Category: Reviews

Review: ‘Castle’ Season One on DVD

Review: ‘Castle’ Season One on DVD

When the three-disc DVD set of [[[Castle]]] season one arrived, I was thinking about the series. I was immediately thought that this series would have been a perfect fit for NBC’s old [[[Sunday Mystery Movie]]], the rotating series that gave us memorable characters from Columbo to McMillan and Wife. The mysteries were usually background to the more interesting characters and the 90 minute timeslot left plenty of room for witty banter amidst the lightweight procedural process. When I heard series creator Andrew Marlowe identify McMillan and Wife as one of the inspirations during [[[Whodunit: The Genesis of Castle]]], I knew he got it right.

The series debuted in the winter and was warmly received with so-so ratings, keeping it on the renewal bubble right up until the May announcements. I was pleased to see ABC keep the series, which debuted its second season in style last night. And on sale today is the DVD set from Buena Vista Home Video. All ten episodes are here along with four featurettes and some episodic commentary.

A series about a best-selling mystery novelist and the NYPD detective he’s allowed to shadow is engaging and entertaining. Nathan Fillion makes every role he plays look easy and he has a gentle way about him, finding the humor in everything. When necessary, though, he knows when to drop the act and take things seriously. Grounded the show in the horrors of the crimes being investigated in Stana Katic, a lovely Canadian actress we’ve seen in countless genre guest spots ([[[Heroes]]],[[[Alias]]]) but this is her first series role and she’s making a terrific impression.

While their evolving relationship has the usual Will They or Won’t They element we’ve come to expect, they each have nice support systems that rounds out the cast and brings the show its unique feel. For Kate Beckett, there are her fellow detectives (Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever) at the precinct and the sole female pal, ME Lanie Parish (Tamala Jones). For Castle, who had been spiraling down to a dark place at the outset of the series, there’s his mother, a former theatrical star (Susan Sullivan) hoping for a comeback and his fifteen year old daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) who is delighted she can stop mothering her father and go back to being a teenager. The scenes between Castle and Alexis are, to me, the best parts of the show because they depict a caring father/daughter relationship built on respect and trust.

As with all modern day series, there’s a larger mystery in the background and this show is no different. Beckett became a cop after her mother was murdered and the case grew cold. It’s a sore spot for her and she refuses to let Castle reopen the case, which of course he does. This will play itself out this season and one hopes it’s resolved and they move on.

The featurettes are as light, breezy and entertaining as the series itself. [[[Whodunit]]] is a nice look at the show’s origins and the building of the cast. Better is Castle’s Godfather, which is a look at the influence Stephen J. Cannell, the TV producer turned best-selling author had one Marlowe. Cannell and Fillion next star in Write-Along with Nathan Fillion, which is a satire on the actor learning to be a writer from a pro. While played with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, you do learn a few things about how Cannell works and works out. The Misdemeanors are a short collection of outtakes that are mildly amusing.

The show is highly recommended and if you missed out, now you can catch up in rapid fashion thanks to this nicely packaged collection.

Review: George Sprott: 1894-1975 by Seth

Review: George Sprott: 1894-1975 by Seth

George Sprott: 1894-1975
Seth
Drawn & Quarterly, May
2009, $24.95

Comics very, very rarely tell stories about old, fat, boring
men, which most people probably don’t think is a problem. But no art form can
ever become mature if it ignores large swaths of the world, and it’s
indisputable that our world is filled
with men who are old, or fat, or boring, or (even worse) all three at once.
Maybe none of us would ever want comics to be only about the Sprotts among us, but the fact that there’s
now room for comics about them is a good sign.

[[[George Sprott: 1894-1975]]] is an expanded version of a story that originally appeared from late 2006 through March of 2007 in single-page installments in the [[[New York Times Magazine’s]]] “Funny Pages” section. (Which, by the way, seems to have quietly ended with
Gene Luen Yang’s story “Prime Baby” a few months back.) In the Times serialization, each installment of Sprott was a single large page, essentially a chapter of
the longer work. Those pages appear here, in the same sequence and not apparently
changed, but they’re surrounded by new work – both Seth’s usually impeccable
(if chilly, and in his typical blue tones) book design, with illustrations and
decorations, and some new comics stories to expand that original story. Primary
among the new work is a sequence of eight stories – each one three pages long, and
each taking place on one particular day, in a different decade over Sprott’s
long life, arranged from 1906 through 1971 as the book goes on. There’s also an
impressive six-page fold-out, near the end of the book, that looks to depict
Sprott’s scattered thoughts as he died. On top of those, there are short
introductory and ending pieces: the first is thematically interesting, if
mostly wheel-spinning, while the new two-page “Sign Off” from the fictional TV station that Sprott worked for is another slab of very provincial Canadian
bacon added to a plate already swimming in maple flavoring and Timbits.

