Disc Reviews

You know a series is not likely to make it when it jumps the shark halfway through the pilot episode. But if your name is Steven Bochco, you get a little more rope than most with which to hang yourself. And why not? Bochco changed the entire landscape of television with shows like Hill Street Blues. He's provided the training ground that gave us other brilliant television minds like David Kelly and Dick Wolf. He's managed to push the boundaries of what you can and can't do on the small screen with such controversial hits as NYPD Blue. With those kinds of street creds, you get a lot more rope than most. Still, every now and then even the greats manage to use that rope to hang themselves. When Bochco proposed a Hill Street-like cop show that's also a musical, everyone told him it couldn't be done. This time everyone was right, and Cop Rock has gone down in history as the Plan Nine From Outer Space of television, and while Steven Bochco is no Ed Wood, this is the show that's so bad you might actually enjoy it anyway.

I remember the original (short) original run of Cop Rock from 1990. I appear to have remembered it more fondly than it actually deserved. When the opportunity to review the show came up, I jumped at it. I had somewhat warm memories of the show, mostly surrounding the very nice Randy Newman theme song and original opening credits. The rest was somewhat of a blur. Obviously, I blocked that out and was prepared for something different than what I got here. The show only made it to seven episodes on ABC in 1990. While 11 were actually produced, there are episodes here that did not make the original run but did end up aired. It was actually a very expensive show to produce and was hemorrhaging money faster than John Carter of Mars by the second episode. Everyone knew they were pretty much done by Episode 4. Credit the cast and crew for holding their heads high as they continued the remaining productions. There's a nice five-minute coda to the last episode where the cast are bummed about the cancellation and tell us it ain't over until the fat lady sings... and she does. This is actually really great stuff. Also a cameo by Hunter from Hill Street Blues is a wonderful few seconds.

Out of the shadows and into the light. That’s where we find Catherine and Vincent at the beginning of Season 3 of Beauty and the Beast. After successfully bringing down Muirfield, Vincent is no longer relegated to the shadows and can now reenter the world as a free man, allowing Catherine and himself to be together. However, just because he no longer has to hide doesn’t mean that the danger for the lovers is over, as a dangerous new foes resurfaces, hell-bent to keep the two apart. Admittedly, when the series first was announced, I was intrigued and endeavored to get it a change. Not out of nostalgia for the original series for which this based, but for Mrs. Kristin Kreuk. Come now, I couldn’t have been the only one who was drawn to the show because of the woman who put a face to Lana Lang for several years for another (now retired) CW series. Mildly interesting storylines kept me watching the first season; I was a late bloomer for the second season, and now I get to share with you my opinion of the third, and perhaps I’ll take a crack at the upcoming and final season.

At the conclusion of Season 2, Vincent and Catherine have defeated Gabe for the second time (this time for good, hopefully), thus putting an end to the Muirfield experiments. Or so they think, as they come to learn that the world is bigger than they initially thought, being introduced to a pair of Department of Homeland Security agents (Alan Van Sprang and Natasha Henstridge), who task them with helping the DHS hunt and contain individuals who have been subjected to superhuman experiments.

It seems every network has stepped up their game to compete for viewership with scripted television. WGN now has Outsiders. At first glance I wasn’t all that impressed with the trailers; after all, it seemed like a bad knockoff of Justified and Sons of Anarchy.  But the great thing about writing for Upcoming Discs is we get the opportunity to review titles we normally wouldn’t give a chance to.  Nothing against any show, but these days there is simply so much content out there it’s just about impossible to keep up with it all, and in the process there are some real gems that slip between the cracks.  As it would turn out, Outsiders is a show I’m happy to say it found its way into my hands, because it’s actually really entertaining.

Taking place in the Appalachia area of Kentucky, there is a feud brewing between the residents of a small town and a clan of people who live off the land in the mountains.  These “outsiders” are known to everyone as the Farrell clan and are led by Big Foster Farrell (David Morse).  The show takes its time introducing us to all the members of the clan and showing us their various customs and ways of survival. Some of their methods of survival even go so far as to break the law, something the Farrell clan seems to believe don’t apply to them.  It’s Big’s cousin Asa (Joe Anderson) who is the first to add to the conflict on the mountain after he returns from spending time trying to survive on his own in the big city.  Despite being family, Asa spends a good portion of the show trying to prove himself to the clan and declare his loyalty and in the process manages to stir up more conflict.

"Everybody here knows what a spin-off is."

No doubt about it. Major Crimes has managed to do what few shows before it have been able to pull off. Shows have survived the loss of their lead, but the remaining years were usually something lesser than it once was. That's not the case when The Closer lost its lead actress/character. The title was changed, and with just a few cast tweaks the series returned as Major Crimes, and I dare say it’s a much better show than its predecessor. Is it a spinoff? I might have to go to the replay booth to answer that one.

In my experience there are three types of comedians: 1.) Ones that are good at standup but bad at a series 2.) Those that are good in a series but not so great at stand up. 3.) Those who can do both. Want to guess which one Jim Gaffigan is? The standup comedian, known for his clean brand of comedy, gets his own series loosely based on his life. He’s a bit of a slob, he’s occasionally lazy, and he is without a doubt addicted to junk food. Rounding out the season are a group of instantly recognizable stars like Chris Rock, Steve Buscemi, Hannibal Burress, and Macaulay Culkin…or is he Macaulay Culkin? (Inside joke, you’ll get it once you watch).

Gaffigan plays a fictional version of himself, a popular standup comedian living in New York with his wife, Jeannie (Ashley Williams, How I Met Your Mother), and their five — that’s right, five — kids in a two-bedroom apartment. I’ll give you a moment to wrap your head around those cramped quarters of theirs. While balancing his career and parental responsibilities, the family searches for a larger place with the help of Jeannie’s gay best friend/former boyfriend Daniel (Michael Ian Black, Wet Hot American Summer) who is in real estate and hates Jim. Along for the ride is Jim’s immature, opinionated, insensitive best friend and fellow comedian Dave Marks (Adam Goldberg, NYC 22). This season deals with Jim’s perception in public with regards to his religion and his role with his kids, as well as vasectomies, and his obsession with junk food. There is even an It’s a Wonderful Life-themed episode.