Family Dynamics, Universal Truths, Unmean Comedy and "Raising Hope."

"Raising Hope"

Like Gregory Thomas Garcia's NBC comedy "My Name is Earl," Fox's "Raising Hope" is set a fictional Camden County somewhere in Middle America but with a coastline of some sort, somewhat like Springfield on "The Simpsons." 

If you aren't familiar, "Raising Hope" revolves around perpetual loser Jimmy Chance, who had a one night stand with a serial killer, resulting in the serial killer's pregnancy and Jimmy's custody of their daughter after said killer's execution. Now in it's fourth season, "Raising Hope" has truly hit it's stride, combining absurd situations, hilarious throw-aways and an ever evolving storyline with one hell of an ensemble cast. I may hate Fox News, but several of their prime-time comedies are among the best, of which "Raising Hope" continues to be my favorite.

The Chances are an under-educated family barely living at the poverty line. Burt (hottie Garrett Dillahunt) and Virginia (actual child-star survivor: stage and screen veteran Martha Plimpton in a tragically over-looked, award-worthy comedic performance) Chance live with their son Jimmy (adorable ginger Lucas Neff) in Virginia's grandmother's house in Natesville. Maw Maw (the incomparable Cloris Leachman) also lives there, but spends her time hilariously drifting in and out of reality. But I think my favorite thing about Garcia's show is it's love of familial love. There are hardly fewer dysfunctional families than the Chances. The difference is, their dysfunction is born out of love, rather than non-communication and substance abuse. 

And talk about ensemble casting! Dillahunt's sexy/goofy charm is well matched by Plimpton's very sincere and hilarious modern interpretation of Madame Malaprop. Neff's Jimmy has his own goofy charms,as well, complimented by Shannon Woodward as the over-compensatingly apologetic daughter of rich parents, Sabrina (Jimmy's eventual wife and adoptive mother of the titular Hope - the very adorable Baylie and Rylie Cregut). And anytime Ms Leachman appears, she inadvertently steals the scene, through no fault of her own, though I suspect by deliberate intention of Garcia and his writers who undoubtedly know genius when the see it. Supporting performances from Gregg Binkley and Todd Geibenhain as the hysterically weird Frank help make "Raising Hope" one of the most original and funniest shows of the 21st Century. If you aren't watching, you should.

Oh, and add guest stars like Amy Sedaris; Lee Majors; Shirley Jones; Melanie Griffith and Leslie Jordan and TV doesn't really get much more Meta. 

And from the most recent episode:



More, anon.
Prospero

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Genre TV Will Never Go Away

Karl Urban and Michael Ealy in "Almost Human"

POST UNDER RECONSTRUCTION

Yes, that's right. I had a perfectly wonderful post that I loved all ready to go about this very topic and then my clumsy sausage fingers grazed the wrong keys and it was gone... So I am working on an even better version of it. Hang tight.

You have read this article Androids / Cop Shows / Fox / Genre TV / Karl Urban / Michael Ealy / Previews / Procedurals / Robots / Science Fiction / Synthetic Persons / Tropes / TV with the title Fox. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2013/11/genre-tv-will-never-go-away.html. Thanks!

TV Review: "Sleepy Hollow"

Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie

Since AMC's phenomenal success with "The Walking Dead," genre shows seem to be all the rage of late. FOX is the first to debut a new show this season with Alex Kurtzman's and Roberto Orci's (both of "Lost" and Star Trek) "Sleepy Hollow," a modern take on Washington Irving's 18th century ghost story. Last visited by Tim Burton in his 1999 film of the same name, this new version takes a decidedly demonic approach to the tale, adding witchcraft and the Book of Revelations to the mix in what may well be the best new genre series since NBC's "Grimm."

In this version, Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) is a British defector during the American Revolution. While fighting a mysterious masked mercenary, Crane is mortally wounded, but not before be-heading the mercenary. The two are bound by blood and Crane suddenly finds himself resurrected in 2013, confounded by modern technology and thought to be insane by the local authorities. Meanwhile, Sheriff August Corbin (genre regular Clancy Brown) and his partner, Lt. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) are dispatched to investigate a disturbance at a local horse farm. Mills is scheduled to leave Sleepy Hollow to attend FBI training at Quantico in two weeks, but after Corbin is killed by an apparently headless monster, she decides to join up with Crane, despite her misgivings.

