TV Meme: Day 1 - An Unfairly Canceled Show.

Well, here we go. It's the first day of this 30-day meme. Just as a forewarning, some of these choices were made on the basis of me not wanting to duplicate shows too much. For instance, I didn't want to choose the same thing for "Favorite Childhood Show" as I did for "Favorite Show of All Time." Also, my 'favorite' of anything changes constantly, so... yeah. But for most of these, I had to do internet searches to refresh my memory to whatever aspect it is I was looking for. Anyway, let's get on with the show (see what I did there?).

The first day asks me to talk about an Unfairly Canceled Show. This one wasn't particularly difficult after I did some searching and was reminded of some canceled shows that I enjoyed. There were three main choices that came to me, but of course I can only choose one. One of my runners-up was the show that did Heroes first and some might argue better, The 4400. But I wouldn't necessarily say it was unfairly canceled. By the end, the show was grasping at straws, and it was a summertime USA Network show that felt like it took multiple years to get to the next season. Despite that, the 4 or so seasons it lasted were good.

The second runner-up was another great show that I feel was very underrated, and that was the vampire detective show, Moonlight. It took an interesting look at vampire lore and spun it around a pretty unique premise--making him a private detective who ends up falling in love with a reporter. Sure, the dialogue was cheesy, but it was reminiscent of old-time noir films. However, again, not really an 'unfair' cancellation considering how few people watched it.

So that brings me to my choice, a choice I'm sure many people would agree with. And let's just say this: I don't own many TV shows on DVD, mostly because I hardly ever re-watch them, but I own the complete series of this (granted, I won it in a contest and, granted, it was only 2 seasons and a Direct-to-DVD movie, but still). And the show? Showtime's Dead Like Me.

This show was made by Bryan Fuller before he attempted Pushing Daisies (which was also canceled) and wrote some of the best episodes of the aforementioned Heroes (which was just recently canceled)... seriously, we think Joss Whedon has it bad, I feel worse for Bryan Fuller. Anyway, the premise is that a young woman named George dies after getting hit by a falling toilet seat from a space station and gets chosen to become a grim reaper. She must then cope with her afterlife and the ramifications and moral dilemmas of being said grim reaper while putting up with her co-workers and boss(es).

Her co-workers-in-death include Daisy, a pretty actress who has many-a-story on how she gave various famous people blow jobs; Roxy, a metermaid with an attitude; and Mason, a British drug addict. Her boss(-in-death) is Rube, a mysterious man with many metaphors and words of wisdom played by none other than Inigo Montoya himself, Mandy Patinkin. The interactions between Rube and George was, at least in my opinion, the glue that held the heart of this story together. He was tough when needed (and that was needed a lot), but also there for her when necessary.

George also had to keep up a regular job, as well, in order to make money (as grim reapers didn't get paid). So she works at a temp agency called Happy Time. Her boss, Delores Herbig (as in "her big brown eyes"), is a strange one, but she's hilarious. I think George's relationship with Delores is another bit of glue. There really aren't that many regular office personnel on the show except for Crystal, a quiet and very strange woman who works as secretary to the office. She's also one of the only living people that ever discovered anything about the grim reapers.

But then there's another side of the story. We also have George's old family. We're left with her dad, Clancy, who isn't around for too long, as he ends up having an affair and leaving his wife (and George's mom), Joy. Joy is a real hardass, though, and is always griping and complaining about stuff. However, she does grow as a character and get nicer and more understanding as the series goes on. But we also have George's little sister Reggie, who acts out in strange ways after her sister dies, which her parents (especially Joy) are not very happy about. George tries to contact her family numerous times, but continually gets in trouble for it and eventually pays some pretty rough consequences.