(more…)

Review: ‘Seeking Spirits’

Review: ‘Seeking Spirits’

[[[Seeking Spirits: The Lost Cases of the Atlantic Paranormal Society]]]
By Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson with Michael Jan Friedman
Pocket Books, 272 pages, $16

One of the major successes of the Sci Fi Channel was the arrival of [[[Ghost Hunters]]], a series focusing on the explorations into the paranormal as conducted by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. The Roto Rooter plumbers turned their fascination with the otherworldly by creating TAPS, the Atlantic Paranormal Society, based in Rhode Island. Along with other trained investigators, they have since 2004 been racking up terrific ratings for the channel. Other paranormal shows arrived, such as [[[Destination Truth]]] and the GH spin-offs [[[Ghost Hunters International]]] and the forthcoming [[[Ghost Hunters Academy]]]. The investigators have become regulars on the convention circuit so you may have seen them.

Jason and Grant, though, have been investigating the supernatural since the early 1990s, first individually and then as friends and partners. As a result, their files are filled with cases that have not made it on the air and have resulted in two books, the most current of which is [[[Seeking Spirits]]]. Again cowritten by our pal Michael Jan Friedman, a few dozen cases are explored in breezy short chapters with Jason and Grant ostensibly alternating the narration.

If you watch the show, you know what to expect here, and if you don’t know the show but find the paranormal interesting, then you’ll likely find this great bathroom reading.

Fans of the show, though, may be surprised to find that many of these cases involved the team using clergy to help cleanser the homes of spirits. The religious aspect and the use of priests are largely ignored on air but clearly, these people play a larger role in the overall world of TAPS. The writers touch on the role of religion but never go into much depth.

Another interesting revelation is that many of these investigations are spread over two or three days. On air, the team arrives, interviews and investigates in the course of a day, a far more compressed version of what really happens.

As a result, the book doesn’t really bring the investigators to life. You never understand how these husbands, fathers and plumbers manage to devote days to these investigations while still earning a living. They speak so little about themselves and how TAPS fits into their lives in favor of the individual cases.

Nor do they name their colleagues or give them much in the way of their due despite their contributions to the investigations. On air, the investigators’ personalities enliven the episodes, especially when they clash over events. Here, they are largely faceless, which is a shame.

The cases are varied throughout New England and the people come from all walks of life, showing how universal these cases can be. Some of are downright odd such as the man who finds his furniture rearranged and other deeply concerning such as the investigation leading to a site used by a cult for sacrifices. Not every case result in a paranormal conclusion but those that due, is neatly resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

The duo talk about their tools and you learn what they are and how they’re used but again, take a backseat to the investigations. Their personalities don’t even come out through the chapters they narrate. The chapters are instead breezy as you get a sketch of the people, the problem, the investigation, and the conclusion. It’s nice to see variety in the reports, especially cases that would never make it to the screen because the problems are quickly debunked or the person’s personal issues are the cause. You really don’t gain much insight into our authors or learn much about the paranormal. Overall, this entertaining book is mostly for believers and fans of the show.

Review: ‘X-Men’ Animated DVDs Volumes 3-4

Review: ‘X-Men’ Animated DVDs Volumes 3-4

The [[[X-Men]]] animated episodes from the 1990s continue to be regarded as among the very best adaptation of comics to another medium. The ever-growing cast of mutants, menaces, and alternate timelines was certainly a rich source of material and much of it wound up making the transition from page to screen. Fox enjoyed terrific ratings and it helped push the X-Men from comic cult favorite to mainstream phenomenon. The five seasons were an important stepping stone in getting Marvel’s uncanny heroes from comics to the silver screen.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment this week released volumes three and four of the [[[X-Men – Marvel Comic Book Collection]]] offering up 29 more episodes. There remain enough left over for one more disc which has yet to be announced.

