I've always been interested in drama

Very brief thoughts on "24," "The Riches" and "The Black Donnellys" coming up just as soon as I practice my chokehold move...

"24" continues its annual middle third dip; the only difference here is that the first third wasn't so hot, either. The writers are cobbling together bits and pieces from other seasons with minor tweaks (the Powers Boothe march to war plot is straight out of season two, with the difference being that the President himself is the one itching for an immoral war), but without the unifying Big Idea that Howard Gordon says they try to find for each season. I'm either apathetic or outright hostile towards most of the new supporting characters -- I'm a Ricky Schroder fan going back to his OCD/snot-rubbing days on "NYPD Blue," but Doyle may be the most badly-introduced TV character since Ana-Lucia on "Lost" -- and Jack is disappearing far too much within episodes.

The commenters last week seemed more into "The Riches" than I was. I think it works in spots -- the Russsian Roulette game with Wayne/Doug's golfing buddy was great -- but on a broader level I feel like the show's holding me at a distance.

Meanwhile, "The Black Donnellys" has turned into a punchline on a lot of other TV blogs and message boards; I've seen a phrase like, "Well, I didn't like this episode of Show X, but I watched it after The Black Donnellys, and it was a masterpiece in comparison." Maybe it's just my blind loyalty to the "Young EZ Streets" vibe Haggis and Moresco are going for, but I still don't hate it. That said, there be problems. Though NBC wouldn't allow the show to be a '70s period piece as originally intended, I think references to contemporary life should be few and far between to create the illusion of timelessness, and the entire subplot about Louie Downtown's tricked-out cell phone keeps ruining that. Also, while I like the rotating audience for Joey Ice Cream's narration, it feels like the writers have already started moving away from the unreliable quality of his stories that was one of the show's most appealing traits.

What did everybody else think? Anybody even watching "Donnellys" anymore? Click here to read the full post

Brothers without Pants

This morning's column reviews "The Black Donnellys":

Coming into his new NBC drama "The Black Donnellys," Paul Haggis has two Oscars, plenty of clout and James Bond at his side. But he doesn't have Pants, and that's a problem.

"Donnellys," a drama about four Irish-American brothers who get in and out of trouble in an unnamed New York neighborhood, is essentially Haggis' attempt to redo "EZ Streets." A potboiler starring Ken Olin, Jason Gedrick and Hoboken's own Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano, "EZ Streets" aired for a few months on CBS in the '96-'97 season, with its audience composed largely of adoring TV critics.

Haggis didn't have the muscle to keep "EZ Streets" on the air back then, but thanks to "Million Dollar Baby" and "Crash" and "Casino Royale" and the 12 dozen big-ticket movies he's either writing or script-doctoring at the moment, he was able to try something similar with a younger cast. The shows share a grand visual style, generous use of Celtic music on the soundtrack, and a mix of black comedy and operatic tragedy. Haggis even admitted recently that when he first pitched "Donnellys" to CBS back in '96, Les Moonves grumbled, "Hold on, I just canceled this show."

To read the full thing, click here. Click here to read the full post

Early siesta for 'Studio 60'

NBC just announced that "The Black Donnellys" will premiere a week early, on Feb. 26 instead of March 5. That gives "Studio 60" just one more airing before it goes on hiatus, before it "will return to the schedule later this season on a date to be determined" -- loosely translated, "if Haggis' show does significantly better, get ready for a bunch of unaired episodes on the 'Studio 60' DVD set."
Click here to read the full post

Pilot Watch: Still more NBC & Fox miscellany

Catching up on links: Back on Thursday, I made some half-serious (Mickey Rourke) and some not-so-serious (Matt LeBlanc) suggestions for new "Law & Order" actors, plus a breakdown of Katie Couric's final "Today" show. The day before, I did a quick look back at Katie's morning career.

Ordinarily, anything Katie would have been written by Matt, our TV news expert, but he's slowly easing himself back. Today he has another column, this time on what he think is the greatest show in TV history, "Deadwood." (Starting today, Matt's blog begins "Deadweek," with one or two entries every day about the show and its characters by various contributors.)

And now onto the pilots. The usual caveat: these are not reviews. Too many things are going to change between now and when these things air. These are just first impressions. Thoughts on "The Black Donnellys," "20 Good Years" and "'Til Death" after the jump...

"The Black Donnellys"
Who's In It: Olivia Wilde, Kirk Aceveda and a bunch of young unknowns in the title roles.
What It's About: Four Irish brothers move in and out a life of crime in a drama created by "Crash" screenwriters Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco.
Pluses: "Crash" and "Million-Dollar Baby" had their detractors, but Haggis and Moresco were also responsible for one of the great unsung crime dramas of all time: "EZ Streets." While some of the details have changed, this is essentially them redoing it with Haggis' new Oscar clout. Same use of Celtic music on the score, a wildly unreliable narrator who could be the idiot kid brother of Sammy Feathers, same grand, gothic command of fairly dense material. (Though overall, the show's much easier to follow than "EZ Streets" was.)
Minuses: "EZ Streets" had Joe Pantoliano giving the performance of his career (even better than his Ralphie Cifaretto) at its center, plus great supporting turns by people like Carl Lumbly, Debra Farentino and Jason Gedrick. The four newbies playing the Donnelly brothers could turn out to be big stars in time, but they're not there yet. (Making it harder to judge is a big twist at the end suggesting the performances we see from episode two on will be very different from the ones in the pilot.)

"20 Good Years"
Who's In It: John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor
What It's About: When an arrogant surgeon (Lithgow)turns 60, he realizes he needs to enjoy life while he can and recruits his nebbishy best friend (Tambor) for a lot of carpe diem'ing.
Pluses: Lithgow and Tambor, two of the funniest, hammiest human beings alive. (Much as Spinal Tap was called "one of England's loudest bands," this is one of NBC's loudest sitcoms.) They sell a lot of material that probably shouldn't work, and they're fearless in pursuit of a laugh. Lithgow appears several times in a banana hammock, and it's as horrifying and funny as you might imagine. Plus, Tambor's playing a judge again, like he did on "Hill Street Blues." Any chance he'll wind up in drag within a few episodes?
Minuses: You need a real tolerance for loud, broad comedy, and even then, I wonder how far the two leads can carry this show on their back. A bit disappointing to see Tambor back to playing a dweeb after showing so many different sides on "Arrested Development."

"'Til Death"
Who's In It: Brad Garrett, Joely Fisher, Eddie Kaye Thomas, some young woman playing Eddie's wife.
What It's About: A bitter long-married couple befriend the newlyweds who move in next door.
Pluses: More evidence that comedy is about salesmanship. Garrett and, to a lesser extent, Fisher, manage to milk several laughs from fairly hacky material, sometimes with just the right grimace or sigh before delivering the punchline.
Minuses: Much, much much selling is required. Thomas' character is named Woodcock, and if you don't find that hysterically funny at face value, you're going to have to suffer through a half-dozen or so Woodcock jokes in the pilot alone. Click here to read the full post