That's it for me?: Mentalist, 90210 and Worst Week

The second week of the official TV season is usually around the point where I start dropping shows that either aren't doing it for me or are in a brutal timeslot war. After the jump, some thoughts on whether I want to stick with, in order, "The Mentalist," "90210" and "Worst Week."

"The Mentalist" might get a few more weeks from me, but really only because I like Simon Baker. In that way, it's sort of like the early stages of "Life," where the show bored me but Damian Lewis was interesting enough that I kept watching until the show caught up with him. I don't necessarily see "The Mentalist" doing that -- there's a ceiling for how good and/or unconventional CBS procedurals can be, I think -- but unless last night's "Fringe" (which I won't get around to watching until later today) was dazzling, it won't be like there are other shows in the hour that I really care about.

This one felt very much like an episode of "House," with the team jotting down the potential crime theories on a white board (differential diagnosis), various potential suspects seeming obvious and then immediately being cleared (I thought for sure the Xander Berkeley cop character did it, under the Most Recognizable Guest Star theory), and the continued suggestion that Patrick stretches things out because he enjoys testing out his theories. "House" was, of course, an attempt to translate CBS into a medical show, so it makes sense that an actual crime procedural might seem like it, but the structure here was so familiar I kept waiting for Simon Baker to pull out a cane.

I think Brenda leaving "90210" for good and Kelly possibly joining her (Jennie Garth still isn't signed for additional episodes) that now is as good a time as any to bail. The characters are too thin to care about (even when I want to pretend that Dixon is really Michael from "The Wire," I have to squint a lot), the morality and storytelling too simplistic, and the humor (which I expected Sachs and Judah might make into a saving grace for everything else) not funny or prevalent enough. Maybe I'll check back in later in the season, but life's too short to watch this one every week.

It's also too short for any more of "Worst Week." There were a couple of gags in the pilot that made me laugh, but they were born of innocent mistakes and/or misunderstandings. Here, Sam just kept making things worse and worse by refusing to tell the truth, and I have no patience for that -- especially since every episode is likely to follow this template. I didn't think they could pull off the elaborate farce of the pilot every week and make it watchable; this one suggests I was right, and I don't care enough to come back in the future to confirm.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

90210, "Wide Awake and Dreaming": A star is born

Quick spoilers for tonight's "90210" coming up just as soon as I do a survey on the effectiveness of four-year-old condoms...

If we're not at "That's it for me!" territory with this show, we're close. Whatever slightly admirable qualities I found in the pilot are gone by now, or maybe it's just the novelty of a new/old version of the show that's gone.

Sachs and Judah are caught in this weird hybrid mode where they're trying to seem modern while at the same time staying true to Aaron Spelling and Darren Star's creative vision for the original. If Hiro Nakamura were still willing to travel back in time, he could have taken the script for this episode back to 1992, put it on Star's desk, and other than changing the names, Star could've run it as is. And while that amuses me on some level, that's not enough to keep me watching, not when the people I'm interested in either don't have much to do (Tabitha) or have embarrassing things to do. (I'm not saying Tristan Wilds' work here is tainting "The Wire" for me, but I desperately, desperately wish he would bring a shotgun to West Beverly already and jack up some of these rich boys, just to make things more entertaining.)

I was under the mistaken impression that this would be Shannen Doherty's last episode, but I see she's still on next week. Not that I was ever much of a Doherty/Brenda fan, but maybe I'll stick around for the rest of her stint, and use her exit as an excuse to cut the cord.

What did everybody else think? And how grateful were you to hear another "Spring Awakening" song, even if it was for only 30 seconds, instead of that "mama who bore me" one they've been singing repeatedly for weeks? Click here to read the full post

90210, "The Bubble": The dad that dare not speak its name

Spoilers for last night's "90210" coming up just as soon as I apologize with cookies...

Not sure how much longer the nostalgia's going to carry me with this one. (Though if they promise to use a New Pornographers song on the soundtrack every week, I could be persuaded to stick around a while. I'm a sucker for those wacky Canadian supergroupers.) There are interesting or amusing moments, like Ethan having an autistic older brother or Tabitha belting out that "Spring Awakening" song, but overall the level of dramatic tension is too low. Dixon's money problems sort themselves out easily, Annie wins back whatsisface with some snicker doodles, and even the much-promo'ed Kelly/Brenda argument turns out to be much ado about nothing, since Brenda did nothing wrong. The only ongoing bad situation is with Naomi's cheating dad, but AnnaLynne McCord is so obviously the weakest link in the cast that I don't care.

As for the (apparent) revelation that Dylan is Kelly's baby daddy... eh. It's really the only one that makes sense, but Luke Perry's made it pretty clear he has no interest in revisiting the role. And after all the awkward pronoun-gaming in this episode and previous ones, the actual reveal felt perfunctory.