The first of these two-disc sets begins with the Savage Land two-parter and contains the four-part “[[[Dark Phoenix Saga]]]” while the second opens with the Proteus two-parter and also contains the “[[[Beyond Good and Evil]]]” four-part mess.

When the first two volumes were released earlier this year, I wrote, “The voice casting is atrocious and jarring on more than one occasion while the animation direction is lackluster. Too often the team arrives to fight someone and we see them move one at a time rather than in a coordinated team effort, leaving you to wonder what the rest were doing while each hero took a turn.”  Unfortunately, things did not improve with time and experience. Characters continue to stand pontificating while opponents politely waited for them to stop speaking before striking. The animators clearly couldn’t figure out how to integrate the dialogue and action smoothly so decided to take turns much to the stories’ detriment.

The collections contain the episodes in airdate order rather than the production order which results in some head scratching moments when the continuity doesn’t line-up. This is a real shame since BVHE had a chance to correct Fox’s error and give the fans a truly cool collection. Similarly, the discs come devoid of extras save trailers for other product.

The Dark Phoenix storyline deviates markedly from the comic so Jean’s corruption from the cosmic entity and Jason Wyngarde’s manipulation is far less subtle and rushed along. How the team reacts to her change and the ultimate resolution on the blue area of the Moon are closer to the comics but even so, Jean remains alive at the end and this doesn’t really work.

Nor does the “Beyond” storyline because like the comics of the day, it suffers from the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach, cramming in multiple timelines, multiple friends and foes and any shred of characterization is ignored in favor or running and blasting.

On the other hand, the episodes do get credit for attempting to keep the themes of alienation ever-present and tries to service each of the characters with personalities that were head and shoulders above the rest of animated fare from the era. It helps that so many of the storylines came from the comics so the efforts of Chris Claremont, Fabian Nicieza, Jim Lee, and others should be acknowledged. Nor did it hurt that Marvel’s EIC and former X-editor Bob Harras was a story consultant, which no doubt kept the scripts better than they could have been.

Still, I wish these were stronger efforts from character design to voice work to actual stories. They don’t hold up in the rewatching despite desperately hoping they’re as cool as viewers recall.

Review: Joel McHale and Chevy Chase in ‘Community’

Well, thus far the new teevee season has brought at least one pleasant surprise.

Generally speaking, I don’t care much for sitcoms. They’re predictable, they’re sophomoric even by my standards, and they’re usually are littered with obnoxious children. But I checked out the pilot to NBC’s [[[Community]]] because I really like Joel McHale and John Oliver, and I’ll admit to having some morbid curiosity about Chevy Chase.

The pilot wasn’t bad, with a few truly funny moments and
some great performances. McHale and Oliver didn’t disappoint me in the least.
But here’s what surprised me.

Chevy Chase turned in a first-rate performance, worthy of the reputation he gathered in the earliest days of SNL. He plays an aging businessman with the same sort of bewildering lack of reality he exhibited in Caddyshack. After a lot of redundant lame movies, this is classic Chevy Chase.

I think Community’s performers will hold the show together long enough to give the writing a chance to improve. Then again, it could go the way of most sit-coms and sink in the sea of predictable puerility. Community is worth checking out. Thursday, September 17, 9:30 PM EDT/PDT on NBC.

Review: Tom Baker Returns As The Doctor

Author Thomas Wolfe told us you can’t go home again. That certainly hasn’t stopped a lot of folks from trying.

After an absence of nearly 30 years, Tom Baker finally returned to the role of the Doctor in the five-part, six-hour BBC full-cast [[[Doctor Who]]] audio play, Hornet’s Nest. The first part, [[[The Stuff of Nightmares]]], was released in Britain earlier this month
and is available from www.audible.com and www.emusic.com.

Of course, Doctor Who fans are so hard to please they make
Star Trek fans look like they’ve had a Vulcan neck pinch. So how does the most long-lived and long-scarfed Doctor hold up after such a long layoff?

First, I should point out that the story, like Baker himself, is witty, charming, horrific, and over-the-top. If you don’t like that, you probably don’t like Baker. Here’s the high concept: taxidermied animals are reanimated with the implanting of origami-like brains infested with
malevolent hornets. Actually, it’s quite an effective horror story.