Overall, the show is very quirky, demented, funny, and full of heart. And it only lasted 2 seasons. But why? It was a much loved show, and the ratings weren't too bad. Well, I'll tell you why. There's been at least 2 reasons I've heard. The first is that the Showtime people got a new boss, and the boss wanted a completely new lineup. So most of the shows that were airing at the time, new or old, got canceled, including Dead Like Me. Talk about unfair. Here's the second reason, direct from imdb:

Bryan Fuller, creator of the show, left early in the first season due to conflicts with MGM Television, including disagreement over major script and storyline cuts considered important to the main theme. He stated that the "lack of professionalism... made it really difficult... it was like being at war... they were constantly trying to strong arm me. It was the worst experience of my life." According to Fuller, Showtime canceled the show due to "a loss of quality and a sense the problems would continue."

There had been talk for a while about bringing the show to regular television, but there's no way it would translate. With all the cussing, drugs, and serious talk of sex and blow jobs (all of which were part of its charm), I don't think it would have lasted very long outside of Showtime or HBO.

They did, however, decide to try and wrap things up with a Direct-to-DVD movie called "Life After Death," which... well... sucks. Their biggest mistake? Getting rid of Mandy Patinkin. That's right, Rube is nowhere to be seen in the movie. The basic plot is that Rube crosses over having met his soul quota and they get a new boss who really doesn't know how to run things right, pretty much trying to bring the downfall of the system. They don't even show Rube crossing over, and he gets merely a passing comment of what happened to him. Talk about a slap in the face. I mean, they do talk about him throughout the movie, usually in comparison to the new guy, but still. The next issue? They recast Daisy, and the new woman so didn't have the charm and ease that Laura Harris brought to the role. The next issue? The movie seemed to ignore at least half the rules set up by the show. I mean, the movie had its moments, but for the most part really was a slap in the face to the show and its fans.

Overall, this was a great show that was unfairly canceled, and it was not given the wrap-up it deserved. And if you have not seen this show, I definitely recommend you check it out.

TV Review: 24 - Day 1.

I've put this off long enough. A little while back I started watching 24 via Netflix, figuring it was time I try getting into the show. And then it got even easier once I got my Instant Streaming and discovered that all 24 episodes are available there. In other words, I didn't have to wait forever to get the next disc of whatever current season I was watching. So now that I've watched the first 3 seasons, I'll start giving my thoughts, one season at a time.

Warning: Some spoilers ahead.

Season One: Day 1.

This first season hooked me in pretty fast. However, it wasn't perfect. Granted, I've only watched the first three seasons at this point, but the first season is really the only one where I've noticed one particular issue: making things overly complicated to do what should have been an otherwise easy task. For instance, near the beginning, an assassin woman gets a seat next to a photographer on an airplane to L.A. from Europe (I forget where specifically), chats him up to gain his trust, then kills him, steals his I.D. card, and jumps out of the plane with parachute after blowing up said plane. She then lands in the desert and buries the I.D. card so that someone else can come pick it up to deliver it. Seriously? Whatever happened to just jumping the guy in the street or robbing his house?

Anyway, the plot of this season centers around an assassination attempt on Senator Palmer, a Presidential Candidate, on the day of the Primary. So it's up to Special Agent Jack Bauer, head of CTU (Counter-Terrorist Unit), to save the day. But it's not that easy, as his daughter Kim and, eventually, his wife Teri--who he just got back with after a separation--are kidnapped. And the bad guys are using them against Jack to force him into carrying out the assassination himself. So Jack also has to save his family while avoiding assassinating Palmer and figure out just what his connection to all of this is.

As the show is split into multiple stories, I'll focus on each individual plotline and talk about its strengths and weaknesses. And I'll start with the major one.


Jack Bauer

The show really starts off showing you that our main character is no protagonist, as it were. No, we're dealing with an Anti-Hero here. Jack will go to any lengths to do what is necessary. At one point he threatens to shove a towel down a guy's throat and have it settle in his stomach just long enough for the acid to latch it to his stomach lining... and then pull it back up and out. That's pretty hardcore. Of course, he never does it, but just threatening to do so it crazy.

And that's Jack Bauer for you. You know he'll do whatever is necessary, but you can never really tell if he'll actually do it or not. He's a great bluff... or is he really bluffing? And how is all this stuff really affecting him? He keeps a hard outer shell that I don't think ever cracks until the final minutes of season 3 (which I'll get to soon).

