TV REPUBLIK

A place to let my TV obsession loose. TV News, original articles, BatB recaps and more

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: STAR

Premise: A girl named Star [really], her sister and a friend she met on Instagram [really] move to Atlanta with the hope to become music superstars [really].

Some shows just don’t have enough conflict.That’s something that probably will never be said about Star.

In the first episode of the show we meet Star, a girl from the wrong side of tracks. Her life is basically a pot of melodramatic cliches: Tough life in the foster care system, long lost mother, sister with a history of sexual abuse, earrings that are way too big…

The twist? Star wants to be a star. Who saw THAT coming?

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FIVE TIMES BANSHEE WAS ALMOST TO AWESOME TO HANDLE

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LET’S TALK ABOUT THE GOLDEN GLOBES 2016…

Claps, eye-rolls and head-scratchers

As part of my love-hate relationship saga with award shows, I decided to summarize my feelings after last night’s ceremony.

I would like to classify my reactions in two categories that I will call “Yay! Well deserved” and “What the hell were they thinking?” So here we go: 

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: COOPER BARRETT’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE

Premise: No-one tells you how to survive life after college Verdict: I actually really liked this, so… it will probably get cancelled. Who is on it? A bunch of unknowns, the ghost from Being Human and Justin Bartha (The Hangover)

I am not sure why, but I always seem to find myself liking comedies that the critics deem unworthy. Looks like this show is the latest example.

I watched the trailer and it looked funny; plus FOX had extended the original order months ago which made me think that it had something special So… I watched the first episode with high expectations and I actually enjoyed it! This does not happen very often, especially with comedies.

But me liking a comedy and it becoming a hit… now that never happens. So, of course, ratings were not good. In addition, it didn’t get a lot of critics’ love. Nevertheless, occasionally [read frequently] I enjoy rebelling and going against the “experts”. So here I am, about to give Cooper Barrett a good review:

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: SUPERSTORE & TELENOVELA…

… AKA the “let’s get that latino audience” NBC block

NBC tries to appeal to the ever-growing latino audience... but it all ends up coming back to #Chuck

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FLESH & BONE: UPDATED REACTIONS

I recently finished watching this limited series [yes I refuse to use the word 'event'] and I have to say, I was sadly disappointed. As a former [amateur] dancer, who has memorized every line of Center Stage, I wanted to love this. I really did.

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So here is what I loved about The Red Road...

The show is set in a small town outside New York, home to the Lenape Native American tribe. At the center of the narrative, we have two male leads.On one corner, we have Harold. He is a cop and a dedicated family man. He has two teenage daughters and a wife who suffers from mental illness. He struggles to navigate politics and corruption inside the small town police department, while never wavering in his commitment to his family.

On the opposite end, we have Kopus. A Native American ex-con, drug dealer and alleged child murderer who comes back to town after being imprisoned for years. He is violent, morally grey and an unapologetic killer.

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Random TV-thanksgiving memory of the day

As I do with most festive occasions – or any occasion for that matter – I started thinking about my favorite thanksgiving moments on TV. I’ve already picked my top 5 thanksgiving episodes here, but I decided to look back at an unconventional one.

It is a scene between my favorite father/daughter duo Sydney & Jack Bristow, played by wonderful Jennifer Garner and Victor Garber.

The scene: This was back in season one 2001! [Jennifer Garner was married to Scott Foley and Bradley Cooper had awful hair!]

Sydney’s estranged father shows up at her doorstep in the middle of her Thanksgiving dinner. And yes, he is there to make amends… sort of. Except, instead of bringing some wine and a heartfelt apology, Jack brings some information about the man who killed her fiancé a few months ago. He also brings some document that proofs he was not a KGB spy. [What every daughter dreams of].

Then Jack sort of apologizes for keeping things from her and acknowledges that her mother’s dead was probably his fault. Except it wasn’t, because what he doesn’t tell her at the time SPOILER ALERT is that he may not have been a KGB spy, but her mother was!

Aw… family dynamic gold. Don’t you think?

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: MARVEL’S JESSICA JONES

Premise: A retired superhero works as a private eye

Verdict: Turns out a costume-less superhero[ine] is exactly what I was craving for

It’s been a day since Netflix released the first season of Jessica Jones, and I already feel behind. A quick search on twitter reveals that most people have already binge-watched all 13 eps. But for viewers like me – who have only managed to watch one ep so far – here are my initial reactions: In a nutshell, I loved it.

