TV shows | pinartarhan.com

Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen: Surprisingly Entertaining

Posted on October 18, 2012 Written by ripitup

Anger Management Charlie Sheen. Image via pop-break.com.

When baseball player Charlie (Charlie Sheen) ruined his career because of his anger problems, he went back to college, got a degree in psychology and started working as a therapist.

As Charlie offers group therapy sessions in his house, he also has to find a balance between his ex-wife Jennifer (Shawnee Smith) obsessed with ridiculous business ventures, their teenage daughter Daniela Bobadilla (Emma of Awake)- a smart, sweet kid with OCD, his neighbor Michael (Michael Boatman, Carter Heywood of Spin City) who often considers Michael’s problems as non-problems, his best-friend/sex-buddy/own therapist Kate (Selma Blair) and of course the members of his anger therapy group- Ed (Barry Corbin), Nolan (Derek Richardson), Lacey (Noureen DeWulf) and Patrick (Michael Arden.)

Anger Management: A Few Good Laughs

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Anger Management. Not that the concept isn’t fun (I liked the movie Anger Management with Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson as well, though they are in general very different), but I wasn’t a fan of Charlie Sheen on TV. I absolutely couldn’t stand One and a Half Man, and didn’t for the life of me understand what so many people saw in it. I didn’t like anything about that show, so I was worried Anger Management would be so…well…not funny.

Now while Anger Management doesn’t deserve all of its laughing tracks, it deserves several of them well- it doesn’t score laughs that gives you stomach pains,but it makes you smile, giggle and laugh a lot- and even when it is not very funny, it is still entertaining.

It’s refreshing to see a modern comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously (aware of the pun, but it really is the case with a lot of new comedies).

People having problems with the show complain about Shawnee Smith’s acting, saying she is not supposed to seem dumb- but her character is gullible, not so savvy and the only thing she is good at is being Sam’s mother-and even there she doesn’t always make the best call. Hell, she was cheated on by Charlie so many times during their marriage, and she still wouldn’t have gotten out without some shoving from the others.

And some people joke that it is unrealistic that Charlie’s character can get so many (hot) dates, in addition to the constant benefits he is getting from his best friend. While I don’t find the 47-year-old Sheen attractive (not that 47 is old, but his relationship with alcohol has showed its effects), his character is likeable. He’s smart, fun, nice and doesn’t lie about who he is. Wouldn’t want to date him, but can understand why others would. And I’ve always liked Selma Blair.

The patients can come off as annoying and not funny at times, but they do make up for it with some decent one-liners and/or amusing events to make up for it within the same episode.

Nope, it is no Friends, Coupling or Spin City (the first 4 seasons with Michael J. Fox.) But it is a good laugh, and I don’t mind watching more episodes. And I have watched all 10.

Fun notes:

1) Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Denise Richards, with whom he’s not exactly parted well with, appeared in one episode as his love interest. They had some lines about her ex, who she referred to as a total nut job several times, and Charlie stopped her at one point, saying he got it. It was a great self-directed humor, and very well done.

2) Charlie’s dad came to visit for one episode. His name is Martin, and was played by none other than Charlie’s real life dad Martin Sheen.

See it. The worst case scenario is that you will waste 20-40 minutes, assuming you will try 1-2 episodes before writing it off. Best case, you’ll find a fun new show.

Beauty and The Beast : It’s Fun – Stop Wishing for Its Demise Already!

Posted on October 15, 2012 Written by ripitup

Beauty and The Beast starring Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan

Beauty and The Beast TV Series — Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan. Image via onthedemo.com

It probably sucks that most TV writers can only have a short time of relief and feeling of success when a single disappointment about the rating figures can send a lot of movie writers and bloggers predicting the lifespan of the show, and not being generous or optimistic about it at all.

Sure, it is great to have sold a script, and then have your series picked up among so many others- but then you have to worry about keeping the interest level high, all the while knowing not all of your target audience will watch it when it airs on TV, that Nielsen doesn’t reflect the actual popularity of your show, and that a lot of weird viewers will stop watching it just because the lead guy is too “hot”, or the show resembles quite a few old ones…

Yes, a lot of people already started predicting and/or wishing the demise of Beauty and The Beast, but I’m not one of them. Let’s go over the plot, and then I’ll share my reasons of why it might be worth a chance.

NYPD detective Catherine Chandler (Kristin Kreuk) still hasn’t quite gotten over her mother’s death 9 years ago- the two assailants would have killed her too, hadn’t it not been for a mysterious “beast” that saved her. Of course her version of events was attributed to trauma, and she believed it when they said it was probably just a wild animal.

