Review: K-Ville

Review of the series premiere of K-Ville but maybe the title already gave that away.

The Plot: Set in New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina following two cops trying to help rebuild the city.

The Good: It looks good visually as the show is shot in a hardcore edgy style similar to The Shield. However, the highlight of the show is seeing Anthony Anderson in a dramatic role. Anderson is more known for his comedy but the man is one fantastic piece of actor. He’s one of those rare individuals that can express whatever he’s feeling through his eyes alone. Also there is an interesting twist at the end of the pilot and although it seems improbable it does add another dimension to the show.

The Bad: The action sequences are all over the place and for some reason whenever there is a shot of Anderson and Cole Hauser running with their guns out they are aimlessly firing off rounds. They look like a couple of kids with water pistols.

The Ugly: The plot surrounding the duo’s first case is ridiculous drifting further and further into B grade action towards the end. Maybe the producers consulted Steven Segal on how to pull off an ending. The main villain even has a fancy little speech when apprehended.

The Verdict: As bad as the ending of the episode was Hauser and Anderson have good chemistry together and the show is worth it just to watch Anderson actually act. It debuted after the season 3 premiere of Prison Break, which had a rating of 4.9/8 and actually built on this to pull off a 5.7/9 rating. This means the marketing guys did their job, if they can up their game for the next episodes and the drop off is not to bad this one may stick around.

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TV Season

The new TV season is here and we're reviewing it. Life is great.As some of you may know I am currently in Canada, which means I can view the new shows that are currently launching with the new fall season. Since all these shows will eventually trickle down to SA, I will be reviewing the first episode of most of them (I’ll only review a few reality shows). Here is the breakdown of what to expect. I have not done any research into this breakdown I am simply basing this on the marketing that has found me.

Nashville – Fri, Sep 14, 9pm – Fox
Will not be reviewed. A reality show from the same people who made Laguna Beach. Sounds like the same thing as Paradise City except it’s set in Nashville and it revolves around country musicians.

K-Ville – Mon, Sep 17, 9pm – Fox
A buddy cop drama set in New Orleans set two years after Hurricane Katrina. Starring Anthony Anderson (The Departed, Transformers) and Cole Hauser (Pitch Black). The promos make it look like a fast paced action show shot like The Shield. Since I’m an Anderson fan I’m rooting for this one. Read the review.

Kid Nation – Wed, 19 Sep, 8pm – CBS
Will not be reviewed. Reality show where a bunch of kids are placed in an adult free town and are in complete control of its running. The show has already generated a fair amount of controversy concerning child labour laws. Read the review.

Back to You – Wed, Sep 19, 8pm – Fox
Sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) as two TV news anchors. Due to the two leads this is obviously very high profile. The show uses a laugh track, which is an automatic negative, but this one will probably land an audience. Read the review.

Kitchen Nightmares – Wed, Sep 19, 9pm – Fox
Will not be reviewed. A reality cooking show with Gordon Ramsay.

Gossip Girl – Wed, 19 Sep, 9pm – CW
An adaptation of a successful teen novel (or something along those lines) from Josh Swartz the creator of The OC. The promos show a bunch of emotional peeps in their early twenties falling in love and yelling a lot. The camera work looks slick and this could definitely be the next big teen show. Read the review.

Chuck – Mon, Sep 24, 8pm – NBC
Another from Josh Swartz, this time with a grown up Seth Cohen type character becoming involved in the world of international espionage completely by accident. An action/comedy adventure that seems to have some zing. Read the review.

The Big Bang Theory – Mon, 24 Sep, 8:30pm – CBS
A sitcom about two highly intelligent nerds who can’t get a date. Then a beautiful woman moves in next door and befriends them. That’s pretty much all I’ve heard. Read the review.

Journeyman – Mon, Sep 24, 10pm – NBC
Confusing trailer about a man who jumps around through time. Don’t know how this will do since it looks pretty similar to Day Break which fell off the TV screen pretty quickly last season.
Read the review.

Reaper – Tue, 25 Sep, 9pm – CW
Kevin Smith directs the pilot with the funny neighbor from Grounded for Life in the lead. Centers around a guy who finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil and know he has to become the devils bounty hunter. The film takes an action/comedy position and could fill that hole left when every one of Joss Whedon’s shows were taken off the air. Read the review.

Cane – Tue, 25 Sep, 10pm – CBS
Jimmy Smits plays a wealthy heir to a rum empire. It looks like a Latino version of Dallas.

Bionic Woman – Wed, Sep 26, 8pm – NBC
A remake of the Bionic Woman series. A woman gets a large portion of her body replaced with bionic parts, which turn her into a super powered individual.

Private Practice – Wed, 26 Sep, 9pm – ABC
Medical drama/ Spin off series of Grey’s Anatomy that follows Kate Walsh’s character to California. This show basically had its debut during the last season of Grey’s Anatomy (al la Boston Legal in The Practice) so it will have less room for error than the other new shows.

Dirty Sexy Money – Wed, 26 Sep, 10pm – ABC
All I know is that Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) is in it, which is enough for be to be highly excited.

Life – Wed, Sep 26, 10pm – NBC
Damien Lewis (Band of Brothers) stars as a cop who is wrongfully imprisoned for life. After fifteen years in prison new forensic evidence clears him and he returns to the force a changed man with a surprisingly optimistic outlook on life.

Big Shots – Thu, 27 Sep, 10pm – ABC
I’ve so far heard nothing about this but the cast includes Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Michael Vartan (Alias) and Christopher Titus (Titus).

Moonlight – Fri, 28 Sep, 9pm – CBS
New vampire drama, which is probably not so great since it is scheduled on a Friday.

Aliens in America - Mon, 1 Oct, 8:30pm – CW
The promos don’t really explain much but have a bunch of quotation (hopefully not from CW executives) claiming this is the funniest show ever. Seems to be about high school nerds.

Cavemen – Tue, 2 Oct, 8pm – ABC
A sitcom based on a series of car ads. Looks lame.

Carpoolers – Tue, 2 Oct, 8:30pm – ABC
Saw the preview on ABC’s website of the pilot and the acting lacked the proper timing. However, many sitcoms start out this way and get better after 4 to 6 episodes. Centres around the adventures of four guys in the same carpool. Not quite sure how they’ll make a whole season out of this.

Pushing Daisies – Wed, 3 Oct, 8pm – ABC
Another show that hasn’t been advertised much here. The ads say it’s amazing but not much else.

Life is Wild – Sun, 7 Oct, 8pm – CW
Apparently set on a South African game reserve. Probably a lame family show.

Women’s Murder Club – Fri, 12 Oct, 9pm – ABC
A group of four women solve murders. Not much hope for this because as with Moonlight it is also on a low-rated Friday night.

Samantha Who? - Monday, 15 Oct, 9:30pm – ABC
Sitcom staring Christina Applegate about a woman who has amnesia and needs to rediscover who she is. A potentially funny premise plus Applegate can be hilarious (see Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy).

The Next Great American Band – Fri, Oct 19, 8pm – Fox
American Idol with bands.

Viva Laughlin – Sun, 21 Oct, 8pm – CBS
Who the hell knows?

Catch the reviews as the shows debut.

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