There are many things I loved about the first episode of Jessica Jones.

One, it has a female lead and it was about time. We have Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Bruce Wayne, Matt Murdock, so the guys are well represented. Yes, we have Supergirl too… but that is more of a coming of age, family oriented show, with a fitting protagonist. Jessica Jones kicks ass and not just because she has superpowers. She is the type of no-nonsense girl I love to watch.

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: FLESH & BONE

In the world of ballet you either win or...  you lose a body part

Premise: A young ballerina with a troubled past joins the American Ballet Company and has to evaluate how far she is willing to go to remain on top Verdict: I really liked it, but I might be biased. Here are a few things I should disclose before I begin this review: I danced classical ballet for 10 years.

I have been complaining about So You Think You Can Dance never getting a companion “scripted drama” like Glee for American Idol.  [OK… so a lot more people used to watch A.I. back in the day, but so what?]

And finally… I have watched Center Stage 50 times.

No… that is not me being hyperbolic. It is an actual estimate of how many times I’ve watched that movie. I watched it so many times, I can still quote it and I can probably dance all the numbers [badly but more or less accurately]. In other words, I am – without a doubt – the target audience for this show. So I am not sure how objective I can be. But I will try.

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REVIEW: CON MAN SEASON 1

When a "network" cancels a TV show...

Premise: An actor - who starred in a quickly cancelled sci-fi TV show - tours the “con” circuit. Verdict: Fun web satire for sci-fi lovers

Alan Tudyk plays struggling actor Wrey Nerely, famous for having played starship pilot Cash [Cash/Wash get it?] on a fictional TV show called “Spectrum”. Fellow actor Jack Moore (Nathan Fillion) played the Captain of the ship. Spectrum was cancelled after only 14 episodes but then became a cult-hit in sci-fi circles. If none of this sounds familiar… then Con man is not for you [And… you probably don’t own a TV nor have access to the internet]. If, on the other hand, you recognize the obvious Firefly references, then you will probably enjoy this fun online web-series.

Basically, Con man is a satire [with hints of an homage] of life after Firefly. However, the joke embedded in the premise can only take a show so far. This is not simply a sketch comedy, we are talking about 13 episodes and over two hours of content. You need a story and compelling characters for that. And I think Con Man delivers.

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Convenient.

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WHEN TV SHOWS HOOK YOU: THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER CASE

We have been told to “not judge a book by its cover”, yet no-one ever tells you to not judge a show by its pilot. As a matter of fact, that’s what everyone expects you to do. I think audiences have unfair expectations of pilots. Yes… a pilot should indicate the tone and promise of a series, but there is only so much you can do in an hour [or two]. We are talking of years of potential storytelling and… we are only watching the very first few minutes. The tip of the iceberg. If everything a show is about was included in the pilot, well… it would be a movie.

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[faithhaslostitsstrengthagain]

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Still love this line... 

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: ROSEWOOD

Premise: An pathologist with a deadly disease and too much self-esteem solves crime IN MIAMI [that seems to be important]. Verdict: I really don’t see the point of this show. This show feels like someone wrote a really average cop show and then went “Let’s make it diverse and set it in Miami, that will make it better”.  

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: SCREAM QUEENS

FOX TUESDAYS 9/8c

Premise: A masked killer terrifies a group of shallow sorority girls. It is basically Pretty Little Liars with much better dialogue. Verdict: Ryan Murphy’s craziness might really work in this setting. I have such a complicated love/hate relationship with Ryan Murphy’s shows. A lot of times, his shows just make me roll my eyes, but at the same time I believe aspects of them are purely brilliant. Moreover, Ryan Murphy does not have a signature genre. He has done musical comedy (Glee), horror (American Horror Story), half-hour comedy (The New Normal) and edgy drama (Nip/Tuck). Not saying this is a bad thing… but it only adds to my confusion of how I feel about his writing style.

All this preamble just to say that I was expecting to end up hate-watching Scream Queens [as I did with all six seasons of Glee]. However… I have to admit, out of all the new shows I’ve watched so far, this is the one I enjoyed the most [the multi-V.O. aside, of which I am still not a fan].

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