Entertainment Today and Beyond

Never Met a Zombi I Didn’t Like…

90210 debut SCORES in ratings and my REACTION to it!

Last nights highly hyped 90210 pulled in a very solid 4.9 million viewers for the CW and set a new record in the adult demo for the network (for a scripted program). The fledgling CW has a lot riding on its success or failure and it needs the show to do well as its long term future is shaky at best. While the program itself was not screened in advance for critics, most reviews the morning after called it a serviceable, if not tame, update of the original series which was a big hit in the 90’s. I would tend to agree. This two hour pilot was certainly watchable and had its moments if you’re into this type of show.

I thought the adult characters were fairly well cast with Rob Estes, Lori Loughlin, Jennie Garth and Jessica Walter giving the proceedings a solid presence. Shannon Dougherty’s appearance playing Brenda Walsh once again was somewhat brief and unspectacular. I still believe producers made a big mistake not spending the money Shannon’s being paid on putting Tori Spelling back into the zip code. While many poke fun at Tori Spelling just for being Tori Spelling, her Donna Martin character was the heart of the original series and her presence here would have gone to better use. As for the new cast of young teen characters, I would say the majority were fairly bland with one exception: the show’s lead, 18-year-old actress Shenae Grimes who plays Annie. She is solid as the center of this new universe. I was a big fan of the original and, while I didn’t really feel this new interpretation had the same feel and overall chemistry at least so far, I’m willing to watch some more as I think it has potential to get better as it goes on. I’ll give this premiere episode 5 out of 10.

September 3, 2008 Posted by | Reviews | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

TNT’s RAISING THE BAR and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 promotional BLITZ!

Got a chance to watch the new TNT legal drama RAISING THE BAR Monday night and found this pilot episode to be a watchable but truly generic piece of television. I’ll continue to watch because it’s from NYPD BLUE creator Steven Bochco, and I have liked shows featuring lead actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell, NYPD Blue). The concept of a team of public defenders fighting for the rights of the ‘everyman’ is nothing original and that’s okay but the show’s writing, at least here in episode one, was fairly uninspired and pretty manipulative. Jane Kaczmarek, one of the show’s leads, plays a controlling and vindictive Judge, and her character is written like she’s channeling the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz. It was a little too much, although she did manage to get my blood boiling, if that means anything. So I’ll give the premiere episode 6 out of 10 simply because it held my attention and I think some of the early rust can be polished up. If not, any potential audience will tire out quickly. The show drew an estimated 7.7 million viewers Monday night, the best ratings ever for a new basic cable program. Tomorrow I’ll give my opinion of the new CW show,  90210.

My Space and Disney have announced an extensive promotion for the studio’s October 24th release of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3. This will be the first theatrical installment in this very popular franchise which became a phenomenon after the original High School Musical premiered on the Disney channel in 2006. The franchise’s star, Zac Efron, is reportedly looking at a big paycheck in the 10 million dollar range for a fourth one. If it’s a huge hit I don’t see why Disney won’t give it to him as they already have plans for a fifth installment.

September 3, 2008 Posted by | Reviews | , , , | Leave a Comment

The SUMMER movie season is now behind us – will SEPT bring us anything to get EXCITED about!

Despite a lackluster Labor Day weekend, Summer Box-Office was up 4% year to year, led by the stunning success of Warner Bros THE DARK KNIGHT. Sunday, it passed the 500 million dollar mark in just 45 days which is a new record. Two other films passed the 300 million mark this summer; Marvel’s, IRON MAN, and Paramount’s INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL. On the flipside there were a few major casualties that never found much of an audience. Warner Bros SPEED RACER took in just 43.9 mill domestically and 89 mill worldwide, that on a budget of 120 mill. Fox’s THE X-FILES: I Want to Believe did 20.7 domestically and 29.6 worldwide, and Eddie Murphy’s MEET DAVE grossed just 11.6 mill domestically and 24 worldwide. OUCH – That really hurts!

Looking at the month of September, there’s nothing to get overly excited about as the only films I see with potential for a sizeable audience would be RIGHTEOUS KILL, a murder mystery with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro teaming up to play two NYC police detectives on the trail of a serial killer and the new Shia LaBeouf thriller, EAGLE EYE.

September 3, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , , | Leave a Comment

   

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