But a current case reveals clues about a dead doctor/military guy named Vincent Keller and as she digs, she realizes that Vincent Keller is “the beast” from that night-he tells her that he joined a military experiment without being fully aware of the consequences, had his DNA changed and gained the ability/curse to turn into a furious and freakishly strong beast when he got an adrenaline rush.

Even though he tries to get her to leave him alone for both their safety, she can’t- she decides that they will both be helping out each other- and make him realize that he is anything but a monster.

So there you have it- a police procedural led by a young pretty female detective, protected by her ally – some drama, action, mystery and romance.

If you expected the wheel to be reinvented, this is not the show for you. If you don’t like to see pretty people on TV, this is not for you- although I have to say they haven’t gone half as overboard as The Vampire Diaries when it comes to casting attractive people. And you will have to live with the fact that the show is sci-fi, and not fantasy- as far as the beast is concerned.

If you’re OK with the cast of attractive actors, the sci-fi element, the case-of-the-week and the upcoming romance, great. So am I.

Now, people compared this to The Hulk. Scientist/experiment gone wrong/uncontrolled power/life led in secret? I see their point.

Some compared it to Moonlight, the short-lived vampire show starring Alex O’Loughlin – and I was too reminded of it. The-not-exactly-human helping solve crimes and protecting innocent people/watching over the girl he saved years ago/partnering up and falling in love with her…Check, check, check all the way.

But come on-as much as I loved Moonlight and was sad to see it go, Moonlight was hardly the first to use the vampire-seeks-redemption-while-falling-in-love-with-the-girl-he-is-watching-over concept. Hello, Angel of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, anyone? He is a good vampire, has watched over Buffy ever since she became a slayer at 16, helped save people, fell in love with her…

But hey, I am definitely not saying Angel’s concept was original. It was cool and fun, but I’m pretty sure someone somewhere did it-many times-before.

So Beauty and the Beast is a fun show, with cliches I’d not change. It’d be a letdown if the Beast didn’t have his human sides, or if he was exactly Fairy-Tale-like-all fury , all the time. It’d sure suck without the emotional bond between its characters. Angel had Buffy, Mick had Beth (Moonlight) and hey, Vincent will have Catherine.

Now, I won’t be complaining a lot of if it is cancelled. I’m still not over Awake– now that show was emotionally gripping, extremely powerful and refreshing- and I still think cancelling it was a crime against creativity and good TV. I know it is all about ratings and revenues, but they give you more seasons, not necessarily good TV.

But I will be enjoying this show as long as it remains fun and on the air. I can’t promise not to mourn over Last Resort, however, should it be cancelled.

So sit back, and tune in if it’s your kind of thing. If it isn’t, good thing you have a gazillion alternatives.

Last Resort starring Scott Speedman & Andre Braugher – A Great Premiere

Posted on October 5, 2012 Written by ripitup

Last Resort starring Scott Speedman & Andre Braugher. Image via thetvinformant.com

Last Resort starring Scott Speedman- Exciting Season Opening

Plot Summary- Minor Spoilers (most of it was shown in the trailer)

US missile submarine Colorado receives orders to hit Pakistan through their secondary channel- a channel that is to send orders only if Washington is down. Since life is going on merrily in the capital, the captain (Andre Braugher) demands that they receive the order through the main channel, and in return is taken off duty. When his second captain (Scott Speedman) demands the same thing, they’re hit by another submarine-which turns out to be an American sub as well.

They later realize that the “blame” is put on Pakistan, and is only an excuse to start a war. And to tie loose ends, they send planes to destroy the submarine. Only the captain is more than ready to take extreme measures- if his own country wants to kill them for questioning shaky orders, then they will fight back-with their 18 missiles if necessary.

So it is with these tangible threats that they manage to survive and declare a no man’s land around an island with a NATO observation center.

With possible threats from their own men, as well as the wounded soldiers they let on the board a little before the orders, they will try to make their stand-while the US is more than happy to declare them traitors and question their loved ones.

Maybe they might get some support from the expert (Autumn Reeser), and the admiral, whose daughter is one of the marines on the island.

Worth Seeing?: Absolutely!

It’s smart, powerful, engaging and full of strong characters, as well as equally determined enemies. Not to mention how much it parallels today’s politics, and the lengths people will go to realize their goals-whether its attacking another nation or staying alive.