While the premise may seem outlandish, the pilot's execution was loaded with action, mystery and lots of fun. Mills, who has had her own brush with the supernatural as a child, is sympathetic towards Crane's plight and despite orders from Police Captain Frank Irving (Orlando Jones), takes Crane at his word and helps him escape from the asylum to which he's been assigned in an effort to solve the mystery of her partner's death. Of course, this is only after she discovers Corbin's secret files on witchcraft. When her friend Andy Dunn (Star Trek alum John Cho in one-off cameo) gives into the Horseman's demands to find his missing head, she is convinced that Crane is telling the truth and decides to help him fight the evil forces which have returned after 250 years.

The pilot, directed by Underworld director Len Wiseman, is a terrific combination of exposition and and action, setting up a series with plenty of potential. The chemistry between Mison and Beharie is surprisingly good and the supporting cast all hold their own, especially Jones in what I believe to be his first non-comedic role. "Sleepy Hollow" may play fast and loose with actual history (no one was ever burned at the stake for witchcraft in U.S. - that was a strictly German phenomenon in the 17th Century), the writers have obviously done just enough research (George Washington was indeed a land surveyor) to make it plausible. The writers also play fast and loose with their source material, but Irving is long dead and the property is well within the public domain, making it fair game for reinterpretation. Loaded with plenty of relatively bloodless violence and supernatural tomfoolery, "Sleepy Hollow" manages to be lots of fun to watch. And what more can one ask from a genre series?

I thoroughly enjoyed the "Sleepy Hollow" pilot and look forward to where they will take this tale of two unlikely partners and their fight to stop the impending Apocalypse. *** (Three Out of Four Stars).

More, anon.
Prospero

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A Few More Thoughts on SCOTUS

The FRC's New Logo. 'call 2 fail'

Hahahahahahaha! On your right is the Family Research Council's response to Wednesday's landmark SCOTUS decisions regarding LGBT rights. And while I will get to the graphic and the slogan in just a bit, I have to ask these morons one question. Assuming there is a "God;" an invisible Supreme Being who is watching everything we do; answering the deserving prayers of the Just... oh. There it is. Don't you think that if God agreed with you (i.e. thought of you as 'Just'), he would have answered your prayers and swayed SCOTUS with some deus ex machina move of some sort? I mean, I don't know - He could have appeared to Justice Sotomayor in a dream as George Burns (or Charleton Heston) and told her she would burn in hell if she didn't stop the satanic queers from destroying an institution which existed long before any currently recognized religion. God answers the prayers of the Righteous and the Just, right? Or maybe Satan is finally winning the war between Good and Evil (The Force is strong with this one..).

No? God's stronger than Satan, isn't He? Or... oh, you're not gonna like this idea, FOXNews viewers -- What if... what if God was answering the prayers of all the good, loving people who knew that this had nothing to do with Him and everything to do with what's right and what's Constitutional. What if God wanted us to win? Where does that leave you? Certainly not joining your loving deity on a higher plane of existence. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of sulfur to cover the smell of you constantly pooping yourself in hell.

And as for the ridiculous FRC graphic and motto... "On our knees for America?" Seriously? We've been there and will go there again, you morons. "I'm in." That's what he said! And the graphic was obviously designed by someone who's spent more than a few hours in an airport and/or Macy's restroom (not that I would have any first-hand knowledge of that... ). The dopes at FRC need a new advertising staff. Or brains equipped with reason and basic human compassion.

Here's a terrific Superclip (via) of Wednesday's events:

And making me even happier, the Senate n my native state passed a bill banning "Conversion (or Reparative) Therapy for minors. It now awaits centrist Republican Governor Christie's signature. Christie, who took full advantage of POTUS' support after Superstorm Sandy, has previously vetoed a house and senate approved bill for Marriage Equality in NJ, saying he'd rather put it to popular vote. And he has responding negatively to Wednesday's decisions. Local scuttlebutt says that even Christie knows how damaging such 'therapy' can be and expect New Jersey to join California in preventing young LGBTQ people from being subjected to the lies, fear and guilt these programs instill in them. 

