Justified – Season 1 – Episode 1 - My first requested review!

 Justified is a crime drama set in rural Kentucky. It stars Timothy Olyphant (still not completely clear on how to pronounce that but since I am writing, you can pronounce it any way you like!)

Having entered into its fifth season in January of 2014 on FX, the Network CEO John Landgraf has now confirmed that there will be a sixth and final season. 

Given the amount of time that someone just starting this show will have to invest, it’s wise to get a review first!  It’s what I am here for; and given that you will probably want to watch this show, I will make the review short – you have 13 episodes a season to watch (times 4.5 seasons), so you are already short on time!

Acting – Timothy Olyphant – he has been in everything - and is great in everything.  With over 50 credits to his name on IMDB, he even made “I Am Number Four” bearable. I loved him in The Crazies!

Story – to be honest, this is a bit been-there-done-that for me; small town guy returning to his old haunts and dealing with all his old buddies... but now as a US Marshall – we all know this has been done to death.  I think the redeeming thing here is the quality of the series, Justified is really well done and authentic.

My only complaint?  (you knew I would have one) is Walton Goggins – who plays Boyd Crowder – has a full set of gorgeous veneers when he flashes his evil grin.  In backwoods Kentucky where they all still use rotary phones he has managed to find a fantastic dentist? Really?

Overall – great show, great cast and worth investing the time.

Penny Dreadful – you mean Penny Terrible?

Penny Dreadful - Ok, so looking online it seems like I am the only one that didn’t like this show. And to be honest I didn’t hate it, I am just getting so tired of all the supernatural shows, which is weird – because I love those shows.When a new one comes along I think it is important that they bring something new and fresh to the table. They need to be at least at the caliber of the pre-existing paranormal shows.

To me, the staples that we should measure new shows against are: 

True Blood –Rocks hard core

Vampire Diaries – The best show on CW right now

Supernatural – You can’t beat Sam and Dean and their hunting escapades

Penny Dreadful  – had a great opening scene and I love Josh Hartnett as much as the next girl, but to me this show just did not meet my expectations.  

Vanessa Ives – played by Eva Green – is a prettier version of the Mentalist who sums up Hartnett’s character Ethan Chandler in a way that would make Patrick Jane  look like a circus sideshow act. Interesting, but done to death.

The action kicks in almost right away, but there is way too much way too soon without any back-story.  If i don't know why and who and where - how can I care and get invested?

Overall - You can't remake an old show with "déjà" seen characters and set it in Victorian London and just say “Voilà- a new show!”

My opinion: If you haven’t seen Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and True Blood – then go ahead and make this your creepy monster show of choice, but if you have seen the shows mentioned above , you will be disappointed in this uninspired copycat.

Rosemary’s Baby - Should Never Have Been Born

 Please allow me to give you the gift of 4 hours of your life back as I tell you: do not bother with Rosemary’s Baby.  The 4 hour miniseries that aired part 1 on Monday night and is scheduled to air part 2 on Thursday night is an epic fail. This is a mammoth let down when you consider it is based on a classic story and touts a very talented cast.

The first 20 minutes of R’s baby was a TV fan’s dream - an opening scene that grabs your attention and peaks your interest, a beautiful Paris backdrop as well as France born actors with melodic authentic accents.  Then…everything else happens and it all goes downhill from there.

Zoey Saldana  is one of my favorite actors and was a perfect fit as the shy and charming character of Rosemary.  Also well cast in the role of her husband was Toronto-born actor Patrick Adams – you may recognize him from his role in “Suits”. 

I was also excited to see Jason Isaacs who I fell in love with when he played the role of Michael Britten in “Awake” unfortunately his immense talent was not used to its full potential in this role that was severely underwritten.  His character was overtly creepy and so obviously devious that he was sadly predictable.

At the 45 minute mark (with commercials – so really the 30 minute mark) R’s Baby turned into 666 Park Avenue .  The new couple, down on their luck, meets creepy, overly eager older couple who live in the lap of luxury and want (for no reason it seems) to embrace these two and help them achieve their wildest dreams. Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams could have fit in these roles seamlessly.

The only saving grace of this stale and slow moving adaptation of the brilliant novel was that it was only a miniseries and not a full season. My advice? Don’t waste your time.

USA's Playing House - Is Not Playing Around

Playing House is the new half hour comedy on the USA Network starring Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair. I'd like to preface this review by noting that I am unusually hard on "sitcoms" because overall I find them full of predictable humour and over the top characters.  I was particularly hesitant about this one because of its cast.  Parham is known for her whiny and frumpy overdone characters  - I site 2010's series Accidentally On Purpose, as Exhibit A.  St. Claire was great in Bridesmaids (2011) but her character was without depth and I didn't know what she would be able to bring to the small screen. I was pleasantly surprised.

Playing House is a funny show. It's not openly annoying in the first five minutes (which encouraged me to keep watching) and it goes out of its way not to hit you in the face with its comedy - which I was worried about as soon as I saw the name Keegan-Michael Key  (MadTV)

The relationship between Maggie and Emma (Parham and St.Clair) was realistic and warm and I found myself being more drawn into this show and their characters than I expected to be. 

For me the high point of Playing House was Zach Woods - who soared to new awkward heights in the last 2 years of The Office. He brought his distinctive comedy to this show and added an interesting element. In a show where comedy is finding your husband "web cheating" on you at your baby shower - this element was welcomed.

Overall funny, with a hint of interesting and a dash of warmth.  This show will hit it big with the 30-40 year old women, but to be honest...probably no one else...

Bloodlines – the Backdoor Spinoff Holds Its Own

I skipped ahead this week in Supernatural (I am only about half way through this season) to watch the new “backdoor spinoff” Bloodlines.  This new possible series stars Nathaniel Buzolic – who is no stranger to the small screen.  You may remember him from Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars with smaller roles in the new CW series The Originals as well as his 2008 TV role in Out of the Blue.

The supporting cast all have similar backgrounds and you will recognize most of the faces from CW-ish shows. My main reason for tuning in was Sean Faris.  Although you may not be familiar with his name, you will know his face and he holds his own as a main character.  Faris would be my first choice for a replacement for Jared Padelecki should the Winchesters ever suffer a casualty.  Boyish and charming with an easy evil smile which makes him a likeable character no matter which side he falls on. Think Damon from Vampire Diaries.

The overall feel of Bloodlines was very much in line with its parent show Supernatural right down to the kickass soundtrack.  Bloodlines was full of action, characters that drew me in and a storyline that is strangely fresh in this day of overdone vampire/warewolf shows.

The show had one drawback and to be honest if it’s not fixed, it will be the death of this bloodline; Lucien Laviscount. This character is breathy, fake and unsympathetic.  Laviscount will need to bring his acting level up to meet the rest of the cast or ideally his character will die a overly poised, overly dramatic and well deserved death. I would have liked to have seen it happen right after he delivered his cheesy last line this episode “I only see one monster here”.

Overall Bloodlines did not disappoint.