New Series Reviews: K-Ville; Back To You; Kitchen Nightmares; Kid Nation

K-VILLE (Police Drama-Fox)
STARS: Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, Blake Shields, Tawny Cypress, John Carroll Lynch
PREMISE: Anderson and Hauser are partnered as police officers in post-Katrina New Orleans.
WHAT MIKE THINKS: "K-Ville" mixes pieces of every known cop show from "Dragnet" to "The Shield" (where Anderson was superb as a cold-hearted gang banger) and places this uneven mixture into a city that was nearly washed away in 2005. The major problem with "K-Ville" is not the acting (all four leads are just fine), but the way it veers from contemporary issues to standard police procedural. The now-standard police chase and crime investigations have been done much better elsewhere; most Americans have an opinion of the way the government--federal, state and local--have botched the rescue and reconstruction efforts. According to Fox, it will pump 17 million dollars into the New Orleans economy for filming 13 episodes on location. If Fox really wanted to make a difference, it would have donated the money to the city and spared viewers a mediocre cop show.
PREDICTION FOR SUCCESS: Up against NBC's "Heroes" and CBS' combo of "Two and a Half Men" and "Rules of Engagement," (not to mention the last half-hour of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars") it'll be a miracle if "K-Ville" lasts through its 13 week initial order.

BACK TO YOU (Sitcom-Fox)
STARS: Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Fred Willard
PREMISE: Grammer is news anchor Chuck Darling, who leaves his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania television news anchor job for other cities--and finds himself back in PA co-anchoring the local news with Kelly Carr (Heaton)--an odd couple who spar constantly when off the air.
WHAT MIKE THINKS: "Back To You" is a comedy that could have aired in the 1980's on CBS (or NBC). But it's 2007 and the show is broadcast on Fox (a network not known for being subtle when it comes to comedy). Still, "Back To You" has the right components--veteran performers in Grammer, Heaton and the wonderful Willard; a production and writing team that has been involved in some of America's best sitcoms over the past two decades, including "Cheers" and "Frasier"--where Grammer became a household name. For the most part, "Back To You" is generally well-done comedy with some real laughs. There are a few rough spots to work out--
the ensemble cast needs to be defined better with less stereotyping; and the bickering between the two leads needs to be toned down a notch or two. That said, "Back To You" may end up being the best of the new fall sitcoms. Familiarity may not be groundbreaking, but it does have its advantages.
PREDICTION FOR SUCCESS: "Back To You" could be a moderate hit on Wednesday nights (early indications are this show won't be a blockbuster of "Cheers" or "Fraiser" proportions), but a lot will depend on its competition--ABC's "Pushing Daisies;" NBC's "Deal Or No Deal;" CW's "America's Next Top Model" and CBS' controversial "Kid Nation" (reviewed below).

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Reality-Fox)
HOST: Gordon Ramsay
PREMISE: Based on the UK version, Ramsay is already well known to American viewers for "Hell's Kitchen." As in the British show, the good (and tart) Chef Gordon goes to failing restaurants and attempts to turn their fortunes around.
WHAT MIKE THINKS: I've spent this summer watching the British "Kitchen Nightmares" on BBC America--and after watching the first episode of the American version, I'm convinced there are two Gordon Ramsays. In the UK, he's still foul-mouthed but with a heart and a passion for what he's doing; the British show is quite informative and entertaining. Unfortunately, Ramsay becomes "Foxified" in the American translation--which means more bleeped out four-letter words, an annoying announcer describing every move; fast edits to make everyone look bad (though some of the real-life restaurant owners need no help in that regard) and a fast pace that gives you whiplash. Indeed, the show's credits admit to the editing and the "possibility" that customers who fill these restaurants are paid for their meal. But still, "Kitchen Nightmares" is compelling and never boring--and the reason is Ramsay. You may not like his behavior, but he gets results--he zeroes in on every problem and flaw, and tells it like it is. The result is often a good one. Let's put it this way: This show will never win a Peabody for quality. But if you like reality programming (and some do), you could do far worse than "Kitchen Nightmares."
PREDICTION FOR SUCCESS: Ramsay's biggest nightmare could be ABC's new "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Private Practice" on Wednesday nights. Or CBS' popular "Criminal Minds;" NBC's remake of "Bionic Woman" and CW's new teen drama "Gossip Girl." Still, "Kitchen Nightmares" could do well enough to survive in a tough time slot.

KID NATION (Reality-CBS)
HOST: Jonathan Karsh
PREMISE: Take 40 youngsters, ages 8-15, set them down in a New Mexico ghost town, and give them supplies for 40 days--then turn them loose to see if they can create a community.
WHAT MIKE THINKS: This is the most controversial new fall series in the States--allegations of child labor violations probably led CBS not to release the first episode to critics. Instead, the network launched a massive "Judge For Yourself" campaign, hoping all the bad publicity will turn into good ratings. On the plus side, "Kid Nation" is well-produced and edited--not unlike producer Tom Foreman's other creation "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." But what you end up with is a "Survivor-esque" series with prizes (gold stars are handed out by the town council to the child that has worked the hardest; each star is worth $20,000) and competitions for basic services (the first involved a choice between outhouses and a television set. Fortunately, the four kids who make up the town council picked toilets over TV.) And not unlike "Survivor's" Jeff Probst, Karsh is the one who actually runs the town (he's the only on-camera adult on the show). But advertisers may be skittish about "Kid Nation": The first commercials didn't come until about 40 minutes into the hour-long show, and they were mostly for new film releases, CBS promos for other shows, and a spot for a product that deals with "feminine itching." Not exactly an appropriate commercial for a show where a large number of children will be watching. Hype and hoopla aside, "Kid Nation" is average television--and not worth the storm and fury that surrounded it. It's not scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it's not at the top of the heap, either.
PREDICTION FOR SUCCESS: See "Back To You" above. CBS is already planning a second season; its website has an invitation for kids to apply as contestants. So good ratings or bad, the "Nation" building goes on.