The Doctor recruits his old UNIT friend Mike Yates, reprising Richard Franklin’s role, by planting an ad in the local paper that
reads “Wanted: retired army Captain for light household duties and fireside
companionship. Must tolerate mild eccentricity and strong scientific advice.
Knowledge of Giant Maggots, Super Intelligent Spiders and Prehistoric Monsters a positive boon.” Both the Doctor and Captain Yates are obviously a lot older than they were when last seen, and the story takes place in contemporary time – Baker even notes it’s the 21st century. That makes Yates a pensioner, and the Doctor, well, a time-traveler.

It takes a lot of fine writing and even better acting to
pull off such a concept, but that’s what Doctor Who does at its best and that’s what happens here. My wife and I listened to the CD while driving from Connecticut to JFK airport in New York City, which is generally interminable but, this time, entertaining.

It turns out Tom Baker can indeed go home again. 

Review: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Season 2 on DVD

Review: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Season 2 on DVD

When we first heard about The Big Bang Theory, we weren’t sure if geeks of all shapes and sizes were going to be ridiculed, mocked or used as comic foils. Fortunately, the producers came with a pedigree for smart, funny comedies, headed by Chuck Lorre ([[[Dharma & Greg]]]). His take was that if the media declared the geeks had won and were taking over, they were ripe for a sitcom, using their foibles and interests for fodder. Coupled with a cool theme song from the Barenaked Ladies, the show debuted to good reviews and middling ratings, good enough to get a second season.

We should all be thankful since the second season strongly builds on the characters and situations, deepening the quintet of friends and sharpening the humor. The four-disc second season set is being released today by Warner Home Video and is a Must Have for ComicMix readers.

For those unaware, the show features four geeks, all respected professionals in the field of physics who also embrace every geek interest under the sun, from Renaissance Faires to World of Warcraft to the Wednesday ritual of New Comics Day. Two, Sheldon and Leonard (hopefully a nod to the great sitcom producer Sheldon Leonard), share an apartment where the others – Howard Wolowitz and Rejesh Koothrappali – congregate with regularity. Living across the hall is aspiring actress Penny, who works as a waitress. Having a hot chick next door was a launching pad for much of the first season humor, especially as Leonard fell for her despite having nothing in common with her.

The second season’s 23 episodes allow the characters to grow and evolve with wonderfully humorous results. Good humor should stem from the characters and situations while working on multiple levels. You don’t have to know the science fiction shows referenced to understand how outlandish some of their rituals and comments are. Penny acts as the audience’s Point of View, showing her befuddlement. On the other hand, those of us in the know, get extra giggles from the attire, decorations or one-liners.

The first episode shows how comfortable they have grown with one another as Penny actually calls Sheldon a friend, putting them on a path towards the wonderful Christmas episode when he tries to over-prepare for a gift exchange and she gives him something beyond his expectations. The gentle ending is a highlight. Sheldon is actually coming to grips with having someone like Penny in his world and while he accepts her, doesn’t always approve of her “common” ways.

Penny has also grown, evidenced by “[[[The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition]]]” which shows how far she has come when another hot, more successful blonde moves into the building. On the other hand, the additional depth we see when she deeply wounds Howard in “[[[The Killer Robot Instability]]]” shows how some of these guys need to mature.

The show is helped by solid guest stars and recurring players such as Leslie (Sara Gilbert) who has dated Leonard and this year dates Howard and Christine Baranski as Leonard’s cutting, clueless mother. A geek highlight is when the four encounter Summer Glau on a train and its Raj, fueled with liquid courage, who actually connects with her.

All comics fans must see “[[[The Hofstadter Isotope]]]” for Penny’s first visit to a comic shop. And of course, here’s the introduction of the hand game “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock”.

The season ended with the four guys off to the arctic for a three month research assignment with Penny coming to realize how much affection she actually has for Leonard, setting things up for the new season, debuting next Monday.

The box set comes with three nice features: a look at the contributions made by UCLA’s Prof. David Saltzberger to keep the science accurate; a look at how the characters have changed and grown with comments from the cast and crew; and a wonderful Gag Reel.

I deeply wish the show continued success and hope it reminds others how good, solid comedy can be structured, written, and performed. These shows stand up to repeated viewings thanks to the sharp writing and wonderful performances (kudos to Jim Parsons for his Emmy nod).