As for the events of this past Wednesday... Yes, a major victory was achieved but the fight's hardly over. It's a State by State battle now, with a goal of full national Equality within 5 years. I don't see that as unattainable, no mater how many states are dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. I'm sorry so many who would have loved to see this day are gone, but I'm so happy for those who no longer have to live without rights that were previously denied us. No child born after today will ever have to feel ignored by his or her leaders because of who he or she is, or who his or her parents are.

We are no longer 'Less Than' in the eyes of our government. We will never be so again. That's a good thing.

More, anon.

Prospero

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The Dumbest Blonde Alive?

That's former SNL cast member Victoria Jackson. In the late 90's, Jackson was the show's resident "Dumb Blonde," much like Goldie Hawn was on "Laugh-In." She was often funny and occasionally hilarious (as in this sketch, "Victoria's Secrets"). She was a cast member during some of SNL's better years, along with the brilliant (and sorely missed) Phil Hartman.

 

Of course, no one knew at the time that she was certifiably insane...

What makes me say that, you may well ask. Well, let's take a look at some of Victoria's recent activities, shall we?

Among some of the rather inane claims she's made of late: President "Obama is a Communist." Yup, she actually said that. Here's proof:

And that's not the only time she's said that. She actually wrote a 'song' about it:

Now, I always thought she was just playing a character on SNL (just like Goldie did on "Laugh-In"). I thought, "No one can really be that stupid, can they?" Apparently, I was wrong. Because Victoria Jackson is really that stupid, as evidenced by her latest song about Muslims (via):

What!? What!? Really? Muslims want to take down the Statue of Liberty? I... I really don't know how to respond to such idiocy. To make matters worse, Jackson recently wrote an article for the wingnut website WorldNetDaily where she shared this homophobic bit of 'wisdom,' and I am quoting verbatim:

"This new al-Qaida magazine for women has beauty tips and suicide-bomber tips! Gimme a break! That is as ridiculous as two men kissing on the mouth! And I don't care what is politically correct. Everyone knows that two men on a wedding cake is a comedy skit, not an 'alternate lifestyle'! There I said it! Ridiculous!

"Did you see 'Glee' this week? Sickening! And, besides shoving the gay thing down our throats, they made a mockery of Christians – again! I wonder what their agenda is? Hey, producers of 'Glee' – what's your agenda? One-way tolerance?" 

Yes, I deliberately made that quote pink.

I do have a question, though... Victoria, if you find "Glee" so offensive, why are you watching it? Maybe your 'cop' husband finds all the girl-on-girl kissing on "Glee" titillating? You certainly don't seem to have a problem with that. Hmmm... maybe there's a reason you haven't been part of the real Entertainment Industry since you left (or rather, were dumped by) SNL. I suppose your firing had nothing nothing at all to do with your right-wing, lunatic views... 

If Ms Jackson (as do many conservative Christians) has a problem with gay people, there's nothing you or I can do or say to make her think otherwise. All we can do is point out what an imbecile she is and hope that intelligent folks (i.e. anyone who doesn't watch Fox News) know better than to listen to a has-been comedienne who is desperately trying to make herself relevant by aligning herself with the Teaparty morons who think they can impose antiquated views of society on smarter people than themselves.

Look, I'm not saying that everyone has to share my beliefs or opinions, but I am saying that celebrities (relevant or not), have a responsibility to educate themselves before making inane statements and passing judgment on things about which they have no real information. And trust me, Fox News is not real information.  

More, anon.

Prospero

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The Worst New Show of 2011 (Already)

The picture says it all. Fox TV's latest animated series "Bob's Burgers" is simply dreadful, despite the presence of the usually hilarious YouTube sensation John Roberts as the voice of Bob's wife, Linda.

Stupid, poorly animated and plain unfunny, the first episode of "Bob's Burgers" concerns a rumor (started by Bob's own daughter) that Bob serves burgers made of human flesh. In better hands, this could be a very funny premise. In the hands of show runners Loren Bouchard and Jim Dautrieve, it's an exercise in poor taste and unfunniness.

To counteract the bad Fox show, I have DVR'd the first two episodes of NBC's newest Superhero series "The Cape." Based on what I've seen so far, I don't hold out much hope for it. Still, I look forward to them proving me wrong.

And speaking of TV, did you see the latest episode of ABC's "V?" Not only did we get to see Anna's reptilian tail take out a traitor, but original "V" cast member Jane Badler showed up as Anna's mother! Finally, the kind of weirdness the show needs to push it to the forefront of TV Sci-Fi. I'm looking forward to what the series has to offer in the next months.