Until next time, happy viewing!

Emmy 2007: Fox To The Core

First off, a word about this year's Emmy winners: Most of us who handicapped the event were sucker-punched. Academy voters did decide to honor "The Sopranos" for Best Drama (along with writing and directing nods), and handed Sally Field a Best Actress award for "Brothers And Sisters." And America Ferrara was shown the love for her breakthrough performance as "Ugly Betty." But most of my predictions--not to mention others--were off the mark. James Spader for "Boston Legal"--AGAIN--over Hugh Laurie and James Gandolfini? "30 Rock" over "The Office?" And Ricky Gervais probably won his Emmy for "Extras" as much for that show as the UK (and American) "Office"! Also, while I think "The Amazing Race" is probably the best of the reality competition shows, this past season was no stunner--and even "American Idol" deserved a win this time around.
Speaking of "Idol," the show's host Ryan Seacrest (who also hosted the overlong Emmy telecast) did himself a favor by making himself scarce. He did OK, but it took Ellen DeGeneres just five minutes to show why SHE should have hosted this year's awards show. (Oops, I forgot--Ellen doesn't have a show on Fox!)
And the fact Fox broadcast the Emmys this year may have contributed to the juvenile behavior of some of the presenters. Let's start with Ray Romano, and his bad joke about his former "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star Patricia Heaton, who's now on the new Fox sitcom "Back To You" with Kelsey Grammer. Romano's remark: "Frasier's s-----g my wife!" Fox bleeped out the slang for sex, but some critics say it was the network's payback for Romano's disclosure of the main characters' back story on "Back To You."
Not long after, "Grey's Anatomy" co-star Katherine Heigl won an Emmy for best supporting actor; Fox bleeped out Heigl's use of the expletive that begins with "s," after she uttered it in frustration.
But the real controversy came over Sally Field's acceptance speech for "Brothers and Sisters,"which included an opinion against the Iraq war: "If the mothers ruled the world, there would be no g-----n wars in the first place!" Again the censor hit the button, but some liberal bloggers in the States saw it as a sign that Fox's owner, Rupert Murdoch, was displaying his conservative politics. Not so, says the network:
"“Some language during the live broadcast may have been considered inappropriate by some viewers. As a result, Fox’s broadcast standards executives determined it appropriate to drop sound during those portions of the show.”
And of course, with the Federal Communications Commission suing left and right over naughty words and wardrobe malfunctions, why court trouble? Say what you will about Fields' politics, Fox probably did itself a favor by hitting the pause button--and keeping the FCC nannies at bay.
And the price for all this honoring of television's best? According to "Variety,"
"The 'Primetime Emmy Awards' on Fox drew the kudocast's second smallest audience on record Sunday night, averaging 13.1 million viewers, according to preliminary nationals from Nielsen.
This year's audience comes in well below the 16.2 million that NBC garnered for its late-August telecast a year ago and the 18.7 million that watched on CBS two years ago.... The smallest Emmy audience on record remains the 1990 telecast, also on Fox, which drew 12.3 million viewers."
There is one consolation: ABC will do the Emmy honors next year, as part of a rotation among the Big Four networks. It can't do any worse.
Until next time, happy viewing!

"Tell Me You Love Me": Somewhat Dirty But Not Sexy

HBO's latest effort into "groundbreaking" original series is as close as you can get to the "adults only" section of your favorite video store. "Tell Me You Love Me" centers on several couples and their sexual problems--all dealt with by a therapist, played by the wonderful Jane Alexander. (Another nice note: Alexander, who's in her 60's, is shown to have a robust sex life with her husband Arthur, played by David Selby. Score one for enlightenment.)
On "Tell Me," the couples are heterosexual (gay couples are over at Showtime, home of "Queer As Folk" and "The L Word"). And their personal lives are troubled. One pair has long stopped having sex (the wife becomes upset when she sees her husband--in the famed "Seinfeld" term--no longer "master of his own domain.") A couple about to get married break apart when the man tells the woman he doesn't expect to be faithful for life. And a third couple trying to have a child treat sex as more of a chore to achieve an end result.
But the hook of "Tell Me" (at least to HBO) is the sex scenes. I have no problem with hearing the couples discuss their sexual problems--but in true HBO fashion, we get to see the couples engage in the nasty. Of course, the women are seen full frontal; the men are only seen naked from the backside and above the waist. No "Full Monty's" here! And there's enough groaning and moaning to fill the soundtrack of a real adult movie.
That's the main problem with "Tell Me You Love Me:" The sex scenes actually take away from the serious discussion about problems many couples indeed go through--and a times, become more gratuitous than essential to the story. (Will we see the pizza delivery boy come to the door in a future episode?) All this show needs is cheesy 1970's music and dialogue in the tradition of real "adult" videos.
It's a shame. Without the sex, "Tell Me You Love Me" is adult and frank--compelling viewing. With the sex scenes, it feels cheap and tawdry. This is one program that would benefit from less "show" and more "tell."
More television series reviews and a wrap-up of the 2007 Prime Time Emmy Awards are coming soon.
Until next time, happy viewing.