Review: ‘Primeval Volume Two’

Review: ‘Primeval Volume Two’

The world of Primeval is a duplicitous one, with schemes within schemes, most of which take far too long to play out. When the BBC series was renewed for a third season, they were given a ten episode order and they decided to change things up while introducing new threats, leaving things more muddled than necessary.

Airing this spring in England and here on Sci-Fi Channel, the series garnered good reviews and very solid ratings. However, ITC, facing a cash crunch, canceled the series, paving the way for a big screen adaptation currently being mounted by Warner Bros. For fans, though, they can relive the exploits with [[[Primeval: Volume Two]]], released Tuesday by BBC Video.

The series, about a team of specialists protecting the citizens of the 21st century from prehistoric beasties that have come though spatial anomalies, had two shorter but stronger seasons. Between seasons one and two, an event in the past had dramatic repercussions, removing Claudia Brown from reality. Season two opened with Jenny Lewis, an exact replica of Claudia, newly hired to handle the press and public whenever the creatures got spotted. Given that Claudia had a romance developing with Nick Cutter, this threw the team leader for a loop. While he had feelings for her, she was slow to recognize the same emotions for him. As that developed, Cutter’s ex-wife Helen continued her mysterious comings and goings with some mysterious purpose and as season two ended, she wound up shooting and killing the team’s action ace, Stephen Hart.

Season three continued to stir things up as Cutter wound up being killed and project director James Lester assigned the leadership to the ill-equipped Jenny. After only a handful of assignments, she withdrew from the team and the series. All of a sudden, Jenny’s old pal Danny Quinn talked his way not only on to the team but was named its leader. The team was also rounded out by Egyptologist Sarah Page and Captain Becker, a military escort.

In addition to Helen’s ongoing threat, a new menace rose in the form of bureaucratic rival Christine Johnson, who wanted access to some artifact that actually came from the future but wound up in the team’s hands.

Over the course of the ten episodes, Helen and Christine played cat and mouse with the team – and the viewers – while each week the team had to keep London safe from creatures great and small, all the while coping with the grief of first losing Hart, then Cutter then Lewis. Personal story arcs, such as the slowly simmering romance between Abby and Connor were tertiary concerns although they were the bits that made us care most about the characters.

In fact, while the creatures were visually fun thanks to improved CGI, too often the chase sequences and fights were too long, robbing the characters of a chance to evolve. Bits between players, such as Connor’s temporary lodging with Lester, were given short shrift in favor of chase scenes that wound up being boring and prolonged.  Becker is never given any depth (or a first name) while Christine wound up being a cardboard opponent.

The writers get credit for changing things up, such as the time a Knight in shining armor chased a creature through a portal and thought modern day London was Hell. On the other hand, Abby’s brother proved an annoying distraction who was better off dispatched by a beast rather than allowed to live another day.

In the end, we learn that Helen has been trying to prevent the hellish future she witnessed from coming to pass and do so in a dramatic fashion. The climax in episode ten actually left the entire team in a predicament demanding resolution which hopefully will come via special, movie or even a novel. As it is, the ten episodes, while entertaining, truly resolve very little, which is a disappointment.

The second volume three-disc set has some episode commentary that sheds a little light on the series overall. The two extras are not nearly enough to provide context for the changes made to the series. One is a look back at Nick Cutter’s journey form first episode to last, which is nice, and then there’s a documentary on the guy who won a design a creature contest, showing how his amazing drawing got used in Episode 8.

There’s a lot to like about Primeval, its setting and its characters but it also suffered from some inconsistency that should have been ironed out well before the third season. With luck, they will be granted another opportunity to come back and enthrall us.

Review: ‘The Next Doctor’ on DVD

Review: ‘The Next Doctor’ on DVD

The [[[Doctor Who]]] Christmas Specials have normally been delightful affairs, bridging the events of one season with teases for the forthcoming season. This time, though, The Next Doctor actually kicks off a season of four specials featuring the last time David Tennant will command the TARDIS as the doctor as he makes way for young Matthew Smith in 2010.

When the special aired last December, there was intense speculation whether David Morrissey was actually being introduced early as the replacement. It certainly felt that way as we learned the villains would be the Cybermen and that Velile Tshabalala had been added as Morrissey’s companion, a woman named Rosita, which more than echoes the now gone Rose Tyler.

