
Must be the Season of the Chicks – Part Two – The “Good”
Last week we identified seven new shows as “Really Good”. We now move down the list to those we have identified as “Good”. Not surprisingly, three out of five of them have strong female leads in keeping with the theme that is so prevalent in this years’ pilots.
Any highly successful show will inevitably spawn clones. Mad Men has spawned two this season, both of which are on our “Good” list although they may not prove to be as “spicy” as they are subject to more regulations than the original cable show.
The Good
Pan-Am (CTV) – Very Mad Men-ish with 60’s fashions (including the mandatory girdles) and dialogue with sexy entanglements and thrilling spy plots. Christina Ricci is refreshing in her role as hostess with a lot of tricks up her skirt.
The Playboy Club (CITY) – Retro misogyny at its best. Another 60’s era show with Mad Men overtones. Eddie Cibrian who plays the lead male is more Draper than Don himself. Sound track is great. Gloria Steinem is hating this!
Terra Nova (CITY) – A family leaves a smoggy overpopulated dystopia for a Jurassic Park paradise complete with dinosaurs a la Jurassic Park. Co-produced by Steven Spielberg, Terra looks expensive to produce which may lead to its early demise.
Charlie’s Angels (CTV) – Surprised us too, but this TV remake actually takes the original premise seriously. Stars Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie IIonzeh play the super sleuths. Drew Barrymore (one of the Angels of the movie version) is Co-Executive Producer. Campy dialogue and clever twists and turns make the Angels worth watching.
Suburgatory (CITY) – Jamie Sisto is extremely good in this well- meaning fatherly role of a smart- mouthed teenage daughter. This single-camera comedy could have a strong “youth” following with the edgy dialogue and pointed jabs at suburban living. Worth checking out.
Stay tuned next week for the “BAD” list – and we don’t mean “good” bad!