More, anon.
Prospero

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TV Review: "The Good Guys"

With Jack Bauer about to retire (from the small screen, at least), Fox has a Monday night slot to fill, and this summer they are testing out a new action comedy called "The Good Guys" starring Bradley Whitford (late of "The West Wing") and Colin Hanks (King Kong).

The concept revolves around Jack (Hanks), a by-the-book perfectionist, demoted to Routine Investigations after correcting the Police Chief's grammar ("There's no such thing as a 'Statue of Limitations'") and his partner Dan (Whitford), an alcoholic former supercop who can't let go of the past. Jack is up on all the latest technology, while Dan prefers to rely on instinct.

In the pilot, the partners literally stumble upon a case involving murder, drug money and a Peruvian drug lord. While investigating what appears to be a rather routine home invasion robbery (at guest star Nia Vardolos' home), the trail leads to an assassin ("Lost" alum Andrew Divoff) sent to retrieve a golf bag filled with four million dollars, stolen by a drug-runner presumed dead after plastic surgery gone very wrong. Jack wants to follow the leads using technology, with the help of his former girlfriend (Jenny Wade from "Reaper"), an assistant DA with a 73% conviction rate. Dan, wants to do the things the old-fashioned way, busting heads and chasing down leads on foot (or in a cherry vintage sports car he just has to have).

Borrowing heavily from the Tarrantino school of story-telling, the plot jumps back and forth in time, allowing us glimpses into things that happen outside our main characters' ken, while giving us insight into the characters' motivations. Jack and Dan report to their stock-character Latina boss (Diana-Maria Riva), who apparently hates both of them. Dan lives in the past and refers to computers as "computer machines" and repeatedly regales Jack with tales of his past glories (he only has his job because he saved the Governor's son from some as-yet unknown dilemma).

The performances in the pilot were fine. Whitford is terrific, making the most of a stock character and obviously having fun doing so. Hanks, while not blessed with his famous father's easy good looks, has a certain charm about him, and I bought his uptight, ambitious white guy routine. I was amused and entertained, but bothered by Dan's refusal to live in the present (even my 75 year-old auntie knows a computer is called a "computer"). There is potential here for this fun (if ridiculous) combination of "C.S.I.," "Law and Order" and "Starsky and Hutch." But while I truly enjoyed the pilot, I doubt it will go beyond its 8 episode summer season schedule. **1/2 (Two and a Half Stars out of Four).



Regular episodes of "The Good Guys" air Monday night at 9 PM Eastern on Fox, starting June 7th.

More, anon.
Prospero

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The Fox Duality Conundrum

I'm at a loss to explain the disparity between the quality of the Fox Network's Entertainment division and the utter failure of the Fox Network's News division.

The Entertainment Division has brilliantly derisive comedy in the form of shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, smart Sci-Fi like Fringe and progressive musical dramas like Glee; while the Fox News Division has regressive morons like Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly 'reporting' and commenting on current events.

I can only assume that Fox owner Rupert Murdoch is some sort of evil genius like Ernst Blofeld, Auric Goldfinger or Dr. Evil.

Honestly, it makes Uncle P crazier than he already is.

Lord knows I loves me some Family Guy and Fringe (even my mother adores Stewie Griffin), but just the sound of Bill O'Reilly's voice can send me into an almost epileptic fit. Fox News' anti-Obama, anti-gay and anti-progressive diatribes make me want to puke, while their mostly pro-gay, anti-establishment shows like Glee and Fringe make me want to shout "Yes!" every time I see them. Of course, this disparity between the two divisions makes my head want to explode in a dichotomous maelstrom of confusion. And how's that for a sentence that would cause a genius like Bill O'Reilly to run for his dictionary?

I can only imagine that the smarter folks working at the Fox Network hate their jobs, while "brainiacs" like Glen Beck and Greta Van Susteren must wonder how they became household names espousing ideals and principles left over from the 1950's.

I will continue to watch Fox's Entertainment programing, because it's usually quite good. But I will also feel guilty about it because their News programing is so crapulent. What kind of progressive gay man does that make me? I suppose a confused one, at best.

Help me, Anderson Cooper. You're my only hope!

More, anon.
Prospero

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