Clearly, that was not the case and was an interesting premise with so-so execution. In short, while visiting London on Christmas Eve, 1851, the Doctor comes up against a new threat but also a man acting, sounding and even looking like he might be, well, the Doctor. He spoke of the TARDIS and proclaimed to possess a sonic screwdriver but as the men began investigating together, the real Doctor figured out how a poor, mentally stressed man was led to believe he was a Gallifreyan Time Lord.

Along the way, the two have to learn the secrets of the Cybermen’s scheme and then foil it, clearly doing so before St. Nick arrives to dole out gifts to one and all.

The first half of Russell T. Davies’ script is nicely paced by director Andy Goddard and sets things up well but the second half is lots of running, chasing, fighting and noise-making without making an awful lot of sense. The escapade is being released on DVD this Tuesday from BBC Video, oddly timed considering the following special is already available and it’s a wee bit early for the holiday season. Regardless, the story reveals to us that the poor man was accidentally imprinted with details about the Doctor that had been prepared for the Cybermen. As a result, its weeks before he realizes that his family is dead save his young son who must be found and rescued.

Morrissey does a good job as Jackson Lake, adding some nice pathos to the part. He and Tennant also play nicely off one another but Tshabalala has precious little to do and Dervla Kirwan as the villainous Miss Hartigan is a one-dimensional serial villain.

There’s a lot of stuff and nonsense and in the end, the character arcs are truncated in favor of the shouting and jumping around as if everyone discovered they were short on time to properly finish the story. As a result, it’s a good but far from spectacular effort. Being one of the final Tennant episodes, it’s a wasted opportunity.

The delight of the disc, though, is the special feature, the [[[Prom 13: Doctor Who Prom]]] concert that was performed in England on July 27 of last year but aired only in January. The hour-long concert, specifically designed to entice children to the orchestral experience, shone a nice spotlight on Murray Gold, the composer of Doctor Who music since the series’ revival in 2005. Hosted by Freema Agyeman with a cameo from Catherine Tate, the performance included many of the aliens and menaces from the series, walking through the audience and interacting with them. There was also a seven minute “Music of the Spheres” video presentation featuring Tennant aboard the TARDIS which discussed the importance of music. The storyline involved interaction with the orchestra such as the Doctor tossing his sheet music into the air and having it land in the hands of the performers.

Definitely not the way to introduce newcomers to the Doctor but certainly worth having by the diehard fans.

Review: ‘Harper’s Island’ on DVD

Review: ‘Harper’s Island’ on DVD

The notion of one of the major networks producing a limited run murder mystery was certainly intriguing. For thirteen weeks, we were going to watch members of a wedding party get offed, one by one, while trying to figure out who dunnit. Clearly, the network had high hopes for Harper’s Island, slotting it in on Thursday nights and promoting it heavily.

After three weeks, the show’s ratings were weak and the critical drubbing it received prompted them to dump the show on the less important Saturday nights, usually reserved for reruns or failed series. I recorded the first few weeks but before watching the episodes, I shrugged when I saw the show was essentially dumped. Unlike the victims, I received a second chance when the 4-disc DVD arrived from Paramount Home Video. The set, now on sale, works well watching the story unfold without commercial interruption and without waiting a week between installments.

The Island is where the rich summer and where the residents resent the wealthy and of course, the couple to be wed represent both sides of the equation. Henry’s best pal, Abby, returns to the island for the wedding, her first visit since the grisly murders that occurred years before, claiming her mother and causing a rift with her father, the sheriff. As the bridal party and extended family turn up for the festivities, a new series of murders begin, shaking Abby to her core.

Over the course of the series, we watch one person after another die in imaginative ways that speak more to the Freddy and Jason school of crime than your typical serial killer. You’re left to wonder what the victims might have in common or why these new deaths were happening. Meantime, the sense of foreboding permeates the island, paralyzing one and all.

On paper, it’s a cool idea. The execution, though, is where the series veered from clichéd to over-the-top and clearly, another draft was required. The Townies versus the Rich theme is a stereotype the producer make no effort to vary from to keep interesting. People go through the motions of resentment or envy and that’s a shame. The wedding party is largely a group of ciphers with barely any personality to distinguish one from another. There are exceptions, including the desperate Malcolm who does several questionable things throughout and totally misses his chance for romance. (more…)

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