Favorite Scenes/Moments (Minor Spoilers)

*Ecuador Dance – The crew turns up the stereo and starts dancing as an Ecuador-passing habit.

* How the captain responds to the threats – he provides how hardcore he is when he reminds the authorities that they have 18 missiles on the submarine, and if they are taken down, they will take down a lot with them while they “burn.”

*How Daniel Lissing’s character lets down all cool and breaks down, realizing the magnitude of what he has caused (and we didn’t really know he caused it at that point).

* Daniel Lissing’s character, American soldier James King, is threatened by the local mobster-surrounded by his men. He responds by describing how he will kill them and in which order.

Also on Scott Speedman:

The Vow starring Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams and Jessica Lange

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

TV’s Cutest I Love You Scenes – Case Histories starring Jason Isaacs

Posted on May 13, 2012 Written by ripitup

Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie in BBC's Case Histories. Image via fimaffinity.com

Case Histories is a strangely compelling British TV series starring Jason Isaacs, and you can find the plot, review and pictures here on my Case Histories review.

This post is just about two scenes in the 6th (and last) episode of season 1. It’ll be a minor spoiler as the scenes are about the romantic life of the lead character Jackson Brodie. I’m saying minor, because Case Histories focuses a lot more on Jackson’s cases, his past traumas and his relationship with his daughter.

Jason Isaacs with his on-screen daughter, Case Histories. Image via node2.bbcimg.uk

And a note to non-watchers, you can still enjoy the scene, but you should check out the review to learn about Brodie, and the woman in question. And of course any line is better if you hear it from Jason Isaacs.

In the beginning of episode 6, Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) is in the hospital being taken to the emergency room after his attempts to save an old lady almost killed him.

Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) is in the hospital again. They took his shirt off again. — Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) is in the hospital again, visited by Louise (Amanda Abbington). They took his shirt off again:d. Image via barefilms.co.uk

When his old time cop friend Louise (Amanda Abbington) hears about the accident, she rushes to see him. Jackson is only half aware of things, and he blurts out:

“Bloody hell, you’re beautiful (she attributes this to the head blow, but he adds:) I love you”.

Of course it is not even clear if Jackson is aware that he is saying this to Louise, and it is hard to tell whether Louise is more scared of it being true or being false. So she rushes out of the hospital before Jackson can get completely conscious.

All through the series, Louise is trying to balance Jackson’s constant help requests (always valid- his efforts either save someone, solve a case or both) and her ungrateful teenage son, and this time has to digest Jason’s outburst and whether to take it seriously.

When Louise is alone and a little drunk, she calls Jackson’s cell, but he is nowhere to be found so she yells at him for not being around after saying something like that- but she doesn’t tell him what is. Jackson can’t figure out what the hell she means, so the minute he wraps up his case, he goes to Louise’s house.

It’s Christmas morning, and she answers the door while her son is in the living room.

(And yes, we have been suspecting that Louise had a massive crush on Brodie, if not more – but Jackson was always too busy drowning in his or other people’s sorrows, and his only relationships, or attempts at relationships, have been initiated by women who threw themselves at him. And since he never really called Louise apart from asking for help, and didn’t take her up on the offer of getting drunk together (in his defense, he was depressed about his daughter moving to New Zealand for a year.), I suspected Jackson didn’t see Louise like that. I was glad to be wrong : ) )

Louise: What did you want?

Jackson: I was just wondering.

Louise: About?

Jackson: The hospital. What I said to you.

Louise: It was nothing. Nothing important anyway.

Jackson: If it’s not important, what was it?

Louise: You were rambling. You told me you loved me.

Jackson takes that in, but it only takes a second.

Jackson: Good. That’s about right then.

Louise is part shocked, part happy, part numb.

Louise: OK.

Jackson: Is it?

Louise smiles and so does Jackson.

Jackson: OK.

Louise: Do you want to come in?

Jackson: We’ve got time. I don’t want to interrupt anything.

Louise: You are always interrupting something, Jackson.

He half-smiles and leaves as Louise says Merry Christmas.

After this scene, we see Jackson running again but this time he is not running to get away from things like he used to- and when he stops to take in the scene, there is a smile on his face.

So no I love you toos, sloppy/awkward/passionate first kisses, or sex scenes. Very British, very cute and just honest.

What’s your favorite TV I love you scene? My pick for funniest or most romantic moment might be different, but I love this one for being so cute, honest and understated.

Also on Jason Isaacs

Awake starring Jason Isaacs

Case Histories Review and Pictures

Jason Isaacs Trivia