Last night I got to see 2 new fall shows so I thought I’d give some brief thoughts on each. The first was the premiere of the new Monday Night Football. As many of you know the broadcast has switched from ABC to ESPN. Al Michaels and John Madden apparently don’t do basic cable so the booth is now populated with Mike Tirico, Joe Theisman, and Tony Kornheiser and you know what, it works pretty well. The true test of a new broadcast team is a preseason football game. You’ve got about 5 minutes of compelling game play and over two hours of filler. These guys did a respectable job and they did without stepping all over each other. When I heard about the 3 man booth my initial thoughts went to the Michaels, Miller, Fouts debacle of the 90s but Kornheiser brought the funny while keeping it rooted in football. Theisman who can be extremely annoying seemed toned down and tempered by his broadcast mates. The big unknown is how Tirico will do in a true game moment. There is not much urgency you can bring to a preseason game but it’s a trait that’s required in regular season and playoff games. We’ll have to wait and see on that and if their low screen graphic will grow on me. Overall I think Monday Night Football is in good hands.
The second show I got to see is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Regular readers will know I’ve been touting this show since it’s announcement. When Netflix offered the chance to see the pilot episode early I jumped at the chance. Written and created by Aaron Sorkin (West Wing, Sports Night), Studio 60 goes behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live type show. I’m happy to say my hype was well placed. Like all pilots the show is 90% set up and introduction but the characters are already more developed in 1 episode then most shows have after 2 seasons. Amanda Peet really captured my attention. Having never seen her deliver Sorkin type dialogue I was a little bit apprehensive about her playing a leading role but after 1 ep I’m already crushing on her something fierce. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford will make this show go and if anything they may dominate it too much. The guest stars in the pilot make the show as well. Getting to see Felicity Huffman spout Sorkin lines almost 10 years after Sports Night was a joy and Judd Hirsch plays an excellent Lorne Michels but with actual emotion. Now that I’ve actually seen the show I can say in all certainty this is the must watch show of the new season.
Oh and the funniest line of all comes not from the show but the behind the scenes featurette. DL Hughely, who plays one of the comedians on the show, shares the following nugget, “I’ve never really wanted to be an actor but this show makes me want to act. You can tell I never wanted to be an actor if you saw Soul Plane.” Ah Soul Plane humor it’s as timeless as the sand dunes in the Sahara.
Update: Just noticed my Studio 60 DVD also had the pilot for Kidnapped another new NBC drama. Think 24 mixed with Prison Break. It follows the kidnapping of a rich little kid whose parents played by Timothy Dalton and Dana Delaney turn to a super cool kidnapping specialist played by Jeremy Sisto. Add a dash of Delroy Lindo as an unwanted FBI agent and you've got an amazing cast. Shows like this can be problematic as you're expecting the audience to make it through the year to find out the mystery but I might have found new show #2. With top notch performances and a pilot that follows conventions but does so perfectly you can add Kidnapped to my list of new shows worth checking out.
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