What did everybody else think? And am I the only one who thinks Joe E. Tata seems really bored with what little they're giving him to do? Click here to read the full post

90210, "Lucky Strike": This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules here.

Spoilers for episode three (or two, if you prefer) of "90210" coming right up. Also, feel free to comment on the "Privileged" pilot here, as I'm not going to do a separate post.

I'm glad I've been reading Rich Heldenfels' flashback reviews to the original "Beverly Hills 90210," because they reminds me just how closely the new "90210" is hewing to the original not only in terms of tone, but in its actual plots. "Lucky Strike" was a riff on the original's "Perfect Mom," where Brenda was embarrassed to have such square parents until an encounter with Kelly's coke-snorting mom Jackie convinced her to be grateful for being part of such a functional family. Not only did we get that story again, but they even brought Ann Gillespie out of semi-retirement so Jackie could serve as the cautionary tale for a new generation. Fan service, baby!

Overall, my opinion on the new show hasn't changed much. It's slightly smarter and quite a bit better-acted than the original, but otherwise it's been almost shockingly faithful to the spirit of its predecessor. And that's only going to be interesting for another week or two.

Hearing Tristan Wilds -- who, on "The Wire," played the son of a dope fiend -- give a monologue about growing up in homes where his parents and/or foster parents drank and used was an odd nod to his previous gig. On the one hand, it reminded me how great he was on "The Wire." On the other, it reminded me of what a step down in weight class this show is. (Though, to be fair, former "Wire" fans are even less the CW's target audience than hardcore "90210" 1.0 fans.)

What did everybody else think? How much longer are you going to stick with it? Click here to read the full post

90210, "We're Not in Kansas Anymore": That sounds like a pig fainting!

Spoilers for the Most. Awaited. Event. Of. The. Year. -- aka the "90210" premiere -- coming up just as soon as I remind you that a blog's true purpose is to cause problems...

Huh. Neither trainwreck nor masterpiece, the new "90210" was exactly what nobody expected it would be: remarkably faithful in tone and spirit to the original adventures of Brandon, Brenda, Scott Scanlon and company.

Outside of the oral sex gag in Ethan's SUV, it was remarkably chaste. The one kid who seems to be using drugs is heading for a Very Important Lesson. Annie (the new, slightly more self-aware Brenda) goes on the requisite date with an older guy that creates trust issues with her mom, and Theater Boy doesn't so much as make a joke about the Mile High Club. Dixon (the new, definitely less self-righteous Brandon) gets involved with a prank war storyline that not only would have been at home on the original "90210," but on any teenage show going back to the freakin' "Brady Bunch." Morals are handed down, lessons are learned, and kids get to frolic in the Pacific. And when lacrosse star Ethan dumped mean girl Naomi by declaring "I'm breaking up with us," he may as well have been quoting Kelly Taylor's infamous "I choose me!" from "90210" Coke Classic.

Producers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah having come out of the Judd Apatow school, this "90210" wasn't as corny as the Darren Star version. The dialogue was at times intentionally funny (Lori Laughlin's exchange with Rob Estes' ex-girlfriend, Grandma telling a story that should settle the "Quien es mas macho?: Fernando Lamas o Ricardo Montalban?" question once and for all, and the various lines about Navid's pig-owning porn magnate dad. If most of the actors, like their 1989 predecessors, looked too old for high school, they also seemed a lot more natural -- frankly, the stiffest performer in the entire two hours was Shannen Doherty. (But then, she's never been an especially relaxed actor; I practically have to fast-forward through any scene she's in in "Mallrats," even if that means missing some good Brodie Bruce moments.)

Throw in a few cameos by Nat, the occasional strains of the original "90210" score whenever Kelly was having a moment with someone, the Hannah Zuckerman Vasquez cameo and the revelation that "Silver" is, as some assumed, David and Kelly's half-sister by way of Mel and Jackie's short-lived marriage(*), and I felt surprisingly nostalgic throughout a lot of this. I don't know that I would call it good, but I could see myself tuning in again in the same way that I'll sometimes stop to watch "A-Team" reruns of "Just One of the Guys" if I stumble across them while channel surfing.

(*) Speaking of which, does anybody actually remember where the show left off with David's dad and Kelly's mom? I know they got back together at some point, but then vaguely recall them splitting again, yet Silver's story suggested they were together when she was in the eighth grade and getting a tramp stamp.

But what do you think the CW's actual intended audience made of it, if they watched at all? While the music and styles were up to date, this felt almost quaint compared to "Gossip Girl," and I'm not sure anyone who didn't grow up with the original would care at all about Hannah, or Erin, or the fact that Brenda helped Kelly with a potential boyfriend instead of trying to steal him.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post