere, or the writers just think every southerner is a rude conservative.
On the plus side, I think was the first time Claire actually helped the couple get together when she encouraged Trevor to go through with his prom plans.
[*] Winnipeg twist? Was that one of Canadian sex acts named on HIMYM?
I have become exceedingly glad that I have never seen the original version, as clearly it has totally clouded the ability of anyone who has to simply enjoy this show for what it is. On that basis I have found it quite amusing and rather charming, and this episode was certainly the best to date. Evidently if a remake is not all but exactly the same as the original then it is more or less no good at all; for that has certainly been the general theme of most of the comments here over the weeks.
ReplyDeleteThere's a point to be made here: remakes generally arent better than the original, and at least they are almost always different. If they weren't, there would be no point in making them, and you might as well just watch the original with new titles and be satisfied that they did a perfect job catching every nauance of every scene.
What I really dont understand, is why so many are apparently wasting an hour of their lives watching it, and then compounding their evident bitterness by going back week after week and then coming here to loose even more heartbeats. I cant find enough hours in the day to watch all the shows I enjoy, or at least like enough to happily want to catch, I just cant understand how anyone (with the exception of say Alan for whom it is a living), couldn't just find something better to do.
Anyway I think it has been quite an acceptably fun show standing just on its own production, there are certainly far worse out there.
I was never that in love with the original Cupid so I'm not berating this one as much.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it hits, as it did in this episode, sometimes it misfires as it did in the two previous. It's better than the Love Boat.
I always like seeing Audrey Dollar and I thought the guy (whose name I forget) did a very good job of selling that he did love her that much. It was a pleasant story and I was rooting for them.
I agree that Sarah Paulson needs to tone it down as Claire but I can also see why she plays her like this since Cannevale's Cupid is such an undisciplined guy. If the show lasts, both characters need some work to improve them.
i didn't watch this one but the next episode is really good, i would say on par with the original series. kind if disappointed that it got cancelled after seeing that one.
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