Anyway, Jack corresponds with CTU, despite being away from headquarters for most of the season. He doesn't know who he can trust, as there is apparently a spy in their ranks. So while trying to stay away from the likes of the ambiguous Tony Almeida and sticks with Tony's girlfriend and Jack's former flame, Nina Myers. He also keeps confidence with one of the main computer techs, who can help him with anything technical he might need done.

Now, I'm usually pretty good and picking up on twist endings, and despite me basically figuring out any twists early on, the show has a way of making you second-guess yourself. So kudos on that. Overall, Jack's story, being the primary one, is interesting and action-packed. It has to be. It's the driving force of the show.


Kim and Teri Bauer

Their story starts as Kim sneaks out to hang out with a friend and some guys she knows. Well, it turns out the guys were hired to kidnap her. Fortunately, one of them--Rick--realizes he's in over his head and tries to persuade his crazy friend to stop doing what they're doing. But things get a bit out of control, leaving Rick in the driver's seat, so to speak. And there's a bit of a romantic angle between Kim and Rick, allowing the feelings between them to help Rick overcome his fears and try to help them out as best he can without getting caught or killed.

Meanwhile, Teri travels around with who she thinks is Kim's friend's father, but he turns out to be working for the bad guys, too. Teri ends up in the same place as Kim, and they have to work together (along with Rick) to stay safe and try to escape.

Overall, this plot gets old after a while. It's just repetitive. They get caught, they escape, they get caught again, they escape again, they get caught again... seriously. And at one point, both Kim and Teri escape together, but after a car accident, they get separated and Teri gets trauma-induced amnesia after thinking Kim is dead. I know that happens all the time, but it was still a bit ridiculous.

Oh, and is it just me, or did Teri and Nina look incredibly similar? If Teri grew out her hair a little more, they would look damn near like twins. Anyway...


David Palmer

Palmer's story isn't very interesting, especially in comparison to the next season. Years before, his son murdered a guy who raped his daughter (the son's sister). But it was leaked to somebody who decided that she must release it to the press. So while Palmer sees no real way to stop it from being leaked, his wife tries to cover it up, all the while yelling at her husband for potentially having their son go to jail. Of course, he didn't know about any of the bad stuff, as his wife had covered it all up after it happened. And all she cares about is keeping her husband's image positive so that he will win the election and get her into the White House. And she'll do whatever it takes to gain that power.

I really liked David Palmer as a character. And, of course, the whole plot centered around him. But almost everybody else in his plotline was annoying. Sherry, his wife, was actually more unlikable than the real villains of the show. You know how in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Delores Umbridge is more despicable than even Voldemort? It was similar here. I loathed Sherry with a passion in this season, but really had no strong feelings for the real villains. And then the Palmer children were just kind of annoying. The daughter was alright, but she wasn't really on screen very much. The son, however, irked me, too. And I'm glad after Season One, he's pretty much in one episode and only for about 3 minutes.

Palmer himself, however, is really, really likable. He's just a good guy all around. He wants to do what's right and gets conflicted if put in a position of moral ambiguity (i.e. where Jack stays through the whole show).

Overall Thoughts

This season is a really good one, which is obvious considering it spawned another 7 seasons after it. There are obviously some things I disliked about the season, but they weren't things that destroyed it for me.

What really hooked me into the show, besides the suspense/tension, was its style. The way the show handled the multi-screens to show things happening in different stories at the same time. And, of course, the counter. The premise is that the show takes place in one day, and every episode is one hour of that day. Granted, when you're not watching it with commercials and 4-5 minutes will pass in about 5 seconds where commercials should be, that bit of the concept is lost. But it's still fun.

I think the best thing about this season was the tension and the twists. The secondary characters get better plots in the following seasons, but here they do what is necessary for the story. It's definitely a "season one," trying to find its place, but as I've seen mentioned elsewhere, even a below-average season of 24 is a better season than most other shows. Not that I'm saying this is a below-average season. It's not. I was just making a point on the quality of the show. And I think that about does it for the first season.